Snake Handling et al

​I just had this discussion in our breakfast Bible study so I will recapitulate it while it’s fresh on my mind. Mark 16:16-18 says that certain signs will accompany believers – namely, they will cast out demons, be protected from snakebite and poison and heal the sick. I believe all of Scripture. So – why do we not handle snakes in our congregation? Why do we not conduct specific healing services? Just as a side note: I have long observed that many more congregations elect to handle snakes than to gulp down cyanide. But hey – name your poison, I guess.

1. Jesus was tempted to take advantage of God’s promised protection by leaping from the temple. He responded that it was a mistake to test God in such a way. The point of the temptation was to ruin Jesus’ ministry. Paul was bitten by a snake on the Island of Malta. It happened while he was gathering wood and throwing it on a fire to keep a drenched shipwrecked company warm. Much to the surprise of the onlookers, Paul suffered no harm. One of these instances showed the wisdom of Jesus (and what should be wisdom for any who wish to minister in His name) in refusing to test God to prove a point or in pursuit of personal glory and power. The other instance showed a faithful saint who was bitten by a snake in the midst of doing non-snake related ministry – and suffered no harm. It seems to me that snake handling as a religious practice fits into neither category. It actually looks more like someone falling prey to the temptation Jesus resisted by misunderstanding/misusing the promised protection of which Paul was a beneficiary.
2. Since Mark 16 also speaks of healing and since Paul followed up the snakebite incident with a healing campaign on Malta, let me just note that the ‘healing service’ is alien to the New Testament. Almost all the healings of Jesus and the Apostles took place in the public square or in the homes of the afflicted. There were a few overlaps of healing and preaching services. Eutychus fell asleep during a long sermon and fell to his death. The service was disrupted by this sad event and a miraculous healing took place – then – right back to preaching. Jesus healed the paralytic in the midst of a teaching service but it was because some people TORE A HOLE IN THE ROOF under which Jesus was preaching and let the paralytic down into the midst of things. The service was disrupted, a miraculous healing occurred and was used as an aide to launch into to more preaching and teaching. Healing was never THE THING. Preaching the gospel was always THE THING. Efforts to make that which is not THE THING into THE THING will always be counterproductive. Paul’s healing campaign on Malta stands as a sidebar/footnote in parentheses to his real ministry – preaching the gospel.
3. The promise of Mark 16:16-18 is not, I believe, either permanent or universal. I mean by this that Paul suffered snake bite and took no harm. But when the executioner’s ax fell at last, Paul took (bodily) harm. So did Steven and James via rocks and sword. These men did not have permanent protection against harm. And not every believer has been protected even against snakebite. These signs ‘accompanied’ believers (as a group) as they preached the gospel. But not every believer is protected from every instance of harm (lots of Christians have had occasion to dial up the poison control center) and no one Christian is protected from all harm on all occasions. Believers who have been the beneficiaries of the promised protection were protected at specific moments – or allowed to heal at specific moments – for the sake of the preaching of the gospel.

These, at least, are my thoughts on the matter. I’d be glad to hear yours.