Mark 16:19 So then after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. I. CONTEMPLATE THESE APOSTLES WITNESSING THE ASCENSION OF THEIR LORD. 1. The place from which He ascended. Mount of Olives. Thither He had been accustomed to resort after the labours and fatigues of the day; there He had often spent a whole night in meditation and prayer; and now He Himself ascends from the same place. There His disciples had forsaken Him and fled; and there He was now parted from them, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 2. The manner in which He ascended. (1) Visibly. His disciples were eyewitnesses of His majesty, as He rose higher and higher from the mountain, till the cloud covered Him, and concealed Him from their sight. (2) While He was in the act of blessing. 3. The place to which He ascended. Heaven. His own home. What rejoicings at His return! II. CONTEMPLATE THE APOSTLES GOING FORTH TO PREACH HIS GOSPEL. 1. The subject of their preaching. The gospel of Jesus Christ — the crucified, risen, and ascended Saviour. 2. They communicated this gospel to mankind by preaching. (1) A Divine ordinance. (2) A speedy way of teaching. (3) A method admirably adapted for impressing the great truth of the gospel on men's hearts. 3. The extent to which they preached this gospel was universal. "Everywhere." "To every creature," was the command. III. CONTEMPLATE THE APOSTLES EXPERIENCING THEIR LORD'S COOPERATION WITH THEM IN THEIR LABOURS. Wherever they worked as instruments, He worked also as the efficient agent; for His power is omnipotent; and the "signs" promised were the result. 1. These Divine influences qualified the preachers of the gospel. 2. These Divine influences confirmed the truth of the gospel. 3. These Divine influences ensured the success of the gospel.A glorious conquest — a triumph over mind and heart. It was great and godlike even to plan the moral conquest of a world; but when the plan is all accomplished, when all the nations of the earth become one holy and happy family, then shall the world enjoy its millennial jubilee, and Christ the Mediator shall be Lord of all. (J. Alexander, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. |
    |