And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 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 16:15-18)

The Signs That Followed

Jesus was ascending to His Father, and eleven men were tasked to establish a kingdom that would endure until the return of Jesus. After the resurrection, Jesus spent almost forty days with His disciples, telling them about the coming kingdom. Peter and the rest of the apostles could not imagine how different their lives would be after the next Pentecost.

The eleven were given a command. Their task was to take the gospel of Jesus to all men, Jews and Gentiles. The Father sent His Son to die for the world so that every creature could come to know the grace and mercy of God. Jesus tells His disciples to preach the gospel of belief and baptism. What Jesus said should not be lost on the Bible student and how important those words will become. The apostles were told to show the word of God to a lost and dying world. Salvation begins with the heart believing the word. In the early days of the church, the apostles were given the power of the Holy Spirit to confirm the word preached. Jesus had promised the apostles the Helper, the Holy Spirit, would come and endue them with power from on high.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles could show the power of the gospel. There were no Bibles with the completed revealed word of God. The Old Testament was complete and found in Hebrew and Greek versions. It would be a few decades before books were distributed among the churches telling the story of Jesus, showing examples of church growth, and establishing New Testament authority. Until the perfection of the Word was complete, the Holy Spirit would work among the early saints, proving the validity of the preaching.

The apostles were told they could cast out demons, speak with new tongues, take up deadly serpents, and if they drank anything deadly, it would not hurt them. Jesus also said these men would have the power to lay hands on the sick, and they would recover. Luke’s chronicle to Theophilus was preserved to show the acts of the apostles and how they fulfilled the words of Jesus. Throughout the early church, miracles were being performed to establish the word. Many souls came to Jesus when they heard the word and saw the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many signs followed the disciples as they taught the gospel. The lame received their strength, Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for lying, Peter and the eleven apostles were miraculously freed from a Roman prison, the dead were raised to life, and miracles and signs were done in all the cities. While the miracles were necessary, no one was saved because they were healed of disease. Jesus told the disciples to preach the gospel, and the signs would follow to confirm the word because the gospel message is what saves.

The signs that followed were only temporary. There is no need for miracles today. If a man will not believe the word of God (in written form), why would he believe a miracle? The Jewish leaders could never deny Jesus’s miracles and could never refute His teaching. In the early church, the signs confirmed the word but never saved anyone. The apostles did exactly what Jesus told them to do.

Two thousand years have not diminished the power of the words of Jesus. The days of miracles have ceased because there is no need for them. What is needed is for the hearts of men to turn to the gospel of Jesus Christ and obey the words of Jesus. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” There were many other words Jesus told them, but this is the basis of how one comes into contact with the blood of Jesus. Grace and mercy are found in the blood of Jesus. The love of God is found in the blood of Jesus. Paul will later show the only place to have the blood of Jesus wash away sins is where Jesus told the eleven – baptism.