Why Mark's Gospel Has Such a Strange Ending: The Mark Series pt 70 (16:8)

I'm not exaggerating when I say that some skeptics, and even some Christians, and some scholars in both categories, will teach that if Mark ends his Gospel at 16:8 then it destroys Christianity as we know it. I think this is silly. But I also think it needs a response. After going through those over the top claims we will deal with the more subtle and thoughtful claims of those who say that there are internal and external reasons for thinking that Mark could not have meant for 16:8 to be the ending of his Gospel originally. All told I will walk through 7 specific claims against the shorter ending of Mark and give a case for how this seemingly strange ending is actually quite powerful and meant to cause us to sit with the massive implications of the death and resurrection of the Messiah, until we are stirred to action.

This is the last video in the Mark Series. I have SO enjoyed doing this with you and appreciate your prayers for me to have wisdom as I seek to launch into future series and videos. Next up is a thorough study of women in ministry (that will probably take months to prep, sorry for the wait) and then I'll do a verse by verse teaching through the book of Hebrews, with the same sort of methods you've seen in the study of Mark.

[shannonreif]

I'm the mom of a three year old and a one year old- I have been sneaking this series in during nap times, dinner prep, and after bedtimes for months now, and I've finally finished it. What a blessing, Pastor Mike! I've been a Christian all of my life, but you taught me how to truly STUDY the Bible in this series. I started my own study of 1 John and have been at it daily for four months now with borrowed commentaries, new questions, and treasures that have changed my walk with Christ. Thank you and may God continue to bless your ministry!

[ProfYaffle]

My new T-Shirt: "I have listened to all 70 episodes of Mike Winger's Mark series"

[CG]

Ya know what would have been funny? If Pastor Mike had ended the last video in the Mark series abruptly.

[biblicaldefense]

I loved this whole series so much. I recommend everyone that I can to this Bible study. I can’t wait for Hebrews :)

[thomasfryxelius]

Thank you for your ministry!
I´m from Sweden. I´m part of a wonderful, warm and serving church. One of the few lacks in this church is for deep study of the Word. We have sermons and home groups and it´s great but I´ve always longed for more understanding. You are complementing my church in a wonderful way from over there. It means the world to me. Be blessed!

[thomasstokes]

Mike Winger, I lost my Daddy to the virus yesterday and I just wanted you to know your videos have brought me a level of comfort because I know he is now in heaven. It still hurts but I know he is with God now. Thank you brother

[BennettGeshel-gdvi]

I'm now at the final video and I can't say how grateful I am for these. I've been going through some interesting times and this series has greatly aided me through my study of Mark. it amazes me and comforts me to know that a video series recorded three years ago by some guy I've never met can help a person like me even now. Peace be upon you.

[mrJety]

My personal theory was that the longer ending was usually told and retold by actual eyewitnesses of Jesus. Once it became no longer a viable option, the longer ending was then recorded, and added to the written canon.

[JoshuaTheLast]

Came into the verse by verse study halfway. I've learned so much from you Ps Mike. You have really opened my mind to see just how packed the scriptures are with content. There's so many wonderful gems and truths the Lord has kept hidden for us to discover in his word. Thank you again Ps Mike!

[laurab]

I cannot tell you how this series has blessed me. I thank you for your time, effort and passion for Christ and logical, clear, devoted study. I love how balanced and transparent you have been all the way through. I became a born again Christian 4th July 2020 and you were the best teacher I found at a time when I could not go to a church and find a fellowship. You answered my questions and walked through lockdown with me in my own home. I cannot overstate how important you are. A mouthpiece for God. I pray for you continually. May He bless you more and more.

[andrekershaw]

My girlfriend and I love your content SO much! Thank you, Mike, for this incredible series, and for all the good work that you and your team do for the Kingdom of God. May the Lord bless you and keep you, may He make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, may He lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Love from a brother in Christ down in South Africa :)

[rhondaclater]

This series taught me how to seriously dig into Scripture. Please don’t stop bringing full book studies! God bless you, Pastor Mike.

[colmwhateveryoulike]

12:30 As a scientist and ex atheist who used to attend skeptic conferences, I shared your opinion about most people there, but I didn't realise I was doing it too. To a lesser degree, but specifically about arguments like these - small points that all add up.

[kyrielovesthelord]

Indeed I am shaken in the best way! From growing up in a Catholic church to most recently being in a Word of Faith church, this study was the first time I've heard the gospel. I am forever changed. Thank you, Pastor Mike!

[samirapavlenko]

listen to all 70. it changed so many things for me in a very amazing way! thank you very much, pastor Mike! God bless you!

[Howdy]

Mike, when I first came to your channel I didn’t like cats, but you have greatly increased my appreciation for them. Thank you for that! (Oh and for God’s Word). 😂😂

[okiscubadventures]

Finally finished the whole series. Pastor Mike, thank you for putting all your efforts into this; I’ve already started using many of these lessons in my youth group discussions. May God continue to bless you and this ministry!

[haachamachama]

Jonah's ending blew me away when I first read it. God implies that Jonah wasn't just... upset that he lost his shade. He actually felt sorry for the plant. Maybe because it gave him shade and he felt thankful to it? But God doesn't say "You're upset that you lost your shade!" He says "You feel compassion on the plant" and even uses it to say shouldn't I feel compassion for the people of Nineveh? I know it's a weird thing to ponder, but I sat there when I first read Jonah and thought about it for like half an hour lol. The Bible is so amazing.

[ImCarolB]

Your comments on fear made me think of Anne of Green Gables where she asked Matthew if anything gave him a thrill. He replied that cabbage worms gave him a thrill. He was using the negative and valid response, whereas she was only thinking of enjoyable thrills.

[jonathandoe]

I think I can explain the whole "gar" thing. In Latin, prepositions occur exclusively before nouns, as a modifier to case. For example, <ad absurdum> is "to the absurd", and <ex nihilo> is "from nothing". This is in contrast to Germanic languages, where they can modify anything, especially nouns and verbs, and can really go anywhere. For example, in English, we can say "shut up", "go away", or "wall that thing off" and be perfectly correct. In Latin, these verb-modifier formulations were done with prefixes, like how instead of "caping out", we say "escaping". In Vulgar Latin, it's <excappare> instead of <cappare ex>, which would not be correct. This process is also how we get the words "ascend" and "aspire", from Latin <ascendo> and <aspiro> respectively.
This issue is that, at one time, most books on grammar were written for Latin, and sometimes people would extrapolate these rules where they didn't belong. Have you ever had a teacher tell you that you shouldn't end you sentence in a preposition? If so, this is why. It's forcing the rules of Latin onto English. Even the name preposition comes from Latin. It'd be much more accurate to call them adpositions or particles when talking about English, like we do with Japanese for example. While most Latin rules do apply to the Romance languages, particularly Italian, they are not universal. I'm guessing these scholars were simply extrapolating a feature of Latin into Greek, even when it didn't really apply.