Mark 16

Intro

Mark’s disputed ending.

Should we end at v. 8, or does the text extend to v.20?

What I want to do is take a moment to argue the merits of each. You should be able to understand why there is this textual note in your bibles.

Both endings, though they differ, would have us consider the whole of Mark in helpful ways. Both endings are attesting to the resurrection of Jesus, and therefore are dealing with the same subject matter. They are not differing and do not change any of the theology of the text.

Let’s read the endings in two sections, and let’s hear how they sound to the ear and what they are drawing to our attention, and then let’s briefly consider the merits of both endings.

I want you to know why this note is there.

But my main goal is to focus on the theme of both sections, namely the resurrection.

We will primarily focus on that today and then end by taking questions.

First, let’s read and consider the shorter ending (Mark 16:1–8)

“When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

What do you notice about the shorter ending?

Trembling and astonishment had seized them.

What will happen?

Will they tell of what they have seen? What will happen of Jesus’ message and of Jesus? The reader knows what will happen — we know that the message does get out, we know of the appearances to the disciples and the ascension, but this ending would leave us on a bit of a lingering question mark.

Many people think that this is intentional. This has been very much of Mark’s style — a tight account of everything. We don’t get nearly the details like we get in Matthew or Luke. Many think that this ending takes us to this sort of cinematic ending, the tomb is empty and the curtain falls. Death is defeated, and all of the implications of that are simply not mentioned, they are left for the reader to apply to this final scene.

The Longer Ending

Mark 16:9–20 “[[Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.]]”

The longer ending is slightly clunky. It’s as if it introduces us to Mary Magdalene in v.9, but she was already mentioned to us earlier in v.1.

It describes events and miracles that seem to have taken place in the book of Acts.

But in this longer ending we get the record of the disciples seeing the risen Christ and hearing His great commission to them.

Briefly, let me give you the common thoughts on both endings. But for our sakes, let’s spend our time looking at the focus of both: the resurrection.

Arguments for the shorter ending:

Mark for You (A Surprising Ending)

■ Mark 16:9–20 is not found in our oldest and most reliable Greek manuscripts of the New Testament (e.g., Codex Sinaiticus; Codex Vaticanus).

■ It is also not mentioned in the writings of early Christians, such as Clement of Alexandria (d. 215), Origen (d. 253), Eusebius (d. 340), or Jerome (d. 420).

■ The language is different from the rest of Mark. One of the longer endings introduces nine new words that are found nowhere in Mark, and the even longer ending has an additional 18 new words that are not found in Mark.

■ The style of the writing is also different. Mark 16:19 names Jesus as the “Lord Jesus,” a phrase which seems to come from later Christian worship.

■ It does not flow well.

■ It appears to include a random collection of signs drawn from the book of Acts.

One of the main arguments for including the long ending is that the ending in verse 8 is strangely abrupt—it does not fit. I could not disagree more.

Every time Jesus does something to demonstrate his deity in Mark’s Gospel, the response of the people is the same: fear (4:41; 5:15, 33, 36; 6:50; 9:6, 32).

As one commentator says,

“This gospel is no tame gospel. It cannot be domesticated. Fear here means something like shock and awe and sheer terror as your categories and presuppositions are blown to bits and your understanding of Jesus keeps growing and stretching and expanding.

So it is entirely fitting that Mark closes with fear. “They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (16:8). Mark is closing his account by saying, The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is an event that shatters all our categories and leaves us with shock and awe. It is both awesome and terrifying.”

Arguments for the longer ending

1. Affirmation of the Resurrection Theme (vv. 9–14)

Mark’s Gospel builds relentless anticipation toward resurrection. Three times (8:31; 9:31; 10:34) Jesus foretells He will *be killed and rise after three days.*

The longer ending completes this expectation: This fulfills Jesus’ predictions and closes the narrative tension left hanging at 16:8.

3. The Missionary Commission (vv. 15–18)

“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”

the ending *extends* what is already demonstrated throughout the Gospel—Jesus’ authority over creation, evil, and death.

4. Christ’s Exaltation (v. 19) — “The Lord Jesus”

“So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.”

* **Fulfills earlier hints:** Mark has emphasized Jesus’ divine authority—He forgives sins (2:5–12), commands storms (4:39), and receives worship (15:39). The ascension statement makes explicit what was implicit all along.

Thus, the longer ending confirms Mark’s own theological trajectory rather than introducing something foreign.

5. The Disciples’ Transformation and Mission (v. 20)

Echoes earlier narrative irony: In 1:17 Jesus calls them to become “fishers of men.” The final verse portrays that calling realized.

6. Literary and Theological Symmetry

The Longer Ending mirrors the Gospel’s beginning:

Opening: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (1:1)

Closing: “They went out and preached everywhere.” (16:20)

Together, these form a literary inclusio: the *beginning* of the gospel continues in the disciples’ proclamation, implying that the story goes on through the Church.

Wide manuscript attestation

The longer ending (16:9-20) appears in the vast majority of later Greek manuscripts (often cited as “over 99 %” of extant Greek manuscripts) as well as the majority of ancient translations.

Supporters argue that the sheer volume of manuscripts including the longer ending gives positive weight to its authenticity.

Early patristic evidence

Some early Christian writers appear to reference or quote material that corresponds to the longer ending. For example, Irenaeus (c. 180 AD) cites words from 16:19 (“…he was received up into heaven and sits on the right hand of God”) in Against Heresies.

Advocates of authenticity argue that this shows the longer ending was known and treated as canonical in the early church.

No major doctrinal problem or obvious conflict

The longer ending does not introduce radically new doctrine or contradictory theology (according to proponents) and so it can plausibly be part of the Gospel’s narrative flow.

Some argue that textual‐critical methods (e.g., how many “new” words appear) give no decisive internal proof against it: for example one analysis notes that 17 words in 16:9-20 are unique to this section, but the preceding section (Mark 15:44-16:8) has a similar number of unique words—so the argument from “unfamiliar vocabulary” is not, by itself, decisive.

Walking Through The Text:

Mark 16:1 “When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.”

Everyone observes the Sabbath after the crucifixion, even Jesus. It’s the middle day where He rests.

They bring the spices because they think that his body will decay and begin to smell.

It shows that they were not thinking about the resurrection.

Perhaps Jesus body wasn’t anointed for burial in this way because Joseph was in a hurry.

We know from Mark 14:3-9 that Jesus says that His body has been preserved for burial by the woman’s act before His death. In other words, it was done while it could be done. The hour for that has now passed.

Mark 16:3–4 “And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large.”

It’s a good picture for the power of the resurrection. Who will be able to remove this impossible obstacle in our way? Who can open this pathway from death? When they arrive there, they find that the problem has already been solved for them.

Mark 16:5–6 “And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.”

“For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psalm 30:5, ESV)

Think of the phrase from this angel: “Come in further, see the place where they laid him”

This is often a neglected practice by us. The follows are to come in to look and observe. The obvious irony is that what they are looking for is not there. And that’s the point. Not seeing Jesus there does help us to see so much about our own lives in Christ. He is not there; He is alive. Death has been defeated. Death wasn’t the last word. The penalty of sin, the wages of sin, have been paid in full. The scariest thing in our life has been relieved of its sting. We should heed the call of the angel much more — to come further in the emptiness of the tomb.

Jesus is justified and resurrected is the basis for our justification and resurrection.

And if Jesus didn’t die in a real tomb in this real world on some spot six thousand miles from here and then rise from the dead then we are trapped, stuck, and without hope. You can wax eloquent all you want about love and forgiveness, but it means nothing. Paul says if this isn’t true then eat, drink, and be merry. Live for the moment, have a few experiences, distract yourself from what’s gnawing at your soul the best you can and don’t expect too much. And that is a terribly embarrassing and pitiful way to live.

But Jesus did rise from the grave.

But the fact that He did rise from the dead in our world means that your sins can be truly forgiven. It means that those whom we have lost in death can be raised to life. It means that this world with all of its brokenness can and will be made new.

This is what so many in the 19th and 20th century pushed for. That there was plenty of good to learn from Christianity, but that any claim that it was actually true was naive, superstitious, and silly.

Paul says, “No. It is of first importance that you remember the authenticity of the resurrection.” And here’s the reason why: It is absolutely and essentially necessary.

If you have a fictional resurrection then you have fictional forgiveness.

If Christ didn’t rise from the dead then you are still in your sins

Why we call Sunday the Lord’s day instead of Saturday.

Mark 16:7–8 “7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

This command is the first time that Jesus’ followers are told to tell something about him. The crucifixion and the resurrection, therefore, mark a turning point. There is no need for silence or secrets now (see 9:9). As Marcus points out, “Whereas before those events Jesus commanded secrecy and open proclamation was disobedience, now Jesus commands open proclamation and secrecy is disobedience.”

David E. Garland, Mark, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 614.

This special nod to Peter hints at his full restoration despite his extraordinary breach of faith. Jesus does not give up on his disciples, no matter how great their failure or how many their faults.

The women might have been specifically commanded to tell Peter because he was not to be found with the other 10 disciples. It’s possible that he has fled even the company of his companions in his shame.

Jesus is going before you. Not just in time, as in he will arrive before you, but also out in front before you. Just as he led the nervous and ignorant disciples into Jerusalem from out front, He now leads the redeemed and the church from out front. Christ the victor is out front, leading the way.

{Parable of the Sower}

For Mark’s story to have finished with ten of the Twelve as deserters, one a traitor, and Peter blasphemously dissociating himself from Jesus would have undone all that Mark has tried to do. But in v. 7 (and still more in the account of their reunion with Jesus which I think Mark intended to follow) we come to know that all will yet be well. The hidden growth of the seed has not been thwarted

R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2002), 676.

Questions

Mark for You Questions for Reflection

Of everything you have learned in Mark’s Gospel, what do you most want to remember? How will you make sure you remember it?