Throne Rights and Field Work Text: Mark 16:19-20
Introduction: The King Has Not Left the Building
There is a pervasive and debilitating sentiment among modern Christians that the ascension of the Lord Jesus was a sort of dignified retreat. In this telling, Christ finished His earthly work, gave His followers their marching orders, and then departed, leaving them to hold the fort against overwhelming odds until He returns with the cavalry at the last minute. The church, in this view, is a beleaguered garrison, surrounded, outnumbered, and just trying to hang on. This is a theology of defeat, a pious pessimism that sucks the life out of our witness and the strength out of our arms. It is also profoundly unbiblical.
The ascension of Jesus Christ was not a departure; it was an enthronement. He did not leave the world to its own devices; He took charge of it in a new and more powerful way. He went up to heaven not to retire, but to reign. He sat down at the right hand of God not to rest, but to rule. The event that Mark records here at the end of his gospel is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of the final act. It is the coronation of the King.
What the disciples witnessed was not their commander leaving the field of battle, but rather ascending to the ultimate high ground from which He would direct the entire war. And the war was a war He had already won. The decisive battle was fought and won at the cross and the empty tomb. The remainder of history is the mopping up operation. The Great Commission is not a desperate plea for volunteers for a losing cause. It is the triumphant proclamation of the Victor, sending His ambassadors into a world that is already His, to announce the terms of surrender.
These last two verses of Mark's gospel are therefore not an epilogue; they are the foundational premise for the entire life of the church. They establish the central reality of our age: Christ is on the throne, and because He is on the throne, His church is on the march. Everything we do, from preaching the gospel to raising our children to building civilizations, flows directly from this reality. If we get this wrong, everything else will be wrong. If we get this right, we will be unshakeable.
The Text
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 word by the signs that followed.
(Mark 16:19-20 LSB)
The King on His Throne (v. 19)
We begin with the central event that defines our reality:
"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." (Mark 16:19)
Every word here is packed with theological dynamite. He is the "Lord Jesus." This is His title of authority. This is not Jesus the gentle moral teacher, or Jesus the inspiring spiritual guide. This is the Kurios, the sovereign ruler of all things. After His resurrection, His lordship is the central confession of the church.
He "was taken up into heaven." This is the Ascension. This was a literal, physical, visible event. The disciples watched Him go. This was the fulfillment of Daniel's vision, where one "like a Son of Man" came with the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days to receive dominion, glory, and a kingdom (Daniel 7:13-14). Jesus was not floating off into some ethereal, non-spatial reality. He was going to the command center of the cosmos. He was going to take His seat.
And that is precisely what He did. He "sat down at the right hand of God." This is the Session, and it is the most politically significant event in the history of the world. In the ancient world, to sit at the right hand of the king was to be the second in command, the one who wielded the king's own authority. For Jesus to sit at God's right hand means He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. This is His investiture. This is His coronation.
The posture of sitting is crucial. It signifies a completed work. The priests in the Old Testament never sat down, because their work of sacrifice was never finished. But Christ, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, "sat down" (Hebrews 10:12). His work of atonement is finished. But His sitting is not a posture of inactivity. It is the posture of a reigning king. He is not waiting; He is ruling. He is actively governing all the affairs of men and angels. Psalm 110:1 is the key: "The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'" Christ is seated, and from that throne, He is superintending the subjugation of all His enemies. This is not something that will happen one day. It is happening now, through the means He has appointed.
The Church at its Work (v. 20)
Verse 20 is the direct and necessary consequence of verse 19. Because the King is on His throne, the church is at its work.
"And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed." (Mark 16:20 LSB)
"And they went out and preached everywhere." The "they" here refers to the apostles. Their response to the King's coronation was not to gaze into heaven, nor was it to form a holy huddle and wait for the end. It was immediate, obedient, global action. They went out. They were sent ones. And their task was to preach. The primary instrument of the King's reign is the proclaimed Word. And the scope of their work was total: "everywhere." The gospel is not a tribal religion for one particular people group. It is a universal declaration of lordship over every square inch of creation, over every nation, tribe, and tongue.
But they did not go alone. The text says, "while the Lord worked with them." This is a staggering statement. The enthroned King, the one seated at the right hand of all power, is the senior partner in their evangelistic enterprise. He is not an absentee landlord. He is actively, personally, and powerfully working right alongside them. The Greek here is sunergountos, from which we get our word synergy. The Lord is a co-worker with His people. The power for the Great Commission does not come from our clever strategies, our marketing techniques, or our emotional appeals. The power for the mission flows directly from the throne of the reigning Christ.
And how did He work with them? He "confirmed the word by the signs that followed." We must be precise here. The signs were not the main event. The Word was the main event. The signs were the confirmation. They were God's own testimony, His divine validation of the apostolic message. In an age before the New Testament was written and collected, God provided these authenticating miracles to show that these men were speaking His authoritative truth. These were the "signs of an apostle" (2 Cor. 12:12). They were the divine credentials for the foundation-layers of the church.
The purpose of the signs was to confirm the Word. Now that the Word has been confirmed, written down, and established as the canon of Scripture, the need for that specific kind of apostolic sign has passed. The foundation has been laid. The great sign that confirms the truth of the Word today is the Word itself, driven home by the Spirit, regenerating dead hearts, transforming lives, and turning the world upside down. The sign that follows the preaching of the Word today is the conversion of sinners and the discipling of the nations. That is the ongoing miracle.
Conclusion: The Confident Church
So what does this mean for us? It means everything. It means that our mission in the world is not a desperate gamble but a guaranteed success. The outcome is not in doubt. The King is on His throne, and He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death, which means every other enemy, secularism, paganism, tyranny, unbelief, will be put under His feet before the final consummation.
This reality must govern our entire posture. We are not fighting for victory; we are fighting from victory. We are not called to be anxious, but to be ambitious. We are not called to a defensive crouch, but to a joyful, world-conquering confidence. The Lord Jesus is not in heaven, wringing His hands over the state of the world. He is in heaven, running the world.
Therefore, we are to go out and preach everywhere. In your home, you preach the gospel to your children. In your business, you operate according to the Word. In the public square, you proclaim the crown rights of King Jesus over every politician and every policy. We do this knowing that the Lord is working with us. He is not a distant observer; He is our partner. And He will confirm His Word. He will cause it to bear fruit. He will build His church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.
The ascension was not an end. It was the beginning of the end for all God's enemies. Christ is King. He is reigning now. Our job is simply to live like it.