Mark 16:3

3 They asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb?"

Mark 16:3 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 16:3

And they said among themselves
Either before they set out, or as they were going along:

who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
Which they saw was placed there by Joseph, or his orders: this was the only difficulty they had, that they were aware of; for they seem to know nothing of the sealing of the stone, and of the watch that was set to guard the sepulchre: things which were done on the sabbath day, on which they rested: for had they, in all likelihood they would never have attempted to have gone to it; the guard of soldiers would have been a sufficient discouragement: but all their concern was, how, and by whom, the stone should be rolled away, that lay at the door of the sepulchre; and perhaps their concern might be, not only on account of the largeness of the stone, as being too much for them to remove, but because such a stone defiled by touching it, according to the Jewish traditions F9.


FOOTNOTES:

F9 Misn. Oholot, c. 2. sect 4.

Mark 16:3 In-Context

1 The Sabbath day ended. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices. They were going to apply them to Jesus' body.
2 Very early on the first day of the week, they were on their way to the tomb. It was just after sunrise.
3 They asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb?"
4 Then they looked up and saw that the stone had been rolled away. The stone was very large.
5 They entered the tomb. As they did, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe. He was sitting on the right side. They were alarmed.
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