they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Christ rebuked His apostles for unbelief even though they had testimony from those who saw Him risen; the fault lay not in the proofs but in the hardness of their hearts. Pride prevented them from believing witnesses Christ had chosen. We cannot excuse ourselves by saying we did not see Him ourselves; we ought to believe those who did.
AI summary
Commenting on Mark 16:14-18
So then, after the Lord,.... The Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions add, "Jesus"; and the Ethiopic version reads, "our Lord, the Lord Jesus"; and both Syriac and Persic read, "our Lord"; which is common in these versions, where the word "Lord" is used: had spoken unto them; the disciples, the above words, which commissioned them where to go, what to do, and what to say...
Verse 18. 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 him, to keep them from harm. This was literally fulfilled when Paul shook the viper from his hand. See . Any deadly thing. Any poison usually causing death. Shall not hurt them. There is a similar promise in .