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Mark 16:14-18
In Mark 16:14 Jesus continues to make Himself known in His risen body, and those who see Him are reluctant to believe it is Him. But immediately after He rebukes His own disciples for possessing this same attitude, Jesus proclaims what we know as the Great Commission to His disciples. Jesus states in Mark 16:15 (NKJV), “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” This statement is reflective of Jesus’ initial calling and profession of it in John 3:16-21. Jesus then gives examples of signs that will follow those who believe in Him. While the debate amongst the scholars continues over these signs being literal or metaphorically implied, we must also keep in mind that these are signs that will follow those who believe not simply in Jesus as the Savior of the world, but that He has risen from the grave. It should also be noted that in believing is following the teachings of the Bible. When tempted by Satan, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 declaring, “You shall not tempt the LORD your God…” and in this context means that you should not purposely put yourself in harm’s way simply to see if God will save you from the danger you brought upon yourself. The idea is that if the situation presents itself in an unforeseen way, God will protect the innocent. This raises additional controversy as we all know that the innocent are in many situations not saved from harm’s way. I believe this to be reflective of Jesus dying on the cross innocently, yet not saved from the harm of death. Metaphorically speaking, Jesus defeated the serpent once for all as the devil is referred to as the serpent in the Bible numerous times (Genesis 3:1, 13; Revelation 12:9); and in Deuteronomy 32:33 is referring to the speech of those with intentions of leading us astray from the ways of God.
This is the command of the Great Commission, and of the signs that will follow those who believe in Jesus our risen Lord and Savior.
In Romans 10:9-10 the Apostle Paul declares, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” The importance of believing in the resurrection of Jesus is further upheld in James 2:19 as he explains that simply believing in God is only a part of the transformation that takes place within us through salvation in Christ Jesus, as he declares, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe – and tremble!” So, what separates our belief from the belief of the demons? It is our faith in our risen Lord Jesus – that He has risen – risen indeed!
Dear LORD,
There are some eye-opening realities in properly understanding this passage of Mark 16:14-18 as we submit our lives to You through our faith in our risen Lord Christ Jesus. Please help us to realize that our faith is not to put You to the test but to protect all who believe in our risen Lord Christ Jesus. You are our Protector and You give us the tools we need to overcome the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-20). Please guide our faith to be obedient and understanding of Your will for us as we stand in the name of Jesus – our risen Lord and Savior of the world. In Jesus name I pray, amen.