The Sent Disciples
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Tonight, we continue in our study of Mark. Last week, Jesus was rejected by His own hometown. If you remember, He went to Nazareth which was His hometown. Once there, he was rejected and insulted in the synagogue. Moreover, He chose not to perform many signs and miracles because of their complete unbelief in Him.
This week, Jesus is seen spending time with His disciples. He pulls the twelve disciples aside and sends them out. Jesus sends them out to call people to repentance. Jesus was seeking for the disciples to go out share the Gospel in order that some would be saved from sin. Let’s look at this passage together.
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.
Pray.
We see here that a transition has taken place. Up to this point in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has been doing all the teaching, healing, and casting out of demons. However, Jesus now gives authority to the disciples to go about preaching repentance with authority over the unclean spirits. This is highly significant and leads us to our first point.
We are called to go proclaiming the Gospel completely trusting God.
We are called to go proclaiming the Gospel completely trusting God.
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.
Jesus has called the twelve disciples to Himself. This is following the rejection He faced from His very own hometown. As He gathers them together, he sent them out in pairs. It was time for the apostles to step up to the plate and seek to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Jesus summons or calls His disciples and He pairs them up. Then, Jesus sends them out two by two. This was done in order that if something bad took place they would be protected under the law.
15 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.
With two witnesses, the disciples would be able to protect themselves from accusation. Likewise, Jesus paired them up probably to provide moral support and encourage one another as well. Think about it. It is easier to accomplish things whenever you have someone beside you to support you. Therefore, Jesus sent out the disciples in pairs.
Not only did Jesus send them in pairs, Jesus sent the disciples out and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. If you think back over the past few weeks, many of you may remember whenever Jesus cast the demons out of the man and into the swine. That revealed the power and authority of Jesus. Now, Jesus has given that authority to His disciples. Jesus was ensuring that the disciples were equipped for the task. This also reveals to us that the disciples are representatives of Jesus as they God. The greek word used in this apostelo. This means to be sent. The disciples were sent by Jesus with the power to cast out demons. The other meaning for that word is messenger. The disciples were sent with authority and sent to declare the message of the Gospel.
These disciples seem well-equipped for the task. However, Jesus also gives them the command to take nothing with them.
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.
Jesus told them not to take anything to eat, no money, or extra clothes. All the disciples were to take was a staff, sandals, and the clothes that they had on. This is highly significant. Jesus was calling for the disciples to be dependent not upon themselves, but upon Him. The disciples were not going to need anything else. IF they ever did, they were to rely upon God to provide for that need. This is the aspect of this calling in which the disciples are to be solely dependent upon God.
Jesus is calling for the disciples to be wholly dependent upon God to provide for their needs as they arise. This is significant because it points to the fact that God will provide for the needs of those who are faithfully following Him.
This is important for us to grasp. Oftentimes, we are worried about what tomorrow holds. I know I worry quiet often. However, Jesus told His disciples that He was sending out to proclaim the Gospel not to take anything. Just imagine that for a moment. You are told to leave your hometown with nothing but the clothes on your back. While this may seem crazy, this is exactly what Jesus called for His disciples to do. He called for them to follow Him faithfully, and He calls for us to do the exact same.
There used to be a phrase that was used quite often within the church. However, it has not been used much recently and I do not know why. God is still calling pastors, deacons, missionaries, Bible teachers, and women ministry leaders. That phase is:
Calling out the called.
Jesus called out His disciples to follow Him. Then, He called them to go and share the Gospel. The same still applies today. If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, the call is to follow Him. However, for some in this room, you may have a call to the mission field in which Jesus calls you to go to another country or area of the world to evangelize or share the Gospel with particular people.
Likewise, for some of you young men in the room, Jesus may call you to become a pastor or deacon. If you have placed your faith in Him, He may have a special calling for you to be faithful to pursue the ministry of the Word as a pastor or the ministry of service as a deacon.
If God is calling you to one of these areas, the call for you as a believer is to follow Jesus faithfully not worrying about what you will eat, drink, live or wear. God will take care of those who are obedient to Him.
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
We do not have to be anxious about our material needs. If we follow Jesus faithfully just like these disciples, He will provide for our needs. Likewise, I pray that many of you will consider and pray about what God is calling you to do.
I remember being in the 9th grade and dreaming of becoming a military officer in the army. However, God called me to become a pastor, and I knew that I must be faithful to the calling He had on my life. Maybe God is working on you and leading you to pursue ministry. For young men, maybe He is working on you leading and equipping you to one day become a pastor, deacon, or missionary. Young ladies maybe God is leading and equipping you to become a missionary, Bible teacher, or women’s ministry leader.
If you think that God will not use you or cannot use you, be reminded that God uses what is lowly, despised, and reject by the world. God can use you and if He calls you to any form of specific ministry within the church, I pray you will faithfully respond yes to that calling.
As we are faithful to God, rejection will come.
As we are faithful to God, rejection will come.
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.”
As Jesus sent out the disciples, in the first century, travelers would not often stay within inns due to the high level of danger from others that stayed in inns. So, travelers would oftentimes stay in the home of people who would welcome them in. Therefore, whenever the disciples were sent out, Jesus called for them to enter into a house to anyone that would welcome them. They should stay in that home until they depart or leave from the city or town in which they are spreading the Gospel. Oftentimes, false teachers would enter into a city share false doctrine. Then, as others would offer them better places to stay they would take the better place to stay. However, Jesus calls for the disciples to stay in the house that would receive them as long as they are in the town. To move to another house for better accommodations might be offensive to the person who has provided stay for the disciple.
Jesus is seeking for His disciples to be faithful and to engage the community in which they are sent. However, if they are rejected upon sharing the Gospel, Jesus calls for the disciples to shake the dust off of their feet.
This may sound weird but in the first century Jewish culture a Jew who traveled to another place that practiced paganism would shake the dust off of his or her feet upon their return demonstrating the rejection of that areas beliefs.
Jesus takes that practice and makes it a sign of judgment. Jesus calls for the disciples who face rejection to shake the dust off of their feet as a testimony against them. Understand students that there is no greater sin against God than the reject of His Son Jesus Christ. As the towns or city reject Jesus, Jesus calls for the disciples to shake it off and leave them to the wrath of God.
Notice what the parallel account in Matthew 10 says,
14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Matthew gives us detail that Jesus calls for the disciples to shake the dust off their feet and that they will be judged just like Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and Gomorrah were two city in the book of Genesis that were completely and totally sinful. Because of this, God destroyed the cities. Now, Jesus is saying that for those who reject Jesus, the wrath of God will be poured out upon them. Therefore, shaking the dust off of one’s feet represents the coming judgment upon that person or people.
It is important that we recognize that Jesus pointed this out for a purpose. As Christians, we are living in a very very sinful world. Moreover, we are living in a world that rejects God. However, we are called to live faithfully for God and to fulfill the Great Commission of sharing His Gospel. Whenever we do live faithfully for God, some will reject us. People that we thought are closest to us will reject us.
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
Jesus was hated by the world in His time. Understand that time hasn’t changed. The world still hates Jesus because of sin. Therefore, as we seek to live for God, we will face rejection. The time is here in which each and every one of us will have to determine where we stand. I am sorry to share this with y’all, but there is no longer any middle ground. You are either with Jesus and standing upon the Word of God. Or you are standing with the world and in opposition to the Word of God. Determine where you stand.
When rejection does come, leave that person with their rejection and move on to the next. Shake the dust off of your feet and keep on moving and sharing the Gospel. Satan and the world wish nothing more than for the Christians to be quiet and sit down. However, we cannot do so. We must continually live for Jesus at all times. If we do not, we are sinning against God. Therefore, understand that we are called to make Christ known and opposition will come, but we must shake the dust off and seek to share the Gospel with those who will listen and believe. Whenever we are persecuted or rejected, we can count it all joy just as the apostles did.
41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
Just as the disciples were faithful, we are called to ultimate faithfulness.
Just as the disciples were faithful, we are called to ultimate faithfulness.
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 disciples were called to go out in pairs proclaiming the Gospel. Here in verses 12-13, we see that the disciples did just that. They went out preaching that people should repent and they were able to cast out demons and heal the sick. The disciples were faithful to go and God used them all for His glory.
This is exactly how God works. As we follow Jesus faithfully, God will use us to proclaim His Word and work for His glory. Now, the disciples were able to heal people and cast out demons.
Some of you may wonder why we do not see miracles like this any more. You see, this took place before the Bible was completed. Therefore, miracles were an affirmation or confirmation of Jesus and the Gospel. So, Jesus would heal people to prove that He was God. Likewise, the disciples would heal people and cast out demons to prove that the Gospel was true. Now, we have the Bible. The Bible tells us of these miracles. Also, the Bible tells us the Gospel and the truth of God. Therefore, miracles are no longer seen because Scripture is what God uses to reveal Himself now. The Bible is called the Special revelation of God. This is the special way in which God reveals to us the plan of salvation.
The disciples were faithful to go and proclaim the Gospel and God used them. Understand that God still uses people today to proclaim His Gospel and help people. Who does He use? He uses His children. He uses those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. The Christian life began whenever we placed our faith in Jesus’s death on the cross, burial, and resurrection. However, the Christian life continues until we die or Jesus returns. God seeks to use us for His glory.
Daniel Akin says, “Preaching the Word and helping other may result not in our praise but in our death.”
Are we okay with that?
The question I pose to you tonight is will you be faithful to Jesus Christ? Who will be faithful to Jesus next? Y’all are current members of the church now. However, who will be the leaders in the church in the future if no one steps up and answers the call of God on their life? Y’all are the church now and the church of the future. Y’all are essential.
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
Christians in this room: Some of you may be called to the ministry. Young men some of you may be called to be missionaries, pastors and deacons. Will you faithfully follow Christ in doing so?
Young ladies: some of you may be called to teach the Bible, become missionaries, or women’s ministry leaders. Will you faithfully follow Christ in doing so?
Maybe tonight you recognize that you have not ever repented as the disciples went about preaching. Repentance is the turning from sin. Why must we repent?
Share the Gospel.