There are two sure-fire ways to guarantee that a movie will be unsuccessful at the box office: (1) End without bringing closure to the story, or (2) conclude with an unhappy ending.

We Americans love happy endings. We demand closure to a story - closure that inspires us rather than challenges us. Simply consider the recent American remake of a French movie. In both movies, a man's wife goes missing and the husband goes on a frantic search to find his spouse. In the French version, the woman is kidnapped by a man who buries her alive. The husband eventually finds the kidnapper. He is told by the villain that if he wants to know what happened to his wife, he must drink from a thermos that the villain provides. The husband drinks from the thermos, passes out and awakens buried alive. The viewer experiences his horror from a first-person perspective and it is truly terrifying. The movie ends with a shot of the killer spending an afternoon with his wife and children. The viewer realizes the killer has committed the worst kind of evil - evil for evil's sake. He randomly committed the act for the sheer delight of doing evil. The ending leaves the viewer terrified about the reality of chaotic and unthinkable evil that exists in the world - evil that goes undiscovered and unpunished, committed by seemingly "normal" individuals.

In the American remake of this film, the husband frantically searches for his wife's kidnapper. He finds her buried alive, but rescues her in the nick of time. Then he hunts down the kidnapper, fights him in a climactic battle, and sends him plummeting over the edge of a high bridge to his death. The viewer is left with a happy ending. The woman is saved. Evil is vanquished. A nice, tidy, happy ending.

Mark's Abrupt Ending

Mark's gospel ends, not like the American film, but like the foreign film. It ends abruptly with no closure, no happy ending. The other three gospels wrap things up in a way that is more satisfying - the risen Jesus is encountered, the disciples are forgiven for abandoning Jesus during his time of need, and commissions are given and followed.

But Mark does not on such a high note. In his ending, there is no account of anyone meeting the risen Jesus. The women who visit Jesus' tomb flee in terror at the angel's news of Jesus' resurrection. Paralyzed by fear they fail to carry out the commission the angel gives them. Dawn Wilhelm summarizes the situation well: "By 16:8 every one of Jesus' disciples has abandoned him, the women are fearful, and no one is willing to share the good news of his resurrection."[1] We are left hanging - with no resolution, no closure, no happy ending.

We have come to expect a note of triumph in our Easter accounts, but in Mark we receive a somber and subdued ending. "The Gospel ends with fear and silence. Even the most faithful of Jesus' disciples [the women], those who kept vigil while others fled, abandon their calling."[2]

Apparently, Americans are not the only ones who desire closure and happy endings. The apparent incompleteness of Mark's awkward ending prompted early Christians to add their own upbeat conclusion. Even though most reliable manuscripts stop at verse 8, we possess two alternate endings added at a later time. One version consists of a short two sentence revision: "And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterwards Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation." Another longer ending provides a digest of the resurrection narratives of the other three gospels. But these two endings are clearly later additions to the text. The two oldest and most reliable Greek manuscripts (along with many other versions) omit both endings. Furthermore, the early church fathers - those who wrote closest to the time of the original manuscripts - show no sign of the existence of either alternate ending.

Obviously, most early Christians considered Mark's ending a problem. They attempted to bring Mark's ending into line with the other gospels by "cheering it up" with satisfying closure and ecclesiastical triumph.

What then happened to Mark's ending? Was his original ending lost? "Did Mark die or become otherwise incapable of concluding his story beyond this point? Did the scroll he was using run out of space at 16:8? Was a final leaf of the gospel in codex form mutilated very early through usage or torn off and lost?"[3]

Most scholars agree that Mark's awkward ending is the right ending to Mark's gospel. Mark's gospel ends as abruptly as it begins. There is no closure and no happy ending, but there is good news - good news that is meant for us. But to hear this good news, we must first wrestle with the sacred text.

Who Will Roll Away the Stone? (Mark 16:1-4)

The women are the heroes in Mark's gospel. When all of Christ's male disciples have abandoned Jesus, the women remain by his side, all the way to the cross - and now the tomb. The same women who witness his death and burial are the ones we meet early on Sunday morning. They gather spices together in order annoint Jesus' dead body - a labor of love to cover the stench of his decaying flesh. Through this last service they hope to perform one final act of loving devotion to Jesus.

They come to adore the dead Christ. Tragically, their act is futile. "It was customary to prepare bodies for burial by anointing them with aromatic spices to ward off the odor of death. To seek to achieve this effect thirty-six hours after death had occurred was pointless; after this lapse of time the gesture could only be a final act of loving devotion."[4]

On the way to the tomb, "the women worry about how they will roll back the stone that has been placed over the entrance to the tomb (15:46). From a realistic point of view this is something they might well have thought of before setting out on their errand."[5]

When they arrive, they encounter their first surprise: the stone has been miraculously rolled away.

The Heavenly Messenger (Mark 16:5-7)

Jarred by the open tomb, the women enter into the tomb - the realm of death - to encounter their second surprise. The tomb is empty and an angelic messenger greets them. The messenger's white robe and position of sitting on the right indicates heavenly authority.

The messenger says, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him." The young man proclaims a dramatic reversal to the tragic narrative. The same Jesus who died has now risen. The place where his dead body once rested is now empty. He tells the women that Jesus is not here. They are looking in the wrong place.

Having proclaimed Jesus' resurrection, the messenger sends the women on a mission: "But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." Jesus is alive - and he goes before them into Galilee. To see Jesus, they must not look among the dead. They must look ahead - in the land of the living.

The messenger reminds them that they should not be surprised by this turn of events. Everything has turned out just as Jesus said it would. Jesus had foretold his disciples' desertion and scattering and had declared to them that after the resurrection he would go before them to Galilee (Mark 14:27-28).

In Mark, things always occur "as he told you": the finding of the colt and of the upper room, the betrayal by Judas, the denial by Peter, and the flight of all the disciples, not to mention the rejection, delivering up, condemnation, mocking, death, and resurrection of Jesus.[6]

The Last Word? (Mark 16:8)

The final words of Mark's gospel reveal that the angel's message goes unheeded: "So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." The women's fear is overwhelming and causes them to run from the tomb in terror.

There are two possible explanations for this reaction. Perhaps the women simply experience the fear that accompanies an encounter with the numinous - the holy. We naturally recoil in fear from that which is mysterious and unknown. This experience is usually described as awe and wonder but can also descend to fear and terror. Perhaps they are so astounded by the messenger's claim that Jesus is alive that they are simply unable to cope with an experience of divine power that goes beyond their capacity to grasp or even imagine. They had simply expected to perform an act of devotion on a dead body, but now they are confronted with the reality of a new creation - a new beginning.[7]

But there is another explanation. Perhaps their fear arises from cowardice. Who are they to deliver this message? A woman's testimony was not even valid in a Jewish court of law, and now they have been summoned to communicate the unbelievable message of Jesus' resurrection to his disciples. This explanation has weight because of the women's actions: "they said nothing to anyone." "Instead of giving the message to disciples, as they were commanded, the women flee from the tomb in astonishment, fear, and trembling and tell no one anything."[8]

We can now see why the early church so desperately tried to put a positive spin on Mark's conclusion by adding an alternate ending: "And all that had been commanded them they told briefly to those around Peter. And afterwards Jesus himself sent out through them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation." We can sympathize with the church's desire to tie together the loose threads. "One naturally wants to bring a sense of closure to the story and to pad it with something more uplifting and reassuring."[9]

But Mark does not wrap things up. He provides no closure. He gives us no vision of the resurrected Jesus. Even worse, Mark ends by highlighting the complete failure of all of Jesus' disciples - both male and female. Even the women, who fare so well throughout the bulk of Mark's story, fail to follow Christ as they should.

The End is the Beginning

What does Mark mean by ending this way? What is he doing?

Mark does not provide a satisfying ending, but it is the right ending for us. The story of Christ's resurrection is not yet finished. Mark's ending draws us into the unfinished story of Christ's resurrection. Jesus Christ is alive. He has gone ahead of us. He awaits our response. If Mark provided closure, the story would be over. There would be no more room for further development. The story would be complete without us.

Mark is drawing us into the story. He hits us right where we live. He refuses to give a nice, clean ending because it doesn't relate to our lives as Christ's disciples. Our lives are not complete. Our story has not ended. Jesus is alive and we, like the women, are called to go forward into the unknown future to meet him. "This is where we live: after the resurrection but before the Return, entrusted with a message that is wonderful, but the import of which we don't quite understand. Mark 16:6-8 is the space most of us inhabit if we are honest with ourselves."[10] "The gospel addresses the present time of the church as it proclaims 'Christ has died, Christ has risen,' and then locates itself in the 'in-between' time by adding 'Christ will come again.'"[11]

Until Christ's return, the story remains open-ended. Mark provides no closure, yet things are not the same: Christ is risen! And the resurrection is a new beginning.

The resurrection reboots the story. Jesus is alive and goes ahead of us. He takes us back to the beginning in Galilee, where it all started, where our discipleship first began. And with this new beginning comes an invitation to renew our commitment to discipleship.

Like the women at the tomb, we have heard the witness of resurrection. Will we proclaim it? Will we be resurrected persons? Or will we live in fear of the mysteriousness of resurrection and what it calls us to do?"[12]

The ball is in our court. With Jesus' failed disciples, will we start anew on our journey to meet the risen Christ or will we, in fear, drop the ball? Jesus goes on ahead, but we may remain frozen in our tracks, stuck by a fear that makes us mute.[13]

"We cannot allow the resurrection account to become a faded if cherished memory that is to be placed in a photo album and taken out once a year and admired. The ending forces us to enter the story."[14]

Perhaps we fear that our past failures make a new beginning impossible. If we feel this way, we must hear the message of forgiveness implied in the angel's commission. All Jesus' disciples had failed him. They had abandoned him in his time of need. Out of fear, Peter - who is singled out by the messenger - denied all association with Christ by his triple betrayal. Now, Peter receives assurance of forgiveness. Christ will not abandon Peter or the disciples. Christ goes ahead of them and invites them to seek him in Galilee.

The disciple's failure was not the end of God's plans for them. In spite of their sin, God wishes to continue to use them as witnesses of the resurrection. "In this command of the angel to the women lies the promise of forgiveness and restitution, of a renewed call and a fresh start for disciples chastened by failure and empowered by the resurrection."[15] The gracious will of the crucified and risen Lord is to forgive the wayward disciples - to reestablish their relationship and make a new start back where it all began. Despite their failure, they are still called to discipleship. Jesus' invitation is, "Let's start again." Jesus is not ashamed of them. Once again, they are summoned to follow Jesus.

Now we are in a position to clearly see the reason for Mark's abrupt ending. If Mark offered more closure, there would be no room for more. The story would be over rather than just beginning. If the ending was "happily-ever-after" there would be no accounting for the struggles we face, the sin we wrestle with, the fears we possess.

There is more to Mark's story. Though his ending offers no closure, no happily-ever-afters, it still offers good news. Jesus is alive. All is forgiven. A new start is possible. Jesus goes before us and calls us to follow him into the world with confidence.

Jesus goes before us. If we want to see him, we, like the disciples, must also renew our commitment to follow him. "Mark's gospel leaves such a 'sight' of Jesus as a matter of promise, in the context of discipleship renewed."[16] "The message of the angel inspires hope not only because we hear that Jesus is alive but because he shows us the way ahead. We are not without direction or purpose as long as we seek Christ's way in the world."[17]

Mark's ending reveals that the basic life stance of Jesus' disciples is not closure, but expectancy. "Here we are, the recipients of a message from a heavenly messenger. He tells us not to be afraid. He tells us that the risen Jesus goes before us--is not in our known past, but in the uncertainty and insecurity of our unknown future."[18]

"The resurrection does not mean that all now is set right and that everyone will live happily ever after. The flesh is still weak (14:38)."[19] The truth of Jesus' resurrection reveals that a new start is possible, that the risen Jesus can be encountered, that our future is hopeful. It means that Jesus is unleashed in the world, and our call is to renew our commitment and follow the living Christ.

"We know that the story does not end here; there would be no Gospel narrative if the women had followed their first impulse. In a very real sense, the end of Mark's Gospel does not record the end of the gospel."[20] It records the beginning of our responsibility to follow Jesus and witness of his resurrection, in spite of our fears and failures.

Mark's ending meets us right where we live. Grace and mercy have triumphed. Jesus is risen. He goes ahead of us. The story is yours. Will you follow?

If we want a better ending, we are going to have to make it ourselves! To do this we must rise above our fears, recommit to discipleship, and follow Jesus back to where it all begin into a strange new future full of hope, yet not without fear. The future remains uncertain, but the presence of the risen Lord means grace reigns, sin is forgiven, and new beginnings are always possible because death is never the final word!

© Richard J. Vincent, 2009