Mark 16:1 When Shabbat was over, Miryam of Magdala, Miryam the mother of Ya‘akov, and Shlomit bought spices in order to go and anoint Yeshua. 2 Very early the next day, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 They were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?” 4 Then they looked up and saw that the stone, even though it was huge, had been rolled back already. 5 On entering the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right; and they were dumbfounded. 6 But he said, “Don’t be so surprised! You’re looking for Yeshua from Natzeret, who was executed on the stake. He has risen, he’s not here! Look at the place where they laid him. 7 But go and tell his talmidim, especially Kefa, that he is going to the Galil ahead of you. You will see him there, just as he told you.” 8 Trembling but ecstatic they went out and fled from the tomb, and they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. (Complete Jewish Bible).
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Reflection Questions
The oldest existing manuscripts of Mark’s gospel ended at verse 8. It’s unlikely that was how Mark intended to end his gospel. The evidence suggests that somehow an early copy lost the original ending. However, even as it stands in those manuscripts, Mark shared the most vital news. Verse 6 said Mary and her companions heard the central message of that resurrection Sunday: “He has been raised. He isn’t here.”
- N. T. Wright wrote of the women in Mark 16:1, “We may note, already, what they are not saying to themselves (as they might be if this story were a later pious fiction). They were not going in order to witness Jesus’ resurrection. They had no idea that any such thing was even thinkable. They were going to complete the primary burial.”* Jesus had told his followers he would rise again, but that just puzzled them (cf. Mark 9:9-10). How did Mark’s honesty about the women and disciples make his resurrection account more credible?
- Mark’s resurrection story contained one vital extra. In Mark 16:7, the angel told Mary Magdalene and the others, “Tell his disciples, especially Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee.” Jesus' message specifically named Peter, who had publicly denied even knowing him, lest Peter feel he was no longer welcome after his failure. What does this tell you about Jesus’ grace? Can you trust Jesus to treat you the same way when you fail?
Lord Jesus, the most loving thing the women could think of to do was to complete your burial. But you had so much more in store for them—and for me. Lead me on to a life lived in the light of your resurrected life. Amen.
* N. T. Wright, Mark for Everyone. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p. 223.
Randy Greene is a part of the Communications team at the Church of the Resurrection. He helps develop and maintain the church's family of websites. He is also a student at Central Baptist Theological Seminary and loves to write stories about faith for his blog.
An unfinished story is not fun to read. It leaves readers with a sense of unfulfillment, a dissatisfaction that the loose ends aren’t wrapped up all neat and tidy. We want to know what happens in the story, what decisions our favorite characters make, and what plot twists are still to be explored. And since the story came from the imagination of the author, it can only really be completed by that author.
Yet the author of Mark gave us an unfinished story. He gave the narrative a dramatic twist with the resurrection of its hero, and then, inexplicably, he stopped writing. We’ll never know what happened. The ending of his Gospel and the reason for its sudden stop are lost to history.
One of the effects of this lost ending, though, is that it makes us uncomfortable as we read it. It keeps the story from being just a fantastic tale of a mythic figure and, instead, it makes it real for us. Since the ending isn’t given to us as we read it, we are forced to complete it ourselves, placing ourselves into the narrative. We can’t rely on Mark to give us the ending – we have to construct it. It’s a challenge, a demand that we as a church take ownership of the conclusion.
As you look over the past two thousand years of Christian history, how have we written the ending to the story? And as you look to the future of the Church, how are you helping to shape it?
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- Or download this week's printable GPS.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
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