PROPER INTERPRETATION OF MARK 16:14-18 ON THE LAYING ON OF HANDS
QUESTION? / COMMENT!
I had a question regarding the laying on of hands. I know you've touched on this topic in other question and answers, but I had a more specific question about it that I couldn't find an answer to in those responses. Basically, many Charismatic Catholics cite Mark 16:17-18 as Jesus telling us that "those who believe [in His Name"} will lay hands on the sick to heal them. While I know you've discussed how the laying on of hands was always priestly and paternal from a biblical perspective, how can I provide a rebuttal for the Catholics who cite Mark 16:17-18? Especially since they can argue Jesus wasn't talking to priests specifically, but instead was talking to *all* believers? I would really appreciate the help if you have time!
ANSWER! / COMMENT!
Mark 16:14-18 is often quoted by charismatics and Pentecostals to justify the practice of lay people laying hands on the heads of fellow lay people to drive out demons. Here is what Mark 16:14-18 (NAB) says in a section where he Commissions the remaining Eleven apostles: “But] later, as the eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. 15 He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. 18 They will pick up serpents [with their hands], and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Many modernist Catholics say that verse 17 “in my name they will drive out demons” gives them the authority to lay hands on another person's head and drive out a demon in Jesus name. First point I will make is that verse 17 in its historical context is being addressed to the 11 remaining apostles (Judas had already committed suicide), this verse is not speaking to those self proclaimed deliverance ministers operating on Wednesday night in the Parish basement in Los Angeles California. Verse 17 has to be understood within the ‘authority structure’ of the Church. Yes, a person can deliver themselves through prayer in Jesus name. Verse 18 also says, they will speak new languages. Does every Catholic speak in tongues (which means a new language they have never studied)? Do these self-proclaimed modernist deliverance ministers pick up snakes with their hands and drink poison without any harm coming to them? Of course not. St. Paul (a hand picked apostle) was bitten by a snake and suffered no harm while gathering firewood on the island of Malta (cf. Acts 28:3-6). Why was he not harmed? Because he was an apostle and the promise of Mark 16:18 was made, in historical context, to the apostles. Verse 18 also says “they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.” The apostles especially Peter and Paul laid hands on the sick and healed them instantly, they prayed over the dead and they came back to life. Do you know of any Lay Catholic that prays over the sick and heals them instantly? If there was someone with this gift they have a moral obligation to go to every Intensive Care Unit, Burn Center and Hospice in their state and pray over those poor sick and dying patients and heal them through prayer and the laying on of hands. Once they're done healing everybody in their state, we should take this person from state to state healing people. Verse 17-18 is emphasizing faith in Christ, it’s not literally encouraging dangerous practices for every person who is baptized.
The section in Mark 16:14-18 refers to the power given to the apostles and the early Church. Dr Scott Hahn says: “In the early Church, the apostles drove out demons (Acts 16:16-18), spoke in new tongues (Acts 2:4-11), sustained the sting of serpents unharmed (Acts 28:1-6), and healed infirmities by placing their hands on the sick (Acts 3: 6-8; 28:8). Although these signs are not ends in themselves, they can be motives of credibility that lead unbelievers to embrace the gospel and likewise lead believers to see the reasonableness of their faith.”
In the late 2nd century there was a group called ‘the Montanist,’ they were early charismatic Christians founded by Montanus who died by hanging himself (around 180AD). Montanists were characterized by their emphasis on prophecy, ecstatic utterances, and a belief in the imminent return of Christ. They practiced rigorous asceticism and claimed to receive direct revelations from the Holy Spirit. While Montanism gained a following in various regions, it was eventually branded as heretical by the Catholic Church’s leaders and councils. The early Church viewed their practices as excessively enthusiastic and outside the bounds of orthodox Christian teaching, particularly because of their claims to new revelations and the authority they attributed to their prophecies. Thus, Montanism is often recognized as an early form of Christian charismatic movement that was deemed heretical by the Church because of their emphasis on ‘feelings and emotions.’
In the West, at the Fourth Council of Carthage held in 398AD the ministry of Exorcism was relegated to a Catholic Priest alone because there were many rogue operators performing exorcisms. In my opinion, knowing human nature, I am sure laymen were doing exorcisms for money or taking sexual advantage of the females who were possessed.
The relegation of the ministry of exorcism to bishops and priests at the Fourth Council of Carthage in 398 AD reflected a growing emphasis on the formal structure and authority of the Church. Overall, this decision was part of a larger trend in the Church toward centralization of authority and the formalization of its rites and sacraments. "This should help us to better understand how the Church has progressively arrived at a formal ritual of exorcism" (Bishop Jeffrey Grob; PHD Thesis).