Do you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?

Exploring the details of Christianity

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
jd01
Student
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2022 3:45 pm
Location: Nova Scotia
Contact:

Do you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?

Post #1

Post by jd01 »

Do you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?
jd
Author of Salt & Light; The Complete Jesus www.saltandlight.ca

User avatar
Miles
Savant
Posts: 5179
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:19 pm
Has thanked: 434 times
Been thanked: 1614 times

Re: Do you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?

Post #2

Post by Miles »

.


How about helping us out here. What are the short and long endings?


.

User avatar
Difflugia
Prodigy
Posts: 3017
Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2019 10:25 am
Location: Michigan
Has thanked: 3247 times
Been thanked: 1997 times

Re: Do you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?

Post #3

Post by Difflugia »

Miles wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 7:02 pmHow about helping us out here. What are the short and long endings?
Different manuscripts show three different endings. The oldest end with Mark 16:8, with the women fleeing the tomb and not telling anyone. That was apparently insufficient for some early Christians, particularly since Matthew and Luke didn't end their stories there, so later manuscripts have extra verses. One of the extra endings is relatively short and the one included in most English Bibles as Mark 16:9-20 is the longer one. The NRSV includes both, so here they are, along with verse 8:

Shorter ending:
So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterward Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.
Longer ending:
So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.

After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

Later he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were sitting at the table; and he upbraided them for their lack of faith and stubbornness, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

So then the LORD Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the LORD worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.
jd01 wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 5:29 pmDo you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?
Most scholars think that the original Mark ended at verse 8. I personally agree because I think it fits with Mark's theology that salvation is for the select few that are now hearing (or reading) the gospel. Nobody else knows because the women didn't tell anyone.
My pronouns are he, him, and his.

User avatar
1213
Savant
Posts: 11342
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 11:06 am
Location: Finland
Has thanked: 312 times
Been thanked: 357 times

Re: Do you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?

Post #4

Post by 1213 »

jd01 wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 5:29 pm Do you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?
If the short would be true, we would not have the Bible, that is why I believe the longer is true, even if not in the oldest found source.

User avatar
Tcg
Savant
Posts: 8487
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2017 5:01 am
Location: Third Stone
Has thanked: 2141 times
Been thanked: 2293 times

Re: Do you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?

Post #5

Post by Tcg »

1213 wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 5:26 am
jd01 wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 5:29 pm Do you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?
If the short would be true, we would not have the Bible, that is why I believe the longer is true, even if not in the oldest found source.
I'm not sure what you mean. We'd still have the Bible, but with a shorter version of Mark.

By the way, there isn't just one type of Bible. This article identifies 5:

What Are the Different Types of Bibles?

1 - Protestant Bible

2- Catholic Bible

3- Jewish Bible

4 - Anglican Bible

5 - Greek Orthodox Bible.

https://classroom.synonym.com/what-are- ... 81611.html
I'm not sure what each does with the book of Mark and of course the Jewish Bible (although I don't know if that's a proper term) wouldn't have the book of Mark so it wouldn't change at all. In any, case we'd still have all of these even if the four that include Mark used the shorter version.


Tcg
To be clear: Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods.

- American Atheists


Not believing isn't the same as believing not.

- wiploc


I must assume that knowing is better than not knowing, venturing than not venturing; and that magic and illusion, however rich, however alluring, ultimately weaken the human spirit.

- Irvin D. Yalom

bjs1
Sage
Posts: 898
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2020 12:18 pm
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 225 times

Re: Do you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?

Post #6

Post by bjs1 »

[Replying to jd01 in post #1]

Short ending. While the longer ending(s) represent an ancient tradition within the church, it was probably not written by Mark. The author of Mark, imo, intentionally ended on a cliff-hanger. The women left the tomb and said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. Since their account exists, they must have eventually overcome their fear. Mark wanted us to put ourselves in the women's position, asking ourselves if we would be silenced by fear or if we would speak boldly.
Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.
-Charles Darwin

AlexanderJohnson63
Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2022 2:23 am
Contact:

Re: Do you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?

Post #7

Post by AlexanderJohnson63 »

I acknowledge that both exist. Just like previously stated, the longer one wouldn't exist and the bible too if the shorter one was enough. Both have a lot to say and the longer one doesn't explain that much as we would like to.

User avatar
Difflugia
Prodigy
Posts: 3017
Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2019 10:25 am
Location: Michigan
Has thanked: 3247 times
Been thanked: 1997 times

Re: Do you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?

Post #8

Post by Difflugia »

bjs1 wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 7:56 pmShort ending. While the longer ending(s) represent an ancient tradition within the church, it was probably not written by Mark. The author of Mark, imo, intentionally ended on a cliff-hanger. The women left the tomb and said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. Since their account exists, they must have eventually overcome their fear. Mark wanted us to put ourselves in the women's position, asking ourselves if we would be silenced by fear or if we would speak boldly.
Just to clarify, do you mean that it included the short ending that begins with, "And all that had been commanded them," or do you mean that it ended with, "for they were afraid?"
My pronouns are he, him, and his.

User avatar
1213
Savant
Posts: 11342
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 11:06 am
Location: Finland
Has thanked: 312 times
Been thanked: 357 times

Re: Do you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?

Post #9

Post by 1213 »

Tcg wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 7:38 pm
1213 wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 5:26 am
jd01 wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 5:29 pm Do you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?
If the short would be true, we would not have the Bible, that is why I believe the longer is true, even if not in the oldest found source.
I'm not sure what you mean. We'd still have the Bible, but with a shorter version of Mark.
...
I meant, if the story would have ended to that the disciples were afraid and nothing else, they would not have had courage to continue and we would not have the message, because they would not have preached it forward.

bjs1
Sage
Posts: 898
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2020 12:18 pm
Has thanked: 41 times
Been thanked: 225 times

Re: Do you subscribe to the Short Ending or Longer Ending in Mark Chapter 16?

Post #10

Post by bjs1 »

Difflugia wrote: Mon Apr 04, 2022 5:31 am
bjs1 wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 7:56 pmShort ending. While the longer ending(s) represent an ancient tradition within the church, it was probably not written by Mark. The author of Mark, imo, intentionally ended on a cliff-hanger. The women left the tomb and said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. Since their account exists, they must have eventually overcome their fear. Mark wanted us to put ourselves in the women's position, asking ourselves if we would be silenced by fear or if we would speak boldly.
Just to clarify, do you mean that it included the short ending that begins with, "And all that had been commanded them," or do you mean that it ended with, "for they were afraid?"
I think that Mark likely ended his Gospel with "they were afraid."
Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.
-Charles Darwin

Post Reply