Words of Jesus Part 29

I've jumped ahead to Mark 16 because most of the other chapters are the same as the accounts in Matthew.

In chapter 16 of Mark we see a few things that were not in Matthew. I will point them out here. Some are troubled by the fact that some accounts are different but I'm not. I realize that different writers may have heard different words of Jesus. Not all probably heard every single word that He said so Mark would probably write the account of events that He heard from the other disciples rather than Matthew.

Different writers also have a various ways to tell the same event. Matthew may have been present to hear what the Lord said just before He went back to heaven. Mark most probably was not present but was going by the accounts of one or two other apostles who may have remembered these other words of Jesus that Matthew obviously didn't remember when he penned the gospel of Matthew.

The Holy Spirit will reveal to us what is true if we open our hearts to Him. I've read many books about the Lord, about the past, about history that were considered great non fiction books. Yet in reading even good ones, they didn't seem like they were inspired by the Holy Spirit like the scriptures were. They seemed to me as just ordinary books. The bible on other hand is different. I believe God's anointing were on the writers as they wrote these scriptures.

• Mark 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

Jesus spend considerable time warning His disciples ahead of time of the crucifixion and resurrection. They should have believed and expected His resurrection.

• Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Every nation in the whole world is to hear the gospel. We cannot make the lost be saved or force the lost to be saved but we are to make sure all hear the gospel. The results of the gospel has to come by the Holy Spirit speaking to the hearts of the listeners. Even today I hear of believers in all parts of the world, even in countries where the gospel is forbidden to be preached.

• Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Since Jesus is the only way God gives to all of us to be free from sin and become "born again", then naturally if we do not believe we cannot be saved. If we are not saved our souls will be lost for eternity. Baptism is an outward sign that we have believed in the name of Jesus Christ and are saved. The water itself has no saving power but is an outward obedience and testimony to what has taken place in the inner man.

Baptism signifies the washing of the water of the word which takes place when we receive Jesus Christ. We are literally baptized into the body of Christ.

Some believe this is the same as the baptism of the Holy Spirit that was received on the day of Pentecost. Others believe salvation is the new birth also done by the Holy Spirit but can receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit later evidenced by speaking in another tongues or languages by the Holy Spirit.

However one may see it though, the new birth is needed to be saved. Whether or not one speaks in tongues at his new birth, later on, or never has nothing to do with whether one is saved from sin or not.

Speaking in tongues is a wonderful gift God gave us to communicate with Him. It is a sign of the supernatural within us. It is nothing strange, weird or fearful but is a way to pray when we don't exactly know how and what to pray for. True, that not all speak with tongues and that makes some reject it altogether. If one has never spoken in tongues its hard to understand the purpose of it and they tend to explain it away rather than just accept the fact that it is real and many sincere believers speak in other tongues regularly.

Not all can teach and not all can preach, yet we don't explain that away. We got to stop putting God in a box and thinking every church has to have either all or none of the gifts of the spirit. Different churches may have different types of ministries. Some may feed the poor, some may teach the bible, some may major in different ministries but all should be preaching the gospel of salvation.

Just because the Pentecostals are not like the Baptists does not mean one is completely right and the other completely wrong. If we all look close enough at church teachings we could probably find an error in their interpretation of scripture on at least one point showing us that the perfect one has not yet come as some teach. That perfect one I believe is Jesus Christ who understands all things perfectly. Until He returns we will probably understand in part. I do believe though that none of us have to remain in ignorance for He promised us wisdom if we ask for it and seek for it.

Most of us though just are content to take someone's word for it and not seek God for our wisdom. We take the word of our church teachings and creeds instead of seeking God for ourselves. Look how many dear Catholics believe all that stuff that was added throughout history that is no where near what the bible teaches. I'm not anti-Catholic but they believe a lot of stuff that is just tradition and is not necessary for salvation. There is probably a little tradition in every one of our churches.  That is no reason to pack up and leave. Some traditions are good as long as they do not teach something contrary to what the bible teaches. 

• Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

True believers will have signs following them. We are not to follow the signs and run here and there to see things but if we believe according to the word of God, signs will follow.

• Mark 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

If one accidentally comes upon a serpent when he or she is walking with the Lord and doing His will, they shouldn't get hurt by those things. This never means for us to purposely play with serpents or drink poison. If we happen on to it by accident though, if one is walking in the Spirit of God, it shouldn't hurt him. Again the bible says these things, not me.

This happened to Paul yet we know from church history that Paul suffered a martyrs death later by the hands of the Romans. So we know these passages do not mean that we will never be sick or die physically. They are mostly signs that follow believers. Signs confirm the word preached.

• Acts 28:3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
• 4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.
• 5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.

Since Jesus also warned us that in later days there would come deceivers that also do signs and wonders, we cannot judge anyone's spirituality by the signs but by their fruits. This does not mean that all that do signs and wonders are not real men of God either. Sometimes we have trouble with this. We think if one proves to be a fake, all of them must be. That is not so though. Are all preachers fake just because a few of them mess up? We shall know the true ones by their fruits. Do they preach God's word and then live by what they preach? Many preach the truth but do not live it themselves and some preach just enough of truth to get people to believe in them and then lead people into false doctrine. That is why our wonderful God presented us with the bible in one written volume so we do not have to be deceived.

• Mark 16:19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
• 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

Mark seems to summarize the last two verses. We know that Jesus stayed 40 days with the apostles before going back to heaven and also that the disciples tarried in Jerusalem until the outpouring of the Holy Spirit before they begun their ministry.

Words of Jesus Part 30

Words of Jesus Index