Slide 1
Mark 16:15-20Proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Great signs
will accompany believers. Then Jesus was taken up to heaven, and
they went forth and preached everywhere.Excerpts from The Holy
Bible : Revised Standard Version Second Catholic edition (2006),
with the ecclesiastical approval of the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops, Thomas Nelson Publishing for Ignatius Press.
5 And he said to them, Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to the whole creation. 16 He who believes and is baptized
will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17
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, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not
hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will
recover.19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was
taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And
they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with
them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it.
Amen.
In verse 15 Jesus gives the Apostles and all Christians as well
their mission in the world. Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to the whole creation.This isnt a statement about leaving
house and home to join a foreign mission.Its move of a statement
of, as you are living in the world live a Christian life and
through you example
you will be preaching to the whole of creation.16 He who
believes and is baptized will be saved;Baptism brings together the
baptized with Christ, His Resurrection and demonstrates their
willingness to repent.Because of Christs words to the Good Thief,
on the cross we know it is possible to be saved without being
baptized (Luke 23:43).
Jesus did not say that those who were not baptized would be
condemned, but that those who did not believe would be condemned.
Why would people refuse to repent and believe in the Gospel?They
would rather live life on their own terms and ignore the truths of
Christianity.Baptism alone, without faith, does not
automatically
bring an adult to heaven.Why will those who believe be able to
cast out demons, speak in new tongues or languages, pick up
serpents, drink deadly things, and cure the sick?These miracles
would confirm the source of their power, God, and cause people to
believe.Speaking in tongues was a spiritual gift that enabled
people to speak in foreign languages.
This occurred at Pentecost when the disciples began to speak and
be understood in other languages (Acts 2:4). The disciples placed
their hands on many sick people and healed them (Acts 3:7-8;
5:12-16).After saying these things Jesus was taken up into heaven
and sat down at the right hand of God.Typically when a loved one is
taken from us we are saddened, not so with these disciples.
They became a people of hope and looked forward to a time when
they would be reunited with Christ.
Excerpts from The Holy Bible : Revised Standard Version Second
Catholic edition (2006), with the ecclesiastical approval of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Thomas Nelson
Publishing for Ignatius Press.