Examining Charismatic claims: An exegesis of Mark 16:17-20
Charismatics have put forth these verses in the last chapter of Mark to support their claims that miraculous gifts shall follow them that believe. This raises a serious question, as to why the church for 18 centuries did not exhibit these kind of gifts, even when they were obviously saved. The only answers a Charismatic can give is to say that these people have never actually believed (which is, of course, ludicrous, considering the great men of God like Luther and Spurgeon who had never exhibited these gifts) or that these signs only follow some, not all, or perhaps all that believed will only get some of those gifts described (This also does not answer why the church has never exhibited ANY of these gifts at all for the past centuries). I hope to answer these questions by analyzing the verses 17 to 20.
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17 "And these signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;
18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. "
19 So then, when the Lord Jesus 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, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. (NASB)
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It is imperative to keep in mind the context of these verses: that Jesus was speaking to his disciples (v.14) before I proceed.
Note:The verses from Mark 16 v. 9 onwards has been said to be a late addition to the gospel of Mark and thus, not valid. If this is true, then omitting this text would be required and thus do away with the charismatic arguments. However, I still believe that these verses are genuine and likewise, will treat it as such. If however, you want to look into the arguments against the validity of these verses, you can check out here.
17 "And these signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;
A key aspect that most people miss in this verses is the "those who have believed". Notice the past tense. The KJV renders this part "shall follow them that believe", which is unfortunate. The Greek tense in this passage is aorist, and in the English it is always translated as past tense. Albert Barnes comments on the "those who have believed" part: The apostles, and those in the primitive age who were endowed with like power. Like I have said earlier, if these signs will accompany those who have believed, what about the Christians who have never exhibited this gifts? Again, like I have said: The only objection the charismatic can present is to say that those were not true believers and, in essence, say that they are the only true Christians!
Also, we find out that "they will speak with new tongues;" does not connote the meaning that the "new" means the gibberish spoken by the charismatics (There are, however, Pentecostals who believe the gift of tongues are human languages, which is true. However, they believe that this gift is still for today, which, I believe, is not). It is to be kept in mind that when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles on Pentecost, they spoke in languages understandable to men. (Acts 2:4-11)
18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. "
This verse definitely can only describe the apostles. A snake did not harm Paul when he was on Malta and it is a sad, but true, fact that the cases of believers healing sick people with the laying on of hands a few, and far between. Notice the "will recover". The sick will recover. This is unfortunately untrue with those who claim to have the gift of healing today.
We therefore conclude that these verses could not have been referring to believers in general.
Of the two more verses:
19 So then, when the Lord Jesus 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, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.
Of interest is verse 20. "And confirmed the word by the signs that followed." What signs? The miraculous signs described earlier. They confirmed the word. This then is the true purpose of the miraculous gifts. To confirm the word. What is the word? The gospel. Although they were also exercised by the church for edification (like tongues), it would seem reasonable to say that their primary purpose was to confirm the gospel message. This kind of miracles was almost exclusive to the apostles and the beginning of the church era, and I would not hesitate to say that the gifts have ceased along with the last apostle.
those who have believed is best interpreted to be the apostles with two reasons: 1. It is in past tense, and thus, only those who have believed in Jesus before his ascension is the only group of people likely to be mentioned in this verse. 2. It will leave us with a contradiction with history: Believers have never exhibited this signs (Unless one wishes to count the "signs" by the charismatics, which is shown to be not the case).
What then do these verses refer to? It is a definite possibility that Jesus was referring to the apostles, those that would exhibit these signs. Although there were those who were not apostles who exhibited these gifts, their references in the bible are few and of course, contradicts history if these verses would apply to all believers.
If this verses support any view at all, it would be cessationism.
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Resources used: Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible
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17 "And these signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;
18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. "
19 So then, when the Lord Jesus 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, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. (NASB)
---
It is imperative to keep in mind the context of these verses: that Jesus was speaking to his disciples (v.14) before I proceed.
Note:The verses from Mark 16 v. 9 onwards has been said to be a late addition to the gospel of Mark and thus, not valid. If this is true, then omitting this text would be required and thus do away with the charismatic arguments. However, I still believe that these verses are genuine and likewise, will treat it as such. If however, you want to look into the arguments against the validity of these verses, you can check out here.
17 "And these signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;
A key aspect that most people miss in this verses is the "those who have believed". Notice the past tense. The KJV renders this part "shall follow them that believe", which is unfortunate. The Greek tense in this passage is aorist, and in the English it is always translated as past tense. Albert Barnes comments on the "those who have believed" part: The apostles, and those in the primitive age who were endowed with like power. Like I have said earlier, if these signs will accompany those who have believed, what about the Christians who have never exhibited this gifts? Again, like I have said: The only objection the charismatic can present is to say that those were not true believers and, in essence, say that they are the only true Christians!
Also, we find out that "they will speak with new tongues;" does not connote the meaning that the "new" means the gibberish spoken by the charismatics (There are, however, Pentecostals who believe the gift of tongues are human languages, which is true. However, they believe that this gift is still for today, which, I believe, is not). It is to be kept in mind that when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles on Pentecost, they spoke in languages understandable to men. (Acts 2:4-11)
18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. "
This verse definitely can only describe the apostles. A snake did not harm Paul when he was on Malta and it is a sad, but true, fact that the cases of believers healing sick people with the laying on of hands a few, and far between. Notice the "will recover". The sick will recover. This is unfortunately untrue with those who claim to have the gift of healing today.
We therefore conclude that these verses could not have been referring to believers in general.
Of the two more verses:
19 So then, when the Lord Jesus 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, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.
Of interest is verse 20. "And confirmed the word by the signs that followed." What signs? The miraculous signs described earlier. They confirmed the word. This then is the true purpose of the miraculous gifts. To confirm the word. What is the word? The gospel. Although they were also exercised by the church for edification (like tongues), it would seem reasonable to say that their primary purpose was to confirm the gospel message. This kind of miracles was almost exclusive to the apostles and the beginning of the church era, and I would not hesitate to say that the gifts have ceased along with the last apostle.
those who have believed is best interpreted to be the apostles with two reasons: 1. It is in past tense, and thus, only those who have believed in Jesus before his ascension is the only group of people likely to be mentioned in this verse. 2. It will leave us with a contradiction with history: Believers have never exhibited this signs (Unless one wishes to count the "signs" by the charismatics, which is shown to be not the case).
What then do these verses refer to? It is a definite possibility that Jesus was referring to the apostles, those that would exhibit these signs. Although there were those who were not apostles who exhibited these gifts, their references in the bible are few and of course, contradicts history if these verses would apply to all believers.
If this verses support any view at all, it would be cessationism.
__________
Resources used: Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible
This entry was posted
on Sunday, March 13, 2005 at 8:05 PM.
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