What Does “They Shall TAKE UP SNAKES” Mean?
When the Lord gave the Great Commission he noted that certain signs would accompany believers:
“And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
Mark 16:17-18
To properly understand what Christ meant by the statement “they will pick up snakes with their hands,” just look to the rest of the verse where he says “and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them.” So the Messiah was talking about being accidently exposed to something poisonous and not being harmed. A good example is when Paul got bit by a deadly viper on the island of Malta after being shipwrecked:
Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.
Acts 28:3-5
This is the obvious meaning of our text: Believers will not be hurt by deadly snakes or poison, assuming they’re walking in faith (see this article for details). The rest of the account shows that this sign was a powerful witness to the inhabitants of the island along with the sign that “they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well”:
The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
7 There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. 8 His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. 9 When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. 10 They honored us in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.
Acts 28:6-10
What Christ said in Mark 16:17-18 was hypothetical, but we see here two of these actual signs in real life on Malta, as well as the effect it had on the unconverted.
Does this sign of picking up snakes warrant having “snake-handling ceremonies” where poisonous snakes are brought into an assembly and the believers handle the serpents to prove that they are true believers? Obviously not. It would be like bringing deadly poison to the fellowship, such as drain cleaner, and encouraging the believers to drink it to verify their authenticity. This is idiotic fanaticism that “puts the LORD God to the test” (Matthew 4:7 & Deuteronomy 6:16).
Speaking of “snake-handling rituals,” I’ve been a believer since the age of 20 and have been to myriad assemblies in the last four decades, but I’ve never run across this kind of dubious ceremony, not even close, even though I’ve attended numerous varied Pentecostal/Charismatic services, including in Appalachian areas. However, I have seen snake-handling rites depicted in a couple movies. So, while there have been cases of this peculiar rite occurring in a small number of isolated churches, typically in Appalachia, it’s more of a cinematic myth than reality. I bring this up because Carol, my wife, worked with a woman a few years ago who kept referring to “snakebite churches,” which Carol & I found amusing. For the most part, they don’t exist except in the minds of Hollywood scriptwriters.
In any case, “they will pick up snakes with their hands” should be taken in the obvious sense relevant to Acts 28:3-5.
However, there is…
A Deeper Interpretation
Sometimes Scripture has a straight-forward meaning as well as a deeper one. A good example would be Paul’s figurative interpretation of two historical people, Sarah and Hagar (Galatians 4:24).
So is there a deeper meaning to Christ’s statement “They shall take up serpents” in Mark 16:18? Yes, there is a viable symbolic interpretation. Consider when the LORD gave Moses & Aaron the assignment to appear before Pharaoh when the Hebrews were slaves in Egypt:
Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’ ”
2 So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
He said, “A rod.”
3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 “that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
Exodus 4:1-5 NKJV
And here’s what happened when Moses & Aaron actually went to Pharaoh:
So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. 12 For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.
Exodus 7:10-12 NKJV
Summing this up, Moses & Aaron appeared before Pharaoh and, as a sign to the Egyptians (aka the world), cast a staff to the ground and it became a serpent. Pharaoh’s sorcerers cast their rods to the ground as well and they also became serpents thru their black arts, yet Moses’ serpent consumed the other serpents and their black arts couldn’t prevent it. Then Moses & Aaron took up the serpent and it became a staff once again.
This account can be interpreted symbolically when you grasp the symbols:
- The serpents represent sin in the Bible, which I’ll elaborate on in a moment.
- Jesus Christ is the Branch of God, as detailed in Isaiah’s prophecy:
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
Isaiah 11:1 (NKJV)
This reveals that the family tree of David’s father, Jesse, would produce a “Branch” out of its roots, which refers to the Messiah (Romans 1:2-4).
Christ, the Righteous Branch, become sin and this is represented in Moses & Aaron’s staff becoming a serpent. The Son was “cast” to the Earth by the Father in order to be sin on our behalf when crucified (2 Corinthians 5:21), but was then taken up (to Heaven) to become, once again, the Righteous Branch. He’s no longer sin on the cross, a figurative serpent, but rather has been raised for the justification of all those who believe (Romans 4:25).
This helps make sense of the Old Testament account in which the Hebrews grumbled in unbelief after escaping slavery in Egypt and so were attacked by venomous snakes (Numbers 21:4-7); in other words, their sin — represented by the snakes — was going to kill them, but they humbly repented and thus the LORD gave them the means of salvation from the deadly bites, thus escaping the wages of their sin:
The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
Numbers 21:8-9
This obviously foreshadows Jesus’s crucifixion:
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:14-16
Now let’s apply this to believers “taking up snakes” in a figurative sense as a sign to the world during the current Age of Grace…
As we share the awesome news of the message of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21), the people who are behaving like serpents — that is, lost in the world and living in sin — have the opportunity to believe and die to the flesh as they are raised righteous in Christ through spiritual rebirth, thus giving their lives over to the Lord (Romans 4:24, Titus 3:5, Romans 12:1 & Mark 8:35).
The New Testament teaches that believers are raised to life in Christ and have the “gift of righteousness” (John 5:24 & Romans 5:17). We are like the Egyptian sorcerers’ snakes that are swallowed up by Moses’ serpent and enter the work of the crucified & resurrected Christ. This work of the Anointed One who became sin for us yet was raised from that sin & death to righteousness & life by the hand of God.*
* Jesus didn’t sin, but became sin on our behalf (Hebrews 4:15).
All those who believe are taken in Christ just like the Egyptian snakes were taken into Moses’ serpent. The Lord became sin itself and took our sins; then was raised to life for our justification (Romans 4:25 & 5:17). In short, those who believe, receive Christ and are taken in Him and raised to life together with the Lord as new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17).
As such, this sign “They shall take up serpents” is how:
- We share the awesome news of the message of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) and…
- How people in the world are delivered from sin & death by being taken into Christ through faith.
They are no longer “serpents” — hopeless, unredeemed sinners — but are now in Christ, the Righteous Branch. Amen.
Related Topics:
“Holy water” and “Saying Grace”
Baptism of the Holy Spirit — and It’s Benefits
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