<> Ask the Pastor Fr. Walter P. Snyder Q1: I read in the footnotes of the NIV that: "the most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20." Is this true? A1. We first must note that the numbering of "verses" came a long time after the Scriptures were written. Minding this, it is true that, as the New International Version told you, many ancient manuscripts don't have verses 9-20. Some have portions of these verses, but not all of them. A few insert between verses eight and nine: "But they [the women] told Peter and his group briefly all the things that had been commanded them. And after these things Jesus himself appeared to them, and sent out through them from east to west the holy and incorruptible proclamation of everlasting salvation." The last phrase doesn't sound biblical, with its vague spirituality, and the entire section appears to be appended in order to smooth the abruptness of ending with verse eight. Q2: If so why is it included in the NIV? A2: It is such a large part of the history of the Christian Church and has been used since early times. Q3: Is it included in the KJV? A3: It is. The translators of the King James Version used the manuscripts that were available at the time, the most common and accepted of which included this ending. Q4: What are these "ancient witnesses"? A4: These are the writings of early Christians. Some of them make no mention of these verses when to do so would strengthen the arguments they are making. This indicates that they may have had no idea that these verses existed or that they knew but had doubts as to their authenticity. Q5: What are "the most reliable early manuscripts"? A5: This is always a matter of scholarly debate. However, we know that most manuscripts and fragments of texts come from basic geographic or linguistic "families." If an error or deliberate change occurs, we can look backward to see approximately when it came about. Also, there are thousands and thousands of early texts, often complete, sometimes only a few verses. Much is done by comparing them to each other. The "majority" often rules, but not always. If something seems an obvious change, perhaps an attempt to comment on the text or to harmonize it with other Scriptures, scholars will decide that the passage is probably a later addition. Reliability is gauged by a wide range of factors, including both internal comparisons of the text with itself and by comparison with the rest of the Bible. For instance, when linguistic scholars examine the language of these last few verses, they see stylistic and vocabulary differences with the rest of the book, which is obviously "woven of whole cloth." Q6: What is a possible explanation for the appearance of Mark 16:9-20 in later manuscripts? A6: Stopping the Gospel according to St. Mark with verse eight makes for an abrupt ending, ignores the subsequent appearances of Jesus, and may leave the reader in the same position as the women--that is, "trembling and bewildered . . . because they were afraid." Q7: Did Jesus say these things or not? A7: It's quite possible that these are exact quotations. Overall, they are not out of line with the rest of Scripture. However, they may have been lifted from other Gospels or from the recollections of early disciples. Most likely, one of the earliest copies--perhaps even the "autograph," or original manuscript--lost its ending. It could be that a scroll was too short and the last bit was written on a separate scroll, which disappeared. To align this Gospel with the other three, as well as with the Epistles, attempts were made to fill in the blank. I won't make a final judgment as to whether or not Mark wrote the last few verses of this Gospel, but I strongly doubt it. The theology of verses 9-20 is not "heretical," although verse eighteen's reference to drinking poison has no corroboration in any other New Testament passages. Otherwise, you'll find parallels to these twelve verses in other portions of Mark, as well as in Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, and 1 Corinthians. That's it for now. You can submit questions by mail to "Ask the Pastor," PO Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951; E-mail xrysostom@aol.com; or just stop me on the street. Walter Snyder is the pastor of St. Paul and Faith Lutheran Churches in Jasper and Woodville and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for Adults." Copyright (c) 1998 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.