Mark and Kafka

The strangest short story I have ever read in my entire life was The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. It’s the story of a door-to-door salesman named Gregor Samsa who awakens one morning only to discover that, by some odd wonder, he has been transformed into a giant cockroach.

Now, this may sound bizarre, but there are a lot of parallels between Kafka’s peculiar tale and the Gospel of Mark. One similarity is comprehension. Gregor can clearly understand his family, but no one can understand him. Likewise, Jesus discerns the secret thoughts of everyone he encounters, yet no one seems to understand him. Another similarity is transformation. Gregor’s metamorphosis forces his dependent family to alter their behavior and responsibility. Similarly, Jesus’s transformation, his resurrection from death, will change his disciples into men and women of power.

But most similar is the anti-climactic nature of both story’s endings. In the end, the main character simply dies. After each account, the reader wonders, “This is how it ends? I thought this was adding up to something. What have I been reading this whole time? How disappointing.” Have you ever had that impression when reading Mark 1:8? “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.” In the earliest and best manuscripts of Mark’s gospel, that’s the ending.

What?

What are we supposed to make of that? There are a lot of theories. Some scholars believe that Mark had a secret ending that he didn’t get to finish. Discerning this, later scribes went ahead and added verses 9-20. It doesn’t mean those later verses are wrong. They accurately describe what the other gospel accounts confirm. Jesus was resurrected from the dead, revealed himself to hundreds of people, and ascended into heaven to take his place at the Father’s right hand. It’s all true.

However, other scholars suggest an alternative: what if Mark meant to conclude his gospel exactly how we find it in those earliest manuscripts? What if Mark 16:8 is the original ending? What does that tell us about Easter? It tells us two significant things. It tells us something about the truth of Easter and the challenge of Easter.

The Truth of Easter

Despite an ending that appears anticlimactic, Mark’s ending is rather powerful. Some critics harshly suggest that he doesn’t fully develop the truth of the resurrection. However, that’s a shortsighted opinion. Two pieces of evidence refute this hasty epitaph.

The Message

The first evidence is the clear angelic proclamation in verses six and seven. “‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you (Mark 16:6-7).”’”

In these two brief sentences, we have a clear summation of the entire gospel message, what scholar C.H. Dodd identified as the apostolic preaching, that core message on which our entire faith hangs.

We see a similar statement in 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 when Paul writes, “¹ “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. ² By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. ³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.”

That’s the apostolic preaching, the apostolic message. That’s the proclamation for which Paul was beheaded, for which Peter was crucified upside-down, for which John was boiled in oil; the message for which thousands of Christians have courageously given their life. Christ died, Christ was buried, Christ was raised, Christ appeared, Christ is coming soon.

The Witnesses

The second evidence that Mark’s conclusion is a powerful proclamation of the Easter truth is the other characters involved, the women, Mary, Mary, and Salome. Three women approach the tomb that day to continue the Jewish burial ritual. Scholar N.T. Wright explains: “Middle Eastern burials of this era took place in two stages. First, the body was wrapped up, covered in spices to offset the smell and then laid on a shelf in a cave. Second, a year or two later when the flesh had decomposed, the bones were then gathered into a box called an ossuary and stored in the tomb, leaving room for the burial of another family member on the now empty shelf.”

This is most likely what the women were going to the tomb to do, complete Jesus’s burial. What they were certainly not doing was going to witness Jesus’s resurrection. Modern-day gospel critics often discount the resurrection witnesses by saying, “Well, that was 2,000 years ago, and people were more superstitious. Today, we know people do not return from the dead.” But this is a false notion. Resurrection was just as surprising a claim in the first century as today. Jesus was dead. His disciples did not think they would ever see him alive again. The women did not go to the tomb expecting anything else. But what they discovered would change the entire world.

Which begs the question, why didn’t Mark get better witnesses? In the ancient world, women were regarded as worthless witnesses. If you wanted to make a case, to prove your point, the last person you would call to the witness stand was a woman. In today’s court setting, a witness can make or break a case. That’s part of the decision every lawyer has to make. “Will the jury accept this person as a credible witness?” If not, they don’t allow them to testify.

Mark must be a poor lawyer. Why does he claim that three women were the first witnesses of the resurrection unless three women were the first witnesses of the resurrection? And it’s not just Mark. Every gospel writer – Matthew, Luke, and John – claims the same. If Mark or the other gospel writers were lying, if they had made the whole thing up, if someone had come along at some point and secretly removed Jesus’s body and the entire thing was a farce, they would have fabricated better witnesses than three women.

There are many words we can use to describe Mark’s ending. Abrupt? Sure, it ends suddenly. Shocking? Absolutely. A person is raised from the dead, and three women are the witnesses. But weak, powerless? No! Mark’s conclusion courageously heralds the truth of Easter.

The Challenge of Easter

The brilliance of Mark’s ending is that he provides no clear ending. The purpose is clear; the conclusion of Mark’s gospel is you. Richard Hays pointedly surmises, “This Gospel’s lack of closure calls for active response from the reader.” It’s brilliant. Mark doesn’t provide a clear conclusion to his gospel because we are supposed to finish Mark’s gospel. It’s as if Mark breaks the fourth wall, looks directly at the audience, us, and says, “He has risen. He is not here. What are you going to do about it?”

So, what are you going to do about it? This is the challenge of Easter. Now that you’ve been to the empty tomb and heard the angel’s sermon, he’s told you, “Go to Galilee; he’s going to meet you there, and you will see for yourself,” What will you do?

Option One

I’ve got a few options for you if you’re interested. Option number one, you can write the whole thing off as fiction. You can adopt the dismissive attitude of many atheistic-minded people, like Christopher Hitchens, who once said, “That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.” Just dismiss the whole thing. That’s an option. Go live your life in whatever manner seems best to you.”

However, a word of caution. Choosing nonbelief will eventually lead you to nihilism, which is the belief that nothing really exists. Existence is meaningless; therefore, your values are meaningless. There’s no reason to help a neighbor in need, no reason to stay faithful to your spouse, no reason to care for your kids or elderly parents. Indeed, there is no reason to love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you.

A 2017 survey asked a group of atheists, “Where do you find meaning in life?” 26% reported finding meaning in hobbies, money, creative pursuits, travel, and leisurely activities. “What’s wrong with all of those?” Look at the question again. “Where do you find meaning in life?” Meaning was found on the weekend! The 80s band Loverboy was right. “Everybody’s working for the weekend.” The work I do during the week is drudgery. It doesn’t matter, except to fund my weekend hobbies, vacation plans, and pleasures.

What the gospel offers is something very different than that. What the gospel offers is purpose and meaning that exists beyond yourself and your weekend. It’s a purpose for which the entire world was destined since the beginning of creation by our creator, and you get to be part of it – God is reconciling the world to himself. The King of all Creation has come to us in the person of Jesus; he has made himself known and invited us into a mission that will change the world. If I had an option, I would choose belief over nonbelief any day.

Option Two

Now, for those who believe, there’s also an option for you today. Option number two, you can stay quiet about it and keep it all to yourself. You could walk away from Easter trembling and bewildered and never speak of it to anyone. Or you could spend the rest of your life a disciple of Jesus, following him down the path that leads to the cross, a path, by the way, that also leads to resurrection, making the gospel known to everyone you encounter along the way, sacrificing your life in other-oriented living. If you genuinely believe in the Easter story, you don’t have any other option than that.

The End?

How does Easter end? The answer is up to you.