Wednesday 12th March 2025

MARK 16 (“The Amazing Jesus”):
Possibly the most studied chapter in the New Testament – but not for the reasons you might expect! When theologians are chatting over their pre-dinner drinks, the conversation may drift to “What do you think about the ending of Mark’s gospel, then?”. All reliable manuscripts have verses 1 to 8, but then the differences appear; most versions end at verse 8: “…They went out and fled from the tomb for trembling and astonishment had gripped them and they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid”.

In verse 1, it notes that “When the sabbath was over, [they] …bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body”. If the only relevant sabbath was the normal weekly one, then this would be problematic – even accepting that the end of the sabbath was at 6pm (on our Saturday evening); it was unlikely that markets would have been open in the dark that night! The alternative scenario of a short gap between the special Passover sabbath and the separate weekly sabbath would have allowed sufficient time for purchase of spices to occur. See also Luke 23:56 which describes the preparation of those spices prior to a sabbath.

In verses 2-8, Mark narrates the women setting out for the tomb at sunrise, pondering how the heavy stone in front might be removed for access. To their surprise and shock, it had already been rolled away. Angels are not specifically mentioned, although a ‘man’ dressed in a white robe appears in the tomb and delivers a key message to them from Jesus – to satisfy themselves that Jesus was no longer dead and to convey the instructions that he would meet the disciples in Gallilee. Understandably, they fled in the direction of the apostles, bewildered, trembling, and afraid.

Verses 9-20 (which are usually found in italics in modern bibles) come across in a very different style, they sound rushed and even ‘clunky’ in a way that is very different from Mark’s concise detail. These verses skim the surface and appear to be ‘lifted’ in chunks from the other three gospels. They have the feel of an ending that was quickly knocked together to ‘fill the gaps’ – perhaps in the opinion of the church of the day.

For example, verse 9 doesn’t really link to verse 8. A masculine pronoun ‘He’ begins the verse, even though the last people to be reference in verse eight were the women – we have to infer that the writer means ‘Jesus’. Then, Mary Magdalene is introduced as though it were the first time that we have met her. We have a collection of verses that sound like parts of the endings of Matthew, Luke, and John’s gospels. The vocabulary is found nowhere else in Mark (at least 18 words, apparently). Some of the theology concerning snakes might relate to Paul’s encounter in Acts 28:3-6, but the reference to drinking poison (accidently) is obscure, to say the least!

Scholars have debated the existence of a different, missing ending to Mark’s gospel – although nothing has ever been reported or commented upon by any of the ‘Church Fathers’ of the day. Perhaps Mark intended his gospel to end at verse 8, just as abruptly as it began – have another look at the abrupt start in Mark 1:1.

John MacArthur of ‘Grace Ministries’, who favours ending at verse 8, makes the point: “But there’s something else here that strikes me. The last word that Mark wrote was the word “afraid, fear”. That’s kind of a key. They were afraid. Not in the sense that they were afraid for their lives, or they were afraid of being harmed or that they were in danger. This is the word ‘phobeo’ from which we get phobia, which means an irrational experience. They’re literally experiencing bewilderment, amazement, astonishment, wonder. There are no human explanations. This thing ends in wonder”.

MacArthur adds: “Could I retitle this book ‘The Amazing Jesus’? What else do you expect Mark to say to finish than that the women fled trembling, and astonishment gripped them, and they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid?” This is absolutely consistent with how Mark ends everything. This is his pattern, and this is the most amazing thing of all. He’s used this all the way along to punctuate absolutely everything. And he moves from one point of amazement to the next. So, it ends where it ought to end. It’s not incomplete. It ends where he loves to end. It ends with amazement and wonder at the resurrection”.

On the other hand, even if Mark were not the human author of the final twelve verses of chapter sixteen, there may still be a strong case for including this ending in the canon of scripture and regarding it as inspired by the Holy Spirit. (In a further example, we have no certainty over the human author of the entire Letter to the Hebrews, but we certainly regard that as scriptural and inspired!) The end of Mark may well have been added later, but with the Lord’s creative hand behind it – and it is indeed strange that, for a couple of thousand years, it has providentially remained in the New Testament. The doctrines emphasised include the need to preach the gospel to all creation, to baptise all believers, that spiritual warfare and deliverance ministry is for all, that speaking in tongues is for all, that healing is for all, and that signs and wonders usually accompany the preaching of the gospel.

An interesting work by Ivan Panin (1855-1942), an expert in Bible Numerics, also provides strong evidence that the last 12 verses of Mark are meant to be included in scripture. For example, see http://archive.therevivalfellowship.com/v4/Mark_16_v_9_20.html .

Regardless of the above choices, I agree with MacArthur that we have The Amazing Jesus to deal with in our own lives. Are we sufficiently amazed today? This Jesus, who was crucified to death, is now alive and lives forever! He is risen! He is ‘…going ahead of us, into Galilee’. For the apostles, that was their home region of Israel. Perhaps the take-home message of Mark for us today is that we will meet Jesus in our hometowns, our local streets, our own households, and our birthplaces. He will meet us there and stay with us and together we will make a difference!

LEVITICUS 25
The Sabbath Year and the Year of Jubilee were periods of social and economic rest – but also opportunities for the exercise of faith. One year in seven, the fields were allowed to lie fallow with no planting or harvesting allowed – so Israel had to rely upon the harvest of year six lasting until the end of the eighth year at least. This was analogous to the manna in the desert on Day Six being twice as much as a normal day, so that it lasted throughout the seventh day also. Deuteronomy 15:1 also says that all debts must be cancelled at the beginning of that seventh year. What a social advance that was – and would that not be of great benefit today, both for individuals and for nations!

The Year of Jubilee was after seven ‘Sabbaths’ of years (i.e., after 49 years) and so was held every fiftieth year. The word ‘Jubilee’ means trumpet call (or rams horn call), which is what signalled its start. Not only were debts cancelled, but all Israelite slaves were set free, and all sold property was to revert to its original owner. In this sense, the wealthy were not permitted to become excessively rich and oppressive, and the poor were given another chance. Furthermore, the emphasis was made by the Lord that all Israel were really his tenants who served Him and not themselves!

As Israel trusted the Lord in these acts of faith, every Sabbath Day, Sabbath Year and Jubilee Year, the Lord, by covenant, promised to care for the nation and to provide all the food that they needed for ever. His provision of food during the years when the fields lay fallow – by giving the people bumper harvests in the years leading up to those annual sabbaths – must have been reminiscent of his provision to Egypt and the whole world during the days of Joseph. In return for this miraculous provision now, the poor had to be cared for and not oppressed, loans to Israelites could not be charged interest at all and anything sold to the poor had to be at cost only, not at a profit. “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion” – as the Apostle Paul was later to write.

The Year of Jubilee, as a transformational concept, found its way into New Covenant theology – foreshadowing the New Heaven and New Earth of Revelation chapter 21. The freeing of the captives looked ahead in faith to the release of sinners from the grip of Satan and from the just condemnation of the Lord for their sins. Isaiah 61 sets this out in full – and Jesus quoted that again in Luke 4:18. “The Year of the Lord’s Favour” equals “Jubilee”. Those who belong to Christ live in perpetual Jubilee, and those who don’t belong yet are invited to come to him to find rest for their souls (Matthew 11:28-30). Do it!