Introduction
Will you live a going life for Jesus, or will you stay comfortable and slowly waste the life He has given you? Jesus’ final command in Mark’s Gospel is simple and searching: because He is risen and reigning as King, I must go into the world and proclaim the gospel, living every day as His sent disciple. Mark 16:9–20 brings us to the closing words of Jesus and the legacy He intends to leave through His people. Like last words on a battlefield, wise counsel at a graduation, or a dying charge like “Don’t waste it,” Jesus’ last words are meant to shape the rest of our lives.
Main Points
Will you live a going life for Jesus, or will you stay comfortable and slowly waste the life He has given you? Jesus’ final command in Mark’s Gospel is simple and searching: because He is risen and reigning as King, I must go into the world and proclaim the gospel, living every day as His sent disciple.
Mark 16:9–20 brings us to the closing words of Jesus and the legacy He intends to leave through His people. Like last words on a battlefield, wise counsel at a graduation, or a dying charge like “Don’t waste it,” Jesus’ last words are meant to shape the rest of our lives.
Receiving the Risen Christ’s Testimony
Before Jesus gives a command, He gives evidence: He is alive.
Mark records appearances that match the other Gospels, Mary Magdalene (cf. John 20:11–18), the two on the road (cf. Luke 24:13–35), and the gathered disciples (cf. John 20:19–23). The thread running through all of them is both sobering and hopeful: people struggled to believe, even with firsthand witnesses.
- Mary tells the mourning disciples, and they refuse to believe (Mark 16:10–11).
- Two more testify, and the others still do not believe (Mark 16:12–13).
- Jesus Himself appears and rebukes their unbelief and hardness of heart (Mark 16:14).
I want you to see the mercy here: Jesus does not abandon weak disciples; He pursues them, corrects them, and then still entrusts them with His mission. The foundation of our discipleship is not our strength, it’s His resurrection and His persistence with us.
Not Getting Distracted From Jesus’ Last Word
This passage can distract us if we fixate only on questions like, “Should Mark 16:9–20 be here?” It’s true that some of the earliest manuscripts omit these verses, and the early church had discussion about it. But here’s the key discipleship takeaway: everything taught in this ending is confirmed across Matthew, Luke, John, and the rest of the New Testament.
So I don’t want you stuck in suspicion or side debates. I want you focused on what is absolutely clear in Scripture: Jesus rose, Jesus reigns, and Jesus sends His people.
The First Command: Go
At the center is Mark 16:15: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” Matthew’s parallel emphasizes disciple-making: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:18–20). Both begin with the same word: Go.
This was confrontational then and it’s confrontational now.
- Many in Jesus’ day wanted a contained, safe, ethnic religion, faith behind walls.
- Jesus insists the opposite: God’s heart is for the nations, for the world, for “all creation.”
And I need you to hear this gently but clearly: Christianity is not a “stay” faith. Staying, settling into comfort, hiding behind routines, numbing ourselves with endless media, can become a subtle way to waste our lives. Jesus commands a different pattern: a going identity.
Most scholars note the sense is not merely “go once,” but “as you are going”, a lifestyle of being sent. The “Dead Sea” picture is helpful: water flows in but not out, and it dies. A disciple who only receives but never goes will stagnate spiritually.
So let me press this into everyday practice:
- Your home is not meant to be your hiding place; it’s meant to be a base of mission.
- Your community group is not only a safe circle; it should become an outpost.
- Your regular rhythms (work, school, neighborhood) are not interruptions to discipleship; they are the arena of discipleship.
Proclaiming the Gospel Clearly
Jesus doesn’t only say “go.” He says “proclaim the gospel.” That assumes we can actually articulate it. Many of us intend to represent Christ but drift into a message that is less than the gospel, tips for improvement, moral advice, political talking points, vague spirituality.
So I want you to learn the order: indicatives before imperatives, who God is and what He has done before what we do.
Ephesians 1:3–14 anchors us in the gospel realities:
- God chose us in Christ (Ephesians 1:4).
- God adopted us through Jesus (1:5).
- We have redemption through His blood and forgiveness (1:7).
- He is uniting all things in Christ (1:10).
- We are sealed with the Holy Spirit (1:13–14).
Notice the repeated emphasis: He, Him, His. The gospel is not “go prove yourself to God.” The gospel is that God has acted decisively in Christ, giving you identity, forgiveness, family, and power by the Spirit. We go because we are already loved, already claimed, already helped.
So when you proclaim the gospel, you’re telling the truth:
- The world is broken because we tried to be our own kings.
- Jesus is the true King who died and rose to save sinners.
- He offers forgiveness, new life, and a restored relationship with God.
- He calls us to repent, believe, and follow Him.
Going Together as the People of God
Jesus speaks these words to the disciples as a group. The mission is personal, but it is not individualistic. We go as a community, a city set on a hill.
Think about why short-term mission trips often become intense seasons of spiritual growth: you’re together constantly, forced to forgive, to unify across differences, to depend on Christ, to stay focused. That “beautiful storm” isn’t meant to be rare; it pictures normal Christian life.
So I want you to embrace this: we are all living on a “short-term long-term mission trip” all the time. Discipleship is not an add-on to real life; discipleship is real life.
Trusting Jesus to Work With Us
Mark ends with a stunning encouragement: after Jesus ascends and sits at the right hand of God, the disciples go out and preach, “while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message” (Mark 16:19–20).
The mission does not rest on your personality, your courage, or your competence. The living Christ works with His people. In the early church this included remarkable confirming signs; and in every age, the deepest confirmation remains the same: Jesus saves, transforms, and sustains real people through the proclaimed gospel.
So when you feel inadequate, don’t retreat. Go with this confidence: the King who sends you is the King who helps you.
Conclusion
Jesus’ last words in Mark call me out of distraction and comfort into a life of obedient mission: Go. Proclaim. Make disciples. I don’t go to earn God’s love; I go because I have it. I don’t go alone; I go as part of Christ’s people. And I don’t go in my own strength; I go with the risen Jesus working with me.
So here is the question I want you to answer before the Lord: where have you been staying when Jesus has been saying, “Go”?
Lord Jesus, risen King and Savior, forgive me for the ways I have hardened my heart, doubted Your word, and chosen comfort over obedience. Thank You for pursuing Your disciples even in weakness, and thank You for the clear command to go and proclaim the gospel. Anchor me again in the riches of Your grace, my adoption, redemption, forgiveness, and the sealing of Your Holy Spirit. Teach me to live as one who is sent, not one who stays. Give me love for my neighbors and courage to speak the good news with clarity. And as I go, please work with me and through Your church so that many will believe and worship You. Amen.
Conclusion
Jesus’ last words in Mark call me out of distraction and comfort into a life of obedient mission: Go. Proclaim. Make disciples. I don’t go to earn God’s love; I go because I have it. I don’t go alone; I go as part of Christ’s people. And I don’t go in my own strength; I go with the risen Jesus working with me.
So here is the question I want you to answer before the Lord: where have you been staying when Jesus has been saying, “Go”?
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, risen King and Savior, forgive me for the ways I have hardened my heart, doubted Your word, and chosen comfort over obedience. Thank You for pursuing Your disciples even in weakness, and thank You for the clear command to go and proclaim the gospel. Anchor me again in the riches of Your grace, my adoption, redemption, forgiveness, and the sealing of Your Holy Spirit. Teach me to live as one who is sent, not one who stays. Give me love for my neighbors and courage to speak the good news with clarity. And as I go, please work with me and through Your church so that many will believe and worship You. Amen.