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Mark 16

Gospel of Mark

Mark 16 is the final chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It begins with the discovery of the empty tomb by Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James who might or might not be Mary the mother of Jesus, and Salome — there they encounter a man dressed in white who announces Jesus' resurrection. After a brief series of resurrection appearances to Mary Magdalene, two disciples, then the Eleven (the Twelve Apostles minus Judas) the text concludes with the Great Commission and the Ascension.

There is scholarly debate concerning the final twelve verses (16:9-20), since two fourth-century Greek manuscripts end at Mark 16:8,[1] and another Old Latin manuscript has a different, shorter ending. Some seventh-to-ninth-century Greek manuscripts have minor variations on this shorter ending. Furthermore, linguistic and stylistic differences between the concluding canonical verses 9-20 (often called the "longer ending") and the rest of the Gospel have been regarded by some scholars as enough to doubt their authenticity. Verse 8 ends with the women fleeing from the empty tomb, and saying "nothing to anyone, because they were afraid." The "shorter ending" concludes with a passage on Christ's destruction of both sin and the power of Satan.

The empty tomb

The Edicule of the Holy Sepulchre (The alleged empty Tomb of Christ) with the dome of the rotunda visible above.
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The Edicule of the Holy Sepulchre (The alleged empty Tomb of Christ) with the dome of the rotunda visible above.
The Stone of the Anointing, believed to be the place where Jesus' body was prepared for burial.
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The Stone of the Anointing, believed to be the place where Jesus' body was prepared for burial.


See also: Empty tomb and Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Mark says the Sabbath is now over and Mary Magdalene, another Mary, and Salome, mentioned in Mark 15:40, come to anoint Jesus' body, which Luke 24:1 agrees with. John 19:40 seems to say that Nicodemus had already anointed his body. John 20:1 and Matthew 28:1 simply say Mary went to the tomb, not why.

The women wonder how they will remove the stone over the tomb. Upon their arrival, they find the stone already gone and go into the tomb. This shows that, according to Mark, they did not expect to find a resurrected but a dead Jesus.[2] They find a "young" man dressed in a white robe who tells them:

"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. 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' " (6–7).

The white robe might be a sign that the young man is a messenger from God.[3] Matthew 28:5 describes him as an angel. According to Luke there were two men. John says there were two angels, but that Mary saw them after finding the empty tomb and showing it to the other disciples. She comes back to the tomb, talks to the angels, and then Jesus appears to her.

Mark uses the word neaniskos for young, a word he used to describe the man who fled at Jesus' arrest in Mark 14:51–52.[4] Jesus had predicted his resurrection and returning to Galilee during the Last Supper in Mark 14:28. Mark uses the passive verb form ēgerthē — translated "he was raised," indicating God raised him from the dead,[5] rather than "he is risen" translated in the NIV.[6]

The women, who are afraid, then flee and keep quiet about what they saw. Fear is the most common human reaction to the divine presence in the Bible.[7] This is where the undisputed part of Mark's Gospel ends. Jesus is thus announced to have been resurrected from the dead and to have gone into Galilee. It is probable that Mark's intended readers already knew the traditions of Jesus' appearances, and that Mark leaves the story here to highlight the resurrection and leave anticipation of the parousia.[8] Some have argued that this announcement of the resurrection and Jesus going to Galilee is the parousia (see also Preterism), but Raymond E. Brown argues that a parousia confined only to Galilee is improbable.[9] Gospel writer Mark gives no description of the resurrected Jesus, perhaps because Mark did not want to try to describe the nature of the divine resurrected Jesus.[10] Brown argues this ending is consistent with Mark's theology, where even miracles, such as the resurrection, do not produce the proper understanding or faith among Jesus' followers.[11] Having the women run away afraid is contrasted in the reader's mind with Jesus' appearances and statements which help confirm the expectation, built up in 8:31, 9:31, 10:34, and Jesus' prediction during the Last Supper of his rising after his death.[12]

Jesus' appearances and his ascension into Heaven

See also: Resurrection appearances of Jesus and Ascension

The book then describes Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene who is now described as someone whom Jesus healed from possession by seven demons. She tells the other disciples what she saw but no one believes her. Jesus' appearances to Mary are also found in Matthew 28:9–10, Luke 24:10–11, and John 20:14–18.

Then Jesus appears "in a different form" to two unnamed disciples. They, too, are disbelieved when they tell what they saw. Jesus appearing to two disciples is also in Luke 24:13–35.

Jesus then appears at dinner to all the remaining eleven Apostles. He rebukes them for not believing the earlier reports of his resurrection and then gives them instructions to go and preach his message and heal others (see also the Great Commission. Those who believe — those who are baptised and according to the book are "saved" — will speak in "tongues." Tongues could be the languages of the various Christian communities. It could also be glossolalia. They will also be able to handle snakes (see also Acts 28:3–6), be immune from poison, and will be able to heal the sick. These could be assertions Early Christians made about powers they claimed their new faith gave them.[13] Those who do not believe will be condemned. By stating this and showing the examples of unjustified unbelief, this could be attempts to convince the reader to rely on what the disciples preached about Jesus.[14]

"The Ascension of Our Lord," by John LaFarge (1835–1910)
"The Ascension of Our Lord," by John LaFarge (1835–1910)

Jesus appearing and talking to the disciples is also recorded in Matthew 28:16–20, Luke 24:36–43, and John 20:19–29. Jesus' fighting against unbelief and the negative portrait of the disciples is in keeping with the themes of Mark.[15]

Jesus then is taken up into Heaven where Mark claims he sits at the right hand of God. The right hand is seen as the position of power. Jesus quoted Psalm 110:1 in Mark 11 about the Lord sitting at the right hand of God

After the ascension, his Eleven then went out and preached "everywhere." Several signs from God accompanied their preaching. His ascension is also recorded in Luke 24:50–51 and in the Acts of the Apostles 1:9–11. Where these things happened is not stated, but one could presume they took place in Galilee. Luke, however, has this happening in Jerusalem.

Hypotheses regarding the Ending

The final twelve verses, 16:9-20, are not present in two fourth-century Greek manuscripts, the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus.[16] The only other Greek manuscript without the ending is a twelfth century commentary on Matthew and Mark, known as "304".[17] As such, verses 9-20 are present in 99% of the Greek manuscripts.[18] However, Sinaiticus and Vaticanus are generally highly valued as a witness to the autograph of Mark due to their antiquity. Because of this, and also because of linguistic and stylistic differences between these verses and the rest of the Gospel, there has resulted scholarly debate concerning the authenticity of these passages and the original ending of the Gospel.

Another, shorter ending is found in an Old Latin manuscript of Mark. Some seventh-to-ninth-century Greek manuscripts have minor variations on this shorter ending (in addition to also giving the "longer ending").

Theories on how to explain the textual variations are:

  • Mark intentionally ended his Gospel at 16:8, and someone else (at an early date) wrote the concluding lines.
  • Mark did not intend to end at 16:8, but was somehow prevented from finishing (perhaps by his own death), whereupon another person finished the work.
  • The Gospel originally contained a different (perhaps similar) ending that was lost, for one reason or another, whereafter the current ending was added.
  • Verses 16:9-20 are authentic, and were omitted or lost from the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus for one reason or another, perhaps accidental, perhaps intentional.

The Longer Ending

Critical questions concerning the authenticity of verses 9-20 (the "longer ending") often centre around stylistic and linguistic issues. On linguistics, E. P. Gould identified 19 of the 163 words in the passage as distinctive and not occurring elsewhere in the Gospel,[19] and from this it must be determined whether the occurrence of such new vocabulary is sufficient to argue against authenticity. Mitigating against this is the rather plentiful use of other unique and idiosyncratic terms and phrases throughout Mark.[20]

The final sentence in v.8 is regarded as strange by some scholars. In the Greek text it finishes with the conjunction γαρ (gar, 'for'). It is contended by those who see 16:9–20 as originally Markan that γαρ literally means because, and this ending to v.8 is therefore not grammatically coherent (literally, it would read they were afraid because). However, others say this objection misunderstands the nature of the Greek language. Since Greek is an inflexive language as opposed to a syntactic language, such as English, word order is not as important. (Compare Grammar in Greek language and Grammar in English language.) Although γαρ is never the first word of a sentence, there is no such rule that states it can never be the last word, though it is very rare for a book to end with γαρ. Mark also used γαρ as part of an ending comment in 6:52.

The issue of γαρ aside, the grammar of v.8 is still considered by some to be odd, as the verb φοβεομαι (phobeomai, 'I fear') has no object. Robert Gundry mentions that only 10% of Mark's γαρ clauses — 6 out of 66 — conclude pericopes (Mark: A Commentary on His Apology for the Cross, Chapters 9–16). As such, this statistic favours the view that, rather than concluding 16:1–8, v.8 begins a new pericope, the rest of which is now lost to us. Gundry therefore does not see v.8 as the intended ending; a resurrection narrative was either written, then lost, or planned but never actually written.

Concerning style, the degree to which verses 9-20 aptly fit as an ending for the Gospel remains in question. The turn from verse 8 to 9 has also been seen as abrupt and interrupted: the narrative flows from "they were afraid" to "now after he rose", and seems to reintroduce Mary Magdalene. Secondly, Mark regularly identifies instances where Jesus' prophecies are fulfilled, yet Mark does not explicitly state the twice predicted reconciliation of Jesus with his disciples in Galilee (Mark 14:28, 16:7). Lastly, the active tense "he rose" is different from the earlier passive construction "[he] has been risen" of verse 6, seen as significant by some.[21]

The manuscript record has already been briefly examined, with the observation made that the "longer ending" exists in every ancient Greek manuscript excepting Sinaiticus and Vaticanus. The passage is also present in numerous early lectionaries, and is witnessed in important patristic quotations.[22] Particularly, two second century Church Fathers witness the longer ending: Justin Martyr, who shows influence from Mark 16:20, and Irenaeus, who quotes from 16:19.[23]

According to T. C. Skeat, both manuscripts Sinaiticus and Vaticanus were produced from the same scriptorium, which would mean that they represent only one textual tradition, rather than serving as two independant witnesses of an earlier text type that ends at 16:8.[24] Skeat argued that they were produced as part of Eusebius' responce to the request of Constantine for copies of the scriptures for churches in Constantinople,[25] leading to speculation that the ending may have been suppressed for political reasons.[26] More benign notions would have the passage being excluded for linguistic, philological, or other critical reasons. Whatever the case, it helps make sense out of Eusebius's curious statement that verses 9-20 were absent from the "accurate copies".

Though various conclusions from this data abound (listed above), perhaps the most common conclusion is that verses 9-20 are unautographic, though they represent a very early addition. This conclusion, however, leaves unresolved the question of the original ending of Mark - namely, whether the author intended to conclude at verse 8. This verse ends in a highly unusual grammatical construction, with the final word γαρ (gar, 'for') being a conjunction. It is exceedingly rare for a book to end with γαρ. Likewise, the verb φοβεομαι (phobeomai, 'I fear') has no object. Lastly, that verse 8 ends on a note of fear has been regarded by some, notably Bruce Metzger, are a very inappropriate way to end an account of the "Good News".[27] Given this, though some scholars consider the original ending to have been verse 8, many argue that Mark never intended such a conclusion: either he planned another ending that was never written, or the original ending has been lost. C. H. Turner argued that the original version of the Gospel could have been a codex, with the last page being especially vulnerable to damage. Whatever the case, many scholars, including Rudolf Bultmann, have concluded that the Gospel most likely ended with a Galilean resurrection appearance and the reconciliation of Jesus with the Eleven,[28] even if verses 9-20 are unautographic.

Verses 9-20 themselves are not unique in their content. Each point can be found in other passages in the New Testament:

Among those scholars who hold that verses 16:9-20 are unauthentic, there is debate as to whether the autographic text ended at verse 8, or whether it originally containted a different, now lost ending. Jesus' vindication by resurrection from the dead is explicitly foreshadowed earlier in the Gospel,[30] leading many scholars, including Rudolf Bultmann, to conclude that the Gospel most likely ended with a Galilean resurrection appearance and the reconciliation of Jesus with the Eleven.[31] Likewise, among those who conclude that the autographic text ended at 16:8, there is debate as to whether this was the intent of the author, or if he was somehow hindered from concluding his work, since some scholars consider that verse 8 would have been a highly inappropriate way to end the Gospel. Bruce M. Metzger wrote that he "cannot believe that the note of fear would have been regarded as an appropriate conclusion to an account of the Evangel or Good News."[32] Bible scholar Daniel J. Harrington maintains that the longer ending is probably a second century compilation of resurrection stories mostly found in Luke 24 and some from John 20.[33] However, John J. Kilgallen believes they were more likely composed in the first century.[34]

The Shorter Ending

And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. (NRSV)

Some manuscripts conclude Mark's Gospel with what is known as the shorter ending (or intermediate ending) shown above. This ending is found in several uncial manuscripts of the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries, as well as a few minuscule manuscripts and some older Coptic and Ethiopian texts. As well as this, some manuscripts containing the shorter ending then follow it with the longer ending, such as the Codices Bobbensis and Regius of the 8th century.

The Freer Logion and expanded endings

A version of the text found by Freer in Egypt is thought to date from the 5th century. It has an ending that was not attested elsewhere when it was discovered. This ending is thus known as the Freer Logion:

Afterward Jesus appeared to the eleven as they reclined at table and reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen him after he arose.
The eleven made an excuse: "This age of lawlessness and unbelief is controlled by Satan, who, by means of unclean spirits, doesn't allow the truth to be known. So," they said to Christ, "reveal your righteousness now!"
Christ replied to them, "The measure of Satan's years of power is filled up, although other fearful things draw nigh to those for whom I, because of their sin, was delivered to death, that they might turn back and not sin anymore so that they might inherit the imperishable, spiritual glory of righteousness in heaven."

A variation on the Freer Logion, cited by Jerome, has been found in Codex Washingtonianus. It replaces Mark 16:15–20 of the standard Longer Ending:

And they excused themselves, saying, "This age of lawlessness and unbelief is under Satan, who does not allow the truth and power of God to prevail over the unclean things of the spirits [or: does not allow what lies under the unclean spirits to understand the truth and power of God]. Therefore reveal thy righteousness now" — thus they spoke to Christ.
And Christ replied to them, "The term of years of Satan's power has been fulfilled, but other terrible things draw near. And for those who have sinned I was delivered over to death, that they may inherit the spiritual and incorruptible glory of righteousness which is in heaven
-Translation from Bruce Metzger's Textual Commentary on the Greek NT

Mark 16 and reading in the ancient world

In the ancient world, reading was not the activity it is today. Rather than someone silently reading a book on their own, Mark's Gospel, like other ancient literature, would have been read out loud by someone to a group of people. The low literacy rates in the ancient world demanded that such an approach to reading be taken (see Oral history). Thus, reading would have involved an interaction between the reader(s) and the hearer(s).

If Mark's Gospel, as is postulated by some (notably Beavis, Mark's Audience, pp. 45–67, 167–73), had an evangelistic and teaching purpose, this interactive nature of ancient world reading starts to provide another theory for the ending of Mark. Given that the longer and shorter endings are seen by the overwhelming majority of text critics as not originally part of Mark (see below), these endings can be seen as reader's responses and reactions to what Mark's gospel tells us about the person of Christ. Specifically, the longer ending is a response by a person or community familiar with the other Gospels and Acts, especially Luke-Acts (see above). From this perspective, then, 16:8 starts to look like an intentional ending — and the acceptance of the longer ending is an indication of the general theological direction in which early Christians saw Mark's Gospel headed. [citation needed]

Scholarly conclusions

Many contemporary New Testament textual critics have concluded that neither the longer nor shorter endings were originally part of Mark's Gospel, though the evidence of the early church fathers above shows that the longer ending had become accepted tradition by second century. The United Bible Societies' 4th edition of the Greek New Testament (1993) rates the omission of verses 9–20 from the original Markan manuscript as "certain." Baptist New Testament scholar Dr. Frank Stagg labels verses 9–20 as "spurious." He allows for the possibility that there was a now-lost ending which told of an appearance of Jesus to the women.[35] For this reason, many modern Bibles decline to print the longer ending of Mark together with the rest of the gospel. Because of its historical importance and prominence, it is often included as a footnote or an appendix alongside the shorter ending.

A handful of scholars, particularly those in traditionalist or fundamentalist traditions, argue that the evidence is insufficient to justify its exclusion or that the evidence in fact supports its inclusion. However, in biblical scholarship, changes and advances due to creative detective work and new discoveries have a long past history of proceeding with caution very slowly. The almost unanimous conclusion of the inauthenticity of the ending(s) of Mark should be seriously considered.

Theological implications

Very few doctrines of the mainline Christian denominations stand or fall on the support of the longer ending of Mark. The longer ending does identify Mary Magdalene as the woman out of whom Jesus had exorcised seven demons (but so does Luke 8:2), but Mary Magdalene's significance, and the practice of exorcism, are both supported by New Testament texts outside the debated passage.

The longer ending of Mark 16 is of considerable significance in Pentecostalism and other denominations:

  • Mark 16:16 is cited as evidence for the requirement of believer's baptism among churches of the Restoration Movement.
  • Mark 16:17 is specifically cited as Biblical support for some of these denominations' teachings concerning exorcism and spiritual warfare, and also in support of speaking in tongues.
  • The practice of snake handling and of drinking strychnine and other poisons, found in a few offshoots of Pentecostalism, find their Biblical support in Mark 16:18. These churches typically justify these practices as "confirming the word with signs following" (KJV), which references Mark 16:20. Other denominations believe that these texts indicate the power of the Holy Spirit given to the apostles, but do not believe that they are recommendations for worship.

The longer ending was declared canonical scripture by the Council of Trent. Today, however,Roman Catholics are not required to believe that Mark wrote this ending.[36]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ D. C. Parker, The Living Text of the Gospels (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), p. 125; a twelfth century commentary on Matthew and Mark also ends at 16:8.
  2. ^ Kilgallen, p. 297
  3. ^ Kilgallen, p. 300
  4. ^ Brown et al., p. 629
  5. ^ "God raised him [Jesus] from the dead" Acts 2:24, Romans 10:9, 1 Cor 15:15; also Acts 2:31–32, 3:15, 3:26, 4:10, 5:30, 10:40–41, 13:30, 13:34, 13:37, 17:30–31, 1 Cor 6:14, 2 Cor 4:14, Gal 1:1, Eph 1:20, Col 2:12, 1 Thess 1:10, Heb 13:20, 1 Pet 1:3, 1:21
  6. ^ See for example Mark 16:6 in the NRSV) and in the creeds. Brown et al., p. 629 (Greek distinguished passive from middle voice in the aorist tense used here.)
  7. ^ Kilgallen, p. 300
  8. ^ Brown et al., p. 628
  9. ^ Brown, p. 148
  10. ^ Kilgallen, p. 303
  11. ^ Kilgallen, p. 148
  12. ^ Miller, p. 52
  13. ^ Kilgallen, p. 309
  14. ^ Brown, p. 149
  15. ^ Kilgallen, p. 308
  16. ^ D. C. Parker, The Living Text of the Gospels (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), p. 125.
  17. ^ D. C. Parker, The Living Text of the Gospels (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), p. 125.
  18. ^ Kurt and Barbara Aland, The Text of the New Testament: An introduction of the critical editions and to the theory and practice of modern textual criticism, 2nd ed., trans. E. F. Rhodes (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), p. 292.
  19. ^ E. P. Gould, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to St. Mark (New York: Charles Scribner's Press, 1896), p. 303.
  20. ^ One Gospel from Two, Mark's Use of Matthew and Luke ed. Peabody, Cope, and McNicol (Trinity Press International, 2002), p. 334.
  21. ^ Kilgallen, p. 306.
  22. ^ J. K. Elliott, The Text and Language of the Endings to Mark's Gospel: An Edition of C. H. Turner's "Notes on Marcan Usage" Together with Other Comparable Studies (NovTest Sup 71; Leiden: Brill, 1993), pp. 203-211.
  23. ^ J. Kelhoffer, Miracles and Mission (Tubingin: Mohr Siebeck, 2000); One Gospel from Two, Mark's Use of Matthew and Luke ed. Peabody, Cope, and McNicol (Trinity Press International, 2002), p. 330; Justin's reference is in Apol.., i.45; Irenaeus is in Haer. 3.10.5.
  24. ^ T. C. Skeat, "The Codex Sinaiticus, the Codex Vaticanus, and Constantine", in Journal of Theological Studies 50 (1999), 583-625.
  25. ^ T. C. Skeat, "The Codex Sinaiticus, the Codex Vaticanus, and Constantine", in Journal of Theological Studies 50 (1999), 604-609.
  26. ^ One Gospel from Two, Mark's Use of Matthew and Luke ed. Peabody, Cope, and McNicol (Trinity Press International, 2002), p. 331: "The claims of Mk 16:17-18 would hardly sit well among the literate classes who were being co-copted in Constantine's policy of Christianization of the Empire.".
  27. ^ Bruce M. Metzger, The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration (London/New York: Oxford University Press, 1964), p. 228.
  28. ^ R. Bultmann, History of the Synoptic Tradition pp. 284-286.
  29. ^ Perseus verb parser on anastas
  30. ^ e.g. Mark 8:31, 9:9, 9:33, 10:33-34, 14:28, 14:62, etc.); see One Gospel from Two, Mark's Use of Matthew and Luke ed. Peabody, Cope, and McNicol (Trinity Press International, 2002), p. 329.
  31. ^ R. Bultmann, History of the Synoptic Tradition pp. 284-286.
  32. ^ Bruce M. Metzger, The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration (London/New York: Oxford University Press, 1964), p. 228.
  33. ^ Brown et al., p. 629
  34. ^ Kilgallen, p. 305
  35. ^ Stagg, Frank and Evelyn Stagg. Woman in the World of Jesus. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1978, p. 217.
  36. ^ Brown, p. 148

References

  • Beavis, M. A., Mark's Audience, Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press, 1989. ISBN 1–85075–215-X.
  • Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament. Doubleday, 1997. ISBN 0–385–24767–2
  • Brown, Raymond E. et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990 ISBN 0–13–614934–0
  • Elliott, J. K., The Language and Style of the Gospel of Mark. An Edition of C. H. Turner's "Notes on Markan Usage" together with Other Comparable Studies, Leiden, Brill, 1993. ISBN 90–04–09767–8.
  • Gundry, R. H., Mark: A Commentary on His Apology for the Cross, Chapters 9–16, Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1992. ISBN 0–8028–2911–2.
  • Kilgallen, John J. A Brief Commentary on the Gospel of Mark. Paulist Press, 1989. ISBN 0–8091–3059–9
  • Mark 16 NIV Accessed 8 May 2007
  • Miller, Robert J. Editor, The Complete Gospels. Polebridge Press, 1994. ISBN 0–06–065587–9

External links

Chapters of the Bible
Preceded by:
Mark 15
 Gospel of Mark
Followed by:
Luke 1

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