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. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs. 1
Mark 16 contains some verses—include those above—which some say are not in the earliest extant manuscripts. My response is that what is said is attested to in other unquestioned manuscripts of parallel passages validating what is in these verses. Yesterday’s devotional included part of what Jesus said in this last meeting with His disciples which definitively agrees that He spoke with them before ascending.
And Jesus came and said to them,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 2
Luke conclude his Gospel with Jesus departing them the time from Bethany,
And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. 3
Luke then continues his account in Acts 1 with what appears to be the last ascension after the forty days,
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said,
“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” 4
The remainder of the Mark 16:20 is covered extensively in the Book of Acts where these disciples and those who will believe through their mission do exactly what it says: ‘they went out’ ‘preached everywhere’ ‘the Lord worked with them’ the Lord confirmed the message by accompanying signs.’
Yes, Jesus is back on the Throne with the LORD. Jesus ‘at the right hand of God’ is attested to in each of the following passages (with direct links to Blue Letter Bible):
ACTS 7:55 (ESV) – But he [Stephen], full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God
ROMANS 8:3 (ESV) – Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who is indeed interceding for us
COLOSSIANS 3:1 (ESV) – seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God
HEBREWS 10:12 (ESV) – but when Christ had offered for all time a singe sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God
HEBREWS 12:2 (ESV) – … looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God
1 PETER 3:22 (ESV) – [Jesus Christ] who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to Him.
Tomorrow—The Acts of the Apostles by the Holy Spirit. Jesus’s Kingdom continues on in Him by the Holy Spirit through His disciples.
