Mark 16:13
And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
Original Language Analysis
ἀπελθόντες
went
G565
ἀπελθόντες
went
Strong's:
G565
Word #:
2 of 8
to go off (i.e., depart), aside (i.e., apart) or behind (i.e., follow), literally or figuratively
τοῖς
G3588
τοῖς
Strong's:
G3588
Word #:
4 of 8
the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in english idiom)
Cross References
John 20:25The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.John 20:8Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.Luke 16:31And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Historical Context
The early church preserved these embarrassing details about apostolic unbelief, arguing for honest historical transmission. If fabricating the story, why portray the apostles as stubborn skeptics? This matches Luke 24:36-43 where Jesus had to eat fish to prove He wasn't a ghost. First-century readers facing persecution needed to know even the apostles struggled to believe.
Questions for Reflection
- Why does God permit repeated testimony to be disbelieved before granting direct encounter?
- How does others' unbelief affect your own faith testimony—do you accommodate doubt or proclaim truth?
- What "residue" of unbelief lingers in your heart despite abundant evidence of Christ's work?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
They went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them (κἀκεῖνοι ἀπελθόντες ἀπήγγειλαν τοῖς λοιποῖς· οὐδὲ ἐκείνοις ἐπίστευσαν, kakeinoi apelthontes apēngeilan tois loipois; oude ekeinois episteusan)—the residue (τοῖς λοιποῖς, "the remaining ones") means the rest of the disciples. The emphatic double negative οὐδὲ ἐκείνοις ("not even those") stresses stubborn unbelief even after multiple witnesses.
This repeated disbelief (cf. v.11) isn't mentioned to praise skepticism but to show human hardness requiring divine intervention. Even multiplied testimony couldn't penetrate their despair and doubt. Only Jesus' personal appearance and rebuke (v.14) broke through. The pattern continues: head-knowledge about resurrection differs vastly from heart-transforming encounter with the Risen Lord.