Mark 16:18

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. 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. These two verses are also unique to Mark....

14-18 The evidences of the truth of the gospel are so full, that those who receive it not, may justly be upbraided with their unbelief. Our blessed Lord renewed his choice of the eleven as his apostles, and commissioned them to go into all the world, to preach his gospel to every creature. Only he that is a true Christian shall be saved through Christ. Simon Magus professed to believe, and was baptized, yet he was declared to be in the bonds of iniquity: see his history in Acts 8:13. Doubtless this is a solemn declaration of that true faith which receives Christ in all his characters and offices, and for all the purposes of salvation, and which produces its right effect on the heart and life; not a mere assent, which is a dead faith, and cannot profit. The commission of Christ's ministers extends to every creature throughout the world, and the declarations of the gospel contain not only...

Verse 18. _TAKE UP SERPENTS_] Several MSS. add εν ταις χερσιν, _in their hands _- shall be enabled to give, when such a proof may be serviceable to the cause of truth, this evidence of their being continually under the _power_ and _protection_ of God, and that _all_ _nature_ is subject to him. This also was literally fulfilled in the case of Paul, Acts 28:5. _IF THEY DRINK ANY DEADLY THING_] θανασιμον (φαρμακον) being understood-if they should through _mistake_, or _accident_, drink any poisonous matter, their _constant preserver_ will take care that it shall not injure them. See a similar promise, Isaiah 43:2. _THEY SHALL LAY HANDS ON THE SICK_] And I will convey a healing power by their hands, so that the s

THEY SHALL TAKE UP SERPENTS - When it is necessary for the sake of establishing religion, they shall handle poisonous reptiles without injury, thus showing that God was with them to keep them from harm. This was literally fulfilled when Paul shook the viper from his hand. See Acts 28:5. ANY DEADLY THING - Any poison usually causing death. SHALL NOT HURT THEM - There is a similar promise in Isaiah 43:2. THEY SHALL LAY HANDS ON THE SICK ... - See instances of this in the Acts of the Apostles, Acts 3:6; Acts

EXPOSITION MARK 16:1 AND WHEN THE SABBATH WAS PAST, MARY MAGDALENE, AND MARY THE MOTHER OF JAMES, AND SALOME, BOUGHT SPICES ἠγόρασαν ἀρώματα) THAT THEY MIGHT COME AND ANOINT HIM. A hasty but lavish embalming of our Lord's sacred body had been begun on Friday evening by Joseph and Nicodemus. They had "brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight" (John 19:39). This would be a compound—the gum of the myrrh tree, and a powder of the fragrant aloe wood mixed together, with which they would completely cover the body, which was then swathed with linen cloths (ὀθόνια), also steeped in the aromatic preparation. Then the sindon_ _would he placed over all. Compare the ἐ

THEY SHALL TAKE UP SERPENTS,.... The Arabic version adds, "in their own hands"; and in an ancient manuscript of Beza's it is read, "in the hands"; so the Apostle Paul had a viper, which fastened and hung on his hand, which he shook off, without receiving any harm from it, Acts 28:3. AND IF THEY DRINK ANY DEADLY THING, IT SHALL NOT HURT THEM; not that they were hereby warranted to drink poison, to show what power they had; but should they accidentally drink it, or rather should they be forced to it by their enemies in order to destroy them, they should find no hurt by it: and Papias x reports of Barsabas, surnamed Justus, who was put up with Matthias for the apostleship, Acts 1:23, that he drank a poisonous draught, and by the grace of the Lord, received no hurt: and the Jews themselves report y, that

Mark 16:1. _And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him._ We know that «him» whose name is not given here. There is scarcely need to mention that it was Jesus whom the women came to anoint. Oh, how gladly would we also anoint «him» whose name is The Anointed One! But not as a dead Christ, for «He is risen.» Our sweet spices must henceforth be for that living One whom we anoint with our living joy and consecration; or, rather, we must receive our anointing from him, for he is the Christ, and we the Christians who get our very name and life from him. As he was supposed to be dead, and still lying in the tomb, these holy women came to anoint him, Mark 16:2. And very early in the morning the fi

MARK 16:9-20 _The Ending(s) of Mark_ Four endings of the Gospel according to Mark are current in the manuscripts. (1) The last twelve verses of the commonly received text of Mark are absent from the two oldest Greek manuscripts (a and B), 20 from the Old Latin codex Bobiensis (itk), the Sinaitic Syriac manuscript, about one hundred Armenian manuscripts, 21 and the two oldest Georgian manuscripts (written A.D. 897 and A.D. 913). 22 Clement of Alexandria and Origen show no knowledge of the existence of these verses; furthermore Eusebius and Jerome attest that the passage was absent from almost all Greek...

PART V. THE SERVANT HIGHLY EXALTED. RISEN AND ASCENDED; HIS COMMISSION TO HIS SERVANTS AND WORKING WITH THEM Chapter 16 _ 1. The Resurrection and His Manifestation. (Mark 16:1 .Matthew 28:1; Luke 24:1; John 20:1 .)_ 2. The Commission. (Mark 16:9. Luke 24:36; John 20:19 .) 3. The Ascension. (Mar

These verses constitute the longer of two alternative endings found in some MSS. In an Armenian text (of A.D. 986) the longer ending is attributed to Ariston, the Presbyter, perhaps the Aristion who was among the authorities of Papias, at the beginning of the second century. It is a summary, based on the gospels and Acts 9 refers to John 20; John 12 rests on Luke 24; Mark 16:17 f. on Acts 2:28. In style and vocabulary it is distinct from the rest of the gospel. To this longer ending should be added (in Mark 16:14) the passage recently discovered in Codex W, the Detroit MS of the gospels. It is included in Moffatt's translation of the NT. Moffatt also prints the shorter alternative ending referred to in RVm. It runs thus: But they gave Peter and