Jesus in History
Mark's Gospel originally didn't include the resurrection.
Short answer
Mark clearly includes the resurrection. The angel announces, "He has risen! He is not here" (Mark 16:6), and that verse is in all the manuscripts. The debated passage is the "long ending," Mark 16:9-20, which describes Jesus' appearances. It is 12 verses, not 21, and it was quoted by Irenaeus around AD 180, so it wasn't invented in the fifth century.
In simple words: Mark's Gospel says Jesus rose from the dead! An angel tells the women, "He has risen!"
Response
A viral video claimed that the oldest manuscripts of Mark have no resurrection scene, that Mark ends with women weeping at the tomb, and that about 21 verses were added after the fifth century. Tim Barnett of Red Pen Logic corrected each claim.
First, the disputed section is the "long ending," Mark 16:9-20: 12 verses, not 21. It describes Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene, to two disciples on the road, and to the eleven.
Second, the resurrection is in Mark even without those verses. At the empty tomb, the angel tells the women, "He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him" (Mark 16:6), and tells them Jesus is going ahead of them to Galilee, where they will see him (16:7). Jesus had already predicted his resurrection three times in Mark (8:31; 9:31; 10:34), and promised, "After I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee" (14:28).
Third, the long ending wasn't invented in the fifth century. Irenaeus quoted from it around AD 180 (Against Heresies 3.10.5). As Barnett puts it, "the long ending was not invented in the fifth century."
Honesty matters here too. Two of the most important early manuscripts, Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus (4th century), end at 16:8, and many scholars think verses 9-20 were added later to round off the Gospel. That's why most modern Bibles mark the passage with a note. But no Christian belief depends on those verses, and every event in them is reported in the other Gospels or Acts. Whichever way the question is settled, Mark's Gospel proclaims a risen Jesus.
Key evidence
- Mark 16:6, present in all manuscripts, announces the resurrection.
- Jesus predicts his resurrection three times in Mark (8:31; 9:31; 10:34).
- The long ending (Mark 16:9-20) is 12 verses.
- Irenaeus quoted the long ending around AD 180 (Against Heresies 3.10.5).
- Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus end at 16:8; modern Bibles note this openly.
Bible passages
- Mark 16:1-8 "He has risen! He is not here."
- Mark 8:31 Jesus predicts he will rise after three days.
- Mark 14:28 "After I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."
- Mark 16:9-20 The long ending, with a note in most Bibles.
Quotes
“The long ending was not invented in the fifth century.”
Tim Barnett, Stand to Reason
Discussion questions
- Why is it important to check a viral claim against the actual text?
- How do Jesus' predictions earlier in Mark shape how we read the ending?
- Why is it a strength, not a weakness, that modern Bibles note textual questions openly?