Mark 16:4 (LSB)

Passage

And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was very large.

Nearby Context

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

Mark 16:3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”

Mark 16:4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was very large.

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

Mark 16:6 And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, the place where they laid Him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "looking", "stone", "been", "rolled", "away", "although", "very", and "large". 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 to one another..." into verse 5's "And entering the tomb they saw a...", 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.