Mark 16:4 (ASV)

Passage

and looking up, they see that the stone is rolled back: for it was exceeding great.

Nearby Context

Mark 16:2 And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen.

Mark 16:3 And they were saying among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb?

Mark 16:4 and looking up, they see that the stone is rolled back: for it was exceeding great.

Mark 16:5 And entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, arrayed in a white robe; and they were amazed.

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!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "looking", "stone", "rolled", "back", "exceeding", and "great". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "looking" and "stone", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And they were saying among themselves Who..." into verse 5's "And entering into the tomb they saw...", so "looking" and "stone" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "looking" and "stone" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.