A UNIVERSAL MESSAGE

Later, Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; He rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16: 14-16)  

Although this final section of Mark’s gospel was not in the original manuscript, it is quite clearly the work of someone who was in the inner circle. Note how his addition links in with what had gone before.

The Eleven! The disciples were often officially called “The Twelve” but one had failed and dropped out. Whoever wrote this short ending was well aware of this and re-named the group “The Eleven”. After the ascension of Jesus, Peter took it on himself to convene a meeting of the believers to choose a man to replace Judas. However, although Matthias was chosen by lot, it is clear from the early history of the church that God’s choice to replace Judas and complete the Twelve was not Matthias but Paul.

When Jesus appeared to the Eleven after His resurrection, according to this anonymous writer, His first words were to rebuke them for their unbelief. Mark had made it very clear that no one believed the report of the women or the two whom Jesus had accompanied on their way home to Emmaus. Even the women themselves had fled from the tomb in fear after seeing and hearing the message of the young man. What a slap in the face for their Master!

Although Jesus had appeared and reappeared to His disciples at various times and places, it was never the same as it had been before. He was no longer with them constantly to teach and guide them on their journey with Him. He has promised that the Holy Spirit would come to take His place but His promise was yet to be fulfilled.

The additional ending to Mark’s story is a summary of the forty days between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. He tied up all the loose ends of Peter’s denial and their desertion, making sure that they were all aware that their past was behind them and that they had a commission to fulfil which had not been withdrawn because of their failure. On the contrary, they were better prepared to do their Master’s will, now that they had tasted the terrible consequences of their independence and self-sufficiency. Already, some of Jesus’ teachings and warnings were coming home to them with painful clarity.

Jesus informed them that the sweep of their commission was far greater than just the human race. That didn’t mean that they had literally to preach to animals and inanimate creation, but it did mean that His death and resurrection had implications for the whole universe. The twelfth apostle, Paul, caught the impact of this and reported it to the readers of his letter to the church in Rome and, of course to all those down the centuries who have benefitted from his correspondence to them,

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. (Rom. 8: 19-22)

A day is coming, said Paul, when all of creation, not just those who have believed and were baptised, will be restored to the original plan of the Creator. Tied up with the good news of redemption through the blood of Jesus, is the hope of restoration and renewal for all of the created universe.

Why did this writer make clear that baptism was to be an integral part of a believer’s initiation into the kingdom of God? Ritual washing was a common practice in Judaism, not a unique rite of Christianity. It was not a once-off occurrence among the Jews but a common practice because it testified to the washing away of old things; e.g., of uncleanness after physical healing or childbirth; of a preparatory stage in a person’s life, e.g., for the priesthood, and identification with a new group or movement. John’s baptism was symbolic of the washing away of old ways of thinking and believing (repentance) and identification with John and his teaching about the Messiah.

How unfortunate that the Greek word, baptizo, was transliterated instead of translated, making it appear to be something unique to Jesus. Baptism was not understood to be part of salvation, but a cut-off point for everyone seriously committed to following Jesus. It is the declaration of intent as well as the witness to what has already happened within.

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life. (Rom. 6: 3-4)

How sad that the church has made baptism to mean something different from Jesus’ original intenion. It is impossible for babies and young children to make such a commitment, or for parents to do it on their behalf. This is about mikvah, washing away the old life and entering into a new one, in union with Jesus through faith; and the public confession of identification with Him in His person and mission – to reveal the Father and to establish His kingdom on earth.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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