Our monthly Bible Study usually meets on the 4th Tuesday of each month, so the next opportunity is Tuesday, March 27, 7:00 PM at the Byron Presbyterian Church.
Our text will be Mark 16:1-8, the Easter story, as well as the additional material in verses 9-20.
Mark’s version of the Easter story stands out because it ends with the women peering into the empty tomb. Matthew, Luke and John have detailed resurrection stories in which his faithful followers meet him in the upper room, on the road to Emmaus and on the shore of the sea. But Mark has none of those, leaving us at the tomb wondering where to find him. And that may be Mark’s point, emphasizing that resurrection can not be “proven” by someone else’s testimony because you need to find the risen Christ for yourself.
“Wait a minute!” you say. “What about Mark 16 verses 9-20? The story doesn’t end with the women looking into the tomb, it ends with some additional resurrection narrative”.
The problem with verses 9-20 is that the earliest versions of Mark’s gospel that have been found do not include these verses. There are two additions, the shorter and the longer. It appears that they were added later to make Mark seem to be in closer accord with the witness of the other gospels.
So we’ll spend a few minutes reviewing the history of the text that we have received, but the larger part of our conversation will focus on what the resurrection of Christ means, whether or not it is Mark’s Gospel or one of the others that informs and inspires us the best.
All are welcome, of course!
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