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May 18, 2025

Gospel Authority

Passage: Mark 16:14-20

Preacher: John Repsold

Series: Mark

Keywords: gospel, tongues, authority, healing, witness, disciples, demonic oppression

Summary:

This last in the series of messages on Mark brings us to a challenging portion that is almost universally questioned as to its authenticity as the ending to this Gospel. This message deals with the textual problems while taking the thoroughly biblical lessons on the authority Christ has given us to heart.

Detail:

Gospel Authority

Mark 16:14-20

May 18, 2025

INTRO:

I’ve titled today’s message, “Gospel Authority.”  That title has a double meaning for our purposes today.  Most of the passage we are looking at today has to do with the authority Jesus has given to every believer in the Gospel he has given us. 

Q:  What does a driver’s license give you authority to do?  Answer:  drive a car.

Q:  What does the Bible give us authority to do? 

Answer:  (More expansive.)   Everything from preach the Gospel to take on the powers of darkness…and much, much more. 

Today we are going to spend most of our time trying to understand specific portions of the authority Jesus has given every follower of Him.

            But there is another sense in which we need to talk about “Gospel authority” today.  It has to do with the very passage we are looking at in the end of Mark 16.  The authority Jesus gave us is only as good as the reliability of the Bible we hold in our hands.  In other words, if someone messed with what Jesus actually said and the human biblical writers actually wrote, you could think you have authority to do something which Jesus never actually gave or promised.  So we really need to have a very accurate, reliable Bible, particularly when it comes to what we’re staking our lives and ministries in this world on.  So this part of the “Gospel Authority” meaning could be phrased in a question, “How reliable textually is the Gospel that has been given to us?”

Almost every Bible published today has a footnote or commentary of some sort about our passage today, Mark 16:9-20.  Many of them simply say something like this: “Some of the oldest manuscripts do not contain verses 9-20.” NASV)  Or, as my NIV Study Bible says, “The most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20.”  WHAT does this mean and WHY does it matter?

Let me warn you right now:  if you love Christian apologetics (i.e. arguments for the defense of your faith), you’re going to love the next 5 minutes.  If you love the history behind the Bible, you’re going to love this.  If you like to study how we got the Bible we have, this is your cup of tea.  If you don’t, don’t tune out over the next 5 minutes.  Because as sure as the sun came up today, Satan wants to use the reality of what I’m going to talk about now to confuse you, get you to question God’s word, and sow doubts about the reliability of the Bible.  It should have just the opposite effect.  It should strengthen your trust in this Book above all others. 

And you really need to know about this if you care about the souls of your unsaved friends and family.  Because every one of us need to be able to honestly and truthfully answer the questions and objections they may throw at us if they are fighting against the Spirit of God calling out to them about Jesus. 

            So, what do these statements like “The most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20,” actually refer to?  What are these “manuscripts” and “other ancient witnesses” they are talking about that have led most biblical scholars to believe that these verses weren’t in the original Gospel of Mark written by Mark and probably shouldn’t be in our Bibles?  And furthermore, what does that mean for what we should do with this passage as far as our own life with Christ?

“Early Manuscripts”:  see charts

  • T. Reliability Chart (#1)
  • Chart #2
  • T. Reliability (chart #3)

“The Reliability of the Bible” graphic and quotes:

  • Slide 1—graphic
  • Slide 2—quotes
  • Slide 3—quotes

“Other Ancient Witnesses”:  see above “Chart 3”

 

But not let’s talk about why we think this particular passage was not in Mark’s original copy.

Not all ancient manuscripts are equally reliable.  So textual scholars have developed quite a few “rules” that help them determine which variant to prefer and which to be more suspicious of.  Let me give you just a couple of their “rules.”    

  • Earlier manuscripts are usually preferred to ones that were made later. Since all these were hand copied, what we’re saying is that the hand copy closest to the date of the letter being copied has a higher probability of being accurate than those that were down the copy line hundreds of years later.  (Like playing the game “Telephone”:  the more people in the circle, the higher the chance of changing the message, right?)
  • Another rule applied when trying to discern which variant is preferred is that usually the shorter version is preferred to longer Unless you are required to keep something under so many words, the more you rewrite a story or article, the longer it usually gets.  People feel compelled to add things for clarity rather than subtract them for clarity.  In other words, we usually don’t think of gaining clarity by taking away information. 

So, how does our particular passage fair in terms of these two criteria?  It effectively fails on both of them. 

  • As far as early vs. late manuscripts, what did our footnotes say? “The most reliable early manuscripts…do not have Mark 16:9-20”  What are those early manuscripts?
    1. Sinaiticus, known by the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet א. This manuscript includes the whole NT and is from the 4th century. It was found at St. Catherine's monastery on the traditional site of Mt. Sinai
    2. Vaticanus, known by the Greek letter b. This manuscript includes the whole NT except Revelation and is also from the 4th century. It was found in modern times in the Vatican library in Rome.
    3. The 3rd ancient uncial witness to the Greek New Testament, Alexandrinus, is known by the Greek letter a. This manuscript includes the whole NT and is from the 5th century. It is from Alexandria, Egypt. It does include an ending to Mark (the one found in the Textus Receptus [Greek manuscripts/texts printed in 15th century] and used to translate the KJV).
  • Regarding shorter vs. longer versions, that’s pretty evident, right? The shorter version ends with vs. 8.  The longer ones add the next 11 verses. 
  • Testimony of church fathers. Which versions do they quote?
    1. This long ending first appeared in Irenaeus' (a.d. 120-202) Against HeresiesIII:10:5; and Titian's (a.d.110-172) compilation of the four Gospels called The Diatessaron.
    2. However, Clement of Alexandria (150-215 A.D.) and Origen of Alexandria (185-253 A.D.), both very important early church theologians and scholars, never quote or allude to these verses. (This tells us that the ending was not original even in the uncial Alexandrinus, which was from the same city.)
    3. Eusebius (a.d.275-340), an early church historian of the fourth century, said "the most accurate copies" end at Mark 16:8.
    4. Jerome (a.d. 347-420), the translator of the Latin Vulgate, said that almost all Greek manuscripts lack an ending after verse 8.

Add to all that the reality that verses 9-20 contain a fair number of words (14-17) that are not used previously or are used differently in the Gospel of Mark. There is also a marked change of style and syntax of that extended ending. 

Conclusion:  it is quite probable that these verses were added later and should not have made it into our Bible. 

            So, what difference does that make.  Well, it doesn’t undermine the credibility of what we do have.  The fact that we know so much about this variant/passage means we can say with total confidence, that the remaining 99.5% of our Bible is not in doubt in any way.  This and John 7:53-8:11 (40 total lines of the 20,000 lines in the N.T.) are in question.

 

So why even study them then?  Because the church for so many centuries has used them, I think there is still some value.  BUT, with one caution:  we should not construct any doctrine from these disputed passages and should reject any teaching made in them or taken from them that cannot be supported in other biblical passages.  Let me give you an example from this passage.

Mark 16:17-18--And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

            There are some churches, predominantly in W. Virginia where it is still legal, that have, as part of their tradition, to employ venomous snakes in their services.  The practice originated in the early 20th century in the Appalachian region of the United States, specifically within Pentecostal and Holiness denominations. 

Snakes are typically handled during services, often passed among congregants.  (You might want to be careful what churches you visit if you happen to frequent W. Virginia!)  These churches see snake handling as an act of obedience to God, a way to demonstrate their faith, and a belief that God will protect them from harm, even from venomous snakes. 

Problem is, while most participants are not bitten, some have been, and some have actually died from snakebites (according to a First Amendment Encyclopedia). BTW, some churches also practice drinking poison, believing it to be another test of faith!

What Scriptures do they base these practices on?  Only Mark 16:18.  They have NO others.  And there are NO other Bible passages that exemplify such a practice let alone encourage it.  (Paul was bitten by a snake in Acts 28 when shipwrecked on the island of Malta.  But he clearly wasn’t trying to handle a venomous snake.)  And there is NO record of ANY such practice in the Christian church at any time in church history save this Appalachian region in the 20th century.  I would put such practice clearly under the theme of “testing God”, not one’s own faith. 

            But the rest of the teaching in this passage clearly aligns with numerous other passages of the N.T.  Let me focus in on two of them that have significant implications for all of us here this morning. 

Gospel Authority means Sharing the Gospel

15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

This passage and command are clearly stated in other Gospels and the book of Acts.  Like Mt. 28:19, the English command “go” is actually a participle, “going…into all the world, preach the gospel.”  Or in Matthew 28, “going, make disciples.”  Preaching the Gospel can be simply the truth that everyone needs to know Jesus Christ and be reconciled to God.  But the Gospel also includes how to live out that “life in Christ”.  So Gospel preaching definitely involves disciple-making. 

            But the fact that telling the gospel and making disciples are both expected to be done “going” outside the church and into the world, even the ends of the world, makes it clear that we cannot be passive about taking the Gospel outside the church.  It is a command of Jesus.  It has come to be known as “the Great Commission” to the church.  And it is something ALL of us are to be doing ALL the time. 

            There is very little point in talking about grand discipleship programs and plans if we are not “preaching”/ sharing the gospel with people…everyone. 

  • Share what we are doing to clarify and simplify our discipleship process here at Mosaic.
  • Share our real concern that we are not seeing many/any new converts/baptisms in the past few months. That’s not God’s plan for His church.  I’m hearing that other churches are seeing people coming to faith. 

APP:  Something I’ve been convicted about lately:  if we’re praying in faith for a revival in the church that will produce an awakening of lost souls to Jesus, we better be ready for a harvest.  WHEN we start seeing people coming to Christ every week through the witness we are giving in our schools, places of work, neighborhoods and families, will we be ready to baptize all those people?  I don’t think we are…because I don’t see a baptistry in here that can be used summer and winter, spring and fall.  So…I think we need to get a baptistry and start praying for new believers!    

APP:  But what about the “going” part of this Gospel Authority we have?  It probably needs some fanning into flame, right?  So here’s what we’re going to do for a few minutes.  (We used to do this frequently as a church years ago.  So we’re returning to our roots for a moment!)

  • Group up with people around you. Take 3-4 minutes to talk about and come up with a handful of good “spiritual conversation starters” that you can share with the rest of us that can help all of us turn regular conversations into Gospel conversations.  Think of them as those “fire starters” you like to use when you’re camping.  They look like an average piece of wood but, boy, do they burn easier, longer and faster.   

Use the back of your bulletin to write them down…and the ones you are going to hear from others in a moment.

EX:  “If you could ask God anything, what would you ask him?” Or, “Do you have any kind of spiritual belief?”  Or “What’s been your spiritual journey in life?” 

  • Now, using your bulletin or the “Behold Jesus” flyer invite, write down the names of 3 people you know need Jesus. Start asking God to give you “divine encounters” with them (and anyone, really).  Think of a way to spend some time with them this summer just loving them. 

 

Now let’s move to the “Gospel Authority” that vss. 17-18 give us.  We’re going to ignore the clearly doubtful snakes and poison part but we will look at 3 things the rest of Scripture does support for Christ-followers to deal with.  Because, “Gospel Authority” means using the authority Jesus gave to us to change the world around us.

17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues… they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

  • Delivering people from demonic influence: Certainly this can involve actual deliverance from demonic oppression or possession.  The people of God have always taken that seriously.  Jesus modeled it to his disciples and then told them to go do the same.  The New Testament is full of the church doing this in Jewish and Gentile cultures alike. 

But don’t just think the more dramatic demonstrations of exorcism.  Every time someone receives the Holy Spirit by faith in Jesus, angels in heaven rejoice…and demons in hell get angry and upset.  Whenever we push against “the gates of hell”, we deliver people from demons. 

  • That might be just praying over them.
  • It might be as simple as rebuking in Jesus’ name the principalities and powers messing with someone you care about.
  • It might be giving God’s truth where someone is believing a lie about themselves or life or God himself.
  • It could be walking someone through recovery by bringing them to Changing Lives.

If the Holy Spirit resides in you, you have nothing to fear about telling Satan and his minions they have no place in the people in and around you…and you have everything to win. 

  • “They will speak in new tongues….” This could be a reference to what happened at Pentecost when Spirit-filled people were given the gift of speaking truth in known languages that they had not personally learned to others watching what God was doing. It could be a divine, miraculous ability to speak in someone else’s native tongue that you’ve never learned. 

ILL:  I got this gift after 7 years of working at learning Spanish in Spain.  (My wife got it much faster.  She’s more spiritual!)   

(I don’t mean in any way to belittle what many refer to as “the gift of tongues” that they use in their prayer life.  That, too, can push back the gates of hell if you are employing it for more than your own edification.)

But I want to broaden this notion of “new tongues” to include speaking in ways that testify to the saving power of God.  This is precisely what happened at Pentecost.  When the Spirit of God came upon those 120 people, they turned Jerusalem upside down in one day with their witness.  Three-thousand got saved…and later another 5,000.  Why?  Because people heard them “declaring the wonders of God in [their] own language,” (Acts 2:11). 

When we talk about what God is doing in our lives and others, we are “declaring the wonders of God.” When we share the great news about life in Jesus, we are “declaring the wonders of God.”  When we find ways to speak so that people without Jesus understand and listen and get curious about what God is up to, we’re speaking their language.  That’s the kind of “gift of tongues” every one of us should be praying for and asking God to equip us with. 

ILL:  It might look like working with World Relief…or ISI…or Changing Lives.  It might look like getting involved in one of the Haven buildings and learning to speak about the wonders of God to people we don’t normally hang out with.  It might look like doing some spiritual surveys with parents at DVBS or sitting at a table with someone for dinner and learning what speaks to them.  It might be committing to memory a few of your favorite “spiritual questions” so you can get into a deeper conversation with someone God puts in your path. 

God has given us the authority to speak into the lives of other people in ways that grab their attention and their hearts.    

APP:  What are you, what am I, going to do this summer to “speak a new language” to someone needing Jesus? 

PERSONAL:  For me, I’m planning to do a neighborhood BBQ that opens more doors of conversation with my neighbors.  I’m hoping we can invite some of them to spend a day at the lake with us. 

  • Touching people with the healing power of God: “…they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”  I know of no reason why every single person filled with the Spirit of God cannot be the conduit God uses to bring healing to sick people. 

“Sick” here is used of anything from physically ill to weary, worn down and weak.  It’s a different word from what James uses in James 5.  But that one is even more expansive, including people depressed or discouraged or hopeless as well as physically ill.  James tells people to ask the Elders to anoint them with oil and pray over them.  But it is the same experience this passage is talking about. 

God has given to all of us the authority to come against sickness of body, soul, mind, heart and emotions.  But it will take contact with people.  It will take them wanting to be touched by God and us willing to be the hands of Jesus doing that.  It’s up to God what He does with that.  But it’s up to us to actually touch people with the healing power of God. 

      We do that most directly when we pray over people.  People are always sharing their woes with us, aren’t they?  What if we determined to pray over every situation where God allows us to see or hear a need in someone’s life?  You don’t have to have oil.  You just need hands…and a mouth to pray! 

All three of these examples of exercising God-given authority will put us in direct opposition to the forces of darkness AND will make us the hands and mouths of Jesus in our generation.  Are you willing to be that to everyone around you? 

  • Maybe start with your family. Pray over them at night, when you send them off to work and school, at meals, in the car as you drop them off for extra-curricular activities. 
  • Ask God for eyes to see the opportunities at work, school, in your neighborhood, at the gym, in the grocery store, the hospital, etc.
  • Armor up! Be in the Word daily.  Be consciously asking God to equip you daily with the spiritual armor—belt of truth, Gospel of peace, helmet of salvation, sword of the Spirit, breastplate of righteousness. 
  • Ask God to start with you…today. It’s hard to pass along what you haven’t experienced.  So TODAY, we’re going to close the service differently.  If you are sensing or know you need God to touch you in any of these areas I’ve talked about today, I’m inviting you to come up at the end of the service for Pastor Bob or I to pray over you and “lay our hands on you”/anoint you with oil. 

 

CLOSE:  I Speak the Name of Jesus