Pastor Fisk, You make great points and certainly make cogent the Critical Text. But, as a new Lutheran wondering what to do with Dr. Luther putting Mark 16:16 as the scriptural backup to the second point in the Small Catechism, I preferred to believe that Mark 16:9-20 is apostolic. How do you explain this to confirmands?
Gordon, your question reveals the kind of honest wrestling every serious Christian eventually faces. You're right to notice the tension between the modern textual apparatus (which sometimes puts brackets around Mark 16:9–20) and our confessional use of Mark 16:16 in the Small Catechism. Here's how I would lay it out to confirmands—because clarity doesn't mean shallowness.
First, Mark 16:16 is Scripture. Whether you prefer the Traditional Text (which includes it) or lean toward the Critical Text (which questions its originality), the Church catholic has received this verse and confessed it for centuries. The Lutheran Church, specifically, has never flinched in preaching and teaching it. Luther included it not because of some blind allegiance to a manuscript tradition but because it teaches the same thing found elsewhere in the Scriptures—namely, that faith and baptism go together in saving the sinner.
So even if someone comes along and says, “But those verses might not be original to Mark,” our answer is simple: they teach nothing contrary to the rest of the Bible, and the Church has used them faithfully for generations. That's more than enough to confess them boldly.
Thus, we turn to 1 Peter 3:21 and discover that it teaches the same thing: "Baptism now saves you." So do Titus 3:5 and Romans 6:4. The Scriptures speak in harmony. The Church, led by the Holy Spirit, recognized this harmony, which is why Mark 16:16 was never controversial in the Church until modern textual critics decided to treat it like a puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit. But God’s Word is not a puzzle—it’s a Sword, a Hammer, a Fire (Jer. 23:29).
Third, we must beware of straw men—that is, arguing against caricatures. Nobody is saying that Mark 16:16 is the only place baptism is taught. Nor do we hang the Catechism on that verse alone. Luther chose it because it proclaims clearly and succinctly what Christ has said and done for us in Scripture as a whole. We trust that the Holy Spirit guides us to receive the entire witness, not just those parts we'd rather have.
So, I tell confirmands this: “Trust Jesus, then trust His Bible He gave His Church. Don’t be more skeptical than the saints who died confessing this truth. The Word works. The water works. Your Baptism works. Not because you understand it perfectly, but because He said so."
That's why, when it isn't something he actually said, don't try to shove a square peg in a round whole. Rejoice at the chance to learn some carpentry. Alleluia indeed.
Pastor Fisk, You make great points and certainly make cogent the Critical Text. But, as a new Lutheran wondering what to do with Dr. Luther putting Mark 16:16 as the scriptural backup to the second point in the Small Catechism, I preferred to believe that Mark 16:9-20 is apostolic. How do you explain this to confirmands?
Gordon, your question reveals the kind of honest wrestling every serious Christian eventually faces. You're right to notice the tension between the modern textual apparatus (which sometimes puts brackets around Mark 16:9–20) and our confessional use of Mark 16:16 in the Small Catechism. Here's how I would lay it out to confirmands—because clarity doesn't mean shallowness.
First, Mark 16:16 is Scripture. Whether you prefer the Traditional Text (which includes it) or lean toward the Critical Text (which questions its originality), the Church catholic has received this verse and confessed it for centuries. The Lutheran Church, specifically, has never flinched in preaching and teaching it. Luther included it not because of some blind allegiance to a manuscript tradition but because it teaches the same thing found elsewhere in the Scriptures—namely, that faith and baptism go together in saving the sinner.
So even if someone comes along and says, “But those verses might not be original to Mark,” our answer is simple: they teach nothing contrary to the rest of the Bible, and the Church has used them faithfully for generations. That's more than enough to confess them boldly.
Thus, we turn to 1 Peter 3:21 and discover that it teaches the same thing: "Baptism now saves you." So do Titus 3:5 and Romans 6:4. The Scriptures speak in harmony. The Church, led by the Holy Spirit, recognized this harmony, which is why Mark 16:16 was never controversial in the Church until modern textual critics decided to treat it like a puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit. But God’s Word is not a puzzle—it’s a Sword, a Hammer, a Fire (Jer. 23:29).
Third, we must beware of straw men—that is, arguing against caricatures. Nobody is saying that Mark 16:16 is the only place baptism is taught. Nor do we hang the Catechism on that verse alone. Luther chose it because it proclaims clearly and succinctly what Christ has said and done for us in Scripture as a whole. We trust that the Holy Spirit guides us to receive the entire witness, not just those parts we'd rather have.
So, I tell confirmands this: “Trust Jesus, then trust His Bible He gave His Church. Don’t be more skeptical than the saints who died confessing this truth. The Word works. The water works. Your Baptism works. Not because you understand it perfectly, but because He said so."
That's why, when it isn't something he actually said, don't try to shove a square peg in a round whole. Rejoice at the chance to learn some carpentry. Alleluia indeed.