When he had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. 12 After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country. 13 They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either. 14 [But] later, as the eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. 15 He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
In Mark 16:9-15, we are presented with the beginning of the so-called “Longer Ending of Mark”—a rich, though at times stylistically distinct, continuation of the Resurrection narrative. The passage recounts a series of appearances by the Risen Lord and a persistent theme: the unbelief of His disciples. The first to witness Christ alive is Mary Magdalene, “out of whom He had driven seven demons” (v. 9), recalling Luke 8:2. Her history as one healed and restored by Jesus emphasizes that grace often begins in the places we are most broken.
Mary's immediate response is to go and announce the Good News to the disciples—“who were mourning and weeping” (v. 10). Yet, they did not believe her. Nor do they believe the two disciples Jesus later appears to “in another form” (v. 12), echoing the encounter on the road to Emmaus (cf. Luke 24:13-35). The Risen Christ finally appears to the Eleven and rebukes them for their hardness of heart, for failing to believe those who had seen Him.
Then comes the pivotal moment of mission: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (v. 15). The command is universal and urgent. It reflects the fulfillment of Isaiah 52:7, which celebrates the one who brings glad tidings of peace and salvation, and it anticipates the apostolic commission of Matthew 28:19-20. Jesus entrusts to His imperfect and unbelieving disciples the task of preaching salvation, revealing the divine logic: God’s mission is carried forward not by perfect vessels, but by those who have encountered mercy.
This passage also implicitly recalls the Old Testament pattern in which God sends messengers, and the people do not believe them (e.g., Moses in Exodus 4:1; Jeremiah in Jeremiah 20:7-9). The human heart struggles to believe in the possibility of divine intervention. Yet, as St. Paul later declares, 'faith comes from what is heard' (Rom. 10:17), and that hearing depends on the faithful obedience of those commissioned to preach—their fidelity to Christ’s command and to the truth of the Gospel.
Mark 16:9-15 reveals the interplay of grace, mission, and human weakness. The Risen Christ does not abandon His disciples despite their doubt, nor does He abandon us. Rather, He corrects, commissions, and sends them forth, just as He does with us. In doing so, this passage affirms that the foundation of the Church's mission is not the worthiness of its members but the faithfulness of the One who calls.
Lord Jesus, You appeared first to one whose life had been redeemed by mercy. You called forth belief from those who struggled to see beyond the tomb. Appear anew in our lives, that we might proclaim You with confidence and humility. Strengthen our faith, that we may go into the world with hearts made new. Amen.
Sources
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: The Pentateuch. Four Courts Press, 2017
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
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