Hi everyone. Welcome again to the Daily gospel exegesis podcast. We're looking at the Gospel reading for today's mass for Easter Saturday. The reading at Mass is from Mark chapter 16, verses 9 to 15. So we'll start by reading the passage and then we want to dive into the text a bit and see what we can. Uncover that will help us understand what the author was trying to convey. So Mark 16:9-20, 15.
Having risen in the morning on the first day of the week, Jesus appeared first to Mary of magdala from whom, he had cast out Seven Devils. She then went to those who had been his companions and who were mourning and in tears and told them, but they did not believe her when they heard her say that he was alive and that she had seen him After this, he showed himself under another form, to two of them as they were on
their way into the country. These went back and told the others who did not believe them either. Lastly, he showed himself to the 11 themselves while they were at table, he reproached them for their incredulity and obstinate see because they had refused to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. And he said to them, go out to the whole world proclaim, the good news to all creation.
So this is the last chapter of the Gospel of Mark and there's a lot of controversy about this last chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the Bible scholar Community because verse 9 to 20 of the Gospel of the last chapter of the Gospel that it doesn't appear in the earliest manuscripts of Mark or at least
some of them. So, as a result, some Scholars have come to believe that because some of the earliest manuscripts don't have this verse 9 to 20 the maybe these verses were I added later, not by Mark himself but by someone in subsequent decades, maybe a later disciple of Mark, but the evidence for that is not conclusive because a lot of the early manuscripts do have this ending. So we really can't be sure at this stage, whether it was in
the original or not. But in either case, certainly the church has always understood these verses to be inspired. They are the word of God, just as much of the rest of the Gospel of Mark is so, what's the context? So Easter Sunday, the women went to the tomb, to anoint, the body, and they found an angel there instead saying that Jesus was risen. So, Mark now gives a short summary of the, major appearances of Jesus.
So this is a very condensed summary that we're going to hear from Mark. A lot of what we hear gets unpacked more in the other gospels verse 9, having risen in the morning on the first day of the week. So this is early on Sunday morning Easter Sunday, and if we have our dates, right? That's April if 33 ad, he appeared first to Mary of magdala, And you probably know the story. This is in John chapter 20, and
she thinks he's the gardener. So that's the very first appearance of Jesus. That's all Mark. Tells us about it though. He then says, from whom he had cast out Seven Devils. Now the similar phrases used in Luke chapter 8, verse to Mary. Magdalene has Seven Devils, who is Mary Magdalene? Exactly.
Well, there's been lots of controversy over the centuries and lots of debate because some people have tried to identify, Mary of Magdalene with, Other Mary's such as Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus and also the woman who wipes Jesus feet with her tears but that's not what the gospel say. And so we don't know whether she was a prostitute, we don't really know much about her except that she was from
magdala. We know that later obviously, she becomes a follower of Jesus and one of his closest friends, but that's all we know. The gospels. Don't identify her with any of the other Mary's verse 10. She then went back to those who had been her been his companions and who were mourning and in tears. So Mary and the other women as, you know, from the other gospels, they see the Angels, they go back to tell the apostles and the disciples, what they've seen.
Verse 11, but they did not believe her. When they heard her say that, she was, that he was alive and that she had seen him and we get the full version of this in Luke 24. When the women try to tell the disciples on Easter Sunday morning, we've seen Jesus. And we, his risen from the dead. They don't believe the women and that makes sense. Because in that culture, woman's testimony was not really considered to be valid.
Women were not considered to be reliable, so that might be why they're not believing the women in this case. Later in the day. As you probably know he appears to Peter and that's when things start to change. Verse 12 after this, Jesus showed himself under another form to two of them as they were on their way into the country. So later on Easter Sunday, Mark tells us there's another appearance of Jesus and that is the appearance that we know, is the Emmaus Road to Emmaus story in Luke 24.
And so, if you read, Luke 24, Jesus walks with clear pass and another unnamed disciple, and he gives him an extended Bible study and Luke says, sorry. Mark says here, that In that appearance, Jesus appears under another form. Now, that's interesting language because in Luke in Luke 24, it's clear that clear pass and the other disciple, don't recognize Jesus, but it's not entirely certain why they don't recognize
him and Mark here. Clarifiers that the reason they don't recognize Jesus on the road to Emmaus is because he's in a different form. His post, Resurrection body has taken on a different form and certainly his body is able to do that. Verse 13, they went back and told the rest so. Clear. Passing the other disciple late on Easter Sunday, quickly. Go back to Jerusalem to tell the apostles what they have seen. But the apostles did not believe them either.
Now, here, we need to be careful because some of accused, or some would say that there's a contradiction in the gospels, because in Luke's text. It says, when they get back the people in the room, say yes, we believe Jesus has risen, but here Mark says that when the Disciples of Emmaus, get back, the apostles, don't believe them. The solution is if you closely. Look at the Luke text, Luke 24 verse 33. Says the other disciples who were in the room said yes, he is risen.
So it's Those other extended disciples. Hey, Luke and 2024 doesn't say anything about whether the apostles themselves believe, and from here in Mark, we learn that in fact, although the other disciples in the room, may have believed the story of the Emmaus disciples, for example, the women might have been in there and they certainly would have believed them. Mark tells us that actually the apostles themselves still did not believe the Emmaus story.
They only believed later that night when Jesus appeared Verse 14. Mark says, lastly, he showed himself to the 11 themselves while they were at table. Now, which appearance is Mark thinking about here, there's a couple of times when Jesus shows up, while the disciples were at table, it could be that very same appearance on Easter Sunday after the to amaze disciples have told their story the
disciples, don't believe them. And then, Jesus shows up, that's in Luke 24, verse 36. And that would make sense. That would be the The best fit for what Marx is talking about here. So, that's the fifth appearance of Jesus when Jesus appears in the room to the apostles. Some have suggested that actually Mark is talking about
the appearance. 7 days later on the following Sunday and some have even suggested that he's talking about one that took place later in Galilee 40 days later, because of what Jesus says next, Mark, he mentions the eleven disciples by this point. Judas has died although much, interestingly Mark, doesn't
erase what? It happens to Judas by using the term, the 11. He confirms that Judas is gone his committed suicide Mark says that Jesus reproached them for their in credulity and obstinate see there's a pretty obscure words there. So a more literal translation is Jesus reproach them for their unbelief and Hardness of Heart. So it's kind of like stubbornness and that's a pretty common theme. All throughout the gospel of Mark, the disciples just don't get it.
And Jesus has to keep ya, telling them off and not getting it because they had refused to believe those who had seen him after he, He had risen. So Jesus in this in these appearances to the disciples and that probably is talking about that first appearance to them late at night on Easter Sunday. Jesus says, they should have believed, especially since Jesus has been telling them the entire time that he will resurrect. So he expected them to believe, but they haven't.
And so he says their hearts are hard. They did not believe when they should have. Now, Mark presents at this point of very compact account. He now goes on to describe a speech of Jesus, which we know from the other gospels took place much later on 40 days later in the Galilean Ministry. Jesus says, these words and Mark
gives us an abbreviated version. In today's reading, we only have verse 15, but it basically goes right to the end of Mark. 16 is Jesus speech, but we just have verse 15 today, which says go out to the world. God, go out to the whole World proclaim, the good news to all creation. So go out to the whole world Jesus here is commanding the apostles to travel throughout the entire known world, not just Israel. And that's a new thing.
They didn't expect that they would be preaching to the entire world. He says to them proclaim, the good news. And what's the good news as we've discussed in this podcast, the good news or the gospel, is the message of the kingdom of God. Everything Jesus has been saying about the kingdom of God, is what he wants them to now, go out and share. So the message that he wants the apostles to share is that the reign of Satan is over and the long-awaited rain of God has now
begun. That's the good news and he says to Proclaim that to all creation or more literally to every creature. And of course, that's hyperbole. He doesn't mean to preach to animals. He means to every man of every nation. This is the command they're given.
The gospel is now available to all due to Gentiles not just use and that is the beginning of a new era that's the command he gives them before his Ascension preach the gospel to all men of all Nations. And of course we start to see that in the book of Acts. Now, there is more to this speech in Mark, and we've just done the very first verse of Jesus speech here. He's kind of his farewell speech, but that's where the reading ends in today's election
area. The rest of the speech we get to here in the Feast of the Ascension in here. Be so we'll look at that. When we get to that in the lectionary, So where does this appear in the catechism? There's two main places? Where Mark 16 clearly shows up. So paragraph 643 is one we've heard a few times, so that's
about Jesus body. After the resurrection, it says, given all these testimonies Christ's Resurrection cannot be interpreted as something outside the physical order and it is impossible not to acknowledge it as an historical fact, it is clear from the facts that the disciples Faith was drastically. Put to the test. East by their masters passion and Death on the cross, which he had foretold the shock provoked by the passion with so great that at least some of the
disciples did not at once. Believed in the news of the Resurrection far from showing us a community sees, by mystical exaltation, the gospels presented with presenters, with disciples demoralized and frightened for. They had not believe the holy women returning from the tomb and had regarded their words as an idle Tale.
When Jesus reveals himself to the Eleven on Eastern evening, he upbraided them for their unbelief and Hardness of Heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. So that paragraph coat quotes a lot of Mark summary from chapter 16 and notice that at the end in particular, the catechism interprets, this appearance of Jesus in Mark 16 where Jesus up raids and for their Hardness of Heart. The catechism says that did happen as part of the appearance.
In the evening on Easter Sunday. So that first big appearance of the Apostles and then in paragraph 8 88, which is about the teaching office of Bishops. Commenting on the words. Jesus gives them in the commission here to go and preach the gospel to All Nations. It says Bishops with priests as co-workers have as their first task quotes to preach the gospel of God to all men. In keeping with the Lord's
command. They are Heralds of Faith who draw new Disciples of Christ. They are authentic teachers of the apostolic faith endowed with the authority of Christ. So that's a nice link there to water our role of the Bishops. And Priests is today is to continue the mission that Jesus gave the apostles to preach the gospel, the kingdom of God, to All Nations. So we'll leave it there for today's podcast. Please, share this around if you learn something new and we'll see you again tomorrow.