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Mark 16:14-19-14 Later 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. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 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.”
The young man that I baptized was very eager to begin living the Christian life. He and I had studied some, going over several topics related to Christian evidences and living. However, I was especially intrigued after one of our Bible studies following his baptism.
He told me that he was eager for God to grant him the superpowers He had promised.
I did not know quite what to say to this, and so I asked him for a little more clarification.
He told me: “Well brother Mark, the Bible says that whoever believes and is baptized will not only get saved, but will be able to do all kinds of miraculous things, like healing the sick and casting out demons, just like Jesus did! How long before I get my superpowers?”
Does Mark 16:14-18 teach that all baptized believers will manifest miraculous powers?
Let’s study.
The first thing to notice about this passage is that there are two distinct groups that are being discussed. The first is the eleven Apostles of Christ, who are here shown to us as being in a state of willful stubborn unbelief. They are refusing to believe that Jesus has risen from the dead, despite several clear and incontrovertible evidences proving His resurrection. Notice that the Apostles are described with plural pronouns (“they” and “them”).
In contrast to the Apostles, there are those individuals who will believe and be baptized through the teaching and ministry of the Apostles. These are identified with the singular pronoun “he.”
Now, there is something absolutely essential to understand at this juncture. In Greek (just as in English), the verbs of a passage must agree in number grammatically with their subject.
“In Greek a finite verb is defined in terms of person, number, tense, mood, and voice. Person and number are determined by its subject: a finite verb must agree with its subject in both (just as in English we cannot say we is). First person is the person( s) speaking, i.e. I or we; second person is the person( s) spoken to, i.e. you; third person is the person( s) or thing( s) spoken about, which can be a pronoun (he, she, it, they) or a noun (e.g. the donkeys are in the field). The concept of number is the same as with nouns; we have either singular (e.g. is, was) or plural (e.g. are, were).” (Gavin Betts, Complete New Testament Greek: A Comprehensive Guide to Reading and Understanding New Testament Greek with Original Texts, 689-695 (Kindle Edition); McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc)
For example, if I was referring to one person who was eating a sandwich, would I say, “He ARE eating that sandwich?”
Of course not!
I would say, “He IS eating that sandwich.”
The verbs of the passage must agree in number with the subjects.
In the same way, the Greek verbs of Mark 16:17-18 cannot connect with “he who believes and is baptized.” Grammatically, they link back to the last antecedent plural, i.e., the Apostles!
In other words, the signs that are being promised by the Lord in Mark 16:17-18 are for the Apostles, and NOT for every baptized believer.
Brother Coffman explains it well:
“This verse establishes, by its repetition of it, the fact that the eleven apostles were the persons meant by the pronoun “them,” not only here but completely to the end of this Gospel, there being utterly no grammatical device known to man by which any other antecedent for this pronoun appears anywhere in the whole passage. The last “them” in this verse, of course, is the lone exception and has reference to the “them” in Mark 16:12–13….Notice the dramatic shift to singular pronouns in these verses; although addressed to THEM and YE, that is the eleven, there is not a plural word afterward in these verses, this no doubt being designed by the Holy Spirit in order to thwart any application of Mark 16:17–20 to any persons whomsoever except the eleven. Matthew’s account of the great commission is loaded with plurals, but there is not one in Mark’s account….Them that believe … The antecedent of “them” is “the eleven themselves” (Mark 16:14); and the only way this can be avoided is to change the singular pronouns in Mark 16:15–16 into plural pronouns contrary to the Greek text. There is nothing difficult in this interpretation, since it is simply basic English.They shall cast out demons, etc.… The antecedent of “they” is likewise “the eleven apostles themselves,” determined by the primary allusion to “them” in the same clause. There is no grammatical device by which this word may be understood as reference to any persons whomsoever except the eleven apostles.From these observations it is clear that the utmost importance must be attached to the preservation of the singular pronouns in Mark 16:15–16; because, once these are changed, whether by alteration of the text or by a subjective projection into the passage of “them that shall be saved” through the preaching of the commission, the denotation of Mark 16:17–18 is thereby perverted and contradicted.” (James B. Coffman, The James Burton Commentary Commentaries (Logos Edition): Abilene, TX: ACU Press)
Johnson agrees:
“It is generally held that this is a promise limited to the apostolic age and to a few of the disciples of that age…The grammatical construction requires us to look to verse 14 for the antecedent of them in verse 17. In verse 14 the apostles are “upbraided for their unbelief because they believed not them who had seen him after he had arisen.” They are commanded to go and tell the glad story, and assured that miraculous credentials shall be given to those of “them who believe” and tell the wonderful tidings.” (B. W. Johnson, The People’s New Testament, 3702-3707 (Kindle Edition): St. Louis, MO: Christian Publishing Company)
We learn later that those upon whom the Apostles laid hands also received a portion of miraculous knowledge and gifts (cf. Acts 6:1-6; 8:14-19; 19:1-6; Romans 1:11; 2 Timothy 1:6). However, Jesus (and Mark) are very clear in Mark 16:17-18 to demonstrate that these miraculous gifts contextually were for the Apostles, and not for every baptized believer!
Indeed, the rest of the passage in Mark 16 clarifies this, doesn’t it?
Mark 16:19-20-19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
The antecedents of “they” in this passage, again, takes us back to the Apostles (Mark 16:14).
Let’s think about what to take away from these things.
First, the Apostles had a fundamental and unique role that needed very special authentication and confirmation. No one in the church has had quite a place of authority and responsibility as the Apostles, second only to Jesus Himself. This is one reason that their writings-the New Testament Scriptures-are so very important for the church. They are the commandments of the Lord (1 Corinthians 14:37), and have the same level of importance as the spoken words of the Apostles themselves (2 Thessalonians 2:15; 3:14). They are the words of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11-14), and we would be wise to heed them (Revelation 20:11-15).
Second, miraculous gifts are not the only gifts that God makes available to His people! Peter reminds us that God gives to every servant in the church special gifts that are to be used for the glory of God and betterment of the Lord’s people (1 Peter 4:10). Let’s not think that just because we do not have these miraculous gifts today that we do not have everything we need that pertains to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
What gifts do we have that we can better use to glorify God?
Are we willing to use those gifts to help the church grow?
Lord, help us to identify the gifts that You have given to us. Please allow Your Spirit to help us learn to better use those gifts to glorify You and build Your church. Amen.