“Then he appeared to the eleven themselves, while they were eating, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen him resurrected. He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”
— Mark 16:14-15
“These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; they will pick up snakes with their hands, and whatever poison they drink will not harm them; they will place their hands on the sick and they will be well.””
— Mark 16:17-18
Mark ends at 16:8
External evidence: ℵ B 304 sys sams armmss Eus Eusmss Hiermss.
- Sinaiticus and Vaticanus testimony here are huge.
- Clement of Alexandria and Origen do not know of these verses.
- Eusebius and Jerome affirm that Mark ends at 16:8 in all manuscript that they know.
Internal arguments:
Vocabulary and style not like Mark (this is a double-edged sword when it comes to determining authorship and authenticity of books/sections of books). But the data is as follows: ἀπιστέω, βλάπτω,
βεβαιόω, ἐπακολουθέω, θεάομαι, μετά ταῦτα, πορεύομαι, συνεργέω, ὕστερον are found nowhere else
in Mark. One word (θανάσιμον) and phrase referring to disciples (τοῖς μετ΄αὐτο γενομένοις) would only
occur here in the entire NT.
The connection between vv. 8 and 9 is awkward at best. Mary Magdalene is "reintroduced." Jesus is
assumed to be the new subject, when the entire chapter has been about the women.
The principles of text criticism (reasoned eclecticism, at least) would presume that it's much easier to assume the text grew over time. Scribes would see an abrupt ending and add to the text than see a nice, rounded ending to Mark and cut it out.
Either shorter or longer ending of Mark
Shorter reading: “They reported briefly to those around Peter all that they had been commanded.
After these things Jesus himself sent out through them, from the east to the west, the holy and
imperishable preaching of eternal salvation. Amen.”
External evidence:
Short + Long ending: L Ψ 083 099 0112 579 al
vv 9-20 after v. 8: A C D W [which has a different shorter ending between vv. 14 and 15] Θ ƒ13 33 2427 Majority lat syc, p, h bo
Internal arguments: f
So what happened to the ending of Mark?
(1) the Gospel was never finished; hmm...unlikely. I mean, Mark could have been receiving persecution
and never been able to finish. But there has to be better options.
(2) the last leaf of the gospel was lost prior to copying. Unlikely, because it would have been written on
a scroll. The last section of Mark would have been the most protected. There were no "leaves" until the
codex/book was invented centuries later.
(3) The author intentionally ended the Gospel here. Believe it or not, this fits Marks modus operandi.
Mark loves mystery in his gospel and challenging the reader. Nothing better than basically leaving the reader with sense of wonder after most amazing event and the basic question, “Will you believe, and how will you respond?”
Conclusion:
I definitely lean towards the manuscript evidence that does not include vv. 9-20 of chapter 16. There’s both internal evidence in these verses and external (stronger manuscript) support for Mark ending at v. 8, even though it leaves the gospel “open” per se.
Just because verses are not original does not mean events they discuss didn’t happen. E.g., I still think the woman caught in adultery (beginning of John 8) sounds like something very much like Jesus would do.
V. 14 doesn’t sound like Jesus, especially post resurrection, but it could have happened. The “accompanying signs” have inspired many church practices in various denominations but we can argue about that another time.
Some even say the “Great commission” has been fulfilled bc from Jesus and disciples’ perspective, taking gospel to “ends of earth” has happened. Was Jesus really thinking of every people group? I don’t know. It’s possible and every nation certainly needs to hear the gospel. But I don’t think anything is hindering Jesus’ return.
What’s our responsibility now? Love others. Make disciples. Serve sacrificially. Show hope where there is none.
