Short answer
No. The oldest copies of Mark end at 16:8, with the women running from the empty tomb in fear. The last twelve verses were added later. They tell of Jesus appearing to his followers after the empty tomb, the command to preach, and his going up to heaven. They also promise that believers can pick up snakes and drink poison. The two oldest Greek Bibles, Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, do not have them. Eusebius, an early church historian, wrote that the accurate copies of his day ended at verse 8. Jerome repeated this about eighty years later. Almost every modern Bible marks the verses as doubtful. Yet a few churches still handle snakes because of them, and some members have died. Islam teaches that God (﷾) gave Jesus the Injil, the Gospel he himself preached.
Full explanation
The twelve verses as the King James Version prints them
In the King James Version, Mark goes on after verse 8. The risen Jesus appears first to Mary Magdalene, then to two disciples and to the eleven. He sends them to preach to every creature. He promises signs to believers. Then he is received up into heaven. Irenaeus, a bishop of the second century, already quotes the ascension verse as part of Mark about the year 180.
“Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.”
“After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.”
“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
“So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.”
Irenaeus quotes Mark 16:19, that the Lord was received up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God, as words found towards the end of Mark's Gospel.
The oldest manuscripts
The two oldest Greek Bibles were both copied in the fourth century. Both end Mark at verse 8. In Codex Vaticanus the scribe left the next column empty. Bruce Metzger, a leading scholar of Bible texts, adds that other copies also lack the twelve verses. These are an early Latin copy, the oldest Syriac copy, about a hundred Armenian copies and the two oldest Georgian copies. He notes that Clement of Alexandria and Origen, two early Christian writers, show no knowledge of the longer ending.
A Greek Bible copied in the fourth century, and the oldest surviving complete copy of the New Testament. Its Gospel of Mark ends at 16:8. After Revelation it also contains the Epistle of Barnabas and part of the Shepherd of Hermas, books that are not in today's New Testament.
A Greek Bible copied in the fourth century. Its Gospel of Mark ends at 16:8, and the scribe left the next column blank. The manuscript breaks off in Hebrews 9, so the end of its New Testament is lost.
On the ending of Mark, reports that verses 9-20 are missing from the two oldest Greek manuscripts, Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, and from some early translations; that Clement of Alexandria and Origen show no knowledge of them; and that Eusebius and Jerome say the passage was absent from almost all the Greek copies they knew.
| Witness | Date | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Irenaeus | About 180 | Quotes the ascension verse, 16:19, as part of Mark |
| Codex Sinaiticus | 300s | Mark ends at 16:8 |
| Codex Vaticanus | 300s | Mark ends at 16:8, and the next column is left blank |
| Eusebius | Early 300s | The accurate copies end at 16:8 |
| Jerome | About 407 | Almost all Greek copies lack the passage |
| The NIV | Today | Sets 16:9-20 apart: the earliest manuscripts do not have it |
What Eusebius and Jerome reported
Eusebius was the church's first great historian. Early in the fourth century he wrote that the accurate copies of Mark ended at "for they were afraid". About eighty years later Jerome, a church scholar, answered the same question. He drew on Eusebius and repeated that almost all Greek copies lacked the passage.
Asked how Matthew and Mark agree on the time of the resurrection, Eusebius answers that the passage after "for they were afraid" (Mark 16:8) is not found in all copies: the accurate copies end there, and it is missing from almost all of them.
Answering questions about the resurrection accounts, Jerome says this closing passage of Mark is found in few copies of the Gospel, almost all the Greek books lacking it. His answer follows Eusebius closely.
“And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.”
The join at verse 9
Verse 8 ends with the women. Verse 9 starts a new story. It introduces Mary Magdalene as if the reader had never met her, though she was named in verse 1 of the same chapter. Scholars add that the words and style are unlike the rest of Mark. They add that some manuscripts carry a different, shorter ending instead, or both.
“And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.”
“Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.”
On Mark 16:9-20, adds that the longer ending is present in the great majority of manuscripts, most of them late; that several manuscripts carry a different, shorter ending, some with both endings; that the longer ending contains words and expressions not used elsewhere in Mark; and that the join at verse 9 is awkward, since the subject of verse 8 is the women while verse 9 takes Jesus as its subject and introduces Mary Magdalene as if she had not been mentioned before. Concludes that the longer ending was not written by the writer of the Gospel.
What Christian Bibles now say
The NIV, a widely used modern Bible, sets the twelve verses apart. Its note says the earliest manuscripts do not have them. The NIV Study Bible says serious doubts exist whether they belong to Mark at all.
The NIV prints Mark 16:9-20 set apart, with a note that the earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have these verses (1984: "the most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses"). The NIV Study Bible adds that serious doubts exist whether the verses belong to Mark, because they are missing from important early manuscripts and differ in vocabulary, style and theology, and that the Gospel probably ended at 16:8 or its first ending was lost.
Snakes and poison in worship
Some churches in Appalachia and the American South still handle venomous snakes. Some also drink poison. They do this in obedience to Mark 16:17-18. Handlers have died of bites. One was the preacher who spread the practice, George Went Hensley, in 1955.
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
A study of the churches in Appalachia and the American South that handle venomous snakes and drink poison in worship in obedience to Mark 16:17-18. It records deaths from bites among handlers, including the movement's founding preacher, George Went Hensley, who died of a snakebite in 1955.
What the oldest Mark contains
In its oldest form, the earliest Gospel has no appearance of Jesus after the empty tomb. It has no command from him to preach to every creature, and no ascension. It ends with an empty tomb and women who told no one. Every one of those scenes in Mark came from a later hand. The whole of it is still read in churches as the word of God (﷾).
“And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.”
A Greek Bible copied in the fourth century, and the oldest surviving complete copy of the New Testament. Its Gospel of Mark ends at 16:8. After Revelation it also contains the Epistle of Barnabas and part of the Shepherd of Hermas, books that are not in today's New Testament.
A Greek Bible copied in the fourth century. Its Gospel of Mark ends at 16:8, and the scribe left the next column blank. The manuscript breaks off in Hebrews 9, so the end of its New Testament is lost.
How Christians read these promises
Apart from a few small churches, Christians do not pick up snakes, drink poison or tell mountains to move. Yet the Gospels promise that faith can do this. Most Christians read these promises as figures of speech, or as signs for the first disciples only. They do not take them at face value. The same measure should apply to the high titles given to Jesus. The Bible calls Moses "a god" to Pharaoh, and no one reads that as making Moses God. Either way, the verses in Mark tell against the Christian case. If they are genuine, almost no church obeys them. If they are not, words were added to scripture.
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
“Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.”
“And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.”
Verse by verse
Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.10 (c. 180)
Irenaeus quotes Mark 16:19, that the Lord was received up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God, as words found towards the end of Mark's Gospel.
Cited for
Irenaeus quoted the longer ending about 180, so it was part of Mark from early on.
The response
Irenaeus shows only that some copies had the ending by 180. Clement of Alexandria and Origen, writing soon after, show no knowledge of it. The oldest complete copies do not have it. Early use does not make it Mark's.
Where it lands — The quotation shows the ending was in use by 180; it does not make Mark its author.
Mark 16:17-18 — Gospel of Mark, chapter 16, verses 17-18
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
Cited for
The signs in Mark 16:17-18 are Jesus' own promise to believers.
The response
Almost no church acts on the promise about snakes and poison. Those that do have buried members who were bitten. The verses sit in a passage that Christian scholars and the NIV itself say Mark probably did not write.
Where it lands — The promise about snakes and poison is not obeyed, and the passage it sits in is not Mark's. It is not evidence of a preserved Gospel of Mark.
Perspectives
Defenders of the longer ending
Some Christians hold that Mark 16:9-20 is genuine. Others say it is scripture whoever wrote it. They point to the great majority of manuscripts, and to a second-century writer who knew it.
Irenaeus quotes Mark 16:19 as part of Mark about the year 180.
Rebuttal
Irenaeus shows that some copies had the ending by about 180. That shows how early it was in use; it does not make Mark its writer. The join at verse 9 and the different style show another hand, and some copies carry a different ending instead.
Most surviving Greek manuscripts of Mark, which are late, contain the longer ending.
Rebuttal
Most surviving copies do have it, but the two oldest Bibles do not. Eusebius and Jerome say almost all the Greek copies they knew lacked it. The NIV and Christian scholars say Mark probably did not write it.
Mainstream textual scholarship
Christian and other textual scholars broadly agree that the writer of Mark did not write verses 9-20. The Gospel either ended at 16:8 or its first ending was lost.
The oldest manuscripts, early translations and early writers show Mark ending at 16:8.
Rebuttal
Islam agrees with this finding. Christians reply that the other Gospels tell of Jesus after the empty tomb, so no belief hangs on these verses. But a practice did hang on them: snake handlers have died obeying verses 17-18.
The vocabulary, style and the join at verse 9 show a different writer.
Rebuttal
Islam agrees. Most scholars differ only on whether Mark ended at 16:8 or lost its first ending. Either way the twelve verses are another hand's, and many Bibles still print them as scripture.
Where the academy stands
Status: Consensus
Textual scholars broadly agree that Mark 16:9-20 was not written by the writer of Mark, and that the oldest recoverable text ends at 16:8.
The Islamic perspective
Twelve verses were added to the earliest Gospel and are still printed as scripture. A book to which men could add the appearances after the empty tomb and the command to preach is not the preserved word of God (﷾).
The two oldest Greek Bibles end Mark at 16:8.
Eusebius and Jerome reported that the accurate copies, or almost all Greek copies, ended at verse 8.
Some manuscripts carry a different, shorter ending, which shows that copyists supplied endings of their own.
Christian Bibles themselves now mark the verses as doubtful.
Believers have died handling snakes on the strength of verses the Gospel's writer did not write.
Christians do not take the promises about snakes, poison and moving mountains at face value. So they should read the high titles given to Jesus the same way. No one takes Moses to be God because the Bible calls him "a god".