Resurrection

 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. [Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9–20.]
Mark 16:8 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/mrk.16.8.ESV

There are a number of possible explanations for some of the earliest of Mark's manuscripts ending on this cliffhanger. Maybe Mark was martyred before he could conclude his gospel. In that case it would have been left to his successors to conclude the gospel as widely known. There's nothing in the conclusion that contradicts the other gospels.

Another theory is that Peter, the main Apostolic source for Mark's gospel was martyred before Mark could finish scribing (we know Peter was martyred, so this is very plausible). The final verses could be Mark's conclusion which neatly round off his gospel. However we make sense of Mark's conclusion, I don't think we should throw the last few verses out.

If Mark did finish here, the cliffhanger would force us to draw our own conclusions. Was Christ truly raised from the dead? And if so, what are the implications?

The conclusion of Mark's gospel gives some answers to our questions as to how we should respond to Jesus's resurrection. Like the women, we are to tell others what Christ has done. He has defeated death so that we, through faith in Him, can do too.

'Lord, we acknowledge the completeness and perfection of Your word. However we read Mark's conclusion, may we live our lives in the light of Christ's resurrection. For Your name's sake we pray, amen'

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Mercy

Power

Opposition