Sent Out with Authority

What is Our Mission?

(Mark 6:7-13, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, January 6, 2018)

[7] And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. [8] He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—[9] but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. [10] And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. [11] And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” [12] So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. [13] And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

The twelve sent out with authority

We join the key apostles/disciples at a time of massive transition. We have already heard in an earlier passage (Mark 3:13-19) about our Lord's choice of “the twelve” to be His disciples. The only reason given for choosing these particular men was that these were “those he desired.” Immediately following the listing of the men, a large crowd follows Jesus home (3:20), and Jesus' family comes to the conclusion that He was “out of His mind.” (3:21) Very soon after that, Jesus reminded those listening to His Word that “whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.” (3:35)

As we see the twelve being sent out on the Israel mission (Mat. 10:5) prior to the much larger Great Commission, we can understand that observers might consider that Jesus was not thinking straight simply based on the people He chose for these key positions of servant leadership. Several of these men were simple fisherman from a part of Israel that was not highly respected by the religious and political leaders in Jerusalem. Another was a tax collector who would have been hated by the crowds that hoped to be out from under the thumb of the Roman authorities. Worst of all, we now know that one of the men was Judas, who would be a traitor to Christ and to the kingdom of God.

These were some of the men that Jesus sent out two by two as His ambassadors. He also gave them amazing spiritual gifts. It was by the command of Jesus that these particular chosen ones had “authority over unclean spirits.” Wow!

The Master's charge

Jesus gave the disciples specific instructions that few mission agencies would consider sensible today. He told them to “take nothing for the journey.” Now we prudently insist that a missionary raise a very high percentage of funds before he or she leaves for the mission field. As Jesus sent out the twelve, He did not insist on meeting minimum fund-raising targets. Instead He told the men the maximum that they could take with them: a walking stick and the clothes they were wearing. Shocking.

What about when they arrived on site? We might be happiest to report the number of different families that hosted us. Without any particular explanation, Jesus insisted that the teams of two not split up, but stay in one house during the whole time spent in that village or town. There was no sense of solid strategic advice that is so popular today, We might have imagined that key cities would have been identified, leaving smaller locations to future teachers and miracle workers. If there was any such planning for this mission we do not have any record of it.

What should they do if their host family or the the town that they were staying in proved to be inhospitable to the message of the kingdom or the activities of the Lord's servants in confronting the works of Satan? There was no loud pronouncement against the offenders. Nor was there was any super-tolerant and polite expression of appreciation for those who had rejected them. The commanded display, “shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them,” was something for God to see. It was not loud but quiet, but it was also not a complement but a divine judicial testimony against them.

So they went out

These were the Lord's men and His instructions, at least for then and there. With this direction they went into an inhospitable world. Would limiting the geographic scope of the mission to Israel give the disciples the advantage of at least being among their own people group? The evidence is exactly the opposite. Gentiles were more receptive than Jews. This was a mission only to Jews, so it was a very challenging assignment.

These men, with these instructions, brought a message that many in Israel had already heard. One would have to assume that those who wanted to respond would have already done so. What was the message? The same as what John the Baptist had proclaimed and Jesus had reiterated. The kingdom of God was at hand. It was time to repent of sin.

I recently listened to the testimony of a Scottish man who had a very challenging upbringing, went to prison, came out unconverted, and eventually was called to faith by the Lord. He found Matthew Henry's six-volume commentary on the Bible somewhere, and thinking at first that it was the Bible itself, he read it all in about two months. He was particularly attracted to Paul's Letter to the Romans. It confronted lies he had been told all his life. Chief among them was the idea that he was at root a good person who was not responsible for his murderous behavior. He saw that God was calling him to repent and to find forgiveness through Jesus alone. This message was true in the days of Mark 6 and is still true today.

Jesus sent out the twelve to call people to repent. He also gave them authority to confront an evil spiritual empire. They “cast out demons” and “anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.” How was it that these signs took place? Brilliant ambassadors? Shockingly intelligent methodology? Or was it just the power and grace of God using weak sinners to extend the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ to other harassed sinners in a way that fit His plan for Israel moving from Old Testament to New Testament life?

Think about it. This band of chosen servants went out. They proclaimed a message: that people should repent. They confronted the devil and his works according to Christ's instruction. The message that He and John had preached and the miracles that He had performed now became the ministry of the disciples throughout the territory of ancient Israel. Not everything they did immediately transfers to us. Still, the church is being sent out in every generation in accord with the teaching of the Scriptures. Will we follow where our Lord leads us by His Word? Every step the twelve took was one step closer to the cross of Christ and His resurrection. Every step the church takes now in obedience to our Master moves us one step closer to the return of the King and the new creation. What is your mission? What is our mission? Shall we trust Him through every change?

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 91 – Show Us Your Salvation

New Testament Reading—James 1:5-8 – Ask God in faith for wisdom from above