[Biblemat] S) IS MARK 16:15,16 GENUINE SCRIPTURE? (1)

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is a study from my
files.  Use to the glory of God.

IS MARK 16:15,16 GENUINE SCRIPTURE?

     According to Mk. 16:15,16, the risen Savior Jesus Christ
gave His apostles the Great Commission including these words:  "And He said 
unto them, Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature.  he that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be 
damned."

     This passage is simple in meaning and powerful in giving
hope to sinners who seek salvation.  All men in every nation
must know that the Son of God and Savior of the world has
come.  He died as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, and arose
from the grave to conquer death for us.  Any person who be-
lieves this good news and submits to Christ by being immers-
ed in water receives the gift of the forgiveness of his sins by
the grace of God.

     But Is It Genuine?:-- We are sometimes asked if Mk. 16:15,
16 is genuine Scripture?  There are two prominent reasons.
First, footnotes found in some Bibles create doubt.  Second,
questions arise because of exaggerated claims by false teach-
ers who seek to escape the force of verse 16.  The New Amer-
ican Standard Bible, Reference Edition (1971) says in a margi-
nal note, "Some of the oldest manuscripts omit from verse 9
through 20."  Manuscripts refer to ancient copies of the New
Testament in Greek.  The New International Version, Study
Bible, 10th Anniversary Edition (1995) says in an end note, 
Serious doubt exists as to whether these verses belong to the Gospel of Mark. 
 They are absent from important early
manuscripts and display certain...peculiarities of vocabulary,
style and theological content that are unlike the rest of Mark.
His Gospel probably ended at 16:8, or its original ending has
been lost.

     The Living Scriptures Paraphrased, Messianic Edition of 
The Living Bible (1982) says in a footnote, "vss. 9-20 are not
found in the most ancient manuscripts, but may be consider-
ed an appendix giving additional facts."  What are we to be-
lieve?

     Ancient Greek Manuscripts And Versions: -- The New Test-
ament was originally written in the Greek language.  The origi-
nal manuscripts were hand copied and distributed.  As they
spread to new peoples, they were also translated into other
languages and these translations are called versions.  As the
original copies of the first Greek manuscripts and the first 
versions were repeatedly used, they were damaged and they
wore out.  Copies were made from the first copies.  As the
process continued minor mistakes were made on some copies, and leafs or pages 
were lost later for various reasons.
For instance, the last page of a manuscript or of a version 
might easily be damaged or lsot through constant use.

     God promised that His Word would never pass away (Isa.
40:7,8; 1 Pet. 1:24,25).  His providence has protected His Word so that it 
has been accurately preserved.  There are
about 5,000 known copies of Greek manuscripts of the New
Testament, in part or the whole.  Likewise, ther are multiple
copies of the early translations into various languages.  One
Greek manuscript copy or translation copy may be missing
certain books, chapters, and verses, and the next one is miss-
ing others.  When Bible scholars gather all of the manuscripts
they compare one to another to identify anything missing or
and miscopied word.  What is missing or miscopied in one is
accurately preserved in another.  By God's providence we have the whole Bible.

     Among the most complete copies of Greek manuscripts
are: Codex Vaticanus (dated A.D. 300-350), Codex Sinaiticus
(dated about A.D. 350), and Codex Washington (dated A.D.
300s-400s, very good copies of the books Matthew through
John).  Mk. 16:9-20 is missing from the Greek manuscripts
Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, but is included in Washing-
ton and in other early manuscripts.  Codex Vaticanus is also
missing Heb. 9:14-13:25; 1 and 2 Tim., Titus, Philemon, and 
all of Revelation.  Yet, these passages are not put under a 
cloud of doubt like Mk. 16:9-20 is.  There is no footnote in 
modern translations raising doubt about these other passages.

     Do the false teachers who reject these verses from Mark
in an effort to escape from Mk. 16:16 ever quote from those
other "missing" passages as Scripture?  yes, of course, they
do!  Some of these men teach the premillennial theory that
Jesus will return to reign on a literal throne for 1000 years,
but the only chapter (Rev. 20) which mentions the 1000 years
is missing from Codex Vaticanus, one of the same manuscrip-
ts which is missing the last verses of Mark!  That same manu-
script is missing many early chapters from Genesis.  Do the
preachers who reject Mk. 16:16 believe Gen. 1:1 is true script-
ure?  If we do not include all of these passages as true Script-
ture, we violate Rev. 22:19 which forbids subtracting anything
from God's Word.  Perhaps preachers who reject Mk. 16:16
will also reject Rev. 22:19 because it is missing from Codex
Vaticanus!

     When the New Testament was written in Greek, it was very
soon translated into other languages.  The complete ending
of Mark is found in the earliest translations or versions such
as the Peshito Syriac and the Old Latin, which date to the 
second century, thus 200 years older than Codex Sinaiticus,
Vaticanus, and Washington.  Other early versions include
Curetonian Syriac, Coptic, Sahidic, and Tatian's Diatessaron
(the earliest harmony of the four Gospels).  All of them include the complete 
ending of Mark.

     Because verses 9-20 were so widely available in early Greek manuscripts 
and in early version, verses from this
passage are cited and quoted by men who explained and defended Christianity 
such as Irenaus (A.D. 115-202), Papias
(A.D. 70-153), Justin Martyr (A.D. 100-165), and Tatian (A.D.
110-180).  They were freely using these long before the Sinai-
ticus and Vaticanus manuscripts were made which omit them.
(More will be posted on this subject tomorrow, the Lord will-
ing, JWS).
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