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.