Mark 16:14 - Meaning and Application

Here, first, we see the proof Christ gave his apostles that he had truly risen from the dead (Mark 16:14). He appeared to them himself while they were all together, sitting at the table, and this gave him a chance to eat and drink with them for their full assurance (Acts 10:41). Even then, he still rebuked them for their unbelief and stubborn hearts. Even at the larger meeting in Galilee, some still doubted (Matthew 28:17).

The evidence for the truth of the gospel is so complete that those who refuse it can rightly be blamed for their unbelief. The problem is not weakness in the proof, but hardness of heart, a dull and stubborn spirit. Though they had not seen him risen until then, they were still guilty because they did not believe those who had seen him after he rose. Pride may have played a part too, because they may have thought, “If he is really risen, surely he would show himself first to us.” When he passed them by and appeared to others first, they could not bring themselves to believe it was really him.

Many people reject Christ’s teaching for the same reason. They think it is beneath them to trust the witnesses Christ chose to carry his message. This will not excuse unbelief on the final day. We cannot say, “We did not see him after he rose,” because we should have believed the testimony of those who did see him.

Second, Christ gave them a commission to establish his kingdom among people by preaching his gospel, the good news of peace with God through a Mediator, one who brings two sides together. Up to then, they had been sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, and they were forbidden to go to the Gentiles or to any Samaritan city. Now their mission is widened. They are sent into all the world, meaning every part of the inhabited world, to preach Christ’s gospel to every creature, both Gentiles and Jews, to every human being who can receive it.

This means they were to tell people about Christ, about his life, death, and resurrection, and explain what these things mean and what blessings people may receive through them. They were to invite all people, without exception, to share in these blessings. That is the gospel. It is to be preached everywhere, to everyone. These eleven men could not reach the whole world by themselves, much less every person in it. But they, along with the other disciples, seventy in number, and those added later, were to spread out in different directions and carry the gospel wherever they went.

They were also to send others where they could not go themselves. In short, they were to make it the work of their lives to spread this good news through the world with care and faithfulness. It was not to be a pastime or entertainment, but a solemn message from God to people, and the appointed way to make people truly happy. They were to tell as many as they could, and tell them to pass it on to others. It is a message for everyone, so it should receive a welcome from everyone, because it offers a welcome to everyone.

The message they were to preach is summed up in verse 16. They were to set life and death, good and evil, before the world. They were to tell people that all are in misery and danger, condemned by their ruler, and conquered and enslaved by their enemies. This is assumed in the promise of salvation, because no one needs to be saved unless they are lost.

They were to say that if people believe the gospel and give themselves to be Christ’s disciples, if they turn away from the devil, the world, and the flesh, and belong to Christ as their prophet, priest, and king, and to God in Christ as their covenant God, then they will be saved from the guilt and power of sin. Sin will not rule them, and it will not destroy them. The true Christian will be saved through Christ. Baptism was appointed as the public entry sign by which those who embraced Christ showed that they belonged to him. Here, however, it stands mainly for the thing it represents, not just the outward rite itself. Simon Magus believed and was baptized, yet he was not saved (Acts 8:13). Believing in the heart and confessing with the mouth that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9) means much the same thing here.

Or, in simpler words, we must agree to gospel truth and accept gospel terms. If people do not believe, if they do not receive God’s witness about his Son, they can expect no other way of salvation. They will surely perish. They will be condemned by the judgment of a rejected gospel, added to the judgment already deserved under the broken law. Even this is gospel, because it is good news that nothing but unbelief will condemn a person. Unbelief is a sin against the remedy itself.

Dr. Whitby notes here that if anyone argues from this verse that believers’ infants cannot be baptized because they cannot believe, then by the same reasoning they must say infants cannot be saved, since faith is required here even more clearly for salvation than for baptism. He also says baptism is left out in the second part because it is not simply the lack of baptism that brings condemnation, but the proud and careless neglect of it. Otherwise, infants would suffer for the sins or carelessness of their parents.

Third, Christ told them what power they would receive to confirm the doctrine they preached (Mark 16:17). These signs would follow those who believe. This does not mean every believer would be able to do these signs, but some would, especially those used to spread the faith and bring others to it. Signs are meant for unbelievers (1 Corinthians 14:22). It added greatly to the honor and proof of the gospel that the preachers not only worked miracles themselves, but were able to pass on the power to do miracles to others. This power followed some of those who believed wherever they went to preach.

They would do wonders in Christ’s name, the same name into which they had been baptized. They would act by power given by him and received through prayer. Several specific signs are listed. One was casting out demons. This was more common among early Christians than any other miracle, and it lasted longer, as shown by the testimony of Justin Martyr, Origen, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Minucius Felix, and others, as cited by Grotius on this passage. Another was speaking in new languages they had never learned or known. This was a miracle of the mind, proving the truth of the gospel, and it also helped spread the gospel among nations that had not heard it.

It saved the preachers a great deal of work in learning languages. No doubt those who were made masters of languages by miracle knew them fully, including their natural grace and beauty. That would help them teach more clearly and move people more deeply, and it would make their preaching more convincing.

They shall take up serpents. This was fulfilled in Paul, who was not harmed when a viper fastened on his hand, which the people saw as a great miracle (Acts 28:5-6). In a wider sense, they would be kept safe from the “generation of vipers” among whom they lived, and from the malice of the old serpent, Satan.

If their persecutors forced them to drink something poisonous, it would not hurt them. There are even some examples of this in church history. They would not only be protected from harm themselves, but they would also be able to do good to others.

They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover, just as many had been healed by their Master’s touch. Many elders of the church had this power, as James 5:14 shows, where they are told to anoint the sick with oil in the Lord’s name as an appointed sign of this miraculous healing. With such clear proof of their authority, they could carry out their mission with great confidence.