An Early Church Conclusion to Mark
| When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with Him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen Him, they did not believe it. Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either. Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; He rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed His word by the signs that accompanied it. (Mark16:9-20) |
There are some important textual questions around the last 11 verses of Mark as we have them in our modern Bible Translations.
- The passage is not found in the oldest manuscripts.
- Its language and style differ from the rest of Mark.
- It includes themes that may reflect the early church's mission rather than Jesus' earthly ministry.
I think that a viable explanation is that while the early church carefully preserved and transmitted what it received, they sometimes included additional material that reflects the early church's witness.. As we discussed in the last devotion, the "abrupt ending" left us contemplating that although the resurrection happened, there were moments of struggle and fear too. It may be possible that Mark left the ending abrupt so that people would think and ask: "So what happened next?" The early church included material that answered the question.
The longer ending may not be Mark's original conclusion, but it powerfully reflects how the early church understood and proclaimed the risen Christ. Here are some of the key lessons:
- Although the "abrupt ending" reflects some uncertainty and fear, these are explicitly answered in resurrection appearances and by Jesus addressing their fears and doubts. (It must be noted that the line "He rebuked them for their lack of faith and stubborn refusal to believe..." carries a stronger tone than we see elsewhere in the Gospels, and may reflect the early church's emphasis on bold, trusting faith...)
- The missional nature of the ending certainly reflects the passion and ardour of the early churchh.
- That same missional focus also reflects in the emphasis on belief and baptism and the consequences of a lack of faith.
- The promise of "signs and wonders" is a vibrant reflection of the life of the early church. Paul drove out demons, spoke in tongues, healed people and even survived a snake bite. We don't have a Biblical account of a Christian surviving a poisoning attempt but, in the light of all the other miracles, this too is feasible as something that happened in the growth of the church.
- The Ascension account makes three important points:
1. Jesus sat down at the right hand of God - speaks of His authority and victory
2. The disciples went out and preached
3. The Lord worked with them and confirmed His word miraculously - speaks of the powerful outpouring of the Spirit.
So although it's unlikely that Mark wrote the longer ending, the early church preserved these thoughts, and nothing in this passage stands alone - all of these themes are found elsewhere in the New Testament. And, guided by the Spirit, we can learn from and apply the lessons we learn from this later ending.
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Tomorrow I'll end off this series with a reflection of Mark's "Key Lessons...."
