Exploration of Mark 16

Welcome Prayer Song

Last chapter, and the last Meat from CAMPUS! So let’s read our text for today.

Reading from Mark 16

MEAT May 16th 2021

Mark 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. 7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. 8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.

Events Following the Resurrection

NOTE HERE

9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. 14 ¶ Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 ¶ So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

Context and Analysis

Okay back to verse 1

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought aromatic spices so that they might anoint him.

PO This was a Sunday morning. The fact that these women were going to anoint Yeshua’s body with aromatic spices proves that they did not believe it was possible for him to rise from the dead, in all probability due to his physical condition.

2 And very early on the first day of the week they went to the sepulchre at sunrise. 3 And they were conversing with themselves, saying: Who will roll away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was large.

It is likely that the words, “for it was large,” belong at the end of verse three.

5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were greatly amazed.

(see, John 20:11-12) CLA: (see, Understanding Gospel Inconsistencies)

6 And he said to them, "Do not be frightened; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. 7 But go and tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you into Galilee: there will you see him, as he said to you.

PO We note that Peter is singled out here from the rest of the Apostles. Prior to the passion and deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. of Yeshua, Peter had denied him three times, causing him to weep bitterly. Perhaps Peter felt in his heart as a failure before the Lord and was ashamed. But the

Examination of the Gospel of Mark Ending

Lord, having loved him once, loved him to the end, (John 13:1). Perhaps, as a proof to show that He was loved by Yeshua, he sent Peter this special message.

8 And they quickly went out and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were greatly amazed: neither said they anything to anyone; PO Because we know from Matthew 28:8 and Luke 24:9 that the women did go and tell the disciples as instructed that what Mark must mean is that they told no one else but the disciples. But that is not what Mark writes here, and if we are to be biblical literalists, these words suggest that they told nobody due to fear. CLA (see, The Dangers of Biblical Literalism)

for they were afraid. 9

While the vast majority of later Greek manuscripts contain Mark 16:9-20, the Gospel of Mark ends at verse 8 in two of the oldest and most respected manuscripts, the Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus.

Manuscript Evidence and Translation History

Since the oldest manuscripts are considered to be the more accurate versions (because there were fewer generations of copies from the original autographs and therefore they are closer to the originals), it is generally believed that Mark 16:9-20 were added later by eager scribes. The Authorized Text versions of the Bible (KJV, etc.) contain verse 9-20 because the KJV used medieval manuscripts as the basis of its translation. But since 1611, older and more accurate manuscripts have been discovered which affirm that verses 9-20 were not in the original Gospel of Mark. We also note that some fourth-century church fathers (Eusebius and Jerome) said that almost all Greek manuscripts available to them lacked verses 9–20 (even though they were obviously aware that other endings did exist that contained verse 9-20) but these early church scholars did not include the verses in their writings which says something significant.

Internal Evidence and Vocabulary Concerns

The internal evidence from these passages also casts doubt on Mark as the author. The vocabulary is not consistent with Mark’s Gospel (meaning that these last verses don’t read like they are from Mark’s hand). There are eighteen words here that are never used anywhere by Mark, and the structure is very different from the familiar structure of his writing. The title “Lord Jesus,” used in verse 19, is never used anywhere else by Mark. Also, the reference to signs (in verses 17-18) don’t appear in any of the four Gospels. In no account, post-resurrection of Jesus, is there any discussion of signs like picking up serpents, speaking with tongues, casting out demons, drinking poison, or laying hands on the sick. So, both internally and externally, these verses appear foreign to Mark as well as the other Gospel accounts.

Theme of Amazement in Mark's Gospel

Finally, Mark’s gospel account frequently mentions the amazement of people in relation to Yeshua. It is a theme of his as we read, “They were amazed at his teaching” (Mark 1:22); “They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves” (Mark 1:27); “He healed the paralytic, and they were all amazed and were glorifying God saying, ‘We’ve never seen anything like this’” (Mark 2:12). Astonishment at the work of Jesus is also mentioned throughout Mark’s narrative (Mark 4:41; 5:15, 33, 42; 6:51; 9:6, 15, 32; 10:24, 32; 11:18; 12:17; 16:5). It seems fitting that his Gospel would abruptly end with this theme being revisited one last time as it reads at the end of verse 8.