TOM · The Owner's Manual · New Testament

Mark 16

Chapter 16 in 30 seconds

Three women come to the tomb and find the stone already moved. A young man in white says, He has risen! The oldest copies end there. Later copies go on with Jesus sending His disciples into all the world.

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In this chapterThe Big Question · Christians disagreeThe Ending of Mark · after verse 20

The Resurrection// Matthew 28:1–10; Luke 24:1–12; John 20:1–9

¹When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint the body of Jesus. ²Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb. ³They were asking one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?” ⁴But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, even though it was extremely large.

MK 16:1[NOTABLE]The earliest ending of Mark centers on the women as witnesses. This is before the disputed long ending.

⁵When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. ⁶But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here! See the place where they put Him. ⁷But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.’”

MK 16:5[MIRACLE]A young man in white tells the women He has risen

⁸So the women left the tomb and ran away, trembling and bewildered. And in their fear they did not say a word to anyone.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene// John 20:10–18

⁹[Early on the first day of the week, after Jesus had risen, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had driven out seven demons. ¹⁰She went and told those who had been with Him, who were mourning and weeping. ¹¹And when they heard that Jesus was alive and she had seen Him, they did not believe it.

MK 16:9[DEMONIC]Mary Magdalene — seven demons cast out by Jesus
MK 16:9[TEXT]The two oldest complete New Testaments, Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, end Mark at 16:8. Most later copies have verses 9 to 20, so they are in brackets. See The Ending of Mark and the New Testament Introduction.

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples// Luke 24:13–35

¹²After this, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them as they walked along in the country.

¹³And they went back and reported it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.

The Great Commission// Matthew 28:16–20

¹⁴Later, as they were eating, Jesus appeared to the Eleven and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

MK 16:14[HEART]Jesus rebuked the eleven for their unbelief and hardness of heart.

¹⁵And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. ¹⁶Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”

MK 16:17[DEMONIC]These signs will follow those who believe — cast out demons in My name

The Ascension// Luke 24:50–53; Acts 1:6–11

¹⁹After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

MK 16:19[FULFILLS]Enoch's bodily translation prefigures Christ's bodily ascension ← GEN 5:24MEDIUM

²⁰And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming His word by the signs that accompanied it.]

The Big Question · Christians disagree

The Ending of Mark

Does Mark Stop at 16:8?

Mark 16:8 to 20

WHY THE BRACKETS: Mark 16:9 to 20 is in brackets because many scholars think it was not part of what Mark first wrote. Every reader should know why.
THE CASE FOR STOPPING AT 16:8: The two oldest nearly complete Bibles, Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, from the 300s, end at 16:8. Vaticanus leaves a blank column after it, the only one in its New Testament, as if the copyist knew something more existed. About AD 320 Eusebius wrote that the accurate copies end at 16:8, and Jerome said the same about AD 406. Many of the words in 9 to 20 are not found anywhere else in Mark, and 16:9 introduces Mary Magdalene as if for the first time.
THE CASE FOR 9 TO 20: Nearly all Greek copies, well over a thousand, have it. About AD 180 Irenaeus quoted 16:19 as Mark's words (Against Heresies 3.10), which is older than any copy we have. Tatian put it in his blend of the four Gospels, the Diatessaron, about AD 170.
OTHER ENDINGS: A few copies add a one sentence short ending. Codex Washingtonianus adds an extra saying of Jesus after 16:14, called the Freer Logion.
WHY WOULD MARK STOP THERE?: Some say he meant to, leaving the women afraid and the reader to finish the story. Some say the last page was lost. Many think 9 to 20 was written early to fill the gap, using the other Gospels and Acts.
WHAT THIS BIBLE DOES: Like most modern Bibles, it keeps 9 to 20 but puts it in brackets, so you can read it and know it is debated. The King James Version prints it with no mark, because the Greek copies its translators used in 1611 had it.

Snakes and Poison · Mark 16:17 to 18

Mark 16:17 to 18 · Acts 28:3 to 6 · Matthew 4:5 to 7

WHAT IT SAYS: They will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them, 16:18.
THE SNAKE HANDLERS: About 1910 George Went Hensley began handling rattlesnakes at church services in Tennessee. Small Holiness churches in Appalachia, often called Signs Following churches, still do it. Tennessee banned it in 1947. Dozens have died, including Jamie Coots, a Kentucky pastor seen on a TV show, who died of a bite in 2014.
WHAT PAUL DID: A viper bit Paul on Malta and he shook it off unharmed, Acts 28:3 to 6. He did not go looking for it. When Satan told Jesus to jump from the temple because God would protect Him, Jesus said, do not put the Lord your God to the test, Matthew 4:7.
HOW CHRISTIANS READ IT: It is Scripture, and it promises protection when danger comes, not a command to test God; this is what most who accept 9 to 20 believe. It is not what Mark first wrote, so no teaching should rest on it alone. It is a command to obey literally, as the snake handlers believe. The Catholic Church counts it as Scripture, whoever wrote it.
WHAT ALL SIDES AGREE ON: Nothing in 9 to 20 changes any core teaching. The empty tomb is already in 16:6. Casting out demons, new tongues and healing are taught in Acts and 1 Corinthians 12.

Mark 16

The Resurrection// Matthew 28:1–10; Luke 24:1–12; John 20:1–9

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene// John 20:10–18

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples// Luke 24:13–35

The Great Commission// Matthew 28:16–20

The Ascension// Luke 24:50–53; Acts 1:6–11

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