Who wrote Mark chapter 16 verses 16-20?

Answer 1

A:Mark's Gospel was originally anonymous but was attributed to Mark in the second century, although modern New Testament scholars very much question that attribution. So, the authorship of Markremains unknown. The book was written approximately 70 CE, and all the early Greek manuscripts end at verse 16:8 with the young man telling the women that Jesus was risen and they fled in terror, telling no one. This seems to mark a natural ending to the gospel.

Several endings seem to have been added at later times, most notably, the 'Short Ending' and the present 'Long Ending'. Verses 16:9-20 differ in style from the original gospel, as well as creating a disjunction, particularly strange after Mary Magdalene told no one (16:8) but told the disciples (16:10). The entire original gospel is encompassed by a framework chiastic structure which the author no doubt could have extended to include verses 16:9-20, yet they remain outside this structure. There should be little doubt that the ending was not written by the original gospel author.

The Long Ending of Mark successfully harmonises the endings of Matthew and Luke, and perhaps even John, to a surprising extent. When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene alone, this corroborates John's Gospel (although none of the others). When Jesus appeared to "the two of them," this could have been the two women of Matthew's Gospel or the two men of Luke's Gospel. He appeared to the eleven as they sat at a meal, as in Luke, telling them to go forth into the world and preach the gospel and was then received up into heaven, just as in Luke, although not Matthew or John (nor Acts). We will never know just who this author was, but he must have lived during the early part of the second century and have been familiar with all the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John.