The Stone was Rolled Away - Mark 16:4

After Jesus died on the cross and was put in a sepulcher by Joseph of Arimathaea, Mark wrote, “when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Jesus' body. Mark continued, “And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?”, and in chapter sixteen and verse four of his book, Mark shared how the women saw, “the stone was rolled away” where we read:

And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

The verse reads, “And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away:” Mark began with the words, “and when” or “and at the time and moment” “they looked” which means “the women who came to anoint Jesus' body observed, notice, discovered and discerned”, “they saw that the stone” or “the women observed the large rock which blocked the entrance to Jesus' tomb” “was rolled away” which means “was removed by rolling it from the opening of the sepulcher”. Mark shared how the women approached the “grave” of Jesus and noticed that the “stone” was “rolled away” from the opening.

The verse goes on to say, “for it was very great.” Mark continued with the words, “for it” which refers to “because, since and on account that the stone” “was very great” which means “exceedingly large”. Mark shared how the “stone” was “exceedingly large” that covered the sepulcher where Jesus' body was buried.

When we think through Mark's words in this verse, we can imagine the women's surprise as removing the stone was no longer an issue. The “exceedingly large” “stone” was “rolled away” from the entrance, and no one was necessary to remove it. God took the responsibility of “removing” the “stone” because it signified to the world that Jesus was risen. The open tomb of Jesus declared that He had conquered death and was alive again. Those who consider Jesus' death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins and His resurrection for the promise of eternal life should respond by yielding their lives to Him as their personal “Savior and Lord”, and when they do, “forgiveness and everlasting life” are provided by God the Father.

Next time Mark shares how the women entered the sepulcher and, “saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".