Mark 16:19-20 Where He goes, we may follow
Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsChrist leads us when He ascends to the Father
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Joel and Mary Nadel, Covenant Fellowship
Joel and Mary Nadel, Covenant Fellowship
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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Review
Review
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
With this text, after He is raised from the dead, and said farewell to His followers, Jesus travels to Bethany, where His disciples see Him ascend into the heavens, to sit at the right hand of His father
Mark 16:19–20 (NASB95)
So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.
Introduction
Introduction
These words form the conclusion of Mark’s Gospel
As short as this passage is, it is a very fine conclusion to the history of our Lord’s earthly ministry
It tells us where the Lord went when He left this world,
It tells us what His disciples did after the Lord left them and what He expects of all true Christians until He returns to us.
It does not tell us what He is doing in heaven/why He went home, but we find this in other parts of the Gospel of Mark
He went to prepare a place for His followers
He went to intercede for us with the Father
He went to govern, rule over the world, until He returns
#1 The place that our Lord went when He finished His ministry on earth and where He is now
#1 The place that our Lord went when He finished His ministry on earth and where He is now
Mark 16:19 “So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.”
He returned to the glory that He had with the Father before He came into the world
As our victorious Mediator and Redeemer, He received the highest position of dignity and power in heaven
He is there now, not idle, but carrying on the same wonderful work that He died on the cross for
He lives there, always interceding for all who come to God by Him
Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
This is a real comfort for all true Christians - we live in an evil world.
We often worry and are troubled about many things and we are depressed by our own weakness - we live in a dying world.
We feel our bodies slowly failing
We have in front of us the prospect of soon launching into an unknown world - how can we find comfort?
We can lean back on the fact that our Savior is in heaven, never sleeping, and always ready to help
Even though we may sleep, Jesus is awake, though we may become exhausted, Jesus never gets tired, though we are weak, Jesus is Almighty, and though we may die, Jesus lives forever
This is truly a wonderful thought - that our Savior, though we can’t see Him, is actually living
We are heading to a place where our best Friend has already gone ahead of us, where He has prepared a place for us
Romans 8:34 “who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”
#2 The Lord Jesus blesses all who work faithfully for Him
#2 The Lord Jesus blesses all who work faithfully for Him
Mark 16:20 “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. ”
The book of Acts, or the Acts of the Apostles, as well as the history of the Church, show how true these words were
We know that the Lord’s followers were put in chains, in jail, that they were beaten and whipped, that some were tortured, burned at the stake and persecuted in other ways - these were the first crops to come from Christ’s harvest
We also know that, in spite of every effort of Satan, the word of truth was preached and preached effectively
Many believers were brought out of the world and into the Kingdom of God
Christian churches were founded in city after city and country after country - the mustard seed of Christianity grew into a great tree
Christ worked with His own workmen and overcame every obstacle, so that the work could continue
Never forget that the Lord wrote these things for our encouragement, as we approach the end times in this world
No one that works faithfully for Christ will find that his work was pointless
We need to continue to work patiently, whereever the Lord has placed us
We need to preach, teach, testify, speak, write and warn people according to the good news of Christ’s Gospel - our work will not be in vain
We may not see the results of our work before we go to the grave
but the last day, the day when Jesus returns to gather us up, will show us that Jesus always works with those who work with Him
The workmen and women did not always see the “signs following” before their deaths, but we see them
We need to be committed and enthusiastic in the Lord’s work
1 Cor 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
Psa 126:6 “He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”
Bringing it home
Bringing it home
We now come to the close of St Mark’s Gospel - and we should do so with some self-examination
We should not be satisfied to have seen with our eyes and heard with our ears the things He has written to teach us about Jesus Christ
Do we know anything of Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith?
Does the Holy Spirit “witness with our spirit” that Christ is our Lord and Savior and we are His?
Can we say that we are “living the life of faith in the son of God”, that Christ is precious to us?
These are serious questions and we need to give them serious thought
We should never rest until we can give them satisfactory answers!
He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
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Prayer Requests