Mark 16:15-18 Our Great Commission
Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2,578 viewsJesus commissions His disciples to build His Church
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Joel and Mary Nadel, Covenant United Reformed Church
Joel and Mary Nadel, Covenant United Reformed Church
From: The Holy Bible and J.C. Ryle’s “Expository Comments on the Gospels - Mark”
From: The Holy Bible and J.C. Ryle’s “Expository Comments on the Gospels - Mark”
House Rules: Phones, Respect, Stay on the Text
House Rules: Phones, Respect, Stay on the Text
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Mark: Three years of Jesus’ earthly ministry
Message: “Repent and believe the Gospel” - the Gospel was Jesus life and death
Preached, taught, performed miracles for three years”
At the conclusion of His public ministry, He came to Jerusalem, where He was arrested, convicted and crucified
As we begin this text, Jesus has risen from the dead to commission His disciples to build His Church
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And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
#1 Jesus says farewell to His disciples with a Great commission
#1 Jesus says farewell to His disciples with a Great commission
Jesus is addressing His apostles for the last time
He basically assigns them their work until He comes again, in a most signficant way: Mark 16:15 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
The Lord wants us to know that the world needs the Gospel - In every part of the world men and woman are the same: sinful, corrupt and separated from God
In modern or primitive societies, in China, in Africa, in Europe and the USA, people are the same - ignorant, without holiness, without faith, without love
Wherever we find the children of Adam, whatever their color or ethnic background, we see people whose heart is wicked, who need the blood of Christ, rebirth by the Holy Spirit, and reconciliation with God
The Lord wants all to know that salvation, by His Gospel, is free to all mankind
the good news that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” and that “Christ died for the ungodly”, are to be preached freely to “all creation”
We have no authority to make any exception - we have no authority to limit the offer to the elect, or the chosen
We come short of Christ’s ful message, if we are unwilling to tell anyone that “God is full of love for you, Christ is willing to save you”.
Rev 22:17: The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.”
These words are the strongest justification for missionary work, both at home and overseas
If we cannot go to the unbelievers in Asia or Africa, the Middle East or Europe, we can certainly brighten the darkness that we can easily find in our own communities
We should continue our work, unaffected by the criticism of those who disapprove of missionary work
We should pity people like this - they oly demonstrate their own ignorance of the Bible and of Christ’s will for us
They don’t understand what they are saying or talking about
#2 Jesus wants us to tell all of the benefits and consequences to all who hear the Gospel
#2 Jesus wants us to tell all of the benefits and consequences to all who hear the Gospel
Mark 16:16 ““He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”
Every word in that sentence is important - each expression should be carefully considered
The Lord wants us to know the importance of baptism
This is an ordinance/command that is generally a requirement for salvation, when it is available
He didn’t say simply “he who has believed”, but He who has believed and been baptized shall be saved.”
Many thousands probably don’t get any benefit from baptism. They may be washed in water, but they are never washed in the blood of Christ
Having said that, it doesn’t follow that baptism can be neglected
Baptism is an ordinance commanded by Christ Himself, and when it is used reverently, intelligently, and prayerfully, it comes with a special blessing
Baptismal water, by itself, conveys no grace or blessing - we need to look beyond that to Christ, who commanded us to submit to it
When this ordinance is used properly, we can know that He seals it with His blessing
We are taught here, also, the absolute necessity of faith in Christ for salvation
This, in the end, is the most important requirement
He who refuses to believe is damned, lost forever
He may have been baptized, been a member of a local church, taken the Lord’s supper - He may even have head knowledge of the creeds, but that will do nothing for him if He lacks saving faith in Christ
Do we have this kind of faith? Its a question that pertains to everyone
If we don’t feel our sins, and feeling them realize our need for Christ and embrace Him, we shall eventually realize we would be better off if we had never been born
The Lord teaches us here of the certainty of God’s judgment on those who die in unbelief
KJV: “He who believeth not shall be damned”
Those are really awful and terrifying words - they are really scary when you realize they came from the One who also said “My words shall not pass away”.
Don’t let anyone trick you with soft meaningless words - there is an eternal hell for everyone who continues in their wickedness - who leave this world without faith in Christ
The more mercy we are offered in the Gospel, the more will be the guilt of those who refuse to believe.
Deu 32:29 ““Would that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would discern their future!”
The Son of God, who died on the cross for us, has given us a plain warning that there is a hell, and that unbelievers will be damned
We need to make certain we don’t ignore this warning
#3 The Lord makes gracious promises of special help in His parting words
#3 The Lord makes gracious promises of special help in His parting words
The Lord knew very well the enormous difficulties the disciples would encounter in the work He assigned them
He knew that they would be involved in a great battle to fight unbelief, the world and the devil
He therefore encourages them by telling them that He will provide miracles to help them in that work
Mark 16:17-18 ““These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.””
We find that most of these promises were fulfilled in the book of Acts
The age of miracles ended long ago. They were never meant to continue beyond the establishment of the Church
As we find with a garden, its only when the plants are first planted that they need to be watered daily
While God rarely does miracles, He is always providing for His church and its members by the ways He arranges our lives and affairs
In fact, if they happened all the time, miracles would no longer be miracles - we should remember this as it helps to avoid confusion
Though the age of miracles has ended, we can be comforted in knowing that the church of Christ will always get Christ’s special help in times of special need
Our great Lord and Saviour will never forsake His followers
His eye is always upon them and He will always provide His help when it is needed
Isaiah 59:19 When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.
The Holy Bible: King James Version., electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version. (Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995), Is 59:19.
Finally, we should never forget that Christ’s Church, in the world, is in itself a standing miracle
The salvation and the perseverance in grace of every member of that Church is a miracle just as great as when Lazarus was raised from the dead
The salvation and renewal of every saint is as great a miracle as casting out a demon, or healing the sick, or speaking in a new language
We should thank God for this and have courage - the age of spiritual miracles has not ended
Happy are those who have learned this by personal experience and can say, as John Newton did, “I was dead, but am now alive: I was blind, but now I see.”
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