Sermon Tone Analysis

Mark 16:15-18

Intro: The very day Jesus Christ rose from the dead in eternal victory, He began the process of preparing His disciples for His departure.

Jesus knew that He would be ascending back into Heaven, and He did, 40 days after He rose from the dead.

Jesus knew that when He left, His followers would be tasked with the mission of continuing His work in the world.

They would be given the task of carrying the message of salvation to the ends of the earth.

If they were going to carry out that mission, they needed an understanding of exactly what that mission would require.

They needed to know that there would be successes, and they needed to know that there would also be failures.

They needed to know that some people would believe their message, while others would reject the same message.

They needed words of comfort, words of hope and words of instruction.

That is exactly what they heard from Jesus that day.

Today, I want to focus in our Lord’s Parting Words to His disciples.

In these words I see three clear statements from the Lord.

In His Parting Words, Jesus speaks about The Requirement For The Saints.

He speaks of The Responsibility Of The Sinner.

He also speaks of The Recognition Of His Servants.

I want to share these statements with you today as I preach about Parting Words.

I. THE REQUIREMENT FOR GOD’S SAINTS-VS.

15

A. Our Message – The disciples are told to “preach the Gospel.”

They are to go into the world bearing the “good news” of salvation to all who will hear it.

The word “Gospel” means “good news”, and that is exactly what the “Gospel” is.

The disciples were given a message of “good news” for all people.

What is the message they were to preach?

It is clearly articulated by the Apostle Paul in 1 Cor.

15:3-4, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

The Gospel is comprised of three essential components.

Let me share them with you right now.

1. “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures...” – The good news is this: Jesus died for the sins of all those who will believe on Him by faith.

When Jesus went to the cross and suffered the agony, the shame and the separation from God, He did not do it for Himself.

He did it for all those who would believe on Him for salvation, 2 Cor.

5:21; 1 Pet.

3:18.

To be saved, you must believe that!

2. “That He was buried...” – The good news is this: After Jesus died, His body was placed in a grave.

His soul, however, went to Hades, Eph.

4:8-10; 1 Pet.

3:18-20.

Jesus walked into that place beneath the earth where the souls of the departed were being held.

In that place, there was a portion called “Paradise” or “Abraham’s Bosom”.

Here is where all the ancient saints of God waited for redemption to be accomplished.

There was, and still is, another portion of that place called “Hell”.

Here is where all the souls of the lost are deposited.

Every lost sinner from Cain to the last one to die today is there.

Jesus walked into that place and proclaimed the good news that He had died for sin and sinners.

He told David, Moses, Abraham and the rest that redemption's plan had been completed.

He then led them out of that place and home to Heaven.

He told the lost souls in that place that their unbelief had been confirmed and that they were doomed to spend their eternity in Hell.

I believe He also proclaimed the fact that He had forever delivered His people from the bondage of sin, Satan and Hell.

One significant component of salvation is the truth that Jesus sets free every soul He saves!

3. “That he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” – The good news is this: Jesus Christ arose from the grave in victory and power.

When Jesus died on the cross, He gave His life for His people.

When He died, He cried, “It is finished!”

In that great moment, Jesus was declaring that the plan of salvation had been completed and that God was satisfied.

When Jesus rose from the dead three days later, God the Father said “Amen!”

If Jesus had been an ordinary man, He would not have come out of that grave.

Jesus was no ordinary man!

He was God in the flesh.

When He died, an innocent man was claimed by death.

Because He had no sin, death was unable to hold Him.

It had no claims upon Him, Rom.

6:23.

Thus, Jesus was able to walk out of the tomb in victory and power, promising eternal life to all who would believe on His name.

That is the message we have been given to preach.

It is the good news that Jesus Christ loved the world so much that He gave His life to redeem sinners, John 3:16.

It is the good news that He has forever defeated the devil and His power, 1 John 3:8.

It is the good news that He rose from the dead to give salvation to all who would believe in Him, Heb.

7:25.

If you have believed that message, I challenge you to share it with others.

If you have not believed that message, I challenge you look to Jesus by faith today and be saved!

B. Our Mission Field – The disciples were to take the “good news” into “all the world”.

No place was off limits.

No people group was left out.

It did not matter how wicked the people were, where they lived, or what they looked like, they were to be given this message.

Our mission field is still everywhere that there are people.

The phrase “every creature” refers to every individual who bears the image of God.

Every human being, regardless of their sinfulness, the color of their skin, or their religious background, is a candidate for the “good news”.

Whether we tell the “good news” across the ocean or across the street, we are to tell it.

When we open our mouths and tell it to others, or when we send our dollars to missionaries so they can tell where they are, we are engaged in missions.

C. Our Method – The Lord’s command is “Go ye...and preach”.

The phrase “go ye” is a command.

It is not a suggestion for optional ministry.

It is a call to action!

We are not to debate whether or not we will share the Gospel, we are just to go and share it.

That phrase is interesting because it is written in a tense that suggests this reading: “As you go...” In other words, as we move through this life, we are to be in the business of telling the “good news” to others.

We are to tell it with our lips.

That is clear from the word “preach”, which means, “to act as a king’s herald”.

We are to take the message of our King to this world with authority and assurance.

We are to tell them what we know about Him.

We are to tell the message with the assurance that He will empower us to tell this world what He has done for us, Acts 1:8.

The Gospel is a message designed to be communicated orally.

God has chosen preaching as the method of giving His message to a lost world, Rom.

10:17; 1 Cor.

1:21.

We are also to tell the story with our lives.That is, we are to live in such a way that the lost people living around us will see the difference in our lives and will know that God has done something in us, Ill.

Phil 1:27; Matt.

5:16.

(Note: That is the Lord’s command to His people.

How are we doing as a church when it comes to carrying out The Great Commission?

How are you doing as an individual when it comes to sharing your faith?

The command is “Go ye”.

It is a command for each and every child of God to be active in the business of sharing the “good news” of the Gospel of salvation!)

I.

The Requirement For The Saints

II.

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE LOST SINNER-VS.

16-17

(Ill.

The saints have a responsibility to share the Gospel of grace.