Mary’s Report
“Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. Mark 16:9
Aldus Manutius invented punctuation marks in the fifteen century. Punctuation does not carry any God-given authority when it comes to interpretation; it is man-made, and there was none in the original uncial and cursive manuscripts.
The editors of the King James Version of the Bible added the italicized words as well as the punctuation, which at times affected the meaning. In Mark 16:9 they added the comma after the word “week”, which makes it sound as if Jesus arose on Sunday.
John 20 reveals that Jesus first appeared to Mary on the first of the week, not that he arose on the first of the week. The editors should have placed the comma after the word “risen”. The verse would then read, “Now having risen, early the first day of the week he appeared first to Mary Magdalene. . .”
“And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.” Mark 16:10
Mary carried out her Lord’s instructions. They must have been overjoyed to hear the good news that Jesus was alive, right?
And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.” Mark 16:11
They did not believe Mary’s report. No one can do any more than speak the word of the Lord. Their unbelief was not a reflection on Mary. She did what she was asked to do.
They did not expect Jesus to be raised from the dead even after he told them that he would on three occasions.
They continued mourning, overcome with grief and fear and continued to prepare spices to embalm Jesus as soon as they could gain access to the sepulchre.
Matthew 27:55-61, Mark 15: 40-47, Luke 23:50-56, tell us that Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and got his permission to bury Jesus. The women had only seen Joseph’s burial of Jesus, so they did not know that Nicodemus had given him a proper burial.
Joseph wrapped him in "fine linen cloth," which is the word “sindon” in the Greek. He did not give him a proper burial according to the custom of the Judeans, which may have indicated that he thought he would rise from the dead.
We are also told the women saw how he was buried, so they left to get the materials to give him a proper burial.
John 19:38-43, tells us that Nicodemus did give Jesus a proper burial. Verse 39 tells us that he “brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight.”
Verse 40, says that, “he [Not “they” as in the King James Version, but “he” according to the Aramaic texts. “He” is also the pronoun used in verse 42.] took the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes [“othonion”, the proper burial clothes] with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.”
The day is young; still not daybreak yet. What a day this would be!