Mark 16:8

‘And they went out and fled from the tomb. For trembling and astonishment had come on them. And they said nothing to anyone for they were awestruck.'

The effect on the women was predictable. They had been living with nerves stretched for some time. They were in a state of fear and uncertainty. And now this remarkable news from a stranger whom they did not know had taken them totally aback. It would only be afterwards that they would realise who and what he was.

So they panicked and fled, overwhelmed by what they had witnessed. And they were so awestruck that they did not even talk to each other, or anyone they met, as they hurried on their way. And as they hurried on, their minds would be in a whirl. He was not there. He was risen. Whatever could it mean? They must reach the disciples and tell them.

This idea of ‘fear' or ‘awe' at seeing what has happened has been a feature of the Gospel. See Mark 4:40 with regard to the stilling of the storm; Mark 6:50 with regard to His walking on the water; Mark 10:32 with regard to His determination to get to Jerusalem; and compare Mark 5:15; Mark 5:33; where others were afraid at what they saw. It is a sign of the unexpected, and of the truly awesome which they cannot understand.

It is Matthew who tells us the sequel, (his account follows a similar pattern to that of Mark), that as they hurried to tell the disciples Jesus Himself met with them, and as they worshipped Him, He told them to do what the angel had said and inform His disciples that they were to go to Galilee where they would see Him (Matthew 28:8).

And it is Luke 24:11 which tells us that their words were to the disciples as idle tales so that they would not move from Jerusalem, with the result that the resurrection appearances had to begin in Jerusalem. This was Jesus' gracious response to His disciples who did not believe right to the end until they were left with no choice. A gap between Luke 24:25 may be the period when they went to Galilee (Matthew 28:16; John 21).

And with Mark 16:8 the Gospel suddenly ends. Perhaps Mark ended here and intended a sequel similar in intent to Acts but never had time to present it. Perhaps he was suddenly arrested and taken away to prison and to death. Perhaps he was struck down with illness and was never able to write another word. Perhaps he simply had a fatal accident. No one knows. But most accept that he did not intend it finally to end here without even one resurrection appearance, and this is confirmed by a comparison with Matthew's Gospel where the similar account continues.

Whatever happened must have been outside his control. For the words ‘they said nothing to anyone' could be true in the short term, but where else did the information about what had happened to them come from? And even speaking naturally no one can believe that a group of women would keep such a secret to themselves all their lives, even if we did not have the other Gospels to tell us otherwise. It would be against nature. And Mark knew from the traditions preserved in the churches that it was not so. Thus those words required a follow up. And this Mark did not give us. It was left to another to pen the final summary.

The Final Summary (Mark 16:9).

This final summary was not included at all in the important ancient manuscripts Aleph and B, and in various widespread versions. It was not accepted by either Eusebius or Jerome because it was not in the ancient Greek manuscripts they had available. But Irenaeus (late second century AD) quotes it as by Mark, and it was known to Tatian and probably to Justin Martyr (both mid second century AD). It was included in A, D, W, Theta, (also f1 and f13), as an attachment so that it is supported by strong and varied manuscript evidence. Another shorter ending was attached to some manuscripts together with the longer ending, and stood by itself in a few lesser manuscripts and in some versions. It probably once circulated widely.

No attempt was made to ensure continuity of the longer ending with Mark 16:8 although the shorter ending was clearly written for that purpose. The longer ending no doubt once stood by itself. It would seem mainly to be based on the tradition behind the other Gospels and Acts but with a further ancient piece of tradition also included. It presented what Mark lacked, descriptions of resurrection appearances. However the emphasis on the unbelief of the disciples suggests that it was based on very early tradition. And this is backed up by the fact that it is so like the Gospel material in contrast to later writings. It bears the mark of being primitive.