Mark 16:9-20 — "The Longer Ending"

Southern Baptist biblical scholarship recognizes that Mark 16:9-20 is absent from the earliest Greek manuscripts and is therefore textually uncertain. Modern Baptist study Bibles (such as the HCSB) often include textual notes indicating this uncertainty. However, Baptist theology affirms the theological content of the passage—the risen Christ, the Great Commission, the promise of signs—as thoroughly consistent with Gospel teaching.

Baptist approach: if the passage is encountered in Scripture, its content is affirmed; the textual question is noted for those studying Scripture critically. The resurrection and the commission to preach are so well-attested elsewhere that textual questions do not create doctrinal crisis.