Read Mark 16:15-20 …
The Great Commission given by Jesus is just that, a commission given to the Apostles to spread the Gospel – the Good News – of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and the salvation that came along with that sacrifice. This driving mission statement has rightly been taken up by the Church as a whole and personally by the Christians that make up the Body of Christ. While the Great Commission as given in Matthew and Luke is undisputed, this is not the case with Mark, as the Commission spoken by Jesus falls within a section that has long been disputed … what is called “the Long Ending.” Despite this fact, what is contained in that longer ending is information attested to in other places, so that information remains reliable.
The Commission as given in Matthew 28:18-20 instructs the making of disciples, baptizing those believers, the further teaching of what has been taught, and the continued presence of Christ. The Commission as given in Luke 24:46-49 shows the preeminence of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, belief and remission of sins, and the promise of the Holy Spirit. Mark is a combination of the two other accounts showing forth the need for belief and baptism, but then Mark records, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17-18, NKJV).
And did those signs follow? In Matthew’s account Jesus said, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20); in Luke’s account Jesus says, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Yet one can see from Mark’s account that what it meant to have the Lord with them, to give them power from on high, was that those receiving the Great Commission would be able to perform signs by which their message was proven genuine and exhibit “the fact that the living and risen Jesus was present with them and working through them.”[i] So yes, the signs noted by Jesus on “those who have believed”[ii] did occur.
To show themselves authentic messengers of Jesus, the Apostles, along with Paul, did cast out demons and evil spirits (Acts 5:16; 8:7; & 16:18). The Apostles are recorded as speaking in tongues – understandable languages not ecstatic gibberish – on Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13), and as Paul records about himself (1 Cor. 14:18). In connection with poisons, Paul is recorded as having been bitten by a serpent and living (Acts 28:3-6) and previously, when Jesus sent out the 70, they were given power to “tread on serpents and scorpions” (Luke 10:19); but there is no direct reference to any of the Apostles or early Christians drinking poison. But healings, that is a sign done by the Apostles and Paul repeatedly in the book of Acts. Yes, as Mark records, the Lord was “working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs” (Mark 16:20).
Yet are these same signs present among today’s Christians? Are these signs needed to confirm the word spoken? Some certainly believe they are, and typically of the miraculous gifts noted in 1 Corinthians 12, tongues and healings are the most prolific. No one doubts the sincerity of those claiming these gifts, in fact many of these believers appear both committed and zealous – a spirit that more Christians would do well to imitate. Yet these signs appear more often used today as tests of faithfulness (which those gifts never were in the New Testament), not as witness to unbelievers as a sign of authority, which is how Paul indicates tongues (and by extension the other miraculous gifts) should have been used (1 Cor. 14:4-5, 22). The works being spoken of in Mark are not a command for Christians today, in fact, “the verbs are indicatives telling what would happen in some cases (They will …), not imperatives commanding the activity (You shall …).”[iii]
How thankful to God we are that He has chosen to give humanity a truthful and useful record of His actions in history and His desires for every person throughout time. Anyone claiming to be a teacher of the truth can be tested directly against the Standard; the need for miraculous abilities to confirm the Message has passed with the giving of the directly inspired Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Everyone and anyone can apply themselves to those Scriptures and learn of God, discovering His will for you today.
[i] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Mark’s Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1964), 768.
[ii][ii] A footnote comment on Mark 16:17, “The verb “believe” in Greek is in the aorist tense … which refers to those who did believe, not those who would believe at that time or in the future.” Spiros Zodhiates, ed. Hebrew-Greek Keyword Study Bible, Revised ed. (South Korea: AMG International, Inc., 2008), 1342.
[iii] David Stewart, A Commentary on Mark (Searcy: Stewart Publications, 2016), 847.
the odd weekend preacher 