Jesus Commissions His Disciples

Mark 6:7-13

Introduction

We live in such a fragmented world today. And...we are all pulled in more directions than we would want to admit. Supposedly, there are things to make our lives easier by the conveniences, but we are busier today than ever.

Paul said these words:

1 Corinthians 9:22 “22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”

And I am sure many of you live life in servanthood attempting that very thing, to serve all of those around you and that can be tasking. We want to meet the demands of our loved ones, our coworkers, our families, friends, neighbors, the church family, and find time in there for some of our own interests. We attempt to stay in the know of the day with social media, current events, and the list goes on. How do we wear all of those hats and be the person Jesus would have us to be in serving Jesus in His kingdom?

There was a book out several years ago with a catchy title, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulgum.

Look with me on the screen as he shares these words:

“Share everything. Play fair. Put things back where you found them. Take a nap every afternoon. And when you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.”

Some great thoughts.

As I think about that book, conceptually there are times we must return to basics. We must return to Jesus basics. Oh listen church, for it all to make sense and make life work, we must return to the instructions from our first love, Jesus.

Let’s be reminded this morning of those bedrock fundamentals Jesus has for us. Turn in your Bibles this morning to Mark 6:7-13.

Mark 6:7-13

Mark 6:7–13 NKJV

7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. 8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts—9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics. 10 Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” 12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

Prayer

Message

This morning w continue in our study of Mark.

In today’s study we see that Jesus sent His disciples out two by two to be on mission, to represent Him and preach a message of repentance.

Jesus, up to this point had his disciples attending seminary, His seminary. Jesus’ seminary was hands on training and OJT, on Jesus training.

Disciples-means student, learner, pupil.

We as his followers, his disciples, are called as well to stay in seminary and learn how we can better serve our Lord. Amen?

We will see some guiding principles as to how Jesus instructed them that we can apply in our lives as Jesus followers, His disciples.

Firstly, let’s look at the commissioning of the disciples.

1. The Commissioning of the Disciples v. 7

Look with me at verse 7:

Mark 6:7 “7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.”

We see two important concepts to better understand better theologically as the Lord calls us and commissions us as His disciples.

We see that:

Jesus sought us

Jesus sends us

We need to understand the basics tenants and teachings about our calling and commissioning as Jesus’ followers.

Firstly, let’s discuss this reality of seeking.

A. Seeking

One of the important pavers of our faith is to understand that Jesus sought us just as He did in each of the disciples He called to be His apostles. Oh dearly beloved, Jesus pursued a love relationship with you initially, not the other way around.

We sing that beautiful hymn-Victory in Jesus

Jesus sought you

Victory in Jesus

“He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood.”

I hear these words often, “I married up” and that is without a doubt the truth. But oh listen, every sinner that has ever lived and that is all of us have married up if we have a relationship with Jesus. He pursued us in spite of ourselves and our sin. Amen.

Look with me quickly at three examples in earlier chapters of Mark where Jesus called the apostles:

Mark 1:16–17 “16 And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.””

Mark 1:19–20 “19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.”

Mark 2:14 “14 As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.”

The text I want to read is found in Mark 3:13-14.

Mark 3:13–14 “13 And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. 14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,”

Why is this fundamental so vitally important?

Let’s not miss the order here.

Before Jesus ever sent them, He sought them.

Before He gave them an assignment, He gave them relationship.

Before there was service, there was salvation.

Before their was mission, there was mercy.

Before there was “Go,” there was “Come.”

Why is that crucial?

If we forget that Jesus sought us, Christian service will be motivated from duty rather than a spirit of gratitude.

We begin to think , Look what I am doing for the Lord when the proper perspective is, Look what the Lord has done for me.

We need to ask these humbling questions time and again to be a constant reminder:

Why did I hear the Gospel? Why did the Holy Spirit convict my heart? Why did someone tell me about Jesus? Why was I given an opportunity to repent and believe? Why am I standing here today knowing that my sins are forgiven?

Not because I deserved Him.

Because He sought me.

That provides us a couple of practical reasons why remembering that Jesus sought us matters.

Firstly, it this keeps us humble.

Ephesians 2:8–9 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Grace doesn’t give us something to brag about. Grace gives us Someone to brag about.

Peter wasn’t called because He was the best fisherman nor was Levi/Matthew called because he was the most respected person in the community. He was a tax collector for goodness sakes.

James and John, the sons of Zebedee were not called because they had such gentile personalities, they were hot heads. They were called “Sons of Thunder.”

Oh listen, none of us can say, Jesus saved me because He saw something in me worth saving. Jesus saved them and saves us because He loves us. Grace all Grace.

Secondly, He sought us to make our service an act of gratitude rather than obligation.

Romans 12:1 “1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”

What motivated Paul? The mercies of God.

In other words, Paul doesn't begin by saying, Look at everything God wants from you.

He begins by saying, Look at everything God has done for you.

That changes service.

I don't serve Him trying to get Him to love me.

I serve Him because He already loved me.

I don't serve Him trying to earn salvation.

I serve Him because He gave me salvation and I will add freely.

The second concept is the idea of sending.

B. Sending

Jesus called out those twelve apostles and sent them on a preaching assignment. They were representatives of Jesus and shared the message Jesus shared to the world.

Jesus sent them out “two by two” and gave them power over demons. Let’s consider for a moment their mission.

When we read Matthew’s account of these details in Matthew Chapter 10, we could possibly gain some insight as to how they were teamed up.

Matthew 10:2–4 “2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.”

How would you like having Judas for your partner?

There are a couple of reasons Jesus sent them out this way:

Going out two by two established the requirements of the law that provided legitimacy to their witness.

Deuteronomy 19:15 “15 “One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.”

2. Going out two by two provided the men some encouragement, accountability, companionship and someone to pray with.

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 “9 Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Oh dear church, we must stick together in ministry. We are not called to be Christians alone. We need each other.

Jesus instituted that pairing concept for us by establishing the church. He calls us into this community because He knows it is too hard to walk the narrow path alone.

Ill. Imagine standing beneath one of those enormous redwood trees. They grow in Northern California and small amount of Southern Oregon.

What I find interesting about the redwoods is they stand 200 feet to 325 feet tall.

The root system to the contrary is quite shallow.

The roots spread outward, intertwining with the roots of the other trees around them. When the winds come, that tree isn't standing entirely by itself. Its strength is connected to the trees around it.

Church, maybe there is a lesson there for us.

God never designed the Christian life to be lived alone.

“Send them Out”-this phrase in the Greek means:

Apostello-The word carries the idea of being commissioned as a representative—and that's exactly what these men were: representatives of Jesus operating under His authority.

These apostles were sent out representing Jesus and given power over unclean spirits.

May we always remember who we represent and in whose power we operate? And, may we never do anything that would harm the name of Jesus.

2. The Commands Given the Disciples vv. 8-11

A. Subjection

The disciples were subjected to some directives from Jesus.

IN the Great commission, when we read “Go ye therefore” which means as we go.

When we are sent out, we are to follow His concepts He establishes in these words:

Mark 6:8 “8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts—”

What can we learn in today’s application of these instructions?

We are to travel light.

There is an urgency to our mission. Not a lot of packing and planning. And...we are to depend upon the Lord for our provisions for those assignments He calls us to.

What grand preparations was this ragtag group of disciples capable of in their preparing anyway in and of themselves? What would they have accomplished had it not been in the power of Christ to evangelize the world?

There were none rich or prominent that we know of. James and John's dad, Zebedee was a small business man best we can tell. There wasn’t one educated that we are aware of. We know there were fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot or a traitor, and a betrayer. We know that much. The group as a whole did not have a deep pool of credentials.

Why do you think that is?

Jesus wants us to depend upon Him to bring the results and He wants us to know that we have everything we need if we depend on Him. Trusting Jesus for our needs keeps us from having a back up plan. All the Lord needs is our willingness to follow His instructions, act them out, and He will do the rest.

What is interesting in Mark’s account is that Jesus called them to wear sandals. Sandals in the NT represents the gospel.

Ephesians 6:15 “15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”

What is the one thing unique to Jesus commanding us as His disciples?

Be prepared to share the gospel of peace to one that does not know Jesus. We are to open our mouths and share the Good News. And...in so doing, He will provide the results. Amen?

B. Satisfaction

Mark 6:10 “10 Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.”

Oh dearly beloved, I believe Jesus was telling those apostles not to be always bucking for something greater, find a better place to stay, and hobnob with the higher ups.

Jesus is teaching us the concept of contentment. Contentment in the sense of being satisfied where the Lord has called you on mission.

Do you remember that last week I called out several of our members and recognized the ministry area they served. One was involved in workplace ministry, one was involved in social media ministry. One was a rural, county roads, country store one on one evangelist, and one had a great card and text ministry.

1 Corinthians 12:18 “18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.”

Do you know why we should be content with where we serve and the gifts the Lord has given us? Just for that reason. He gave us those talents. And...He is the One who placed us in the body.

One person may preach, another teach, another encourage, another serve quietly behind the scenes—but none is insignificant because God did the placing.

My responsibility is not to wish I had someone else's ministry. My responsibility is to be faithful in the ministry where God has placed me.

Romans 12:6 “6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;”

It is God’s grace in the first place why we have the gifts we have. We are not owners of our gifts, we are stewards of those gifts.

C. Sobering Statement about Turndown

Jesus gave His disciples a sobering instruction.

Look with me at verse 11:

Mark 6:11 “11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!””

Jesus was preparing His disciples for something every servant of God eventually discovers:

Not everyone is going to receive the message.

Think about that. These men were personally commissioned by Jesus Christ. They were carrying His message. They had been given His authority.

And Jesus still told them, Some people will reject you.

Last Sunday we studied that the people of the synagogue of Nazareth rejected Jesus. His own home town. If they will reject Jesus they will reject us.

Church, we need to remember something:

Rejection does not always mean failure.

Sometimes we can faithfully share Christ, faithfully teach the Word, faithfully love someone, faithfully invite them—and they still say no.

Jesus essentially told His disciples, “When that happens, don't stay there indefinitely trying to force someone to believe. Shake the dust from your feet and move on.”

That expression—“shake off the dust”—was a visible testimony that they had heard the message and were now responsible for how they responded to it.

And there are two sides to that truth.

For the servant, it means don't become so discouraged by rejection that you quit serving.

You planted the seed. You shared the truth. You loved them. You prayed for them.

Paul said:

1 Corinthians 3:6 — “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”

We cannot save anybody. Only God can change the human heart.

But there is another side, and it is the sobering side.

For the hearer, there is danger in continually rejecting the truth God has graciously placed before us.

Every opportunity to hear the Gospel is an opportunity to respond to Jesus Christ.

So perhaps the lesson of verse 11 is simply this:

If you are sharing the Gospel—don't be defeated by rejection.

If you are hearing the Gospel—don't take the opportunity for granted.

Our responsibility is to faithfully deliver the message.

Their responsibility is to decide what they will do with Jesus.

And ultimately, God is responsible for the results.

3. The Communication From the Disciples

Mark 6:12 “12 So they went out and preached that people should repent.”

Now notice what happened after all this instruction.

“They went out”

Church, there is a sermon in those four words.

Jesus called them. Jesus instructed them. Jesus equipped them.

And then they went.

At some point discipleship moves from what we know to what we do.

A. Sharing of the Gospel

What did they preach?

V. 12 “that people should repent.”

Oh listen, they did not give their opinions, or preach themselves, they did not go out with an agenda, or to make a name for themselves, or trying to impress people.

They carried the same basic message Jesus had been preaching in their own style. Each of us has a style and God honors that style.

What did they preach?

Turn from sin and turn toward God.

And church, two thousand years later, the message hasn't changed.

People still need Jesus.

People still need forgiveness.

People still need to repent and believe the Gospel.

And God still uses ordinary people like you and me to tell them.

B. Spiritual and Physical Healing

Mark 6:13 “13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.”

Then verse 13 tells us that lives were changed. Demons were cast out, the sick were anointed, and people were healed.

These apostles had been given a unique authority by Christ for this mission, but don't miss the larger principle:

When Jesus sends His people into the world, we should leave people better off than we found them.

We carry the Gospel to their souls, but we also care about their hurts.

We speak truth.

We show compassion.

We pray.

We serve.

We love.

And we point people to Jesus.

Invitation

And that brings us all the way back to where we started this morning—the basics.

Jesus sought them.

Jesus sent them.

Jesus instructed them.

And they went.

Now the question is not what Peter did.

The question is not what James and John did.

The question is: What will I do?

Somebody here this morning may need to begin with the very first truth we talked about:

Jesus is seeking you.

You have heard the Gospel. You know that Christ died for your sins and rose again. And perhaps today you need to repent of your sin and place your faith in Jesus Christ. I hope you will do that at invitation time.

But listen Christian, fellow believer, perhaps your response is different.

Jesus sought you.

Jesus saved you.

Jesus gifted you.

Jesus placed you in His church.

And Jesus has given you people around you who need what you have—the Good News of Jesus Christ.

So maybe our prayer this morning needs to be very simple:

“Lord, I'm available. Wherever You have placed me, with whatever You have given me, send me.”

Because eventually every disciple has to move from “Come and follow Me” to “Go and tell them.”

Let’s pray.