Mark 16:15-20 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
As we look as today's verses, we want to state up front that we have read some of the commentaries that discuss the controversy regarding the ending of Mark. In the early manuscripts of Mark several versions exist: some are shorter than the one we have in our Bibles. To solve this problem, some Bible scholars believe there is evidence to support that the ending on the longer version was added in the second century. We believe that God oversaw the making of the Bible and the Holy Spirit came upon people to write the words He wanted us to have for all time. Nonetheless we realize the canon was debated when the final cut was made as men made the decisions concerning which books would be included and which manuscripts would be followed. We did find it interesting that the NIV Commentary said, "Nowhere else do the Scriptures promise immunity from snakes and poisons, certainly not in the Gospels. It is doubtful that the Lord would have promised this unconditionally to all believers." In support of this, we know the snake handling religious sects do get bitten and sometimes die. This seems an activity that does not glorify God but borders on making faith into a carnival event. On the other hand we find evidence that completely supports Christ's commission: Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. When Jesus was preparing his disciples for his departure, He said, I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:12-14) Jesus often declared He was the way to the Father as He prepared his disciples to carry the good news of his saving grace to the world.
Certainly, throughout the New Testament, we see the disciples going forth to fulfill God's desire that people believe and be baptized in Jesus' name. When Paul and Silas were in Jail, praying and singing hymns to God and a great earthquake opened all the doors of the cells, the jailer was about to kill himself; for he thought the prisoners had escaped. But when Paul called out, The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved — you and your household." (See Acts 16:25-31) Paul and Silas knew the answer to that important question: they were about their Father's business. Whether walking the dusty roads from town to town or singing songs in prison, their purpose was to go into all the world and save sinners. Without a doubt, Jesus sent out his disciples. Paul wrote to the Romans: How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:14-15) God sent out messengers to reach the lost, and He has given us the Holy Spirit to do this task. When Paul sent his letter to the church at Galatia, he was saddened by their behavior. He asked them, I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? He was asking them how they functioned, how they operated as children of God. Where did their strength come from when they spoke to an unbeliever? He goes on to ask, Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? (Galatians 3:1-2 & 5) You are performing the miracles Jesus promised you would do, Paul says, but where does the power originate? It is through observing the law or through the resident Holy Spirit given to you in abundance?
How easily we forget the source of our hope, our strength, our joy, our peace, our victory over sin and death. How soon we can turn to our own fleshly endeavors: human observances, rules, regulations, schedules, good works, and the like. We hope as we put everything in order that we will please our Lord and make ourselves more acceptable to him. Paul told the Galatians: Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. (Galatians 3:6-7) Yes, we must CONSIDER ABRAHAM if we are to live in the Spirit and please God. We want to have the faith of Abraham, yet we are in a much stronger position to have that faith, for we are children of the promise. Paul explains, The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3:8-9) As we walk in this blessing, we are known as the children of Abraham, those who walk by faith, and the children of God, now lifted up with Christ who arose from the dead. Because Jesus won the victory over death, we are his miracle-working ambassadors who go forth with a mighty message of faith that brings light into darkness. By faith we count on the Holy Spirit within us to reap a harvest of the fruit of the Spirit as we interact with others. As they see love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in action through us in our everyday dealings and actions, they will see Jesus. We do not go out and serve Jesus because we are bound by a law or because that is what Christians are supposed to do. We go out because we are adopted into a family that loves the world. Jesus said, By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:35) This is our calling, this is our family spirit: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)
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