The Gospel of MarkSample

We can also consider the fact that many of our Bibles do include verses 9-20. Whether these are original from Mark or added in later by scribes, there are a couple of reasons that this does not need to cause us alarm.

• John 20 narrates Mary Magdalene’s encounter with Jesus in the garden in great detail and so corroborates the story being told here in Mark (verses 9-11).
• Luke 24 tells the story of the Emmaus road, which is probably what verses 12-13 of Mark are referring to.
• Matthew 28 tells of the Great Commission Jesus gives to the disciples, which although slightly different, has a lot of cross-over with the one given in verses 15-18.
• Acts 1:9 tells of Jesus’ Ascension to the Father, mentioned in verses 19-20.

There are no new details in these verses which we do not find in other gospels. We should not feel worried about the ending of Mark because it corroborates what other gospel accounts tell us of the events.