Mark: The shortest and more dramatic Gospel Story of Jesus

The Gospel of Mark

The shortest of the four Gospels, Mark is a rapid pace story of the miracles of Jesus. It presents Jesus as "a man of action." In the Gospel of mark, the word "immediately" appears sixteen times. According to Mark, Jesus is always doing something. That's important, because as we will see, the ending of Mark presents the reader with a very important decision to make: Whether to believe in Jesus and spread His Message, or disbelieve in Jesus and His Message. What will your decision be?

High points in the Gospel or Mark

Just sixteen chapters in length, the Gospel of Mark has two "high points" that capture the essence and message of the Book. The first is in Mark 8:27-30.

"²⁷ Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
 ²⁸ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
   ²⁹ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
   Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
 ³⁰ Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him."

In this passage, we find the Great Confession of Peter about Jesus as the Messiah and Christ. It is the first high point in the Gospel of Mark.

The Second High Point in the Gospel of Mark is found in Mark 15:33-38.

"³³ At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ³⁴ And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
 ³⁵ When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
 ³⁶ Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.
 ³⁷ With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
 ³⁸ The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” 

Here we find again a confession on the part of the Roman soldier and centurion testifying that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, and not just an ordinary man. An ordinary man could not have done all of the miracles that Jesus did. He was more than just a good man, He was the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God!

Ending of Mark


Most Bibles have Mark ending at Mark 16:20, although most add a comment like "The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20." The reason is that most Bible Scholars believe that the ending of Mark was added by a copyist or scribe as a way to soften the ending of Mark. Notice verses 1-8 of Mark 16.


" ¹ When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. ² Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³ and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
 ⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
 ⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
 ⁸ Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid."

That isn't the way most people would want to finish the ending of a sermon or the ending of a book or biography. Just imagine, women being afraid and fleeing from Jesus tomb. The New Testament manuscript evidence suggests that verses 9-20 were probably added later by a scribe or copyist. Notice verses 9-20.

"When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. ¹¹ When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.
   ¹² Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. ¹³ These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
   ¹⁴ Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
   ¹⁵ He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
   ¹⁹ After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. ²⁰ Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it."

This is a smoother ending, and ends on a positive note instead of a negative note. Whether the original ending of Mark was at verse 8 or 20 is important, although most of what 9-20 includes can be found elsewhere in the Gospels or in the New Testament. However, a more important question for you and I is, "if the Gospel of Mark originally ended at Mark 16:8 with the women fleeing Jesus' tomb and being afraid, and without a concrete ending to the appearance and announcement of Jesus resurrection", could it be that the reason it ends that way is because Mark expects us to make a similar decision in our life and spiritual journey? 

What will you do with the message that Jesus was crucified, risen, and will appear to His followers just as He promised? Will you be afraid and keep the matter to yourself? Or, will you believe it and proclaim it to others that "Jesus was crucified, risen, and is coming again"? 

The choice is yours! 

~ Pastor Salvador Garcia