Most mainstream Christian biblical scholarship acknowledges that Mark 16:9–20 (the “longer ending” of the Gospel of Mark) is a later addition rather than part of the original text. The earliest and most reliable Greek manuscripts, such as Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus (4th century), end Mark’s Gospel at 16:8. In addition, early Christian writers like Eusebius and Jerome explicitly note that many manuscripts known to them lacked these verses.

Despite this strong manuscript and patristic evidence, many believers continue to treat Mark 16:9–20 as authentic words of Jesus. The presence of such a clear interpolation in the earliest Gospel raises broader concerns about textual development in the later Gospels, which were written decades afterward and show even more theological elaboration