The Missing Proclamation: Revisiting Mark’s Additional Ending
April 26, 2025 - Saturday in the Octave of Easter
Mark 16:9–15
The earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of Mark end abruptly at Mark 16:8. In that original ending, the women who visited Jesus’ tomb saw a young man in white who announced, “Christ is risen” and instructed them to tell the disciples that He was going ahead to Galilee. Yet, overcome with fear, the women fled without proclaiming the good news. Without this proclamation of Christ’s victory over death and the missionary mandate to preach the Good News to all nations, one might feel that something essential was missing.
A careful reader of the Gospels will notice that today’s passage appears to weave together elements from other Easter narratives. The detailed account of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene is found in the Gospel of John. Similarly, the story of two disciples encountering the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus is fully narrated in Luke, as is the appearance of Jesus to the eleven disciples at the table.
Let us pause to reflect on the process of composing the Gospels. Initially, eyewitnesses and close disciples of Jesus shared their experiences orally. Wherever they went, people would ask, “Tell us something about Jesus,” and they recounted miracles, parables, and even moments when they did not understand His words about His passion. Over time, as these eyewitnesses began to pass away, various Christian communities felt compelled to write these cherished stories down, ensuring that future generations—and we—would continue to hear them.
The Gospels are written as ancient biographies with a singular purpose: to bring the reader to faith in Jesus. Each Gospel writer selected from the circulating stories those that best conveyed this message. As the author of the Gospel of John explains, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30–31).
Returning to Mark, there is no definitive explanation for why its earliest manuscripts conclude with the women’s silent flight from the tomb. At a later stage, however, someone—perhaps Mark himself, another author, or a community of believers—decided to append the ending with additional Easter accounts and Jesus’ missionary mandate. They added what they felt was missing: the full declaration of Jesus’ triumph over death and the call for the Church to spread this Good News to the whole world. This is the additional ending we have today, urging us to overcome our fears and doubts and to boldly proclaim that Christ is risen.