The Short Ending in Mark!
16 When the
Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought
spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very
early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way
to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll
the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”4 But when they
looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled
away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man
dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 “Don’t
be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was
crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid
him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going
ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”8 Trembling
and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to
anyone, because they were afraid.
Bible scholars generally agree there are two endings to the gospel of Mark.
Verses 1-8 above, and verses 9-20 which is usually present in most all bibles
you will read. You can see they are similar, but there are more details
in the longer ending. Mark is regarded as the earliest gospel written
around 60-70 A.D. Matthew and Luke took material from Mark's gospel and cut and
pasted into their own gospel.
General agreement is that
Matthew and Luke's gospels were written between 70 - 80 A.D. I personally
like the shorter ending of Mark because it leaves a lot of suspense as to what
is going to happen next.In some ways it doesn't matter, but if it is true
Mark's ending is quite interesting. After all the women are the only ones
who are told by the angel that Jesus is not there and has risen from the dead.
And they are to go at once and tell Peter and the other disciples.
What is most intriguing to me is the ending is abrupt and not very
promising. Not only did they leave in fear, but they also told NO ONE!
Not exactly what the angel had commanded them to do.
But when you think about it, it makes sense. I mean angels were not the
cute little angels portrayed on Precious Moments cards. They were
intimidating. Add the fact they were not exactly expecting the tomb to be
empty, and you can see why they felt a combination of fear, trembling and
bewilderment. I like Mark's shorter ending because it is not all neatly
tied up in a bow. We wonder what happened next. Did the other disciples
find out? How did they react? Did the Jesus movement die out and
was it resurrected like Jesus?
Fortunately, we know the women did tell the men and they went and had their own
encounter with the empty tomb. And later Jesus appeared to several of
them before he ascended back into heaven. But today on the day they first
came to the tomb and heard the angel's words, "He is not here he is
risen", they were afraid. Sometimes the bible is messy and I'm okay
with that.
16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Bible scholars generally agree there are two endings to the gospel of Mark. Verses 1-8 above, and verses 9-20 which is usually present in most all bibles you will read. You can see they are similar, but there are more details in the longer ending. Mark is regarded as the earliest gospel written around 60-70 A.D. Matthew and Luke took material from Mark's gospel and cut and pasted into their own gospel.
But when you think about it, it makes sense. I mean angels were not the cute little angels portrayed on Precious Moments cards. They were intimidating. Add the fact they were not exactly expecting the tomb to be empty, and you can see why they felt a combination of fear, trembling and bewilderment. I like Mark's shorter ending because it is not all neatly tied up in a bow. We wonder what happened next. Did the other disciples find out? How did they react? Did the Jesus movement die out and was it resurrected like Jesus?
Fortunately, we know the women did tell the men and they went and had their own encounter with the empty tomb. And later Jesus appeared to several of them before he ascended back into heaven. But today on the day they first came to the tomb and heard the angel's words, "He is not here he is risen", they were afraid. Sometimes the bible is messy and I'm okay with that.
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