Thanks Tony. There is certainly always more than meets the eye.

Wikipedia saves the day again!

Okay, I read this section in all the other Gospels this time. None of them really say anything like: "And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Aside from myself of course, it doesn't seem as though we generally practice snake handling at Northside as a testament to faith. But here it is smack dab at the climax of Mark in place of where Matthew wrote the Great Commission. Was this just something that tickled Mark's fancy or what? He did seem a little, I'm not sure the word I'm looking for, maybe mystical, than the other gospel writers. Lots of casting out demons and such. Am I allowed to pick a different gospel writer to be my guide? Mark kinda freaks me out if I'm being honest about it. I guess it's Jesus words, just interesting how the different authors chose to pick out different things that he said. I guess, the moral of the story is, He is Risen! and that's all that really matters in the end. Thanks Mark for keeping a record even if it turned out to be a bit odd 2000 year later. And thank you Jesus/God for giving us grace even in our selfish and faithless states.

Awesome, thanks doug.