"And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs; and He was giving them authority over the unclean spirits; and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belt; but to wear sandals; and He added, 'Do not put on two tunics.' And He said to them, 'Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. And any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake off the dust from the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.' And they went out and preached that men should repent. And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them." (Mark 6:7-13)
When Jesus said, "Come follow me," little did His disciples know what was in store for them. Perhaps they had an important clue when Jesus said that He would make them "fishers of men." At least, the ones who were fishermen understood what it was to be a fisher for fish. But fishing for men was a new concept altogether.
Fishing for men means we must go into the world where men are and seek to catch them for Jesus. Fishing for men requires our time, our work, and our faithfulness. It means that we have to journey forth from our world into theirs because that is where they are. It means we must weave a net which we can cast in order to draw them in and see their souls saved from sure and certain judgement.
Being a fisher of men means we must do more than simply start an organization and put a sign out by the roadside inviting all to come. Being a fisher of men means that we must not only invite the world by saying, "Come," but we must hear the word of the Lord as He says to us, "Go." It is a frightening word indeed, but a word we need to hear and a word we need to heed. "Go ye into all the world," Jesus said to His disciples. The command still stands, and the command is to us. Every one of you here this morning who names the name of Jesus has been commanded to go.
Our text today speaks of those who were sent into the world at the command of Jesus. Perhaps as we see them going, we shall find a clue as to how we can go in that same power.
We first need to turn our attention to the messengers of the King.
"And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs..." (v. 7a)
Jesus called His disciples to Himself and sent them out to the world to be a witness. He called those who were His followers and sent them forth. Notice here the preparation of the messengers. They had been prepared because they were His followers. Here were His disciples, those whom He had chosen to learn from Him. They had left home to follow Jesus and now they were being given an opportunity to take what they had learned and put it into practice. Because they had spent time with Jesus, they were now qualified to share what had become real to them. This was their preparation.
To be an effective witness today, we must have a similar preparation. Only those who have spent time with Jesus are qualified to share with others. You cannot give what you do not have; and you will not have anything to share if you do not spend time with Jesus. You don't need a PhD, but you do need a living relationship with a living Savior. If you know the Lord and are walking with Him, then you, like these disciples, have the preparation necessary to begin putting into practice sharing the good news.
But notice next the power of the messengers.
"And He was giving them authority over the unclean spirits." (v. 7b)
These disciples did not go forth in their own power. They went forth in the power of God, given to them by Jesus Christ. He granted them power over the enemy of their souls. They were given authority over the powers of darkness, the evil spirits that were seeking to steal, kill and destroy the souls of the people to whom they were going.
God never calls us without giving us the power to accomplish the task. Just as these disciples were given power, so are we. Do you desire to be a witness for Jesus Christ? If so, God will give you the power to be one. He has already given you the command. The Great Commission is to all of us. And along with that commission, we receive the power of God to be His witnesses. We have the preparation if we know Jesus. And we also have the power if we obey Him.
Notice, finally, the provision of the messengers.
"And He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belt; but to wear sandals; and He added, 'Do not put on two tunics.' And He said to them, 'Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. And any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake off the dust from the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.'" (vv. 8-11)
In this instance, Jesus commanded them to go forth in faith that He would provide for their needs. They were to learn an important and invaluable lesson here. The lesson was that they could trust God to provide for their temporal needs. The Lord who had called them to do the work was not only going to provide the spiritual power necessary; He was going to provide the temporal provision necessary. At this point in the ministry of Jesus, He was beginning to teach His disciples how to have faith. It's a lesson which must not be neglected by any who would follow Jesus. We, like them, must come to understand that God is in charge of our lives. We must learn how to trust Him with them. We must learn how to trust Him for our daily bread. So we must go forth. We must go forth in His power and we must go forth in faith, trusting that He will supply our every need.
"And they went out and preached that men should repent." (v. 12)
We turn our attention now from the messengers of the King to the message of the King. The message was a simple one: "Repent."
This is the same message Jesus had been preaching ever since the inauguration of His ministry. As He first began to preach, His message was "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand." His disciples had heard Him preach this message over and over again. Now, it was their turn. So when they went forth, they understood the message to be preached. There was a message of repentance.
The disciples preached the message that men need to turn from their own sinful ways to the living God. They need to be willing to lay down their lifestyle and replace it with a new and better way. This was the message of the King.
It was the same message John the Baptist had been preaching in preparation for the coming of the King. When Jesus told the people to repent be-cause the Kingdom of God was at hand, He was saying something important and radical. You see, the people up to this point had been seeking to serve God through their own human works. They had been trying to keep the Law. The message now was that the Lawgiver was coming. He was about to inaugurate a new Kingdom. Their obligation was to cease from their works and turn to Him. The message is still the same today: "Stop what you are doing. Lift up your eyes. Look to the Lord and be obedient to Him.
The message of repentance is also a message of restoration. Man is alienated from God by His sinful nature. The communion once enjoyed between man and God has been destroyed. The place of fellowship and right relationship has suffered inestimable damage and man now is alienated from God. But repentance brings restoration. That's the good news.
The Good News is that we can now be made right with God. Our relationship with god can be restored as we repent of our sins and believe in the work of Jesus Christ. That is what repentance does for us. Repentance brings us to restoration. Restoration means that we are bought back to God and put in a right relationship with Him because of the work of Christ on the Cross on our behalf. When Jesus died on the Cross, He died to bring us back to God. He died to break down the wall of separation between us and God. He died to pay the penalty for our sin so that an all Holy God could forgive. He died to clothe us in His righteousness so that we would be accepted in the beloved. He died to restore us.
The message of repentance brings restoration and restoration brings renewal. In repentance, we turn from our wicked way to the Lord. In restoration, we are placed in a right relationship with God. And in renewal, our lives our positively changed because of the implantation of the new nature within us.
You see, God doesn't simply desire for us to own up to our sins and recognize that without Him we are lost. His desire is not simply for us to turn to Him. He desires more. His desire is not completely fulfilled when we are restored to a right relationship with Him. The goal of our Lord is not simply to see us barely saved. What God desires is a complete renewal of our inner selves. He desires to see us be made into the image of Jesus Christ. That is His purpose for every believer. That is His purpose for you. He desires to see you completely transformed, thoroughly renewed, as you are daily conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
The message of the good news is the message that we can be made right with God, that our lives can be transformed and our inner character completely changed. The message of repentance is a message of hope. It is a message of a new beginning. It is a message that even sinful people can find new life in Christ.
"And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them." (v. 13)
Let's turn our attention, finally, to the mercy of the King. Implied in our passage is that the people who heard the message did turn to the Lord. The message of repentance went forth and they responded to it. And of course, God had mercy on them. But God is interested in more than forgiving our sins. He is interested in us as whole people.
What we see here is the mercy of God as He lays His hand on us to heal us, spirit, soul and body.
The ministry of these disciples did not end simply with preaching the Gospel to them. As people turned to the Lord, they began ministering to them in their souls and in their bodies. They cast out demons who were tormenting their souls, and many sick people were healed as they anointed them with oil and prayed for them. The message is clear: God is interested in us as whole people. He not only wants to forgive our sins; but He wants to deal with our problems from both an emotional and a physical level.
This says something important to us about our ministry to others. We must never, never neglect to give people the life-changing Gospel which will meet their eternal needs. But we must also never neglect to reach out to them with the healing power of God to meet their temporal needs as well. This is were our witness will stand out in the world.
We must remember that God has sent us to the world. We see, perhaps more clearly than any, that man's real need is a spiritual need. But most people in the world perceive their real needs as temporal needs. While they feel an emptiness in their spirit, the pressing needs which are emotional and physical in nature are sometimes so overpowering they cannot see past them. So when we share the good news that Jesus can give them new life, we must also understand and care enough about their emotional and physical problems to minister to those needs as well.
We must communicate that the mercy of God is for all and reaches into all areas of human existence. When people were hungry, Jesus fed them; so should we. When people were suffering, Jesus ministered to their need; so should we. We are messengers of the King. We bear the message of the King. And by our ministry, we extend the mercy of the King.
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