6. Commonly Misunderstood Bible Verses (CMBV) Mark 16:17-18

[GoldenEagle]

And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ 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. Mark 16:17–18

 

Many scholars believe the Gospel of Mark originally ended at verse 8. With this in mind, the team takes the position that there’s no foundation to believe in those practices because they’re not in the original. They add, however, that this verse doesn’t mean every Christian will do these things, but there certainly was that kind of activity in the early church—casting out of demons, speaking in other languages, handling of snakes (e.g., Paul on the Island of Malta). Not that anyone should seek to engage in these activities, but they did occur.

Source: http://www.reasons.org/blogs/take-two/a-look-at-10-or-so-commonly-misunderstood-bible-verses

1. What do you think about Mark 16:17-18?

2. What do you think of the thoughts in the above quote?

 

3. Where do you stand on the ending of Mark?

[GoldenEagle]

For reference here's the entire passage in question...

Mark 16:9-20 (ESV)
 

[some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9–20.]^[a]

 

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

 

⁹ [[Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. ¹¹ But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.

 

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples

 

¹² After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. ¹³ And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

 

The Great Commission

 

¹⁴ Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. ¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

 

¹⁹ So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. ²⁰ And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.]]

 

Footnotes:

1. Mark 16:9 Some manuscripts end the book with 16:8; others include verses 9–20 immediately after verse 8. At least one manuscript inserts additional material after verse 14; some manuscripts include after verse 8 the following: But they reported briefly to Peter and those with him all that they had been told. And after this, Jesus himself sent out by means of them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. These manuscripts then continue with verses 9–20

God bless,

GE

[Guest man]

Luke 10

19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

 

 

 

The context of this verse almost mirrors the verse from Mark. 

 

Jesus gave us authority over the powers of darkness. There's no reason to discount what is written in Mark.

[Guest ninhao]

I think Brother Paul will agree with Mark 16: 17-18

 

 

Mar 16:17-18  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils;

 

( Act 19:13-15  Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.  (14)  And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.  (15)  And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? )
 

 

Mark16:17-18 ...they shall speak with new tongues; 

 

( 1Co 14:18-19  I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:  (19)  Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. )
 

 

Mark16:17-18 ....(18)  They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them;

 

 ( Act 28:3-6  And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.  (4)  And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.  (5)  And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.  (6)  Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.)
 

 

Mark16:17-18 ....they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

 

( Act 19:11-12  And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:  (12)  So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. )




 

[WIP]

We need faith to do these things.

 

Matt 17:20  And Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief: for truly I say to you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.

[Willa]

I agree that we should not tempt God by purposefully handling deadly snakes or drinking poison. But there is the promise that should these things inadvertently happen, especially while in God's service, that God will heal them. And while walking in obedience to God should we be led to lay hands on the sick, He does say they will recover.

The Alexandrian text, while the latest discovery of a complete manuscript and oldest to date, is like discovering the Jehovah's Wittness' version of the Bible, the New World Translation.

The Gnostics not only wrote false gospels, they changed the Holy Bible to fit their cult's beliefs. The Alexandrian/Gnostic manuscripts are the least reliable for that reason. Since the letters of the church fathers quoted these verses and by far predated the Alexandrian texts, there is still plenty of reason to leave the verses in. Even the Majority text uses the longer ending of Mark, and that was the text that was most copied and relied on by the Greek speaking church. But since believers usually copied onto parchment, fewer survived and since they were often copied by laymen for their own used, many errors were made. Still, Vss 16-20 are included in the Tyndale's translation of the Majority text as well as Young's Litteral Translation of Textus Receptus, the Peshitta, the Vulgate and all early translations that I am aware of that predated the discovery of the Gnostic Alexandrian version.

[FreeinChrist]

 

And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ 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. Mark 16:17–18

 

Many scholars believe the Gospel of Mark originally ended at verse 8. With this in mind, the team takes the position that there’s no foundation to believe in those practices because they’re not in the original. They add, however, that this verse doesn’t mean every Christian will do these things, but there certainly was that kind of activity in the early church—casting out of demons, speaking in other languages, handling of snakes (e.g., Paul on the Island of Malta). Not that anyone should seek to engage in these activities, but they did occur.

Source: http://www.reasons.org/blogs/take-two/a-look-at-10-or-so-commonly-misunderstood-bible-verses

1. What do you think about Mark 16:17-18?

 

I think I agree with everyone else threads on this.  3) How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken  by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him;  4) God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will?  Hebrews 2:3-4  IMO yes we as followers of Christ still have these ability but not to such a degree as the early Church did.  And one must remember while God has given us power over these things, that doesn't mean I take up a snake and say God promise to heal me, for this would be to tempt God, but if one by accident was bitten by a snake God would cure the person.

2. What do you think of the thoughts in the above quote?

 

Mostly disagree with the overall view.

 

 

 

3. Where do you stand on the ending of Mark?

 

Mark's Gospel was written by Mark while Peter spoke to him what to write.  Peter in Acts 2:24 share the fact that Jesus did rise from the dead, and again stated in Acts 10:39-40 that himself and the Apostle where witnesses of the Resurrection.  Yet when I read of modern Bible Scholars questioning the ending of Mark I can almost see the serpent coming to the woman and  stating Yea, hath God said,  Genesis 3:1.   But after Peter did mention the whole Gospel message (see I Corinthians 15:3-4) in his sermons we are suppose to believe that he ended the Gospel of which he is associated with, without the Apostle Witness of the Resurrection or that our All Powerful God was to weak to preserve His Word either idea is very offensive to me (I know some don't seem to have a problem with this)

 

I also take a look at the Book of I Peter and find it interesting that in quoting Isaiah 40:8 he claimed that the Word that Isaiah refers to is the Gospel preached unto you, I Peter 1:24-25.  So the Gospel being eternal, would God have allowed part of  His love letter (Luke 1:3 Theophilus-- dear, friend to God, or even of lover of God)  to His people to be misplaced or lost.   Peter even preached the Gospel message in I Peter 1:17-25.   Which includes Who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him Glory, that your faith and hope might be in God.  I Peter 1:21.

 

One thing I know is most scholars think that the language changes so much from verse 8 to 9 in Mark 16 that it couldn't be Mark that wrote It, not sure about that, but I have often wondered if maybe while Peter was telling Mark what to write, right after verse 8 the Holy Spirit so overpowered Peter that he told Mark to move while he wrote the last 12 verses.

 

So yes I believe that Mark 16:9-20 is truly authentic and the very Word of God.  I think I pretty much in agreement with Willamina on this.

 

[GoldenEagle]

Luke 10

19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

 

 

 

The context of this verse almost mirrors the verse from Mark. 

 

Jesus gave us authority over the powers of darkness. There's no reason to discount what is written in Mark.

 

I would agree the Scriptures (ie. Luke 10) would agree with what is written in Mark.

Jesus gives authority to Beleivers over the powers of darkness. The Holy Spirit is able to move in peopel's lives even today in mighty ways! Praise God!

[GoldenEagle]

I think Brother Paul will agree with Mark 16: 17-18

 

 

Mar 16:17-18  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils;

 

( Act 19:13-15  Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.  (14)  And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.  (15)  And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? )

 

 

Mark16:17-18 ...they shall speak with new tongues; 

 

( 1Co 14:18-19  I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:  (19)  Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. )

 

 

Mark16:17-18 ....(18)  They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them;

 

 ( Act 28:3-6  And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.  (4)  And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.  (5)  And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.  (6)  Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.)

 

 

Mark16:17-18 ....they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

 

( Act 19:11-12  And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:  (12)  So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. )

 

 

Very well put brother. Good way to contrast the other passages that refer to the ending of Mark which some dispute.

I would disagree with the implication of the quote in the OP that the ending of Mark shouldn't be included in Scripture. I would also say that these things still happen today by the power of the Holy Spirit!

[GoldenEagle]

We need faith to do these things.

 

Matt 17:20  And Jesus said to them, Because of your unbelief: for truly I say to you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.

 

Amen! With God nothing is impossible.