Mark 16:1-8

The Text

The Short Ending or the Long ending?

This is not the Easter story we’re looking for. The short ending of Mark is not what we want or expect on Easter Sunday. We want celebration, big music, and the call and response, “Christ is Risen!”…”He is risen indeed!” It’s not the story we want, but it’s the story we have…it’s the story we need. As we approach this text, we must first deal with the conversation surrounding the ending of this gospel.

Biblical scholarship generally dismisses the alternate endings of Mark on the basis that word usage and style in the section are not consistent with the rest of the Gospel of Mark. The debate, however, is not over. The question still remains, “Is Mark 16:8 the authentic…