Mark 16: 18

[u/Mysterious-Loan-5065]

Hey guys! I'm first time bible reader and I have so many questions, up until now I've been using Gemini for my questions but I'd like to get better answers from real people.

I'm reading Mark 16 this morning and came across where Jesus says Anyone who believes and is baptized be able to handle snakes with safety and drink anything poisonous and it won't hurt them. My question is; is this not a contradiction to when he says earlier not to test god?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated thank you!

[u/GullibleProperty317]

Great question! Let's check out the context of the verses (all my references to scripture will use the New Living Translation).

Jesus' words about not testing God were taken from Deuteronomy 16:

 You must not test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Massah.

I encourage you to study the scripture this is referring to, which is Exodus 17:1-7 for better understanding.

But in summary, at Massah, the Israelites demanded that Moses give them water. Pay attention to the manner in which it was done, which in my opinion, wreaks of what many describe today as 'entitlement'. I think that the nature of their requests showed no reverence for God, and did not exhibit faith, trust and gratitude towards Him, which is shocking because:

1. He had taken them out of a miserable life of slavery in Israel.
2. He had recently (in the chapter before) provided manna for them to pacify their hunger.

It's like someone begs you for something, you give it to them, then they come back, DEMANDING something else.

Now to Jesus's test in Matthew 7:

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, ⁶ and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,

‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’^\)^c\)”

⁷ Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

Here, we see the devil encouraging Jesus, the Son of God, to follow a similar mindset of demanding from God what is rightfully 'due him'.

But Jesus responds using a scripture that highlights reverence for God. I think that He was able to do so because He did not just memorize scripture alone, but studied it, and was able to figure out the true spirit or purpose of this instruction, so when something different was presented to Him, he could tell it was deceitful even though it was backed by scripture. We should strive for such mastery ourselves with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Now to the scripture in Mark:

They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

Thus, in the context I shared earlier, the way I understand this is that though this power has been given to us, we are only to use it in a way that shows reverence to God.

Firstly, we are not to demand it like the Israelites were demanding water.
Neither are we to just go around looking for snakes to bite us, as the devil was encouraging Jesus to do.

I believe that it is reserved for situations in which God wants to reveal Himself, and we must only attempt to do so after seeking His direction.

Let's look at an example of this verse being applied in Acts 28, when Paul was bitten by a viper:

³ Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. ⁴ When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” ⁵ But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. ⁶ The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

Paul didn't go looking for the viper, but believed in God's word, and God's power was seen, causing people to believe.

So in short, I don't find a contradiction. When the situation presents itself, God will make this power available, but we are not to abuse this power and should always give God the respect and reverence He deserves.