Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 16:6

"And he saith unto them, Be not amazed: ye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who hath been crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold, the place where they laid him!" — Mark 16:6 (ASV)

The women’s fright was calmed by words of reassurance: “Don’t be alarmed.” The angel knew whom they were seeking—Jesus of Nazareth. He then spoke the revelatory word, “He has risen!” and invited them to see the evidence of the empty tomb. An empty tomb, of course, invites the question, What happened to the body of Jesus? There had to be a word from God to interpret the meaning of the empty tomb, and the angel was God’s gracious provision. The explanation is Resurrection! Across the centuries many other explanations have been proposed: the body of Jesus was stolen; the women came to the wrong tomb; Jesus did not actually die on the cross but walked out of the tomb; etc. Some of them have had success with skeptics. But the only adequate explanation is still what the angel said to the women who were at the tomb on the first Easter morning: “He has risen!”