Endings and beginnings

Our four gospels give us four very different and distinctive endings. Mark’s is the most abrupt. He has the women flee the empty tomb where they encountered an angel telling of the resurrection. Mark’s final words are, “And they said nothing to no one.” Um two things. One, thanks for that warm and fuzzy closure. Two, at some point they said something to someone otherwise you wouldn’t have a gospel. Luke ends with Jesus walking the road after the resurrection with two disciples who don’t recognize or realize it’s him and then walking through walls like Casper the friendly ghost. But for Luke it is all just a bridge to set up his sequel, the book of Acts. John gives us a couple of stories where Jesus cooks salmon and avocado toast for the disciples on the beach and appears to all the disciples except Thomas, because we’ve all had someone say to us, “You should have been here.” Matthew concludes his gospel rather quickly. In the final chapter of Matthew's gospel, the