Day 318: Anticlimactic (Mark 16:8)

⁸ And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. 

[Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9–20.]

Through the Bible: Matthew 28, Mark 16

When I was a kid, Choose Your Own Adventure books were all the rage.
You’d come to a climactic fork in the road—Jack staring nervously at a bubbling green potion, the wizard yelling “Don’t drink it!”, the castle walls shaking—and then in bold type you’d read something like:

“If you think Jack drank the potion, turn to page 73.
If you think Jack ran for his life, turn to page 48.”

And instantly you were no longer just reading a story.
You were in the story.
Your choice determined what happened next.

Mark 16 reads like the Bible’s version of that. The earliest and most reliable manuscripts end with verse 8, and it is—by any standard—one of the most anticlimactic endings in all of literature.

“And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” (Mark 16:8)

That’s it. No appearance of the risen Jesus. No joyful reunion with the disciples. No Great Commission. Just terrified women running from an empty tomb.

If you’re expecting the triumphant “and they lived happily ever after,” Mark doesn’t give it to you. He shuts the book and leaves you sitting there with your heart in your throat.

But maybe that’s the point.

Why Does Mark End So Abruptly?

Most scholars acknowledge that the earliest Greek manuscripts of Mark end at verse 8. That leaves two possibilities: either Mark intentionally ended with the women fleeing in fear, or the original ending was lost extremely early. Some early church fathers, including Eusebius and Jerome, mention manuscripts ending at 16:8, which shows this question isn’t new. And the abrupt stop actually fits Mark’s fast, urgent writing style—he opens suddenly, moves quickly, and ends with a cliffhanger that pushes the reader to respond. So while a missing leaf is possible, many scholars believe Mark intended the tension.

Where does that leave verses 9–20?
The longer ending is very old—so old that the early church included it in the manuscripts they passed down. Its theology is fully consistent with the rest of the New Testament, even though some details (like drinking poison or picking up serpents) don’t have direct parallels elsewhere, apart from Paul’s snakebite in Acts 28. That makes the longer ending unusual, but not unorthodox. Nothing in it contradicts Scripture, and everything essential in it appears plainly in other biblical books.

So are verses 9–20 inspired?
The safest historic Christian position—the one held by many conservative scholars—is: Yes, we receive them as Scripture because the church has received them as Scripture, while also acknowledging that they likely were not part of Mark’s original ending. In other words, we don’t build doctrine on the unique elements of these verses, but we don’t rip them out of our Bibles either. We treat the longer ending the same way the church has for centuries: with reverence, caution, and gratitude.

Mark’s ending feels like a door slammed shut mid-sentence. It feels unfinished. It feels wrong.

It feels… anticlimactic.

But maybe Mark intended it. Because Mark’s whole Gospel has been about people encountering Jesus with fear and confusion:

The disciples misunderstand Him.

• Mark 4:13 — “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?”
• Mark 6:52 — “They did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.”
• Mark 8:14–21 — the disciples misunderstand the “leaven of the Pharisees,” and Jesus asks, “Do you not yet understand?”
• Mark 9:32 — “They did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.”

The crowds misinterpret Him.

• Mark 3:20–22 — crowds gather so densely Jesus cannot even eat; scribes and some in the crowd claim He is possessed.
• Mark 6:15 — the crowds speculate wildly: “He is Elijah… He is a prophet…”
• Mark 11:9–10 — they welcome Him as a political Messiah, misunderstanding the nature of His kingship.

The religious leaders reject Him.

• Mark 2:6–7 — scribes accuse Him of blasphemy.
• Mark 3:6 — Pharisees and Herodians conspire to destroy Him.
• Mark 11:27–28 — they challenge His authority: “By what authority are you doing these things?”
• Mark 14:55–64 — the Sanhedrin condemns Him to death.

And now the women—His most faithful followers—run away trembling. The entire Gospel has been showing us that people fail, falter, flee, and come undone in the presence of the holy. Why should the ending be any different?

The Cliffhanger Is the Invitation

Mark doesn’t wrap the story up because the story isn’t wrapped up. The tomb is empty. Jesus is risen. The women flee in fear…

And now it’s your turn to choose the next page.

Mark ends at the moment of decision:

“If you believe Jesus is risen, turn to the next page.
If you believe the women stayed silent forever, explain how the Gospel ever reached you.”

The reader already knows that the silence didn’t last. We’re proof that it didn’t.

Somebody told somebody. Somebody broke the silence. Somebody said, “He is risen,” and the world has never been the same. Mark’s Gospel ends in fear so yours can begin in faith.

Finish the Story

The resurrection doesn’t need a long ending—it needs you.

The risen Jesus still calls trembling people. He still meets us in our confusion. He still sends us out in our weakness. He still writes His story through ordinary disciples who open their mouths and tell the news.

Mark ends his Gospel at a crossroads, like those old adventure books:

• If you think the resurrection is just a story, close the book.
• If you believe it’s true, step into the narrative. Live it. Tell it. Finish the chapter Mark didn’t write—but God is still writing through you.

The most anticlimactic ending in Scripture turns out to be the most evangelistic one.

Because the last scene isn’t the fearful women at the tomb.

The next scene is up to you.

Related Content for this Day

• Day 318: Finding Lovely (Matthew 28)
• Who Is Jesus? Session 6: The Resurrection
• We Believe, Part One: Scripture (2 Timothy 3:14-4:4)

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