Great Commission

After Jesus Christ's death on the cross, he was buried and resurrected on the third day. Before he ascended into heaven, He appeared to his disciples in Galilee, and gave them instructions that apply to all disciples of Jesus Christ until His Second Coming.  Understand the significance of these last instructions by Jesus Christ.  These instructions were given to us to teach others about the Bible and to equip us for the spiritual war at hand until His Second Coming.  These instructions were not an option for His disciple or the disciples throughout history to this current age.  Jesus expected all disciples (all Believers) to carry out The Great Commission in its entirety. The question we should ask is:  Why is this not one of the central teachings in the church today?

It is my goal to go verse by verse to explain what The Great Commission means to me.  In particular, I would like to try and explain the first part of Mark 16: 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them….. I have yet to hear a conclusive explanation of this verse.

Most references to The Great Commission that we hear most often is from Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The Scripture that I want to reference is in Mark 16 which is a more complete and detailed. 

Mark 16:15-18 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;  18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  This appears to be instructions that should be easy to carry out. Unfortunately, to preach the gospel we need to read the gospel and this is not happening. 

Surveys indicate that most Believers do not read the Bible consistently. The 2013 Barna Group survey showed the Bible is still firmly rooted in American soil: 88 percent of respondents said they own a Bible, 80 percent think the Bible is sacred, 61 percent wish they read the Bible more, the average household has 4.4 Bibles, and only 20% read their Bible on a regular basis.   Fewer yet read their Bible every day.  If we don’t know His Word, how can we know GOD in order to preach the gospel?

Mark 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  I think the central point here is if we believe or not.  Some will argue if we are saved we don’t necessary need to be baptized.  This verse is not about being saved.  It’s about believing. This verse does not specify whether it is water baptism or baptism of the Holy Spirit.  We must look at Mark 1:9-10 It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  10 And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove to know that it included both.  Jesus was water baptized by John the Baptist, but it is important to look at the context of The Great Commission and understand the significance of being baptized by the Holy Spirit and praying in the Spirit as it applies in verse 17 which is an essential part of The Great Commission and will be discussed later. 

We are to imitate the ministry of Jesus because He is the essence of what we are to do in the Great Commission. Jesus was water baptized, the Spirit of God descended on Him, and Jesus started His ministry that is mirrored in His instructions to His disciples.  Failure to believe and be baptized will result in condemnation. 

Mark 16:17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues.  “Signs” are a mark by which persons or things are distinguished and made known. In Scripture used generally of an address to the senses to attest the existence of supersensible (being above or beyond that which is apparent to the senses: spiritual) and therefore divine power. The plagues of Egypt were "signs" of divine displeasure against the Egyptians (Exodus 4:8; Joshua 24:17); and the miracles of Jesus were "signs" to attest His unique relationship with God (Matthew 12:38 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you; John 2:18 So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”;  Acts 2:22 Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know ). Naturally, therefore, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, "signs" are compared to the miraculous, and prevailingly associated with immediate divine interference.  So, “signs” is a precursor (something that comes before something else that leads to or influences its development) to the rest of the verse.

“In My name” is the authority and power given to all Believers.  Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick (Luke 9:1-2).

The Lord Jesus Christ has given Believers all authority and power on this earth in His name!  John 14:13 states, "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything in His name, He will do it!  He gave you all His power and authority to be released on this earth in His name.  And if that is not enough He gave you access to the Father God Almighty's power through the name of Jesus!  And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full (John 16:23-24).

“They will cast out demons.”  Jesus sent us forth into the world as He was sent fourth (John 20:21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”) and He gave us the authority to do the work at hand (Mark 13:34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch).

Luke 10:17-19, "And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power (translates to AUTHORITY) to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

Every believer have authority over demons because we are all seated with Christ in the heavenly realm (Ephesians 2:6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus), which means we are above the demons in rank of authority!

As believers, we have been given authority in Jesus' name to drive out demons. We access our authority through faith and exercise our authority with a spoken command directed at the unclean spirit.  Paul clearly demonstrates this in Acts 16:18 “But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.  It is very important to understand Jesus commanded demons to leave and Paul has done the same.  He imitated Jesus.  We don’t have to ask God to cast out demons.  In the name of Jesus we are instructed to cast out demons.

“they will speak with new tongues.”  In the context of this verse, we must remember that this is a spiritual warfare verse. The devil knows that praying in tongues is the only way you can pray beyond your human ability. It is the tool God has given us to tap into the mind of the Holy Spirit. When we pray in tongues, we activate the Holy Spirit. He begins to enlighten the eyes of our understanding. Paul wants us to follow his Godly example as he writes in 1 Corinthians 14:5, "I wish you all spoke with tongues".

Speaking in tongues increases our faith and allows us to pray more accurately.  It necessary to understand the spiritual battle we are in as Paul taught in Ephesians 6. He wrote in V. 12:  “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Continuing in verses 13-17, he explained the various weapons of our warfare such as faith, the word of God, etc.  Then, he completed this teaching with v. 18, ". . . praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit."  Prayer is listed as one of the tools we use to defeat Satan!  Notice Paul says to use “all prayer and supplication” (all forms or types of prayer) and then adds “in the Spirit.”  By “rightly dividing the Word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) we have learned that praying in tongues is essential in spiritual warfare as we cast out demons.

As a side bar, the people that are in deliverance ministry can experience attacks by the enemy while they are ministering to people.  Speaking in tongues when you can’t minister in a regular prayer language is a necessity. Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us  with groanings which cannot be uttered.  Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

1 Cor. 14:15 What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding.

Jude  20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit). 

“they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them;  As I alluded to earlier, I have yet to hear a definitive explanation of this verse.  Many have applied Acts 28:3-6 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand.  So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god to this verse.  I am not convinced this should be a consideration.  To understand this verse, we must take into consideration the context of this verse as it applies to the Great Commission and spiritual warfare. We must look at this verse in a symbolic way and not a literal way. 

The Great Commission is to be carried out by all believers. How many believers will take up serpents in real life and in the physical?  Therefore, we need to search Scriptures to identify who the serpents we will be exposed to. The serpent first surfaced in Genesis 3 as the serpent came to tempt Adam and Eve. We are warned of this serpent in 2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.  Again, we are reminded who the serpent is in Revelation 12:9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.  The serpent is the devil and we are to “take up serpents.”   Serpents are referred here as the demonic.

“and if they drink anything deadly,  it will by no means hurt them”

Again, we must look at this symbolically.  “and if they drink anything deadly, suggests that if we are exposed to the demonic, “it will by no means hurt them” because we have power and authority over these serpents. 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.

“they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

We see here in the context of this verse that if we in Jesus name can take on serpents and be exposed to them and not be hurt, we are now in position with God’s authority and power to “lay hands on the sick,” pray, “and they will recover.”  The book of James further supports this in 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord and in Luke 9:2 He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  The laying on of hands is one of the conduits through which the healing power of God flows. When the believer lays hands on someone in this context of healing, it imparts (in the name of Jesus), the supernatural healing power of God to the person on whom hands are laid.

This piece on the Great Commission was a serious undertaking for me.  It has given me a clear understanding of what Jesus Christ has called us to do as Believers.  Can you imagine how much better off we would be if everyone obeyed and carried out The Great Commission?

I pray that this will bless you and convict you as it has blessed me and further convicted me.

In Jesus Name,

Tony Sanchez, 

12-15-2014