Gospel of Mark Study #56

“The End of the Story?”

Mark 16:9-20

Study #56 in Mark Series

INTRODUCTION:

The screenwriters of television dramas and murder mysteries long ago figured out how to hold on to their audience until the very end of the program—they simply cut to a commercial just before the final scene when the villain is going to be revealed and apprehended. It works because they know that we will sit right there, fat, dumb, and happy watching the stupid commercials so that we can see the end of the story.

Paul Harvey used the same technique for years on his radio broadcasts. He would bring the audience right up to the moment of the big reveal and then cut to a commercial. We would have to sit through the ads to be able to hear “the rest of the story.” In the same way, today we are going to hear “the rest of the story” about what happened after the Resurrection of Jesus. This will be the last installment of our series of studies in the Gospel of Mark, a series that we began many months ago. Today is our 56^th study of this pivotal New Testament book.

Some of you are probably saying to yourself: “Only 56? It sure seemed like more.” Leave it to a preacher to turn a little book with only 16 chapters into a Bible study series with 56 installments! However, in my own defense I would simply point to the fact that the Gospel of Mark is foundational to our understanding of the things that Jesus did and said during His 3½ years of earthly ministry. Mark gives us important insights into the person and work of Christ, without which much of the rest of Scripture would be hard to comprehend and explain.

TRANSITION:

Last week we looked at the first eight verses of chapter sixteen. There we have an account of the events early on that Sunday morning when the three women made their way from Bethany to the tomb where Jesus had been hastily buried 36 hours previously. Upon arriving at the tomb, they were greeted by an amazing scene, indeed. First, the four Roman guards that Pilate had posted there were passed-out on the ground. Secondly, the huge stone had already been rolled away from the door of the tomb and there was now an angel sitting on top of the stone, watching them as they approached. Thirdly, we learned that, in fact, two angels had been sent by God not only to roll the stone from the door of the tomb, but also to deliver a stirring message to these faithful disciples: “He is Risen! He is not here…  Go and tell His disciples” (Vs. 6-7). The passage ends with these words in verse 8: “They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”    

Before we launch into our study for today, I need to mention here that the second part of this chapter, verses 9-20, has been under severe criticism by some textual scholars and the so-called “higher critics” for many years. That is because some of the better and more ancient Greek manuscripts, including Codex Sinaiticus (Aleph) and Codex Vaticanus (B), omit this section entirely. They end Mark’s Gospel after verse 8, leaving the story hanging with a very abrupt ending and no resolution. Moreover, a few manuscripts insert additional material after verse 14; one Latin manuscript adds the following so-called, “short ending” after verse 8: “But they reported briefly to Peter and those with him all that they had been told. And after this, Jesus himself sent out by means of them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.” Other manuscripts include this same wording after verse 8, then continue with verses 9-20.

Several explanations have been offered for these differing versions. One theory is that considerable time elapsed between the writing of verses 1-8 and the concluding section. They say that perhaps Mark lost the “flow” of the writing and did not connect the parts very well. Others believe that the last couple of pages of the original text (i.e., the “autograph”) may have been accidently torn off and lost soon after they were written by Mark, before additional copies could be made, and that scribes tried to put an appropriate ending to the account by writing from memory the things that they could remember from the original text. These are all interesting theories, but the fact is no one knows why verses 9-20 are not contained in some of the oldest manuscripts, or where the added endings come from. 

Down through the years this problem has been handled differently by different versions. For example, Wescott and Hort’s Greek version omits this block of verses from the main text but includes it in smaller type with an explanation. Nestle’s Greek text does the same thing, separating verses 9-20 from the regular text. Many of the English versions include the passage in brackets with a marginal explanation.

I have neither the time nor the inclination to go into the details of textual criticism concerning this passage. Rather, I want to deal with the meaning of the text. It is my opinion that all of chapter 16 is inspired Scripture and has been preserved for us down through the years and I will approach it from that basis. The omission of the last verses of this chapter in some of our older and better manuscripts is not sufficient grounds to declare that it was not divinely given and preserved by God, especially since most of the other manuscripts and uncial texts contain it. Moreover, while the vocabulary and style of Greek writing is indeed somewhat different in these last 12 verses, the content style is still that of Mark—brief, blunt, to the point, and full of action.

NOTES on the Text:

Verses 9-10: Now after He [i.e., Jesus] had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping.

• The complete story of Jesus appearing to Mary, from Magdala (“the Magdalene”) is given in John 20:11-18. She was in the garden weeping and grieving over the death of Jesus and the Lord Himself spoke to her. At first, she did not recognize Him but mistook Him for the gardener. However, when Jesus called her by name, she recognized His voice and knew that it was indeed her Savior, and she fell weeping at His feet.
• Jesus told her to go back and tell the other disciples what she had seen and heard. Verse 10 tells us that when she arrived back at the upper room the disciples were “mourning and weeping.”

Verse 11: When they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her [i.e., By Mary], they refused to believe it.

• We bad-mouth poor old Thomas about being a “doubter” but this whole band of great spiritual giants refused to believe Mary’s report. Their fear had blinded their faith. The reality of what they had observed with their eyes blinded their hearts to the truth. In fact, Mark’s account emphasizes the unbelief of the disciples (cf. vs. 11, 13, 14).
• “…they refused to believe it.” This phrase implies not merely an inability to believe but also an unwillingness to even consider the possibility that Mary might be telling the truth. In other words, their minds were made up, so they basically accused Mary of being a liar. This is the same unbelief we see in those who reject the Gospel and insist that they will make it to Heaven on their own. They “refuse to believe” the truth.

Verses 12-13: After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. ¹³ They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.

• Here we have a reference to Christ’s appearance to the two disciples who were traveling on the road to Emmaus. This story is given in detail in Luke 24:13-35.
• His appearing “…in a different form…” may indicate that His appearance was somewhat altered after the Resurrection. He likely appeared younger, less wrinkled, and less weather-beaten.

Verse 14: Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen. 

• This is referring to Jesus’ first appearance to the disciples in the Upper Room (cf. Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-23). On that occasion, Thomas was not present. However, in John 20:24-29 when the Lord made His second appearance Thomas was present and was invited to touch the nail prints in Jesus’ hands and to feel where the sword had entered His side. Thomas responded with the words, “My Lord, and my God.” Jesus then pronounced a blessing on “those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

Verses 15-16: And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.  ¹⁶ He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” 

• Here in verse 15, we have Christ’s Great Commission. Usually when we think of the Great Commission our minds automatically go to that well-known passage, Matthew 28:18-20: “All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” However, Jesus gave some form of the Great Commission on several different occasions and in different places (cf. Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; John 20:21, Acts 1:8, etc.).
• Some have attempted to use verse 16 as a basis for teaching the necessity of baptism for salvation. However, that is a false conclusion, based on a misinterpretation of this isolated text and a failure to interpret Scripture by Scripture. The Lord does not say here that if you are not baptized you will be damned. For one thing, in the second part of verse 16 clearly the only basis for condemnation is a refusal to believe the Gospel. We must conclude that the only basis for salvation is belief in the Gospel. Moreover, this interpretation fits with the rest of Scripture (cf. Romans 3:28; Eph. 2:8-10, etc.). To single out verse 16 as a “proof text” to support the false doctrine of baptismal regeneration is a gross misuse of Scripture. It is not one’s failure to get baptized, but the rejection of Christ that brings eternal damnation: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).
• The Lord is simply saying here that the person who is saved will be baptized. This passage would have posed no problem for Christians in the Early Church because for them baptism and belief were never separated by time. Baptism was the way a person declared his or her faith in Christ. The idea of a person saying that he was a follower of Christ yet refusing baptism was something totally foreign. In fact, unbaptized people were not even considered Christians by the Early Church. They were not viewed as part of the Body of Christ and were not allowed to take Communion. For a person to refuse baptism was taken as a sign that they had not yet been truly converted, because baptism was how a person took up his cross publicly to follow Christ.
• This is still true in many mission fields today. If a person refuses baptism, they can attend all the Christian meetings and Bible studies they want. However, the moment they get baptized they are seen both by Christians and unbelievers as having “crossed the line.” It has always been so. Only here in America do we have the oddball phenomenon of people claiming to be Christ-followers who are in fact, unbaptized.  If we were to truly follow the biblical pattern such people would not be included as part of the “fellowship” but would be considered curious unbelievers or seekers.

Verses 17-18: “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

• All these things actually happened in the history of the Early Church, and we see many of them recorded in the Book of Acts.

Ø  Casting out demons, showing Christ’s victory over Satan – Acts 16:18

Ø  Speaking with new tongues on the Day of Pentecost – Acts 2:4-11

Ø  Healing the sick – Acts 28:8

Ø  Taking up snakes – this comment sums up the story in Acts 28:1-6 of Paul being bitten by a poisonous snake in Malta and suffering no ill effects. Jesus had also said something about this back in Luke 10:19.

• And while there is no biblical record of any Christian being forced to drink poison, such things occurred later in church history and the miracles were recorded.

Verse 19: So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into Heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 

• The Lord’s bodily Ascension was the final sign that Jesus truly was the Son of God. The Ascension was also recorded in Luke 24:50-51 and Acts 1:9-11.
• …”and sat down at the right hand of God.” This fact is confirmed in many passages, such as Hebrews 1:3, 8:1, 10:12, 1 Pet. 3:22, etc. Today Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, and He makes intercession for us. From there He will come soon to take His children home.

Verse 20: And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. 

• Basically verse 20 summarizes the whole of the Book of Acts.
• “…they went out and preached everywhere…” Here we see the obedience of the Lord’s disciples who went out to fulfil His command.

CONCLUSION:

The Book of Mark stands out from the other three Gospels as the Gospel of Action.  Throughout the 16 chapters we have seen an emphasis on the things that Jesus did to prove that He was who He claimed to be. Mark focuses attention on the miracles of Jesus rather than on the teachings of Jesus. He believed that the signs spoke for themselves and would lead any serious observer to the inevitable conclusion that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, the Savior, and Redeemer of the world.

Here at the end of the book we see the disciples taking seriously the Lord’s command to “Go and Tell.” In the same way, the Lord expects us to Go and Tell what we have come to know, what we have experienced, what we have seen with our own eyes of the power of God to save and restore fallen sinners.

All around us there are people who need to hear the Good News. Without Jesus they will spend eternity in Hell. Without the Savior they will be forever lost. Without a personal encounter with Him who is the Bread of Life and the Living Water they will continue to experience spiritual hunger and thirst with nothing to satisfy their longings. However, you and I have what they need. Will we share Him with others?