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. Many scholars conclude Mark intended the tension.
There are good reasons to question whether Mark himself wrote them. The vocabulary and writing style differ from the rest of the Gospel, the oldest existing manuscripts don’t include them.
On the other hand, the 9-20 passage is very old. Irenaeus quoted from it in the second century, long before our earliest surviving complete manuscripts of Mark were produced. And most Christians throughout church history have read these verses as part of Mark’s Gospel.
So what should we do with them? Most conservative traditions throughout history have accepted these verses are part of inspired Scripture. And as a Southern Baptist committed to the idea that God has been faithful to preserve all of the Bible He intended for us to have, I have no issue with taking Mark 16:9-20 as part of the canon.
But this doesn’t mean we have to ignore the textual questions surrounding whether Mark himself wrote them. At the very least, we should be cautious about building doctrines or practices on details found only in these disputed verses, such as drinking poison and handling snakes (verse 18). Significantly, the other major details of this passage; such as the resurrection, the Great Commission, and the promise of Christ’s presence with His followers, are firmly established elsewhere in Scripture.
In other words, we can accept that there are academic questions about who wrote the last section of Mark and when it was added, but we don’t have to rip it out of our Bible. We treat the longer ending the same way the church has for centuries: with reverence, caution, and gratitude.
Did Mark Need A Longer Ending?
I can understand the impulse to bring some resolution to Mark’s gospel. Ending with verse 8 feels like a door slammed shut mid-sentence. It feels unfinished. It feels wrong.
It feels… anticlimactic.
But consider the fact that Mark’s entire Gospel has been about people encountering Jesus with fear and confusion:
- The disciples misunderstand Him. On several occasions in Mark, Jesus reprimanded his disciples for their lack of understanding. At one point, Mark blames this on their hardness of heart (See Mark 4:13, 6:52, 8:14-21, 9:32).
- The crowds misinterpret Him. Some claimed he was possessed (3:20-22). Some thought he was Elijah or another prophet, back from the dead (6:15). Many seemed to think he would be a political Messiah, overthrowing Rome (11:9-10).
- The religious leaders reject Him. Jesus was accused of blasphemy (2:6-7). His authority was questioned (11:27-28). As early as Mark 3:6, they were conspiring to destroy Him.
So it’s consistent with Mark’s gospel for the women—His most faithful followers—to 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?
Failure’s not the Final Word
There is a wonderful little detail in verse 7:
“But go, tell his disciples and Peter…”
And Peter.
Of all the people who have misunderstood, failed, fled, and denied Jesus throughout Mark’s Gospel, Peter gets singled out by name in the resurrection announcement.
So if verse 8 really is Mark’s intended ending, then the story is about more than fear, failure, and unfinished business.
It’s also about grace.
Even before the women can deliver the message, the risen Jesus is already making provision for the disciple who denied Him. Peter is specifically invited to meet Him again. Failure isn’t the end of his story, either.
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.
If questions about disputed or missing verses interest you, I’ve written about two other examples: the missing verse 4 in John 5 and the account of the woman caught in adultery in John 8. Both illustrate how studying the history of the biblical text can deepen our understanding of Scripture rather than diminish our confidence in it.
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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