The sermon on Mark 16 explores the passage where Jesus, post-resurrection, commands his disciples to preach the gospel to all creation, emphasizing the Great Commission as an advancement of Christ's kingdom. It highlights six triumphs of Jesus Christ, including the reversal of the curse, fulfillment of God's law, and overcoming spiritual blindness, urging believers to recognize the authority of Jesus as Lord over all creation. The sermon delves into the importance of baptism as a covenant sign, marking believers as part of God's people and the completion of John's baptism. It connects the miraculous signs in Mark 16 with the prophecy of Joel 2, fulfilled through the apostles in the Book of Acts as confirmation of the gospel's divine origin. Lastly, it emphasizes Jesus' ascension as a pivotal moment, signifying His ultimate authority and the promise of His return, encouraging believers to go forth with confidence in the power of the gospel.

Mark chapter 16 beginning in verse 8 and I'll ask the congregation to now stand as God speaks to us in his word. You're hearing from God now, right now, beginning in verse 8. God speaks. They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Now after he had risen early on the first day of the week, he first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cashed out seven demons. She went and reported to those who had been with him while they were mourning and weeping. When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it. After that, he appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.

Afterward, he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table. He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen him after he had risen. 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. 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. And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions.

And After that, Jesus himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. May God bless the reading and now the preaching of his eternal perfect word. Amen. Let's pray together. Father, what we do not know, I pray this morning you would teach us.

And what we are not, I pray by your grace, you would make us. And Lord, what we do not think we have, remind us that in Christ Jesus and His word, we have all that we need for life and godliness. We ask now, Lord, that you would deliver me from error. There are some difficult things in this passage. I want to end Mark well.

I want your people to glory in their Redeemer, to marvel at the work of salvation that Christ has secured for His elect. Lord, work it for your glory and the good of this your people we pray these things for Jesus sake and in his name amen he may be seated Well, we've titled this concluding three-part sermon, Behold. It's been the title for the past three weeks now, behold, it's what the angel said to these women as they came to the empty tomb. Behold, here is the place that they laid him. He's not here.

He's risen. And so this morning, behold, The end of Mark's Gospel. The end of Mark's Gospel and yet only the beginning of the triumph of this Jesus the Christ, the Son of God whose kingdom is forever. And that is what these ending verses of Mark have been all about. The triumphs of Jesus who was crucified in the place of sinners, who was raised up for their justification, and who now reigns in power at the right hand of the Father as the one ascended on high.

Behold the triumph of this Jesus the Christ the Son of God. Behold six triumphs of the Christ the risen and reigning one. We've done just that now for the past two Lord's Day, beholding triumph after triumph after triumph. And so Once more this morning, one final time, with Mark. Let's behold the six triumphs.

We noticed three of them last Lord's Day. First, we beheld the triumph of the great reversal. The triumph of the great reversal. Jesus has come to reverse the curse. And he has done so.

The first Adam plunged humanity and all creation into the curse. But Jesus, the second Adam, the new and better Adam, he redeemed the world. He bound Satan, he crushed the head of the serpent, the devil on the cross, and he came, he died, he was raised in power. Why? To make his blessings flow.

How far? He comes to make his blessings flow. How far? As far as the curse is found. We are to understand Jesus, who he is, and what he's come to do through the events here at the end of Mark.

His death, resurrection, and ascension. The only way to understand who Jesus is, is through His death, resurrection, and ascension. Before the finished work of Christ, repeatedly the command at Mark was what? Don't tell. But now that Jesus has cried, it is finished, and his resurrection proves that it was finished now we go and tell and we go and tell all the world we go and tell all creation because that's how far the triumph of his gospel goes.

Behold the triumph of the great reversal in Christ Jesus. Triumph number two. Last week we beheld the triumph of the fulfillment of the law of God. Deuteronomy 19.15, a matter was to be confirmed by how many witnesses? Two or three.

Even the matter of the resurrection? You bet your bottom dollar. How will God validate His Son's resurrection? How will God the Father prove the truth of His Son's resurrection? According to His law, according to Deuteronomy 19.15, God will do so on the basis of two or three witnesses.

Witness number one, Mary Magdalene. Witness number two and number three, two disciples on the road to Emmaus. What do we see there at the end of Mark? The fulfillment of God's law. According to God's law, the resurrection is confirmed.

And then, just to re-emphasize it all, Jesus goes to all the disciples. So we have far more than two or three witnesses. God's law abundantly declares Jesus is risen and he is risen indeed. And he has triumphed over spiritual blindness. That's triumph number three that we talked about last Lord's Day.

We beheld the triumph of the blind seen. In Mark chapter 14 Jesus said that the disciples would forsake him, but that he would restore them to himself. That's exactly what happens. They all forsake Jesus. They all flee from Jesus as He's arrested.

But now here at the end of Mark's Gospel, the promise is fulfilled. He restores His disciples. He reconciles them to Himself. Promise made, promise kept. Earlier in Mark chapter 8, and then in verse 1 of chapter 9, the disciples can't see who Jesus is.

They can't see who He is and what He's come to do. And they argue with Jesus about what the Christ was supposed to do. But Jesus says in the midst of Jesus rebuking his disciples, Jesus says to them, you don't see clearly, but you will. You'll see the Kingdom of God in power. He promises that they will see the Kingdom of God in power.

That was right in the middle of Mark's Gospel. And now here at the end of Mark's Book, what do you see? What do they see? They see just what Jesus promised they see the crucified Christ alive risen and then ascended on high and he's ascended in high at the right hand of the Father with such dominion and power that as they go and proclaim his gospel to the east and to the west, the imperishable proclamation of his kingdom, They see triumph. They see Christ going with them.

They see conquering. They see the kingdom of God in power as the kingdom of Christ expands over the earth. The promise in the middle of Mark's Gospel was you'll see the Kingdom in power and at the end of the Mark's Gospel they see the Kingdom in power. Promise made, promise kept. Behold the triumph of the blind seeing.

Behold the triumph of these now seeing apostles and their gospel proclamation and the triumph of Jesus the Christ confirming their message in power. And those are the next two triumphs that we need to see together this morning. We are to behold the Great Commission, the triumph of Christ's kingdom advancement on the earth through the proclamation of his gospel and the signs, the triumph of Christ's authority, which is in heaven and on earth, may manifest on the earth. So first, triumph number four, the Great Commission. If you had to say it in one sentence, it would be this.

You are at the end of Mark's gospel to behold the triumph of Christ's kingdom advancement on the earth through the preaching of his powerful gospel. Look again at verses 15 and 16 there in Mark. And he, Jesus, said to them, I'm in verse 15, 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." That's the Great Commission. Go into all the world, But why?

Why? What's the motivation? What's the force? What's the stimulus behind this great commission? Why should you go into all the world and preach the gospel?

Why? Well, Mark places that motivation at the end of his gospel. Mark says the motivation for gospel proclamation is ultimately in what? What happens in verse 19? The ascension happens in verse 19.

We're going to talk more about that ascension in a little bit, massively important. But when Jesus ascends, it's Mark saying Jesus has won. Jesus has been given dominion and authority. And the nations, indeed the world, the nations and the world are his Jesus is Lord over all the earth that's the implication of the ascension unquestionably And so what Mark points to implicitly in verse 19 of his gospel there at the end, with the ascension being the motive for missions, What Mark says implicitly in verse 19, Matthew in his gospel says explicitly in chapter 28 verse 18. Matthew chapter 28 verse 18, Jesus says, here's the impetus behind the Great Commission.

Here's why you go. Because all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, all authority is mine. That's the significance of the ascension. So just think about this. There is no king.

There is no authority. There is no government. There is no person or place or thing that supersedes or negates the authority of Jesus the Christ as Lord over everyone and everything over all of creation. Nobody, no thing. As Abraham Kuyper put it, there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, mine.

Does not cry, mine. That's why Jesus says in verse 15, for these disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation, because all creation is his. He bought it with his blood. He is Lord over all. And that changes everything about the way we view the Great Commission, the way we view evangelism.

I was talking to Brother Isaac, Isaac Johnston about this truth earlier this week, and this is what he said, and I want to quote it. He doesn't like it when I quote him, but I have to quote him. We do not labor in the great commission to have men make Jesus Christ Lord. Rather, we labor for men's souls because Christ is Lord. You get what I'm saying?

I didn't say it. You get what he said? Say it again. We do not labor in the Great Commission to have men make Jesus Christ Lord, but rather we labor for men's souls because Christ is Lord. Don't put the card before the horse.

Christ is on the throne right now. He ascended And we wish for men and women to confess, yes we do, that He is Lord. We wish for them to repent of their sins and trust Him before it's too late. But we do not ask men to make Jesus Lord. No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

He is Lord. You will bow the knee to that reality or you will perish in your sins. Jesus is King of the world. Again, He purchased it, the world, at the cost of his very own blood. And we as Christians, his people, are simply ambassadors for Christ, declaring the news.

Be reconciled to God, declaring the news to all. Christ has won. That serpent's head has been crushed and that they too, the lost, will be crushed and perish in their sins in hell unless they kiss the Son of God by faith. They too will perish in eternal fire, where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched unless they trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. That's why you go into all the world.

Because it's Jesus' world. He bought this world from the ground you stand on to the sky above you. From the elect across the globe to the crawling bugs and flying birds, he bought this all with his blood. And he will fulfill his promise that one day his earth will be as full of the knowledge of him as the waters now cover the sea. He will fulfill that promise in Mark chapter 4 that the gospel of his creator, that the gospel of his kingdom will yield truly 30-fold, 60-fold, even 100-fold.

An unimaginable harvest in the lives of the elect and in the very creation itself. His kingdom will be the biggest thing in the garden. If you think you can wrap your mind around the triumph of the of the gospel of Jesus Christ if you think I get it. Come on. You don't get it.

His triumph is so great that he goes as far as to say it's going to be like a hundredfold and anybody listening to Mark chapter 4 it could not imagine a hundredfold it's unimaginably which is exactly what Paul says far more abundantly than what we could ask or think This is the triumph of your Savior. This is the news that you hold in your Bible, and you're going to just sit it down on your desk and not read it this week? It's a lunacy. That's why we go share the gospel. That's why we go to the ends of the earth.

That's why we proclaim to all creation. Because Jesus is Lord. And so we're to go and proclaim to all creation, to all the world, John 3, 16 and John 3, 17. For God so loved the world, the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, all creation, might be saved through him." That's verse 15.

So what does verse 16 mean? Why does Mark include baptism the way that he does? That's a legitimate question. I have heard from not a few of you that question he who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved what is it right it's Jesus trying to undermine the doctrine of justification by faith in Christ alone? No.

So let's get the obvious thing out of the way, okay? You listening to me? So when I get into this, I don't want you coming in halfway. You come in halfway in this conversation, you're going to go wonky. What happened to the thief on the cross in Luke chapter 23?

Thief on the cross, he cries out for Jesus to save him. He trusts the Savior by faith. Jesus, remember me. I'm trusting you. What does Jesus do to that thief on the cross?

Jesus saves him. And that man dies, having never come down from the cross and gone to the river to be done to. That man dies and goes to glory with Jesus. You got that? Why?

Why that happened? Because salvation is all the work of God. It's all the work of God, even in baptism. Friends, doesn't Mark bringing up baptism here at the end of his gospel? Doesn't it make sense to you since it's the way he began his gospel in Mark chapter 1?

Doesn't that make sense to you? He ends his gospel in the same way he began his gospel. It's like the ultimate bookend, the ultimate sandwich. Who shows up on the scene at the very beginning of Mark's gospel, Mark chapter one? You could go there if you like just to remind yourself who shows up on the scene in verse 4 Mark chapter 1 verse 4 let me read it for you John the Baptist appeared What was he doing?

John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Where's John the Baptist at? He's in the wilderness. What's he doing? It's baptizing.

Why the wilderness? Why is John the Baptist preaching and baptizing in the wilderness? I mean, let's just think about it for a moment. Why not just stay in Jerusalem? Why not just stay in the city?

You can get a lot more people wet, more baptism, if you stay in Jerusalem. But here in Mark chapter 1, John the Baptist is in the wilderness and people have to go out to him to be baptized. Why is that? Well, the answer, at least in part is because it's not about getting people wet. If the emphasis of John the Baptist was on getting people wet for wet's sake, there'd be no need for him to be in the wilderness.

But in the wilderness, He is. Why? Because it's here in the wilderness that we begin to understand some of the meaning of baptism. God wants you to understand baptism. What happens in the book of Exodus?

Do you remember Israel being in Egypt? There were slaves in Egypt. What happens in the book of Exodus? They exit Egypt. It's a really good title for a book, don't you think?

What happens in Exodus? An exodus happens in Exodus. I'm sure you've thought of that before. Israel leaves Egypt, they exit from their bondage to Egypt, and they head out to the land of promise. How do they leave their bondage in Egypt and head out to the land of promise?

How does that happen? It happens through a work of God, a sovereign saving of God. How so? God Almighty stops up the Red Sea. And God makes Israel pass through that Red Sea.

Remember that? And do you know what the apostle Paul in the New Testament calls that passing through the Red Sea from bondage to promise? Do you know what he calls that? 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verses 1 and 2. Paul calls that passing through the Red Sea, baptism.

In the New Testament, he points back to Exodus chapter 14. He says, hey, you see that moment? Israel was baptized. 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verses 1 and 2. Baptism.

Paul calls that baptism from bondage to promise, passing through the Red Sea and passing through the waters, God baptized his people. God marked his people out. God saved his people and then he sealed his saved people in baptism. What happens in Joshua chapter 3? You remember Joshua?

Joshua chapter 3? Where's Israel been in the book of Joshua? Where's Israel been in Joshua? You remember? Starts with a W and it rhymes with wilderness.

Wilderness. They've been in the wilderness for how long? Forty years wandering in the wilderness. And in Joshua chapter 3, the time of wilderness wandering is up. And do you remember what happens at the end of that 40 years?

The people of Israel, they miraculously cross another river. They miraculously cross the Jordan River. Which river? The Jordan River. The same river that someone else is at in Mark chapter 1.

Where's John the Baptist at? The Jordan River. In Mark chapter 1 and in Joshua 3, Jordan River. And in Joshua chapter 3, Israel crosses the Jordan River. God stops up the waters just like he did in Exodus 14 and his people cross over from wilderness to promise.

That was a baptism. From wilderness to promise. And Now isn't it interesting that now here is John the Baptist said Mark chapter 1 in the wilderness at the Jordan River And he's calling out to Jews be baptized Be baptized. What's he doing? Here's what he's doing Here's what John the Baptist doing.

He's saying this Do you remember long ago how God saved His people from bondage and He made them enter into the promised land? Do you remember long ago how He marked out that saved people by passing them through the waters? Do you remember how He sealed that salvation of His people from bondage to promise, from wilderness to promise? Do you Remember how He sealed them? How He sealed that salvation?

It was through baptism. You remember that Israel? You've got to remember it. That's why I'm out here in the wilderness. That's why I'm preparing you.

Because somebody's coming that's way better than me. There's a Messiah coming far mightier than I and he's gonna bring a baptism far better than mine. His baptism will be of the Holy Spirit And His kingdom is at hand. So the time is now. Be marked out for His kingdom.

Make yourselves ready for He will come. And when He comes, When He saves you, He'll seal you Himself. That's John's baptism. And then the Messiah comes, and the Messiah does do what? He baptizes with the Holy Spirit.

And that's what the final sentences in Mark's Gospel convey. His Spirit falling upon those He saves and sealing them. Promise made in Mark chapter 1, promise kept in Mark chapter 16. So Jesus says at the end here in Mark's Gospel, just as John was saying, be marked out for the kingdom. Be marked out for my kingdom, Jesus says.

If you are to be the true Israel of God, trusting in Jesus, be marked out by Him. Believe upon Jesus and be saved, and Jesus will mark you out through baptism inwardly and outwardly. I will baptize you in the Spirit, then you shall be baptized in water. I'll be baptized in water. Friends, I need you to hear this.

Your water baptism is not just a symbol for what God has done in your life. It certainly is a symbol, is it not? Crucify with Christ. Raise the walking newness of life. It's a symbol, yes, of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

But it is a little bit more than just a symbol. You treat baptism by just a symbol, you have a problem passage. Don't have problem passages. Baptism is more than just a symbol. Do you know what baptism is?

It's God marking you out. Baptism is the sign and seal of gospel triumph. In your life, in the life of this church, in the world. Baptism inwardly and outwardly is the sign and seal of gospel triumph The best is The baptism of John in Mark chapter 1 fulfilled in the baptism of Jesus in Mark chapter 16. Be baptized visibly because Christ has baptized invisibly So that in your visible baptism Christ may say visibly and the gathered assembly this one that one coming up out of the water, he's mine.

I have marked him out from old to new, from death to life, from wilderness to promise. Just like I've marked my people out crossing through the Red Sea. That one is mine. From the old Adam to the new Adam, that one is part of true Israel. All the promises of God and Christ are yes and amen for that one.

He already did it inwardly but he says it visibly. He says it audibly as someone goes down and comes up. That's what he's communicating. He's mine. He's part of the true Israel.

That's what Christ is saying in your baptism. Your baptism really matters. It really matters to God. It declares gospel triumph. It marks you out by God as one of his people.

I'm just really serious about that. I just made the case. I don't know how to elicit it. He begins his gospel with baptism. He ends his gospel with baptism.

I need to understand what the baptism at the beginning was all about. God marking out his people. I have to understand baptism of Jesus in the same way. God marking out his people. Really serious about that.

It's a work of God. It's a work of God. It's not me marking you out. It's God marking you out through the authority he's vested in his ministers. If he's worked salvation within, he has sealed you with the promise of his Holy Spirit.

You got that? He sealed you with the promise of his Holy Spirit. That's an inward seal. And so he marks you out by making a public declaration of his covenant with you in your baptism. That is wow.

That's why baptism is not just a symbol. It's the initial sign, the initial declaration by God into the entrance of His church. And then this table is the continual sign of those marked out by Christ. The initial marking out, the continual marking out. Baptism matters to God.

Therefore, baptism should very much matter to you. It does. That's verse 16. Now I just said a lot of words and I'm afraid I'm going to get misunderstood. And so let me be really clear, okay?

In case you're like, man I don't understand a thing, come out of his mouth. Understand this. Here we go. Justification, being made right with God, is by faith alone in Christ alone. Come on.

Amen. Thank you. Faith in Christ alone, normatively then, should come with a water baptism in the name of the triune God so you're justified by faith and the normative reality should then be being baptized in water that declares, that's God declaring to you, he is mine. You're part of this covenant people. So I just want you to think on this, okay?

I cannot get over how, you just can't leave, let me say it, I want you to think on this. God marked you out, baptized believer. God marked you out if you've been baptized. Be amazed at the reality of your baptism in the name of the Triune God. Think of a bride and groom.

Got that in your head? Bride and groom, wedding day. What happens on their wedding day? Love is in the air. Right?

But in the midst of all the... Something really big happens. The bride and groom stand before God and they stand before man. They stand before God and the church publicly and they make covenant promises to one another. Do they not?

Those promises shall not be broken. Oh Christian, in a gloriously similar and even better way, In a better way than even a wedding, God has sealed His covenant. He has declared His covenant promises with you publicly. When? When did the oaths, when did the covenant promises be declared publicly happen?

He did so before his church and before Himself with you at your baptism. He sealed you visibly. He made covenant promise to you visibly for your baptism. So don't you ever, ever, ever Think lightly on your baptism if you've been baptized in the name of the triune God and Let me just say this whether you can remember it or not. For some reason we don't use equal weights and measures.

I can't, and it was a glorious day by the way, but I can't remember everything about my wedding day. I legitimately, I want to so bad I want to remember me looking Chris in the eyes and saying these covenant Promises can't remember that but I got them written down. I Can't remember that wedding moment But what matters is not whether I remember it what matters is that the promises were made and the covenant was public And that those promises and those vows Will not fail by the grace of God It's public everybody else heard them God knows the church knows And so it's all the more with your baptism, whether you remember it or not, God doesn't break His promises before himself and this church. Baptism is just way more than a symbol. It is a symbol.

But it is him marking out his people. Covenant promises. Brothers and sisters, Be amazed that you believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and that you've been given the sign of that gospel namely baptism inwardly and outwardly Okay Two more triumphs. I think that's a triumph. You could just spend the whole sermon on just that triumph.

Some of you think I should, but I don't. Triumph number five, the signs. The next two triumphs will be a little quicker. We see this in verses 17 through 18. If you had to say it in one sentence, the triumph of Christ's authority made manifest on the earth.

Look at verse 17. Look at verse 17. 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 okay here's the question how will the people how will the world how will you know that this gospel of Jesus Christ really has come from God. How do you know that Jesus really did die, that Jesus really was buried, and that Jesus really was raised up, and that Jesus really was enthroned above all kingdoms? How do you know that any of that's true? How do you know that Mark is true?

How do you know that what God has promised through Genesis to Malachi, through the prophets, how do you know that Mark's gospel got it all right? You want to know the answer? The answer is this, you can know because it comes from God. How do you know it comes from God? Because God authenticated it, God authenticated Mark's Gospel through the prophesied signs of Joel chapter 2.

The prophesied signs of Joel chapter 2. What had God promised long ago in Prophet Joel? Remember Joel chapter 2? Go home and read it this evening. It won't take you very long.

Read slow. What did God promise? Here's what Joel chapter 2 promised. God promised that there would be great signs, great wonders when the kingdom of the Messiah had come. God promised great signs, great wonders when the kingdom of the Messiah had come.

God promised great signs, great wonders, when the kingdom of the Messiah had come. God says in Joel chapter 2, you're going to know that the promised kingdom of the Christ is there right now when these signs from heaven come down over the earth And what happens in Acts chapter 2 Beginning in Acts chapter 2 and going all the way through the Bible, through the rest of that book, These signs from Joel chapter 2 happen. These signs from verses 17 and 18 happen. Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2, Pentecost happens.

And do you know what the Apostle Peter quotes as he explains why everyone is speaking in new tongues, why these signs and wonders are happening? Do you know what the Apostle Peter quotes immediately? He says, hey, don't be getting mixed up. Don't be getting confused. You know the prophecy in Joel chapter two.

Joel chapter two, the promise that when the Messianic kingdom comes, these things will happen. It's happened. Go home after you read Joel chapter 2, go home and read, or right after that, read Acts chapter 2. It's easy to remember, both chapter 2. That's pretty cool.

Read both those chapters and say, okay, Peter is telling you what happens and promised in Joel 2 has happened there at Pentecost. That the Spirit of God would be poured out and many signs and wonders would occur when the kingdom of the Messiah had come. When the last days of the Jewish age had come. And again, what happens? Mark tells us, and the book of Acts tells us, that prophecy in Joel was fulfilled.

When was it fulfilled? Well, look at verse 20 of Mark 16. Look at verse 20. And they, the apostles, went out and they preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the words by the signs that followed. What signs?

What signs in verse 20 are he talking about? He's talking about verses 17 and 18 just before. The same signs demonstrated throughout Acts, as Peter says, Joel chapter 2 fulfilled. If you want to know what the book of Acts is about in one verse, Mark 16 verse 20. It's a book of Acts in one verse.

Can you believe that Mark's gospel comes from God? That was the question. Can you? Yes. How?

Through the fulfillment of prophecy by God himself. Christ fulfills prophecy through his apostles throughout the book of Acts as they fulfill Joel chapter 2 to perfection. Amazing! The fulfillment of prophecy. You know there's one thing we've seen a lot in Mark?

The fulfillment of prophecy. Pentecost is the fulfillment of prophecy and the rest of the book of Acts declares the same testimony. So I want to go through these signs really quickly and show you in Acts how they're fulfilled really quickly. Look at the signs beginning in verse 17. What's the first sign?

Sign number one, in my name they will cast out demons. This is gonna be rapid fire. Acts chapter five, Acts chapter eight, Acts chapter 16 and 19, people afflicted by unclean spirits, they're made free by the power of Christ in his gospel. Sign number one, fulfilled in Acts. Sign number two, they will speak with new tongues.

Acts chapter two, Pentecost, Acts chapter ten, Acts chapter nineteen, all of these events proving that the gospel was for the nations, that verse 15 of Mark chapter 16 had been confirmed that the message of Christ's gospel was to be proclaimed in all the world. And these signs confirm the authenticity of that gospel. This message that these apostles are proclaiming, this book that you have in your hands, it's true. You can believe it because it comes from God, the fulfillment of prophecy. Sign number three, they will pick up serpents.

Uh-oh. In the last chapter of Acts, Acts chapter 28, what happens to Paul? Paul picks up a serpent. He is bitten by that venomous serpent. Everybody around him that's not a believer, that boy's going to die.

He doesn't die. He just shrugs it off into the fire. It's not hurt Jesus said in verse 18 These signs would accompany those who believe so that you would know this message being proclaimed was true. And sure enough, even that sign, this exact sign, accompanied his apostles. Friends, probably need to pause here.

These signs are a fulfillment of prophecy. You got me? They're a fulfillment of a particular prophecy found in Joel chapter 2. Which means you're not supposed to make these signs something else. These are prophetic fulfillment signs, not something else.

Pentecost, speaking in tongues, picking up serpents. There are some people today, I know you know who they are, who look at that list at the end of Mark and they think that's how a church service should be today. And brothers and sisters, to come to that conclusion is to ignore the very prophecy that these signs come from. You don't get to look at Mark 16 and divorce Mark 16 verses 17 and 18 from the prophecy that they come from. You're looking at the fulfillment of prophecy in 17 and 18.

You've got to go back to Joel chapter 2 and you've got to say, okay, that prophecy was fulfilled then. And what did Joel say about those signs? Joel chapter 2, Acts chapter 2, They both say the same thing. These signs were an indicator that the end of the age, the end of the Jewish age was upon them, and that therefore the New Age, the Messianic Kingdom, the kingdom of Christ had come. A new age had come.

These signs would confirm the transition from old to new. When did that transition come to an end, by the way? From old to new? From the Jewish age to the messianic kingdom it came to an end that transition period came to an end when mark 13 was fulfilled when the temple of Jerusalem in a g70 was destroyed by the Romans that's what it had its decisive end and in between that transition period, these signs fulfilled prophecy. So the idea that these signs like serpent handling, the idea that they belong in churches today as a normative practice, that idea requires you to completely ignore why Joel prophesied about those signs in the first place.

Not as a way to instruct churches how to worship God, no. But instead as confirmation that Jesus' kingdom really is the same thing as the messianic kingdom promised all the way back in Genesis chapter 3. Christ's kingdom really had come and the old age was over. And the confirmation that Joel 2 was fulfilled comes in the Book of Acts, and it concluded in AD 70. Don't know how else to say it.

So what about the last two signs? I didn't get to sign number four and five yet. You see in those two signs? Deadly poison will not hurt them and the sick will be healed. Well we see throughout Acts and even in the early epistles we see the laying on of hands, right?

Miraculous healings of the sick, we see that throughout the New Testament. That one's easy. See that one fulfilled. But what about the deadly poison? Well, there's nothing directly recorded in the New Testament about someone drinking deadly poison.

But I think what Pastor Mark Horne writes is important to consider, and I quote from him, it is perfectly possible that one of the disciples was forced to drink poison at some point and was miraculously spared without that deliverance being recorded in the scriptures. I think that's probably true. I think that such an event or events probably happened as a fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel. There are a number of non-biblical texts that describe Christians being delivered miraculously from poison, but they're not in the scriptures. But I actually think that there's an equally important reason why Mark includes this sign.

I think he has another reason for including that particular sign of poison in the midst of all the other signs. Drinking poison and suffering no harm. I think Mark has another reason for including that sign and to see that we need to turn in our Bibles to 2nd Kings chapter 2 2nd Kings chapter 2 and we're almost finished and this is going to be our final consideration this morning indeed somewhat sadly our final consideration in Mark's Gospel as we behold the triumph of Jesus Christ's ascension into heaven. Second Kings, chapter 2. I believe that there is good reason to think that the sign of drinking poison and not being harmed is connected with two characters, Elijah and Elijah.

Let me ask you a question. How many times has Jesus been called or associated with the name Elijah, just in Mark's Gospel. How many times? Do you remember? The answer is a lot.

Elijah has been a major character throughout Mark's Gospel, but even though he's major, somehow he just kind of slips in the background. He's been there all along. We've pointed him out all the time, but now we're going to really point him out here at the end. Mark chapter 6, many people are saying that Jesus is Elijah. Mark chapter eight, Jesus asks his disciples, who do you say that I am?

And in the middle of their answer, the disciples say that many people think that Jesus is Elijah. Mark chapter nine, Elijah is mentioned several times. Who is it that's with Jesus and Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration? Elijah. Mark chapter 15, Jesus on the cross, crying out to God, and yet many believe that Jesus was crying out to Elijah.

Multiple times. Elijah is a pretty prominent character in Mark's gospel. Why? Second Kings chapter two, beginning in verse eight. Look with me there.

Elijah is with Elisha. They're traveling together for the last time. Verse eight. Elijah took his mantle and folded it together and struck the waters. And they were divided here and there so that the two of them crossed over to dry ground.

Does that sound at all familiar to anything that I mentioned earlier this sermon? Strikes the water, it divides. And they walk through it. When they crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "'Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.'" He said, "'You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if not, it shall not be so.'" as they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.

Elijah saw it and cried out, My father, My father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen. And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan. He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and he struck the waters and said, where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?

And when he had also struck the waters, they were divided here and there, and Elijah crossed over. Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him they said the spirit of Elisha rests on Elisha. Now there is so much there. There is so much in that passage. Elijah is traveling with Elisha for the last time and Elijah makes Elisha pass through the waters.

Sounds familiar. Israel in the wilderness passing through the waters. Sounds like baptism. Elijah divides the waters. They pass through the waters.

Elijah is taken up. And what does Elijah leave behind? He leaves behind his mantle. And Elisha takes up the mantle. Elisha strikes the water, they divide, verse 15, the spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.

The spirit of Elijah who was raised up rests on Elisha. What happens in Mark chapter 16? Jesus ascends at the end and his spirit is given to who? His disciples. Jesus ascends into heaven.

Ephesians 1 says, enthroned God the Father's right hand in all power, in all authority, and Jesus, as he ascends like Elijah did, Jesus like Elijah did for Elisha, Jesus leaves his mantle. Jesus empowers his servants to announce his kingdom and to conquer in his name. That's amazing! The Spirit of Christ rests on his disciples as they are given the mantle and the authority to go and do as Christ commanded them. Jesus has been doing sign, sign, sign, sign, sign.

Jesus ascends. What do the apostles do in the book of Acts? They do sign, sign, sign, sign how? Because Christ has given them the authority to do as he did. And yet, Jesus is different than Elijah, isn't he?

For Jesus himself, Christ himself, goes with his disciples In a way that Elijah could not go with Elisha. That's how verse 20 of our gospel ends. Christ is with them. Christ goes with them in his spirit, for he has baptized these men in his spirit." And so the way I think that the poison connects to all of this, remember that sign of poison? The way I think the poison connects to all of this is what happens next to Elisha.

What happens next to Elisha? Elisha was given the spirit of Elijah in 2 Kings 2. Elijah's authority passed down to him, And now Elisha may do the signs and miracles of his master. What happens to him just two chapters later? Go to 2 Kings chapter 4.

2 Kings chapter 4, look in verse 38. This is the end now. When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. I'm in verse 38. As the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said to his servant, put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.

Then one went off into the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine, and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came, sliced them into the pot of stew, for they did not know what they were. So they poured it out for the men to eat, and as they were eating of the stew, they cried out and said, Oh, man of God, there is death in that pot. There's poison in that pot. And they were unable to eat. But Elisha, he said, now bring me meal.

Now bring meal. He threw it into the pot and said, pour it out for the people that they may eat. And then there was no harm in the pot. No harm in the pot. They just ate the harm, now there's no harm.

Now a man came from Baal Shalasha and brought the man of God bread of first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh years of grain in his sack. And he said, give them to the people that they may eat. His attendant said, what? Well, I said before this, will I set this before 100 men? There's not enough food.

And Elisha said, give them to the people that they may eat for thus says the Lord they shall eat and have some left over So he said it before them and they ate and they had some left over according to the word of the Lord You see anything like mark in that ending of that passage What happens in that passage in 2 Kings 4? Poison happens and the people eat the poison and yet because the spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha there was no harm in the pot. Just as there would be no harm for the apostles on whom the spirit of Christ would rest when they would drink poison. And then right after that, and this is just fun, in verses 42 through 44 of 2 Kings 4, you have there an Old Testament version of the feeding of the multitudes that Jesus did twice in Mark's Gospel. And they all ate and they had some leftover.

Jesus did that with his disciples. I just think that's amazing. Not enough time to get into that. But Jesus really does fulfill every tide and shadow in the Old Testament. Jesus really has ascended in power, beloved.

That's why the ascension matters. It means that Jesus has fulfilled all prophecy. It means that Daniel chapter 7 is fulfilled. That The Son of Man has ascended to the Ancient of Days. Christ the Son has ascended to God the Father.

And God the Father has given to Jesus his Son a kingdom and a dominion and an authority that is forever. It's triumphant. No enemy shall be able to win. No poison shall endure. Why?

You know why ultimately the poison shall not win? Because Jesus drank the poison cup for you. Jesus drank at his cross the cup of God's wrath so that even in your death Christian, because Jesus drank the poison for you, Jesus drank the curse for you, in your death, the cup that you drink is a cup of blessing. It's a cup of blessing. And you're reminded of that every Lord's Day here at this table.

He drank the poison from me that I may come to his table and drink deeply of him. The wellspring of eternal life, the cup of blessing. And so these men, these disciples having the spirit of their master Jesus Christ as Elijah's spirit rested on Elisha, these apostles having the spirit of their master Christ on them, they go out, And what do they do? They declare in power that Jesus Christ is Lord. And Christ goes with them.

And beloved, He goes with you too. Yes, these signs and these wonders were for a particular time to fulfill a particular prophecy. They're not to be assumed normative for the church today, but think on the signs. They are recorded for you so that you can know without a shadow of doubt, wow, prophecy fulfilled, this message really is from God. You can trust this book.

And then, when you think on the signs and you say, I can trust this book, then think on the authority of Christ, which has not ceased. Think on the authority of Christ in His Spirit, the Spirit of Christ that is just the same as it was in the apostles, as it is in you. Christ goes with you. Christ is With you. In Him you are, as Paul says, more than conquerors.

So as we end Mark's Gospel, I need you to behold the sower and his world and his kingdom that is his harvest of 30, 60, 100-fold. You are to go into that, friends. You are to go into that harvest. You are to proclaim the good news to young and old. Liberty for captives.

Sin forgiven. Satan crushed. Rightness with God secured for the ransom. You are to behold, and you are to proclaim that He has risen, behold He has ascended, and behold He will come again. And on that day He comes, even that final enemy, death, will be forever slain, and the triumph of His gospel will be complete.

Behold, the beginning of the triumph of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Let's pray. Our Father, out of an abundance of words, a whole hour to finish this final section of Mark, O Lord, I pray that this your word would remain, that it would have its intended effect, that it would bring men to repentance and humility. And that every man, woman, and child in this room would walk out looking to the one who has triumphed over the grave, looking and beholding the one who has ascended on high, who has given us His Spirit, who has given us promise, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with us forever. They would look to Him, and for every one to look at themselves and their sin, they would take a hundred looks at Christ and say there is more righteousness in him there is more power in him there is more forgiveness in him there is more triumph in him then there is sin guilt and depravity in me.

Christ is triumphant over my life. Christ is triumphant over the life of my family. He promises triumph. And so I ask that this, your word, Lord, would be precious and magnificent, because it is in the lives of my people, this people here, your people, they would truly behold and repent and believe and go out here singing a tune and be glad that there is joy to be had in this world, joy to the world. Why?

Because Jesus Christ came and He died. He was buried and He was raised up according to the scriptures. The Lord has come and the Lord has won and He will come again. And to that Lord I ask for you to impress upon my people's hearts for Jesus' sake and their joy. Amen.