Mark 16:8

And they went out, and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them: and they said nothing to any one; for they were afraid.

Trembling and astonishment had come upon them ... These graphic words indicate dramatically the soul-shocking nature of the truth those women had just learned. The mystery and heart-stopping meaning of what they had come to know was as devastating a body of information as mortals ever received; and the implications of it are enough to challenge and awe any man who ever contemplated it. Christ is eternal; he came out of the grave; he ever lives to save and redeem men, and to judge them! The powers of hell itself trembled at the significance of what those women became suddenly aware of; and there can be no marvel that they were afraid.

Of extreme importance is the fact that women played such a large part in the drama unfolded that day, a fact so utterly out of harmony with anything in Judaism, or the whole ancient world, that it stands as independent and conclusive proof of the new dimensions in which the faith of Jesus Christ came to mankind, being a thing, as Cranfield noted, "which the early church would not be likely to invent."[4]

And they said nothing to any one ... This fearful reticence was a testimony to the greatness of the revelation that had come to them. The silence on their part was not for long. As Sanner said, "It was a different matter, later, when understanding brought a surge of joy (Matthew 28:8; Luke 24:9)."[5]

For they were sore afraid ... Such fear was natural, arising not merely from conversation with an angel of the Highest, but also from the shattering impact of the information imparted to them.

[4] C. E. B. Cranfield, op. cit., p. 463.

[5] A. Elwood Sanner, Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1964), P. 413.