Articles
Mark's Ending
Mark's Ending
We encounter a rather strange problem as we end our reading of the gospel of Mark: how does it end? Almost all translations now make a note that vs. 9-20 “are not in included in some of the ancient manuscripts”.
Yet, ending this book at verse 8 just leaves the readers hanging. “So what” is an almost automatic response if that really was the end! What I am to do about this story? What happened to the disciples? “Is that all there is?”
Then, upon a bit of reflection on verses 9-20, there is nothing here that contradicts what others have witnessed about ‘the rest of the story’. The preaching of the first sermon in Acts concludes with Peter combining the 3 great commission stories, including Mark’s ending here.
What am I to do with the story of Jesus? He that believes and is baptized shall be saved. Isn’t that indeed the message of the other gospels, the book of Acts, and the witness of the NT writings? Yes, it is.
Hugh DeLong
A simple chart showing the great commission accounts and Peter’s first sermon conclusion:
If you want to do some more reading, here are a couple of links to articles that discuss this:
https://biblesearch.com/where-did-mark-169-20-come-from/
https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/605-assault-upon-mark-16-16-the
http://www.truthmagazine.com/archives/volume19/TM019199.html
http://www.truthmagazine.com/archives/volume40/GOT040030.html
http://www.truthmagazine.com/archives/volume37/GOT037045.html
http://www.thetextofthegospels.com/2018/02/josh-buice-and-ending-of-mark.html
