The commissioning of the eleven
JESUS appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. 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.”
Then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
REFLECTION PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL. The Gospel is about the commissioning of the Eleven (Apostles), from the Longer Ending of Mark: they are to “proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” In the Hebrew Scriptures, especially in the prophet Isaiah, “gospel” or “good tidings” concerns the announcement of the future salvation, or the time of salvation. Jesus uses “gospel” for the message that he preaches. He brings a living word of hope; he proclaims that the salvation announced by the prophets is now accomplished even as he speaks. His word is good news.
“Gospel” will later be used not just for the word of Jesus but also for the message about Jesus. The disciples who hear him speak and witness his powerful deeds see him as more than a prophet or miracle worker. In the light of his resurrection, they believe him to be the Messiah and the Son of God. Their gospel includes both the word of Jesus and their belief about Jesus.
The apostolic preaching would soon be put into writing, and Mark is credited to have begun the literary genre called gospel. In the Gospel of Mark, we find for the first time the words and deeds of Jesus as remembered and proclaimed in a written form. Papias, bishop of Hierapolis (around 140 AD), refers to Mark as writing the Gospel that carries his name: “Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatever he remembered of the things said and done by the Lord, but not however in order.”