But
go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’
Mark 16:7
Mark 16 [1.] When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back.
Mark 16 [5.] Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were amazed. He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him! But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’”
Mark 16 [8.] They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid. Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. When they heard that he was alive, and had been seen by her, they disbelieved. After these things he was revealed in another form to two of them, as they walked, on their way into the country. They went away and told it to the rest. They didn’t believe them, either.
Meaning:
The young man in the tomb has just announced the heart of the Gospel: “He has risen. He is not here” (Mark 16:6). Now he gives the women a task. The news of the resurrection is not to stay in the tomb; it must be carried to the disciples, and to one disciple in particular.
- “But go, tell his disciples”
The first people entrusted with the message of the risen Lord were women, whose testimony counted for little in the courts of that time. God chose them anyway, because they were the ones who had stayed near. Matthew records the same command: “Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead, and behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him’” (Matthew 28:5-7).
Notice that the men are still called “his disciples”. A few nights earlier “they all left him, and fled” (Mark 14:50). But Jesus had not given up on them, and the risen Lord sends for them as his own.
- “and Peter”
These two words are some of the most tender in Mark’s Gospel. Peter had boasted, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you” (Mark 14:31), and then denied Jesus three times with curses, before he “wept” (Mark 14:72). So the message names him personally.
Jesus had prayed for him beforehand: “I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail” (Luke 22:32). Paul records that the risen Christ “appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve” (1 Corinthians 15:5), and John tells how Jesus later asked Peter three times, “do you love me?” and gave him the charge, “Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). Three denials were answered by three affirmations of love. Mark’s “and Peter” is the first step on that road back.
- “He goes before you into Galilee”
On the way to the Mount of Olives Jesus had warned, “All of you will be made to stumble because of me tonight, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered’” (Mark 14:27). In the same breath he promised, “However, after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee” (Mark 14:28). The shepherd who was struck now goes ahead of his scattered flock to gather them again.
Galilee was where it all began. There Jesus first preached, “The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand!” (Mark 1:14-15). Meeting them there meant a fresh start, and Matthew records that “the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them” and received the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20).
- “There you will see him, as he said to you”
The words “as he said to you” point back to Jesus’ own promises. He had told them repeatedly that he would be killed and rise again (Mark 8:31; Mark 9:31; Mark 10:34). Every word had come true, and the meeting in Galilee would come true as well.
The Significance of Mark 16:7
- Grace for those who have failed
The message “and Peter” shows that failure need not be final. The risen Lord seeks out the one who denied him. Whatever our failures, Jesus calls us back by name, and “If we are faithless, he remains faithful” (2 Timothy 2:13).
- Christ goes before his people
Jesus did not wait for the disciples to find their way back on their own; he went ahead of them. He still goes before his people into every new beginning, as the Good Shepherd who knows his sheep (John 10:11).
- God keeps his word
“As he said to you” is a reminder that Jesus’ promises are reliable. What he said about his death and resurrection happened exactly, and we can trust what he has said about the future too.
Cross-References:
Mark 14:28: "However, after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee." The promise the young man recalled.
1 Corinthians 15:5: "and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve." Peter was among the first to see the risen Lord.
John 21:17: "He said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.”" Peter restored after his denials.
Matthew 28:5-7: "Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead, and behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him.’" Matthew’s account of the same message.
Conclusion: The messenger at the tomb sent the women to tell the disciples, and Peter by name, that Jesus was going ahead of them into Galilee, where they would see him, just as he had promised. The disciples who had fled were still his disciples, and Peter, who had denied him three times, was singled out for grace. The shepherd who had been struck was gathering his scattered sheep. This verse assures every disciple who has failed that the risen Lord still calls them by name and goes before them.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible