Jesus Sends Us out to Witness backed by His Authority

Mark 6:7-13

Do you remember what had just happened to Jesus? You probably heard it in the Gospel lesson last week. He had gone to the Synagogue in Nazareth, his hometown. After he preached God’s word there, they rejected him. They even tried to throw him off a cliff. He was amazed at their unbelief. If you were Jesus, how would you respond? We know what James and John were tempted to do when a Samaritan village refused to let Jesus enter and preach the gospel to them. They asked Jesus if he wanted them to call down fire from heaven to destroy them. And we often refer to John as the Apostle of Love.

Jesus didn’t let James and John call down fire from heaven on the Samaritan village, and he didn’t call down fire on Nazareth when they rejected him. He simply continued to go about his work, and even multiplied his work, by sending out six mission teams.

What we see Jesus put into practice here is what he taught in the parable of the weeds among the wheat. When people seem to reject the gospel, we are tempted to be angry for the Lord’s sake. We are tempted to write them off for good, or even to call down curses on them and wish destruction on them. But Jesus says don’t try to pull up the weeds because you might end up damaging the wheat. God will take care of the weeds in the judgement. You keep focused on your job. Keep sharing the gospel with whomever will listen.

After the rejection at Nazareth Jesus showed the disciples that they were not to get discouraged or to give up when they faced rejection. He showed them that they were to double down and go to others who would listen to God’s word. To help them keep from getting discouraged he sent them out two by two.

There is good Biblical reasoning for this. First, the Bible says that everything should be established by at least two witnesses who agree. As they told people that they had been called by the promised Messiah and shared why they believed that he was the Messiah, because he has the words of eternal life, because of his miracles and the fulfillment of prophecy, it wouldn’t just be one person’s word. The two would back each other up. Two witnesses would agree. In addition, they would be able to encourage each other. If one started to get discouraged the other could remind him of the promises Jesus had given and the example he had shown of going to the Lord in prayer when faced with discouragement. The writer to the Hebrews reminds us not to forsake assembling together because we need to encourage others in their walk with the Lord, and we need to be encouraged by reminding each other of God’s promises to us in Jesus.

As Jesus sent out the twelve two by two he gave them authority. He imparted to them his authority to heal sickness and to cast out demons. At the end of the reading we hear that they did cast out MANY demons, and that they healed MANY sick people.

Jesus has not imparted to us the Apostolic authority to heal the sick or to cast out demons. It seems that he gave his apostles that power in order to back up the claim that they had been with him and that they were speaking God’s word, not their own. Now that his words have been recorded through them, although we may not have the authority to heal or to cast out demons, we do have something even more important. We can take out our Bible, point to a passage, and say with authority, “Thus says the Lord. This is not just my opinion. This is what God says.” When we quote Scripture, we are speaking with the authority of God himself. When Jesus sends us out to witness he gives us his authoritative word.

Jesus tells the Apostles that as they go out on their mission trip, they are to go with an attitude of trust that the Lord will provide and bless the proclamation of his word. V 8-10 He instructed them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their money belts. They were to put on sandals but not to wear two coats. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that area.”

Remember, these disciples had just witnessed Jesus himself being rejected in Nazareth. As he tells them to go without any food or money they might have been tempted to wonder how they would survive. But Jesus wants them to trust that the Lord will provide. He wants them to be unencumbered by physical things, to show that they weren’t doing a job to earn money, but they were carrying out a mission in service to God and others. That’s why he told them to stay in one house all the while there were in a certain area. They were not to give the impression that they were going from house to house looking for the family that would do the most for them. And the fact that there was a family that would invite them to stay with them would show the apostles that there will be some who respond to the Gospel and in whom the Holy Spirit not only works faith but also gives the gift of hospitality as a fruit of faith.

The message for us is not that we should travel without money or extra clothing. Later Jesus does tell his disciples to take such things with them. The message for us is the same as it was for the disciples. We are to trust the Lord’s promises in whatever situation we find ourselves. We should remind ourselves that God has promised to provide our needs, and sometimes, he gives us the opportunity to provide for the needs of others. The laborer is worthy of his pay. And, although we may never get to witness the conversion of 3000 in one day as the apostles did on Pentecost, we will see the fruit of the Spirit’s work if we look for it. It is seen, not just in obvious things like a mass conversion, but, as Jesus points out, in giving someone a drink of water, or visiting them when they are sick, or reminding them of a promise of God, or offering to pray for and with them. Whatever you do for the least among the believers you do for Jesus.

We have to admit that our attitude is not often what it should be. We don’t often completely trust the Lord to provide for our needs. All too often we are so focused on taking the things of the world along with us that we forget that our mission in life is to witness to others about all that Jesus has done for them. All too often we join those who say that they don’t see many fruits of faith in their fellow Christians; or maybe it’s that we miss seeing those fruits because we are looking for something big that jumps out and grabs our attention.

Thankfully, Jesus always had the proper attitude. He always trusted his Father to provide for him even though he did live without many worldly things. He was always focused on being about his Father’s business. He showed great patience with those who rejected him, and with his disciples when they showed a lack of faith. He was tempted as we are, yet he remained perfect in our place so that, on the cross, he could take the punishment we deserve for our improper attitudes, our lack of trust, our materialism, our failure to witness, our judgmentalism, our desire to see glorious results instead of rejoicing in simple fruits of faith, and all our other sins.

Jesus let Apostles know that serving as his witnesses would not always be enjoyable. There would be people and even whole villages who would reject them. They were not to call down God’s immediate judgment on them, but they were to let the dust of their feet behind as a testimony to the fact that they had come to that place, given the people the opportunity to hear the good news about Jesus, and it had been rejected.

It was important that Jesus gave the apostles his authority as they went on their mission trip. It was important that they go with a proper attitude and trust the Lord to provide for them. But the most important thing was the message itself. Mark puts it very succinctly, 12 They went out and preached that people should repent. They proclaimed the same message John the Baptist and Jesus proclaimed. The same message you and I need to hear and proclaim to others.

Repent! Acknowledge what is summarized so well in our corporate confession of sins. “I am by nature sinful. That alone is enough to condemn me to Hell. But in addition to the sin I inherit from Adam and Eve, I have sinned against God. I have broken his commandments by my thoughts, my words, and my actions; by things I have done that are wrong, and by things I have failed to do that God has asked me to do, like sharing his word with others.” Acknowledge what is so unpopular in our world today, that you are so bad in God’s sight that you deserve to have him condemn you to Hell for all eternity.

Repent! Repentance also includes rejoicing that, even though Hell is what you deserve, God sent Jesus to rescue you. There was no reason for him to do it. There is nothing about you that made you loveable. But he chose to love you anyway. He chose to show how much he loves you by offering to be punished in your place. Because he declared, “It is finished” on the cross, and then rose from the dead, you can be sure that your every sin, no matter how big or small, has been paid for in full.

Repent! Because of what God has done for you in Jesus, turn away from sin. Grow in faith and knowledge through the word and sacrament so that you see more and more clearly what the will of God is, and so that you are more and more eager to live according to his will. Let God’s promises fill your eyes and ears as your read and hear his word, so that your heart trusts his promises to provide and to be with you as you live your life each day and as you witness about who Jesus is and what he has done for you to others.

Remember, when you quote Scripture you, like the Apostles, speak with the authority of God. As you live your life and share God’s word, trust him to provide and bless. Remember that the most important thing, the only thing that has the power of God for salvation, is the message – Repent and believe the good news about Jesus.