Jesus' Message to His Disciples

Mark 16:14-18

In the end, the disciples would not believe until they saw Jesus. But God wants people to believe even before they see those things (Hebrews 11:1-2). People should believe because God has given a promise (Hebrews 11:11-16). And God does not disappoint. He does everything that he has promised.

So, it is wrong not to believe God (Mark 6:6; Mark 9:19). It is wrong to refuse a message that God has sent (Mark 6:11).

But God is kind. He often gives people several chances to believe him. And in the end, he helped the disciples so that they could believe.

And when they believed, Jesus had a special message for them. He gave them authority to continue the work that he had begun.

Jesus spoke these things to the 11 disciples. Judas was not there; he had killed himself (Matthew 27:5). But the other 11 disciples were all present. And they would tell very many people about God‘s good news.

The things that Jesus said were not only for the 11 disciples. The disciples began this work, but they did not finish it. Christians are still doing this work. And they will continue to do it until Jesus returns. They must tell God‘s good news to people everywhere.

It is good news. God will save those people who believe him. But it is also important news. People must not refuse God‘s message.

Christians are not alone when they speak God‘s message. God‘s Holy Spirit is with them. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will do powerful things to help them. And then other people will see that Christians really do have God‘s authority.

So, Christians would cause bad spirits to leave people. That happened in Acts 16:18. Christians would speak languages that they had not learned. That happened in Acts 2:4-12. God would make Christians safe, even from snakes and poisons. That happened in Acts 28:3-6. And when Christians prayed, God would make ill people well. That happened in Acts 3:1-10; Acts 5:15-16 and Acts 14:8-10.

These things have not all stopped. God still does powerful things when Christians pray. He still works with his people. He still gives them the things that they need to do his work.

But Christians must never try to use God‘s authority for their own purposes. And a Christian must not do dangerous things because he wants God to save him. So, an ill Christian may pray that God will make him well. But that Christian should also ask the doctor for help.

God wants his people to be careful. And he wants them to use his authority properly.