The cross and resurrection had recently occurred. Jesus had accomplished His mission and made a way for all mankind to be saved. He stood as the resurrected Christ awaiting to ascend into Heaven for a triumphant and eternal celebration. But before He could return to Heaven, Jesus had one final message to leave with His disciples.
Imagine it. What if you were about to ascend into Heaven and your friends and family were all gathered around you. What would you say? What would your final words to those loved ones be?
It is a very hard decision! Why? Because the last thing you say is what people will remember. A person’s last words are very important.
This is the situation in which we find Jesus Christ in Mark 16. Jesus had one final message to give His followers—a message that would be remembered not just by those disciples gathered around Him that day but by every future generation of Christians to come. These final, crucial words of Jesus Christ would later be termed as “The Great Commission”.
Mark 16:15 reads, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature [every type of person]. He that believes and is baptized will be saved; but he that does not believe will be condemned….” NKJV
We know from scripture that the wage of sin is death. Jesus took the penalty of sin upon Himself. He died in our place for our sin. But that was not the end for Jesus. He rose again, conquering once and for all sin and death for those who would believe in Him.
And now the message of what Jesus has done for us must be spread to all who will hear. Paul the Apostle writes in 1 Corinthians 1:21, “It pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believed.” NKJV
Jesus Christ died to save the world, to save all who would believe in Him. But how can the world know unless we obey His command to go into all the world and preach His message? Each one of us, as disciples of Jesus Christ, is called to preach in some capacity, whether it is to our family, co-workers, neighbors, or perhaps even behind a pulpit. While God has a different calling or ministry for each of us, we are still called to obey Him and preach the gospel.
Are you sharing your faith with others? If not, pray and ask God for boldness. Step out with courage and share the gospel.
-Josiah Alway