Day 33 Friday - Mar 31, 2023; Mar 22, 2024; Apr 11, 2025
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. -Mark 16:16
This passage comes from what is widely considered an added ending to Mark. For a variety of reasons we need not get into here, it is believed that Mark originally ended his gospel at verse 8 of chapter 16. That doesn’t mean we should not take this as God’s Word, but merely that the author of the rest of the gospel of Mark may not have been the vessel by which God brought us this Word. What remains in verses 9-20 of Mark 16 is an Epitome of sorts towards the entire collection of resurrection appearances in the other Gospels. We get in very short strokes Mary Magdalene as the first witness to the resurrection, the disciples’ unbelief, the appearance on the road to Emmaus, and a version of the Great Commission. It is to this last story that verse 16 belongs.
In this account of the Great Commission, Jesus goes even further than saying make disciples of all nations, he says to “proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (v15). All creation? To the rocks, trees, and hills? To my little dogs and that cat which keeps wandering around town?
Along with reinforcing for us how much the Great Commission to all nations means “all people”, this reminds us that there is a cosmic significance to the story of Jesus. “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God…For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:19, 22-23). What has happened to humanity has not only impacted humanity but all of this world. What God has done for us in Jesus is not only then for us. “And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’” (Revelation 21:5).
And just as the Great Commission in Mark’s addendum tells us that the gospel impacts all creation, so it tells us that baptism will then mark God’s salvation for all creation. Paul says in Romans 8 that we have the “firstfruits of the Spirit”, we’re the first to be touched with the salvation that will touch all creation. And just as much as we eagerly await its fulfillment in us, so does the rest of the cosmos. And your baptism proclaims the wait will not be long, for salvation’s touch has already been felt in this world. You've felt it's touch in those waters. Are you excited? The rocks, trees, and hills are; the little dogs and stray cats will be delighted over what God has done to you.
To think, dear Lord, that what you did with me in something that seemed so simple as a baptism could have significance for the whole world around me. Let me not miss then its significance for me, or take for granted your salvation. The whole world is longing for it, and you have shared it with me. Your steadfast love endures forever! Amen.
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