Mark 16:15-20

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. 

The above verses are not in the older manuscripts, and many scholars believe they were added to Mark's writing much later.  I happen to believe that, too, but regardless, since God allowed these scriptures, let us address them.  Yes, signs should follow those who believe.  That is why we pray.  We believe God changes situations.  In the New Testament, Jesus and his apostles performed many healings and miracles.  Jesus, the apostles, and the early church all prayed; we are to pray as well.  However, Jesus also submitted to God's will.  In the garden of Gethsemane He prayed, “Abba, Father, everything is possible for you.  Take this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will.”  (Mark 14:36)   In the Lord's prayer we again see God's will as preeminent: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  We cannot presume God's will at any one time.  Sure, we want good for people.  I want to believe that everyone should be healed, but I have to leave that up to the Lord.  Of course, when people are bitten by snakes, we pray they will feel no ill effects.  If people accidently drink poison (one of my sons did that when he was very young), we pray they will not die, but we can never be presumptuous, for God knows the beginning from the end.  He alone knows the ramification of all things.   

Jesus said you are not to put the Lord your God to the test.  (Matthew 4:7)  The devil wanted Jesus to throw himself down from the highest point on the temple to prove that God would protect him, that He was someone special.  The mystics and the occultists perform acts to gain respect and a following.  In India we see snake charmers, in our country we see snake handlers, and sadly to say there are also those who drink poison to prove God is with them and they are special.  This is not a faith walk--one that believes in God regardless of the circumstances.  From the beginning of time, all men have died except for a few: Elijah, Enoch, and Jesus.  From its earliest years, the church has been persecuted.  Good people, those God loved and redeemed, have experienced horrible deaths at the hands of sinful men.  Also good people have become sick and died.  Almost all old people die of something detectible.  If life were completely understandable, if all the redeemed lived forever, if Christians were the most prosperous of all people, if God's beloved never had any problems, everyone in the world would be a Christian because Christianity would pay off better than any casino.  But we know better.  God will not allow anyone to enter his kingdom except through the door of FAITH in Jesus Christ.  

Then what about the above scriptures?  I suspect they are accounts of actual events such as Paul being bitten by the viper.  Nothing bad happened to him at that time, for God wanted him to witness to the islanders.  And that is what he did.  Are miracles happening today?  Yes, for God's plans and purposes, not man's.  Should we pray for miracles?  Amen!  God is still testifying of himself through us.  However, we don't test the Lord God.  We don't demand that He has to come across or prove himself in a certain situation.  God does what He wants according to his plan, not ours.  Is this difficult for us?  Yes, for it demands that we have faith regardless of the circumstances.  But, in the final analysis, NOTHING PLEASES GOD MORE THAN FAITH, for it places God in control.  Remember, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)    

This ends the Gospel of Mark.  I'll look in the refrigerator and see what we have for tomorrow.