My Walk Through the Book of Mark by Annette Godtland

The Great Commission (Mark 16:14-18)

14Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18they 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."

I had a tough time with this verse. I feel I believe. I know many who I think are stronger believers than I. And yet when have I seen someone cast out demons, or speak in tongues, or take up serpents, or drink deadly poison with no affect, or heal by simply laying on the hands?

Should every believer be able to perform these miracles? I can't imagine myself doing these things. This statement of believing makes me think of Mark 11:22-24, where Jesus said, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."

So, yes, I think every believer should be able to perform these miracles. It is a matter of faith and prayer. In this great commission, are we all being directed to go out and do these things? If so, with all the believers in the world, it seems like we should see a lot more of this kind of stuff. Actually, I think the key here is when it says, if you believe, these signs will follow. I found this an interesting choice of words.

This commission seems just a little reminiscent of when Jesus first commissioned the twelve apostles to go out and preach in Mark 3:14-15 where he "appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons". Note the difference in words. With the apostles, he specifically gave them power and direction to go out and heal sickness and to cast out demons. In today's verses, He just says these signs will follow the believer.

Why does it say the signs will follow the believer? Why not just say the believer will do these signs? It almost makes me think this text is meant to be different than when Jesus commissioned the apostles in that here those who believe will do these things indirectly, without them even knowing it in many cases. This is a stretch of the imagination, but here are some thoughts that come to my mind about how these signs follow believers today:

A sign of a cast out demon... If you are a believer and enter into a group of people whose actions are being controlled by a demon, possibly just being there may cast the demons away, even without your knowing it. Your influence may be preventing the demons from doing their planned tasks. Your influence may help someone in the group to never allow the demon back.

A sign of speaking with a new tongue... Maybe speaking with a new tongue isn't necessarily always a foreign language like I had always assumed. Maybe it is just the right words coming to your tongue that wouln't have come to mind otherwise. If you are a believer and you are among those who do not know Jesus and have never understood the gospel before, maybe the perfect words to say might come to mind just when you need it. These words are a gift from God. The words that come to your tongue may change someone's life.

A sigh of taking up serpents... Taking up serpents makes me think of tackling Satan. If you are a believer and decide to fight against an injustice, you may be taking up serpents without even realizing it.

A sign of drinking something deadly without being hurt... Not being hurt by drinking something deadly is a sign that could be applied to many different circumstances. I can't imagine that a believer would try deadly things to just test his ability to not be affected. But how many times have you had a close call, gotten into a situation that you never should have survived, or you should at least have been hurt, or some other such thing, and came out just fine? I have felt God watching out for me and angels watching over me as I have done various stupid things or had close calls out of my control.

A sign of healing by laying on of the hands... I really believe that a believer's prayers can help someone who is sick or injured. God wants us to pray for others. And many times saying the right things, or even just being present will help to lift the spirits of someone who is depressed. Have you ever made someone's day by just giving them a hug? This is God's healing touch through you. I think this sign is brought on by both prayer and the laying on of the hands.

No, I don't think many believers go out with a plan to cast out demons, speak in tongues, take up serpents, test their immortality against poisons, or to heal the sick by laying on the hands. But through the everyday life of a believer who is simply trying to do what Jesus would want him to do, all these signs follow him.

In today's text, we are not being commissioned to cast out demons, speak in tongues, etc., we are being commissioned to preach the Gospel so others can believe. And to those who believe, these signs will follow.