Mark 16:14 Meaning and Explanation
“Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Jesus appears to the eleven at the table and rebukes their unbelief and hardness of heart for refusing the witnesses who had seen him risen.
What Does Mark 16:14 Mean?
At last the risen Lord stands before the eleven themselves, finding them at an ordinary meal. His first recorded word to the gathered group is rebuke — not for abandoning him at the cross, but for hard-hearted refusal to believe those he had sent with the news.
It is striking that Jesus treats trusting faithful testimony as a duty, not an optional extra. Most who come to know the resurrection meet it the way the eleven first did — through the word of witnesses (John 20:29; 1 Peter 1:8). And the rebuke is itself mercy: he does not write off the hard-hearted. He comes to them, corrects them, and in the next breath entrusts them with his message for the whole world.
Mark 16:14 in the Original Language
sklerokardia (σκληροκαρδία), 'hardness of heart' -- a heart grown stiff and unyielding, slow to be moved.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mark 16:14
What does Mark 16:14 mean?
Jesus appears to the eleven at the table and rebukes their unbelief and hardness of heart for refusing the witnesses who had seen him risen.