16:19 This event happened 40 days after the appearances that Mark just recorded (cf. Acts 1:3). Mark narrated the ascension and session of Jesus simply. The title "Lord Jesus"occurs only here and in Luke 24:3 in the Gospels. Jesus of Nazareth became Lord to His disciples, in the sense of sovereign master, following His resurrection. He was that always, but the Resurrection taught the disciples that that is what He was.
Jesus had predicted His ascension in veiled terms (14:7). The disciples witnessed this. They did not witness His seating in heaven. The Old Testament anticipated Messiah's seating in heaven before His return to reign (Ps. 110:1). The disciples learned that that session would occur between Jesus' two advents, not before His first advent (cf. Acts 2:33-35; 7:56). Jesus' present seated position at the Father's right hand pictures His finished work on earth for the time being and His authority as the executor of God's will now.423
16:20 However, Jesus' work on earth also continued through His disciples. It was a continuation of Jesus' work on earth in a real sense because He continued to work with them and confirmed their preaching with signs (cf. Acts 1:1-2). These first disciples provided a positive example for all succeeding generations of disciples to follow. Thus the Gospel ends on a positive note.
This task of evangelizing continued in Rome among the disciples who first received this Gospel. This account of the good news about Jesus Christ (1:1) would have been a particular encouragement to those disciples. They faced the choice of whether to take a public stand as Christians and suffer the loss of real estate, personal property, employment, and even their lives or to lie low. They had to offer a pinch of incense in worship of "divine"Caesar as Roman citizens. To do so compromised their exclusive commitment to Jesus as Lord. To fail to worship Caesar cost them dearly. This Gospel is particularly helpful for disciples who face similar challenges in their own time and place in history.
