17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs. Mark 16:17-20 Let's be honest. This passage is likely why many wonder if this should be included in Mark's gospel (see my explanation about this disputed text in last week’s post). Many of us see things like demons, tongues, invincibly picking up snakes, and drinking poison, and run the other way. But these disciples became apostles and did have power over the demonic realm. They were given the ability to pray to God in previously unknown languages. They were protected from things like poisonous snakes while traveling for the gospel. And they were often used as instruments of God's miraculous healing as they told people about Christ around the world. As much as I do believe all the gifts of the Spirit, even the super-supernatural ones, can happen today, I do confess the apostles and their generation watched many of these things occur at a high rate. Hebrews 2 tells us the gospel spread when God:

Hebrews 2:4 (ESV) — 4 ...bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

And Paul told us:

2 Corinthians 12:12 (ESV) — 12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.

These men were miraculously helped, and those miracles helped them launch the gospel into the world. I'm not saying they worked miracles every five minutes. We sometimes forget the Book of Acts, the book that records the early spread of Christianity, is a history of thirty years. Monumental events were recorded, and many of those included a supernatural element. So, we likely should not conclude everyday Christian life was a continuous stream of miracles but that God bore witness at critical times and places by breaking in with the supernatural.

The Age of the Spirit

That said, I don't believe there's any good reason to think the miraculous stopped with that first church. This is debated in the church. Obviously, the fact there's a debate must mean the miraculous doesn't happen all that often, or else we would all be convinced. But I believe the gifts of the Spirit -- all of them -- are available today. They are best used as a way to spread the gospel of Christ, not as the focus or platform for a ministry. But they are helpful -- and needed -- for the work of the church. I say needed because we are up against it. Many are bound in thoughts, beliefs, and practices that entirely disable them from considering Christ. And it's not like it used to be. In our nation's recent history, there were people who went to church just because it gave them standing in their community but who didn't believe in Jesus. Many adopted Christian morals and practices without saving faith in Jesus. They were still lost but didn't vehemently vocalize their rejection of Jesus. But we are now in an age where the rejection of Jesus is more overt. People are just as lost today as they were in the 1950s, but now, the rejection of Christianity is more vocal. So, for someone to come to Christ, it takes a lot. Ingredients like desperation due to trauma or failure in life, disillusionment over the philosophies of our age, or depression due to the God-shaped hole in the human heart are all helpful in drawing someone to Jesus. But even then, it's a big deal for someone to turn around and submit to him. It almost feels like it would take a miracle—like the supernatural must flex into our natural world to get the job done. But that's precisely what our passage tells us. Jesus spoke, ascended, and sat down at the right hand of God (19). Then they went out and preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs (20). They went. And Jesus went with them. This is how it works. As Paul said:

Philippians 2:12–13 (ESV) — 12 ...Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

I think Luke said it well. After writing of Jesus' birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, he wrote a second book about the church's early days. He started that book this way:

Acts 1:1 (ESV) — 1 In the first book...I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach...

In Luke's mind, Jesus' earthly life was only the beginning of what he did and taught. He continued to do these things throughout the book of Acts, and I believe he still does and teaches today. He joins his people as they launch out in faith with him.

That early church was one of power. I believe the same power is available today for those who pray, those who are holy, and those who walk in faith. I hope to be one of those people.

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, Jesus came. To him, our world was further gone than any of the people he raised back to life in the gospels. We are not newly dead, like the 12-year-old girl in Mark 5. We are not a day dead, like the young man in Luke 7. Nor are we three days dead, like Lazarus in John 11. We were dead-dead, and Jesus came to our lifeless corpse and spoke words of life. Only he could speak them because he had risen after death. Resurrection power was and is his. Dying for our sins, he consumed all that killed us. And now he speaks to this dead world, telling it to rise back to life through his glorious gospel. He uses his church to preach that resurrection power, the glorious good news that humankind mustn't be stuck forever in death. We can live if we turn and trust Christ. At the beginning of our study in Mark, I mentioned that our theme would be "Follow the Servant-Savior." That's how Mark has presented Jesus -- as the servant who saves. He said:

Mark 10:45 (ESV) — 45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Though the book paints Jesus as the servant who saves, it also presents him asking his people to do the same. Of course, we cannot die for anyone's sins. But now we are equipped with the gospel, so we must get outside ourselves, lay down our lives, and devote time, energy, and resources to spreading the knowledge of Christ.

Let's do this. Let's follow the Servant-Savior.