St Mark Chapter XVI : Verses 14-20
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| He appeared to the eleven as they were at table: J-J Tissot |
[15] And he said to them: Go ye into the whole 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 condemned.
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| The Ascension. J-J Tissot |
[18] They shall take up serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover.
[19] And the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God.
[20] But they going forth preached everywhere: the Lord working withal, and confirming the word with signs that followed.
[14] Novissime recumbentibus illis undecim apparuit : et exprobravit incredulitatem eorum et duritiam cordis : quia iis, qui viderant eum resurrexisse, non crediderunt. [15] Et dixit eis : Euntes in mundum universum praedicate Evangelium omni creaturae. [16] Qui crediderit, et baptizatus fuerit, salvus erit : qui vero non crediderit, condemnabitur. [17] Signa autem eos qui crediderint, haec sequentur : in nomine meo daemonia ejicient : linguis loquentur novis : [18] serpentes tollent : et si mortiferum quid biberint, non eis nocebit : super aegros manus imponent, et bene habebunt. [19] Et Dominus quidem Jesus postquam locutus est eis, assumptus est in caelum, et sedet a dextris Dei. [20] Illi autem profecti praedicaverunt ubique, Domino cooperante, et sermonem confirmante, sequentibus signis.
Notes
Note.— This apparition may have taken place either on Easter Sunday or eight days later, when Jesus shewed Himself to all the Eleven, St Thomas being then present.
14. At length, — i.e. after the four apparitions already mentioned, which were to individuals or to a few followers, Jesus now shews Himself to the eleven.
he appeared to the eleven. If this apparition coincides with that of the evening of Easter Sunday, then the word “ eleven ” must be taken as signifying the community of the Apostles, but not necessarily implying that all the members were present. Until the death of Judas, the Apostles had been spoken of by St Mark as the twelve .
as they were at table. This agrees with St Luke’s account (xxiv. 42).
From the second, third and fourth gospels we can place the account of the apparition to the Eleven on Easter day as follows : —
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he upbraided them , etc. As He had reproached them on previous occasions for their incredulity and spiritual dulness. Other examples are —
(a) When He walked with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. O foolish, and slow of heart to believe in all things which the prophets have spoken (St Luke xxiv. 25).
(b) After he had fed the four thousand. Jesus knowing, saith to them : Why do you reason, because you have no bread ? do you not yet know nor understand ? have you still your heart blinded ? (St Mark viii. 17).
because they did not believe them who had seen him , — i.e. St Mary Magdalen and the other women ; St Peter and the two disciples. Jesus, by eating in their presence, gave them a clear proof that He was really risen. His glorified body did not need food, but He condescended to take it in order to convince them of His Resurrection.
15. And he said to them. St Mark gives a very brief summary of the apparitions of our risen Lord. He mentions only three, and then passes to the words uttered by our Lord when He appeared to His Apostles on a mountain in Galilee.
Go ye into the whole world. Christ sends forth His Apostles to convert the world. They were to go as His representatives ; their commission was divine ; it was derived from Him who has said, He that heareth you heareth me : and he that despiseth you despiseth me (St Luke x. 16). When St Mark wrote these words, much had been done by the Apostles as regards evangelizing the known world, and it is the sublime mission of the Catholic Church to carry on this work. This commission differs from that which the Apostles received earlier, Go ye not into the way of the Gentiles , and into the cities of the Samaritans enter ye not. But go ye rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (St Matt. x. 5, 6). The reason of the change was that the time had now come to proclaim the glad tidings of salvation to all men, since the redemption was accomplished.
16. He that believeth. All men were to believe the truths which Christ commanded the Apostles to teach. These truths are handed down to us by the teaching and tradition of the Infallible Church.
Hence it is an error to assert that men are free to believe what they please. As Catholics, we are bound to accept the teaching of the Church under pain of condemnation, i. e. of losing our soul. Notice that any kind of faith will not save our soul, but only a living faith, productive of good works. This is clearly laid down by St Matthew in his gospel. Going therefore teach ye all nations : baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you (xxviii. 19, 20).
and is baptized. A second condition is here laid down. It is the consequence of the first, since he who firmly believes will seek to be baptized. In the case of an adult, faith must precede baptism, as we see in the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch. See here is water , what doth hinder me from being baptized ? And Philip said : If thou believest with all thy heart , thou mayst (Acts viii. 36, 37).
shall be saved. Provided he lives up to his belief, for as the body without the spirit is dead , so also faith without works is dead (St James ii. 26).
he that believeth not. Notice that our Lord clearly states that salvation depends on faith. We are bound to accept, under pain of eternal damnation, the truths taught by the Apostles and handed down to us by the Catholic Church.
Our Lord does not add here a corresponding negative clause to the affirmative clause, “and is baptized, ” because the Sacrament of Baptism can be dispensed with in certain cases. Thus the baptism of blood, or martyrdom in the case of a catechumen, takes the place of baptism of water. Again, by a sincere desire for baptism together with faith and contrition, a soul is freed from original sin and receives sanctifying grace. Thus the actual baptism of water can be dispensed with, whereas faith is an absolute necessity for an adult — nothing else can replace it.
shall be condemned. This sentence is reserved for those who wilfully refuse to believe the truths of the Gospel, not for those who are inculpably ignorant of the true faith. In the Creed of St Athanasius the damnatory clauses (as they have been called by non-Catholics) are based on these solemn words of Christ. Thus we read, Whosoever will be saved , before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic faith. Which faith, except everyone do keep entire and inviolate , without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. Non-Catliolics who object to these words, as being a proof of bigotry, should compare them with the formal words of Christ, remembering, however, that they apply only to obstinate unbelievers and to the culpably ignorant. The same truth is embodied in the words, out of the Church there is no salvation , that is, for those who obstinately refuse to enter the ark of salvation, but there are many souls who are united to Christ by sanctifying grace, though ignorantly professing a false religion. They are His sheep though they do not profess the Catholic faith, and He will bring them into the one fold, either by granting them the light of faith, or at least at the hour of death, when such a soul must enter either purgatory or heaven.
17. these signs, — i.e. miracles. A sign may be defined as something that falls under our senses, and has a meaning.
shall follow — better shall accompany. Miracles were to follow as visible signs of the truth of the doctrines taught by the Apostles. These favours were granted only as far as they conduced to this end.
them that believe. Not all given to each, as experience has proved, for all Christians do not work miracles, but given to the members of the Church, some to one, others to another, for the benefit of all. The gift of miracles in the early Church was needed to confirm the doctrine of the Apostles.
This gift still remains in the Church ; it is one of the tests of eminent sanctity which the Church seeks in the lives of those whom she places on her altars. As the faith became more firmly established, such visible signs of the truth of Christianity were not needed. St Paul, speaking of the gift of miracles, says (1 Cor. xii. 8-10), To one indeed, by the Spirit, is given the word of wisdom . ... to another, the working of miracles : to another, prophecy : to another, the discerning of spirits to another, diverse kinds of tongues : to another, interpretation of speeches.
In my name. Jesus worked miracles by His own divine power. His disciples worked them by invoking His name and authority.
shall cast out devils. St Mark, writing to reveal Jesus as the Wonder-Worker, often refers to the casting out of devils. This reference is regarded by some writers as an intrinsic proof that St Mark was the author of these disputed verses (i.e. 9-20).
Examples of devils cast out by Christ’s disciples : —
St Philip the deacon when at Samaria. And the people with one accord were attentive to those things which were said by Philip, hearing, and seeing the miracles which he did. For many of them who had unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, went out (Acts viii. 0, 7).
St Paul cast out a pythonical spirit. Paul being grieved, turned and said to the spirit ; I command thee , in the name of Jesus Christ , to go out from her. And he went out the same hour (Acts xvi. 18).
St Paul at Ephesus. So that even there were brought from his body to the sick, hand¬ kerchiefs and aprons, and the diseases departed from them , arid the wicked spirits went out of them (Acts xix. 12).
speak with new tongues , — i.e. existing tongues which they had not learned.
Examples. — On the day of Pentecost. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak (Acts ii. 4).
Cornelius and other Gentiles. For they heard them speaking with tongues, and magnifying God (Acts x. 46). The twelve men whom St Paul baptized and confirmed at Ephesus. And when Paid had imposed his hands on them, the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied (Acts xix. 6).
St Paul refers to this gift when writing to the Corinthians : to another, divers kinds of tongues, to another, interpretation of speeches (1 Cor. xii. 10). He discusses the question also in i Cor. xiv.
The gift of tongues, as may be seen from these texts, was often an extraordinary effect of confirmation, but it was not exclusively given to the recipient of confirmation, as we see in the case of Cornelius.
18. They shall take up serpents , — i.e. shall handle venomous serpents with impunity. This sign had been previously given. Behold , I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy , and nothing shall hurt you (St Luke x. 19).
Example.— St Paul when shipwrecked on the island of Malta. And he indeed shaking off the beast into the fire suffered no harm (Acts xxviii. 5).
if they shall drink any deadly thing, etc. There is a tradition that St John was forced to drink hemlock, but that it had no disastrous effects. Capital punishment by poison obtained at Athens and elsewhere.
they shall lay their hands, etc.
Examples. — St Peter and St John healed the beggar at the gate of the Temple.
St Paul healed Publius. And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever, and of a bloody flux. To whom Paul entered in : and when he had prayed, and laid his hands on him, he healed him (Acts xxviii. 8).
This laying on of hands does not refer to the anointing of the sick with oil, as in the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, since the bodily cure, when effected, is one of the fruits of the Sacrament, and can be performed only by a priest ; and any priest administering the Sacrament may be the means of thus restoring health when God sees it to be expedient. In this text it is a question of miraculous cures, independent of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, and reserved to those Christians who had received the gift of healing.
19. the Lord Jesus. A term of reverence meaning more than the word Lord, by which He was often addressed during His human life. In the epistles the title our Lord Jesus Christ is constantly used.
after he had spoken to them. This cannot mean immediately after He had spoken of the signs that should follow them that believe, but after the forty days had elapsed. It was during this time that Jesus instructed them concerning the kingdom of God, — i.e. the establishment of the Catholic Church, manner of worship, form of government, etc.
had spoken. The word in the original signifies to teach, to instruct. Thus our Lord says, If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin (St John xv. 22), where evidently by spoken He means preached or taught.
20. they going forth. St Mark constantly uses the participial form. It expresses here the continuous action of going forth to preach the Gospel. So it will be till time shall be no longer, for the Catholic Church will ever send out her missionaries to evangelize.
everywhere. When St Mark wrote these words the Gospel had been preached in distant regions. It had spread throughout the civilized world, and in Home, where the Evangelist wrote, there were many Christians.
confirming the word. Strengthening their preaching, and proving it to be true by the signs that followed.
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Note. — Neither St Matthew nor St John mentions our Lord’s Ascension, though it is referred to indirectly by both. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven .... and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty (St Matt. xxiv. 30). Jesus saith to her : Do not touch me, for I am not yet ascended to my Father . ... I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God (St John xx. 17). It is mainly from St Luke’s two accounts that we derive our detailed knowledge of this mystery.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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