NOTES for Mar 16:1-20
In the Gospel of Mark, the account of the Resurrection is much shorter than in the other Gospels; it fits into only twenty verses. And the basis of the account here, paradoxically, is the theme of unbelief or distrust toward the testimony of those who saw the Risen One (v. 8, 11, 13). It would seem that the apostles could and should have been glad to hear the news of the Resurrection, because only recently, just three days earlier, it had seemed to them that everything was already over and there was nothing more to wait for. Of course, there was an element of surprise and of the incredible in what was happening. But there was probably something else as well: unpreparedness to accept such a long-awaited surprise. Long-awaited indeed: most believing Jews of the Gospel era believed in the general resurrection on the last day and in the Last Judgment. In addition, Jesus had spoken to His disciples more than once about His death and about His Resurrection, which was to follow that death. And this very thing was least able to fit into the apostles' consciousness; that is why the news of the Resurrection turned out to be unexpected for them. Here, apparently, a general trait of fallen human nature shows itself: inconstancy. Of course, in principle none of the apostles would ever have doubted the general resurrection or the Last Judgment. Probably, in principle, even the resurrection of their Teacher would not have seemed impossible or incredible to them. But when it happened, it turned out that all this was precisely "in general" and "in principle." And not at all because the apostles' faith was weaker than the faith of their contemporaries or ours. It is simply that when centuries pass between a promise and its fulfillment, faith in what was promised becomes somewhat abstract. It ceases to be a concrete reality expected from day to day, as the first Christians expected the Second Coming promised by the Savior. What becomes the object of spiritual attention is not the promised event, but the expectation itself. It becomes the goal and content of religious life. And then it often turns out that, when what was promised arrives, those least ready for its arrival are precisely those who prepared for it longest and most actively. But when what has been awaited for so long does happen, each person has, as it were, to see and experience anew the new reality entering the world, a reality that brings an end to everything that came before, including the waiting itself. This is the last boundary; beyond it is the Kingdom.