Big Healing Book - Mark 16:17-18 Was Only for the Early Apostles, Not All Believers

Objection: Mark 16:17-18 Was Only for the Early Apostles, Not All Believers

Mark 16:15-18:
And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
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.

A careful reading of this passage is all it takes to refute this objection, though there are other ways of disproving it.

Jesus did not tell the apostles whom He commissioned that the signs of Mark 16:15-18 would follow them. He said that they would follow those who believe.

Read the context. Jesus commanded them to preach to everyone. He divided their hearers into two classes: (1) Those who would believe and (2) Those who would not believe. The ones who believe would be saved. The ones who did not believe would be damned. And certain signs would follow the ones who believe.

The ones who believe in verse 16 are the same ones who believe in verse 17. The context flows directly from one verse to the next. The ones who believe will be saved and certain specified signs will follow them.

If you are a Christian (one who believes), you are in the category of person eligible for verse 17 (and then verse 18).

Do you believe that first two verses in the passage are for today? Should we preach the good news to sinners even though we are not Early Apostles? Of course! No decent church would deny that. The Great Commission is still in force today, so we should expect ALL FOUR verses of it, not just the first two verses, to continue to be true.

Acts 11:19-21 demonstrates that “the hand of the Lord” (referring to His supernatural power) flowed through ordinary believers. (See Notes on Acts 11:19-21 for further proof of this.) Ananias (the good one, not the liar or the mean high priest) prophesied to Saul (Paul) and laid hands on him so that he could be baptized with the Holy Spirit and receive his sight. Ananias is never mentioned as being in any ministry office, either at that time or later. Philip was not yet referred to as an evangelist when he started a revival in Samaria. Stephen, one of seven men who made sure that everyone got enough to eat, did “great wonders and miracles” among the people despite never being set apart to any preaching ministry.

No one today is an Early Apostle, but mighty signs and wonders are still being done in the name of Jesus all over the world today by people who believe the promises in this passage. May you be one of those people!