The Imperishable Gospel Bomb Text: Mark 16 (Shorter Ending)
Introduction: Tidy Endings and God's Providence
We live in an age that is deeply uncomfortable with loose ends. We want our stories to conclude with a neat bow, all questions answered, all characters accounted for. And when we come to the end of Mark's gospel, modern sensibilities get a bit twitchy. Our Bibles are littered with footnotes about the ending of Mark, telling us that the oldest manuscripts stop at verse 8, with the women fleeing the tomb in terrified silence. Then we have the longer ending, verses 9 through 20, which has been the church's received text for millennia. And tucked in between, in some manuscripts, we find this little firecracker, this compact summary that we are considering today, often called the "Shorter Ending."
Now, the world of textual criticism can be a fussy and fastidious place, full of scholars who sometimes handle the Word of God as though it were a dead butterfly to be pinned to a board. They debate which ending is "original," as though the Holy Spirit lost His train of thought and a committee of scribes had to help Him out. But we must not think this way. We serve a sovereign God who has providentially governed the compilation and preservation of His Word. The fact that we have these variations is not a problem for God, and therefore it ought not to be a problem for us. These are not contradictions; they are different camera angles on the same glorious reality. The longer ending is God's Word. The abrupt ending at verse 8 has a punch of its own. And this shorter ending? It is a cannonball of distilled truth.
This brief, explosive summary does not contradict what follows in the longer ending. Rather, it functions as a powerful headline, a divine abstract for the book of Acts. It bridges the gap between the fearful women at the tomb and the world-conquering mission of the apostles. It shows us the hinge on which history turned: from a small band of bewildered followers to a global, sacred, and imperishable proclamation. This is not the gospel of a committee; this is the gospel of the risen Christ, sent out by His own authority, from east to west.
So let us not be spooked by the footnotes. Let us instead receive what has been delivered to us and preach it. This short verse is a testament to the explosive power of the resurrection and the unstoppable force of the Great Commission. It is a summary of everything that matters.
The Text
[And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable preaching of eternal salvation.]
(Mark 16, Shorter Ending)
From Fear to Faithful Report (Clause 1)
The text begins by resolving the cliffhanger of verse 8.
"And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions."
In verse 8, the women fled the tomb, seized by "trembling and astonishment," and "they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid." The scoffers and the skeptics love to stop there. See? The first witnesses were unreliable, struck dumb by fear. The whole thing is a fabrication. But this is a shallow and foolish reading. Their fear was not the fear of disbelief; it was the fear of awe. It was the terror that comes from standing in the presence of the holy, the kind of fear that makes prophets fall on their faces. It was a holy and appropriate dread. And it did not last.
This first clause tells us that their fear gave way to faithfulness. They were told by the angel to "go, tell his disciples and Peter," and that is precisely what they did. The word is "promptly." There was no dithering. Once the initial shock of the empty tomb and the angelic message settled, obedience kicked in. This is the pattern of true faith. We are often struck with fear by the magnitude of God's commands, by the sheer audacity of what He calls us to do. But faith does not remain paralyzed. Faith moves. It obeys.
And notice who they reported to: "Peter and his companions." Peter is singled out, just as he was by the angel. This is grace upon grace. Peter, the one who had so shamefully denied the Lord three times, is specifically named. The first report of the resurrection is sent directly to the chief of sinners, the lead denier. This is the gospel in miniature. The message of forgiveness and restoration is embedded in the very first announcement of the new creation. The Lord did not want Peter stewing in his guilt and shame. He wanted him to know that the resurrection was for him too. The gospel is not for the polished and the perfect; it is for the broken and the cowardly, for men just like Peter, and for men just like us.
The Divine Initiative (Clause 2)
The second clause shifts the focus from the messengers to the ultimate sender.
"And after that, Jesus Himself sent out through them..."
This is the central engine of the Great Commission. The mission of the church is not something the apostles cooked up in a committee meeting. It was not their idea. We are told "Jesus Himself" sent them out. The authority, the impetus, the power, and the strategy all originate with the risen Lord. He is the commanding officer. They are the commissioned soldiers.
The phrase "through them" is also crucial. Jesus does not thunder the gospel from heaven with a disembodied voice. He uses means. He uses redeemed sinners. He takes cowardly, doubting, thick-headed disciples and makes them the conduits of His world-altering message. This is God's consistent pattern. He delights in using weak things to shame the strong. He puts His treasure in jars of clay, so that the surpassing power will be of God and not from us (2 Cor. 4:7). The power is not in the preacher; the power is in the Christ who sends the preacher.
This is why all our modern, market-driven church growth strategies are ultimately impotent. We think we can grow the church through slick branding, entertaining services, and by making the gospel palatable to the world. But the power is not in our methods. The power is in the sending. If Jesus Himself has not sent us, we are just making noise. If He has, then nothing can stand in our way. The success of the mission is guaranteed not by the quality of the instruments, but by the authority of the one who wields them.
The Scope of the Mission (Clause 3)
Next, we are given the breathtaking scope of this divine commission.
"...from east to west..."
This is shorthand for "the entire world." The gospel is not a tribal religion for first-century Jews. It is not a regional cult. It is a global proclamation for every nation, tribe, and tongue. From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised (Psalm 113:3). This little phrase is a summary of the Great Commission in Matthew 28: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations."
This is the engine of postmillennial optimism. Jesus did not die on the cross merely to punch a few individual tickets to heaven. He died to purchase the nations for His inheritance (Psalm 2). He rose from the dead and was given all authority in heaven and on earth. And on the basis of that universal authority, He commands His church to disciple the nations. Not just individuals, but nations. He intends to have them all. The gospel will go forth from east to west, and it will not return void. It will accomplish the purpose for which He sent it. History is not a random series of chaotic events; it is the story of Jesus Christ extending His kingdom from Jerusalem to the uttermost parts of the earth. From east to west.
The Nature of the Message (Clause 4)
Finally, we are told what this message is. It is described with four powerful words.
"...the sacred and imperishable preaching of eternal salvation."
First, it is "sacred." This means it is set apart. It is holy. It is not a human philosophy or a self-help program. It is a message from the transcendent God. It must be handled with reverence and fear. We are not at liberty to edit it, to soften its hard edges, or to apologize for its claims. To tamper with the gospel is to commit sacrilege.
Second, it is "imperishable." It does not rot. It does not have a shelf life. It does not go out of style. The philosophies of men are like grass; they flourish for a day and then wither. But the Word of the Lord endures forever. This is that Word. Empires will rise and fall, cultures will shift and decay, but this imperishable proclamation will remain, because its source is the eternal God and its subject is the resurrected Christ.
Third, it is "preaching." The Greek word is kerygma. It is a herald's proclamation. The gospel is not a suggestion to be considered; it is a royal edict to be obeyed. A herald does not enter a town and say, "I have some interesting ideas from the king I'd like you to consider for your personal fulfillment." No, he says, "Thus says the King! Bow the knee!" We are to preach the gospel, which means we are to proclaim the lordship of Jesus Christ and command all men everywhere to repent and believe.
And fourth, what is the content of this preaching? It is "eternal salvation." This is the good news. The holy God has provided a way for sinful men to be reconciled to Him. Through the death and resurrection of His Son, He offers a salvation that is not temporary, not partial, but eternal. It is a salvation that rescues us from the eternal penalty of sin, frees us from the present power of sin, and will one day remove us entirely from the presence of sin. This is the message that Jesus Himself sent out through His disciples, from east to west. And it is the same message He has entrusted to us today.
Conclusion: The Unfinished Task
This short, powerful verse is a microcosm of the entire Christian mission. It begins with the report of the resurrection, is impelled by the authority of the risen Christ, is aimed at the entire world, and consists of the unchanging proclamation of eternal salvation.
It serves as a glorious summary of the work Christ began and a divine commission for the work that we must continue. The apostles received this charge and they turned the world upside down. They carried this sacred and imperishable preaching from Jerusalem to Rome and beyond. And that baton has been passed down through the generations, from their hands to ours.
The mission is the same. The Commander is the same. The message is the same. The scope is the same. Jesus Himself is still sending out His gospel through His people, from east to west. The question for us is the same one that faced the women at the tomb and the disciples in the upper room. Will we let our fear paralyze us? Or will we promptly report what we have been told? Will we be faithful conduits for this sacred and imperishable message?
God has not called us to a mission that might fail. He has called us to be participants in an assured victory. The gospel is imperishable, and its advance is inevitable. Our job is to get in on it. Our job is to preach, to proclaim, to herald the eternal salvation that is found in Christ alone, until He comes again, or calls us home.