Bible: What are we to think of Mark 16?
The working of miracles and more of Mark 16 has stumped many believers. What are we to think of this? Are God’s people supposed to be able to do these miraculous things today? Some people have been caused to think so. Let’s begin our study of this by simply reading through the passage. I’ll make some comments along the way.
Mark 16:1-20
1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
The disciples had been told by Jesus that He would rise from the grave, but there’s nothing to indicate that anyone was truly expecting this to occur. It becomes obvious from the record of the Scriptures that Christ’s resurrection appearances came as a complete surprise to everyone.
2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
They went there to anoint His body, but not because they were expecting Him to rise from the grave.
3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
Bear in mind that the stone had not been rolled away to let Jesus out, but to let people in to see that He had risen.
5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
In many English Bibles, immediately after Mark 16:8, you will see brackets, a solid bar, or maybe even a huge space, and then you will see verses 9-20. You will also notice an explanation like “the most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20.” This passage is so misunderstood to the point that some want us to believe these twelve verses were never in the original Bible manuscripts. However, these verses are just as much a part of God’s text of the Scriptures as anything else you will ever read in your Bible. For one thing, Matthew, Luke, and John all conclude their books with the resurrection—why would Mark stop his book at verse 8, with Christ not appearing in His resurrected body? That makes no sense at all. Mark 16:9-20 belongs in the Bible as much as any other portion of the Bible. Furthermore, the things described there are in accordance with other passages that cite similar things having occurred in that same time frame. Therefore, all these verses in this Mark 16 passage are just as reliable as any other portion of the Bible.
9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
They were mourning and weeping because they were not expecting Him to rise from the grave. As we see here throughout this passage and elsewhere, His resurrection was a complete surprise to everyone.
11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Verse fifteen is perfectly consistent with Matthew 28:19-20. The Matthew passage is typically preferred because the miraculous items cited in the Mark account are not mentioned. Because they can’t make then “fit” in our time and with their beliefs, they assume they should not be a part of the Scriptures. Such is certainly not the case. The whole of the Gospel of Mark is tied to God’s program for Israel, not the Body of Christ Church of which we are a part today. The content of this next verse is a major part of why these people don’t want to accept this passage as authentic.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. [Emphasis added]
But verse sixteen is fully in accordance with such passages as Acts 2:38 where water baptism was required for salvation as a part of the gospel of the kingdom. All these things mentioned in this passage were practiced in accordance with that gospel that was in place at that time.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Please notice that He does not say they may follow. He says they shall follow.
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. [Emphasis added]
In these last two verses of the passage, the Lord Jesus has told His eleven apostles [Judas now deceased] to preach the gospel to every creature. Everyone in the evangelical community loves this verse, but it has absolutely nothing to do with us today! This is because the “gospel” to which Jesus referred is “the Gospel of the Kingdom” [Matthew 9:35; Matthew 24:14]. Today, we are not simply proclaiming Jesus as Israel’s King and Messiah, our message is the Gospel of Grace—Paul’s Gospel. In our gospel, we have the meaning, the explanation of what happened in Christ’s crucifixion. His death, burial, and resurrection is the basis for our salvation today. It is faith in that alone which provides a person with salvation today.
I Corinthians 15:1-4
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, [this is not the same as the gospel the twelve apostles preached] which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: [Emphasis added]
We are clearly told to present the gospel to the unsaved, but it is this gospel [Paul’s], not that of Peter and the others. Theirs belongs to a different program.
One of the main reasons this text is rejected is that it demands water baptism for salvation. Water baptism is not presented here or anywhere else in Scripture as something optional for salvation but required. To interpret this any other way is a corruption of the text.
Mark 16:16
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. [Emphasis added]
The fact of the matter is that this passage has nothing to do with us today. It was specifically addressed to Israel. If a Jew wanted salvation, he had to repent [change his mind and accept Jesus as his Messiah] and get water baptized. Numerous passages that are directed to Israel at that time say the same thing [Matthew 3:1-6; Acts 2:36-38; Acts 8:37-38]. There’s no inconsistency in these at all.
Today, we are in the Dispensation of Grace and in the Body of Christ, separate from Israel. Mark 16:16 is correct and true, but it is directed to Israel. It is not our gospel and for us today because our ONE baptism is not water baptism [1 Corinthians 1:17, 12:13; Ephesians 4:5]. Water baptism does not belong in our dispensation. Again, Mark 16:16 has nothing to do with us. The same may be said about the things that follow in that passage. Let’s look at it again.
Mark 16:17-18
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. [Emphasis added]
Trying to relate these things to us today is in violation of rightly dividing the Scriptures. Casting out devils was very prevalent during Christ’s earthly ministry. Satan tried to render Israel useless by possessing the Jews with his devils [demons]. If Jews were possessed by demons, God would be unable to utilize them as priests in the kingdom [Exodus 19:6]. Christ was casting out demons to make way for His kingdom [Mark 5:1-13]. Peter and the apostles continued to cast out these unclean spirits.
Acts 5:15-16
15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one. [Emphasis added]
Mark 16:17 is the only occasion where the Lord Jesus Christ spoke about the gift of tongues.
Mark 16:17
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; [Emphasis added]
People who profess to speak in tongues today like to quote this verse, but like other parts of this gospel it has absolutely nothing to do with us. Again, this was a part of Israel’s program, not ours. The believing Jews needed the gift of tongues in Acts chapter 2 to evangelize Jews from foreign nations who spoke other languages. Jews that were scattered into other nations would come to Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost, but they did not speak the language there of Aramaic or Hebrew. This gift of tongues was the miraculous ability to immediately speak in the different tongues represented there without any training at all in those languages.
Acts 2:7-11
7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. [Emphasis added]
Miracles in many forms were being performed as signs to these Jews that they should accept the message they were hearing.
Mark 16:18
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
This healing of the sick parallels James 5:14-15, the power that will make earth ready for the kingdom, as there will be no death from sickness on earth during the coming millennial [thousand-year] reign of Christ [Isaiah 33:24; Jeremiah 30:17]. These miracles will be performed in this coming period of tribulation that precedes the Second Coming of Christ.
James 5:14-15
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
All these things occurred for a time in the first century just as Christ said they would [Hebrews 2:3-4 cf. Luke 24:49; Hebrews 6:4-6]. But when it became apparent that Israel was not going to repent [have a change of mind] and accept Jesus as her Messiah, the program was interrupted and the complete fulfilment of all these things was put off. It was in this time that God turned to the Gentiles to proclaim His word [Isaiah 60:1-3 cf. Romans 11:11-12]. The program that was interrupted will again resume after the Rapture and in the coming seven years of the Tribulation that occurs right before Jesus Christ comes back to the Earth to set up His earthly kingdom. God postponed Israel’s program with the mystery [the secret] program [Romans 16:25-26] we are a part of today. These people had no idea thousands of years and more would come and go before these things would be fulfilled.
Mark concludes his book with these words.
Mark 16:19-20
19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Conclusion:
I hope Mark 16 makes more sense to you now. People often panic when they come to those last few verses. They do not know how to handle it because it is not consistent with what they’ve been taught. However, if we understand the passage does not apply to us, but rather to Israel in a future time, it makes perfect sense.
We do not need to cut such verses out of the Bible once we realize they are not about us. There are no miracle healings, speaking in tongues, and exorcism in our time [1 Corinthians 13:8-13; 1 Timothy 5:23; 2 Timothy 4:20]. God is doing something different today with a new agency separate from Israel, and it is the Church which is the Body of Christ! Right division is the key to understanding passages such as this.
II Timothy 2:15
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” [Emphasis added]
