The Appearances Of Jesus
THE APPEARANCES OF JESUS
MARK 16:9-20
Is this Gospel “good news” for us personally and for our world?
Our best ancient authorities for the text of the Gospel of Mark end at 16:8, and there can be no doubt that what follows (written as it is in a different style) does not come from the pen of John Mark. But very early the Gospel was felt to be incomplete, and more than one attempt was made to provide it with a fitting conclusion. The most popular of these attempts appears as 16:9-20 in our older English versions.
We are here given a brief résumé of the appearances of Jesus after his resurrection. 16:9-11 summarize the appearance to Mary of Magdala (Luke 24:1-11; John 20:11-18), and 16:12f. obviously refer to the story of the walk to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35); the note that Jesus appeared “in another form” explains why the disciples did not recognize him, and the statement that the others did not believe is probably based on Luke 24:41. The final paragraphs (16:14-20) join together the contents of Matthew 28:1-20 and Luke 24:36-53, but add some fresh information. Here alone we have the fuller note on the significance of baptism as the proper outward expression of Christian belief. Note that condemnation is for those who do not believe; while baptism is the proper expression of faith, lack of it does not lead to condemnation. The unspoken corollary is that baptism without faith has no saving power. Here too there is the promise of the miraculous powers which the early church experienced as it preached the gospel.
Noteworthy in this section is the emphasis on the unbelief of the disciples. It required the most rigorous evidence to convince them of the resurrection. Faith must rest on firm foundations, and the foundations for faith in the resurrection have been carefully tested and shown to be built on solid rock. A second point is that the disciples were slow to realize the implications of going to “the whole creation” (16:15) and at first confined their attention to the Jews.
So the story ends. But 16:20 makes it clear that the story is still in progress. The same Lord is still at work to confirm the message. Is this Gospel a “good news” for us personally and for the world in which we live? If we do not pause to ask and answer this question we have missed the whole point of what we have read.