14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 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. (Mark 16:14-18 KJV )
The Great Commission
Here is the conviction Christ gave his apostles of the truth of his resurrection (Mark 16:14). He appeared to them himself, when they were all together at the table, which gave him an opportunity to eat and drink with them for their full assurance (Acts 10:41). Still, when he appeared to them, he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, for even at the general meeting in Galilee, some doubted (Matthew 28:17). The evidences of the truth of the gospel are so complete that those who do not receive it may rightly be rebuked for their unbelief. It is not due to any lack in the evidence but to the hardness and dullness of their hearts.
Though they had not yet seen him themselves, they were rightly blamed for not believing those who had seen him after he had risen. Perhaps pride played a part in this: “If he is truly risen, shouldn’t he honor us, his chosen disciples, with the first appearance?” And if he passed them by and showed himself to others first, they found it hard to believe it was really him. Likewise, many today reject the doctrine of Christ because they think it beneath them to believe those whom he appointed to be its witnesses. It will not excuse our unbelief at the final judgment to say, “We did not see him after he rose,” for we ought to have believed the testimony of those who did.
Christ then gave them the commission to establish his kingdom among people through the preaching of his gospel—the good news of reconciliation to God through a Mediator. Hitherto, they had been sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and were forbidden to go to the Gentiles or into any Samaritan city. But now their commission is broadened: they are authorized to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, to Gentiles as well as Jews, to every human being capable of receiving it. “Tell them about Christ—his life, death, and resurrection. Instruct them in the meaning and purpose of these events and the benefits they offer to all humanity. Invite everyone, without exception, to partake of them. This is the gospel. Let it be preached everywhere, to everyone.”
These eleven men could not themselves preach to the whole world, much less to every individual in it, but they and the other disciples—seventy in number—and those who would later join them must scatter in various directions and carry the gospel wherever they went. They must send others where they themselves could not go and make it the mission of their lives to spread this good news as faithfully and diligently as possible—not as a hobby or a form of entertainment, but as a solemn message from God to humanity, intended to bring salvation. “Tell as many as you can and urge them to tell others. This message concerns everyone and should be universally received, because it offers a universal invitation.”
The summary of the gospel they are to preach is given in Mark 16:16: “Set before the world life and death, good and evil. Tell people they are all in a state of misery and danger, condemned by their king and enslaved by their enemies.” This is implied in the need to be saved, for salvation is unnecessary unless one is lost. “Now go and tell them”—if they believe the gospel and commit themselves to Christ as his disciples—if they renounce the devil, the world, and the flesh, and dedicate themselves to Christ as their prophet, priest, and king, and to God through Christ as their covenant God—and if they show by their continued faithfulness that they mean it—then they will be saved from the guilt and power of sin. Sin will not rule them or destroy them. A true Christian will be saved through Christ.
Baptism was established as the public act by which those who accepted Christ declared their allegiance to him. But here, it stands more for the reality it represents than for the symbol itself, since Simon Magus believed and was baptized, yet was not saved (Acts 8:13). Believing with the heart and confessing with the mouth (Romans 10:9) is essentially the same as what is taught here. In other words, we must agree with gospel truths and accept gospel terms.
On the other hand, if they do not believe—if they reject the testimony God has given about his Son—they cannot expect salvation by any other means. They must perish. They will be condemned, not only by the law they have broken but also by the gospel they have rejected. And even this is good news: that only unbelief will condemn a person, unbelief being a rejection of the remedy God has provided. Dr. Whitby observes that those who use this passage to argue that infants cannot be baptized because they cannot believe must also conclude that they cannot be saved, since faith is here more directly required for salvation than baptism. In the latter part of the verse, baptism is left out, implying that it is not the mere lack of baptism but its contemptuous neglect that brings guilt. Otherwise, infants could be condemned for their parents’ mistakes or irreverence.
They are also promised power to confirm the doctrine they are to preach (Mark 16:17): “These signs shall follow those who believe.” Not that all believers would perform miracles, but some—especially those tasked with spreading the gospel—would. Signs are meant for unbelievers (1 Corinthians 14:22). It added to the credibility of the gospel that the preachers not only performed miracles but also gave others the power to do so. That power followed some believers wherever they went to preach. They would perform wonders in Christ’s name—the same name into which they were baptized—by power drawn from him through prayer.
Some specific signs are listed. They would cast out demons; this gift was more common than any other and endured longer, as attested by early Christian writers like Justin Martyr, Origen, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Minutius Felix, and others. They would speak in new languages they had never learned. This was both a miracle and a practical means of spreading the gospel to nations unfamiliar with it. It saved the preachers the labor of learning new languages and ensured that they were fluent, persuasive, and engaging, which greatly enhanced their message. They would handle snakes unharmed. This happened to Paul, who was not hurt by a viper that latched onto his hand, which amazed the locals (Acts 28:5-6).
They would be protected from the spiritual “generation of vipers” among whom they lived, and from the malice of the devil. If forced by persecutors to drink deadly poison, it would not harm them—something recorded in church history. Not only would they be safe themselves, but they would also bring healing to others. They would lay hands on the sick, and they would recover, as many had been healed by Jesus’ touch. Many church elders had this gift, as noted in James 5:14, where they anointed the sick with oil in the name of the Lord as a sign of miraculous healing. How confidently they could carry out their mission with such powerful signs confirming their authority!