Unbelief, Lawlessness, and Satan: Viewing the Freer Logion as a Scribal Response to Open- Ended Eschatological Themes in Mark

The focus of my study is to demonstrate that major variants in the text of Early Christian Literature were purposely inserted into the text in light of theological controversies by scribes who represented a certain perspective on behalf of an Early Christian community. The text on which this paper is focused is the ending of the Gospel of Mark and the major textual variant known as the “Freer Logion.” I will argue that the Freer Logion was purposely inserted to conclude themes that were left open by the author of Mark and not addressed by the scribe who inserted the Longer Ending of Mark. There seems to be a problem with the ending of the Gospel According to Mark. When one studies the various manuscripts of Mark, one finds at least four different endings that are not similar; they are actually very different (Metzger 1975, 122). The earliest and best manuscripts of Mark show that the text ends at 16:8, which reads: “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (Mk 16:8 NRSV). This ending has been disputed by some scholars, but it is generally the consensus that Mark originally ended with verse 8 or that the rest of the original ending was lost in transmission (Bartholomew and Boomershine 1981). The second known ending to Mark is an 1 The following is a list of frequently abbreviated terms used in this paper. I Primary Texts, Manuscript Variations and English Translations a FL: “Freer Logion”—an addition to Mark 16:14 found only in Codex Freerianus b LE: “Longer Ending of Mark”—Mark 16:9-20 c LXX: The Septuagint—the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures d NRSV: New Revised Standard Edition Bible e W: Codex Freerianus II Other Abbreviations a EDNT: Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament b NIB: New Interpreter’s Bible c NOAB: New Oxford Annotated Bible Special thanks to my advisor and friend, Dr. Matthew Baldwin. 2 The Gospel of Mark will only be italicized when written out as the full title, The Gospel According to Mark. All other references to Mark will not be italicized. 3 All translation of canonical biblical text comes from the New Revised Standard Edition unless otherwise noted. 1 Clark: The Freer Logion as a Scribal Response to OpenEnded Eschatological Themes in Mark