What is Needed for the Mission?

The church has survived for centuries, and most of these things I named are modern inventions. When we look at our passage today, we will see that Jesus, at least on one occasion, told his twelve to go with no preparation at all!

Luke 9:1–6 ESV

And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Luke 9:1 ESV

And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,

Jesus at times has been pleased to give authority to others to do things in his name. He has the authority, and the one with authority can choose to delegate some of that authority to others. The Great Commission is an example of this. Jesus has authority, and he commands from that authority, and he delegates from that authority.

Matthew 28:18–19 ESV

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,

All of his followers are given authority to share the gospel. Not all are given the same authority or responsibility. There are qualifications for leadership positions that scripture gives us.

In this case, he gave the twelve power and authority to cast out demons and to heal…

Luke 9:2 ESV

and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.

What does it mean to proclaim the kingdom of God? Kent Henry: Besides, their extraordinary powers were only handmaidens of something far better, namely, their message—“and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (v. 2). Their real work was not to heal the sick and cast out demons, as thrilling as that was. That was incidental. Their greatest work was to preach the kingdom of God.

Hughes, R. Kent. Luke: That You May Know the Truth. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1998. Print. Preaching the Word.

Jesus preached often that the kingdom of God was here, and he gave evidence of it.

Matthew 12:28 ESV

But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Mark 1:14–15 ESV

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Mark 9:1 ESV

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

In the last chapter of Luke we saw some of this teaching on the Kingdom of God:

Luke 8:1 ESV

Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him,

Luke 8:10 ESV

he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’

Luke 16:16 ESV

“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.

Luke 17:21 ESV

nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

He spoke of it after the resurrection:

Acts 1:3 ESV

He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

Again in many places we see in Acts that the early church, in sharing the gospel, was said to be teaching about the Kingdom of God. The phrase is found dozens of times in the NT.

So they were to preach, or proclaim, the kingdom of God, and they were to heal. Now, let’s look at the packing list. They probably had to rent a U-Haul to bring along the gear, right? The sound system, the lighting, the pamphlets, the chairs, the generator,…

Well, maybe not. Luk9.3

Luke 9:3 ESV

And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.

They had this great task assigned to them by the Lord, and their equipment list is missing, because they are to basically go with whatever they were wearing. I don’t know about you, but most of us won’t even drive a short distance, such as from home to church, without packing something. As I leave the house, I check my pockets. Is my phone there? Is my wallet there? Usually I have my backpack if I coming to the church, so I have whatever books I am reading, my laptop, etc.

Even more so, if we are leaving town, even for a day, we will usually expend some amount of thought about what we must bring along, including a change of clothes, just in case. But here in this situation Jesus is saying to his disciples they need to step out in faith. Faith that they will be provided for. Perhaps it is also about speed and urgency. This is too important for you to spend time lollygagging. Get going! Just as the angels after Jesus’ ascension said “why are you standing around looking at the sky?”

Now it is important to note that this is not a passage to be taken as a universal command to all who go to preach the good news. At other times, Jesus told his disciples to bring needed items along, even a sword, indicating that there are times to defend oneself. But in this case, we see something important about the essentials. God is present in this building just as he would have been in the Sanctuary if we had all the lights and sound working. He can hear our prayers, we can enjoy each others company, we can worship Him in Spirit and in truth. If our buildings both burned down, we could meet next the the ashes and Jesus would be present with us! And many churches have had those things happen, and sometimes it can be a wonderful reminder that the church is not the building, it is the believers!

Really, all we had happen was lose some electronics. There probably is not a week that goes by in which a church in the US is not blown away by a tornado, or flooded, or burns down. Or even worse than losing a building, sadly we see sometimes a church that has murder happen within, when a depraved person comes in with weapons. However, none of these things can destroy a church, because the church is the people who believe, and none of those can destroy the testimony, because the gospel is not confined here.

So what great timing that this passage was in the queue. Whether we had a lightning strike or not, this was the passage on my list for today. So let us rejoice and be encouraged, that these twelve had a successful mission, in which they had no material goods, and how much more can we continue our mission, even if it is less convenient while we get everything back up and running.

They were to take no staff. Some this is not staff as in employees, this means a staff, or walking stick. Some think the translation should be an extra staff, but that seems unlikely to me, since people usually don’t carry two staffs

They were to take no:

bag

could be travel bag

could be money bag

itinerant preachers would bring a bag to take donations

No bread

This seems to be for many people the greatest step of faith. To not know when your next lunch will be.

No money

So not only no bread (or food), but no means to purchase it

do not have two tunics (shirts). So no change of clothes.

Again, this is not a universally applied passage to all missionaries or believers. It may be a good reminder to us that the mission is urgent, and sometimes you just need to go and do.

Who among us would not drop everything and get immediately to a place where our family needs us desperately? Urgent times call for urgent actions. And it may be that we need to consider the sense of urgency we each should have when it comes to the lost people in our community.

“You need to get a sense of urgency!”

Yet even the Marines would never go without their equipment. But sometimes believers must. Our weapons and armor are spiritual.

Luke 9:4 ESV

And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.

In other words, if you get a room not up to your expectation, even if you have an opportunity to go somewhere nicer, you are to be content with the hospitality you receive.

Luke 9:5 ESV

And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

Some Jews would do this after leaving a Gentile area. It is mostly symbolic.

Luke 9:6 ESV

And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Mark adds that they preached that men should repent. The gospel is about change, but the receiver of grace must truly repent. One who God has drawn to himself cannot help but be repentant, because God works in them a new heart, one that is not stone anymore, but flesh.

Says John Owen

Commentary on Luke Chapter 9

6. They departed. See N. on Mark 6:12. Preaching the gospel, expressed in the original in one word. In Mark: “preached that men should repent.” The promises and blessings of the gospel are theirs only, who truly repent of their sins. Preaching the gospel embraces the preaching of repentance, and the latter belongs to the former, as the part is included in the whole. Everywhere, in all the towns and villages to which they came.

What is Needed for the Mission?

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