Mark 6:1-13

(take your shoe off) Have you ever had a rock in your shoe?

logging on to social media can sometimes feel like a rock in ones shoe. We all have that one ‘friend’ I mean acquaintance who is like a rock stuck in our shoe… an annoyance that we cant get ride of. Constantly critically of our faith and the things of God.

The world seems to have turned on Christianity and many of us have friends or family members that are a part of that.

they use to call our faith a fairy tail now they call it a conspiracy theory.

To them our faith is unscientific, unimportant, and harmful to a progressing society.

What do you do when you face rejection and criticism for being a christian? What do you do when people blast you on social media because of your beliefs?

I want to look at a story today where Jesus Himself is faces criticism and what we can learn from His response.

Body of Sermon

In Mark chapter 6 we encounter an underappreciated downtrodden man.

Jesus has been experiencing rejection and opposition from the pharisees and synagogue leaders for sometime now. But as of recently it has become even more personal.

In chapter 5 He is off to raise a 12 year old girl from the dead and the people there laugh at HIm.

In chapter 6 his hometown was offended by Him.

Mark 13. The Mission of the Twelve (6:6b–13, 30)

6:7 The verb translated “sent out” is apostellō, which often is used for an official, authorized mission. It is cognate with the noun apostolos, which means apostle (v. 30), in which the idea of an official mission is even clearer.

Why did Jesus send them in pairs?

It was a common Jewish practice.

It established the truthfulness of the message.

Deuteronomy 19:15 CSB

“One witness cannot establish any iniquity or sin against a person, whatever that person has done. A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

Deuteronomy 17:6 CSB

The one condemned to die is to be executed on the testimony of two or three witnesses. No one is to be executed on the testimony of a single witness.

He may have been toning down the individualism. James and John as well as other disciples had trouble with individualism sometimes.

He gave them authority over unclean spirits verse 7

This authority would authenticate their preaching and Christ’s message.

The prohibitions of their travel remind me of the Exodus. Exodus 12:11

Exodus 12:11 CSB

Here is how you must eat it: You must be dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord’s Passover.

The point is that they are to pack light.

Why? Becuase souls are at stake. Churches need to pack lighter and move faster. We don’t have unlimited time. The Lord is coming back.

St. Luke.... What are you going to do if the Lord returns?

This is urgent! We need to get after it. How much more is it urgent for us then it was for them.

There is always an aspect of ministry that is urgent and itinerant… Meaning it does not last forever. We need to be training the next person to take over. This is why we should follow Jesus example and do things in pairs.

The child safty rule of doing things in pairs is not only good to protect the children and the church it is also good to train others up for ministry.

The bag could have possibly been used to collect money… hence they were not to beg. But it also could have been more of an over night bag which means they weren’t even to pack for an overnight stay.

No money means they were to be completely dependent on others.

No tunic … This explains why the NLT says “not a change of clothes”. The outer garment often functioned as a bedroll for poor people (Hurtado 1989:93, 97), so the point is that they were to trust God for every aspect of their care.

It is the same word John uses in his gospel to describe the garment that the Roman solders cast lots over as Jesus was crucified naked.

Turner, D., & Bock, D. L. (2005). Cornerstone biblical commentary, Vol 11: Matthew and Mark (p. 449). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

Mark 13. The Mission of the Twelve (6:6b–13, 30)

6:11 Jews returning to the Holy Land removed foreign dust from their shoes and clothing in order not to defile the land.

NLT shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.”

Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mk 6:11). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

The church could take a lesson from this. There are people who we don’t give up on but we do abandon to their own fate. We don’t wast our time on people we are getting no where with. Kearney Bible Church is going to grown through receptive people. It symbolized dissociation from someone.

So this makes me a little uncomfortable. Like Jesus has be ministering to all these sinners, and lepers, and tax collectors, and demon possessed, and gentiles so shouldn’t we. Why would we dissociate with some one?

look at what the first half of verse 11 says. “But if any place refuses to welcome you or listen to you

that is the reason we will disassociate with someone not because they are a sinner, not because they are an outcast…but because they wont listen to the gospel and the reason we do is because someone else will and if we are spending all our time with people who wont the people who will never will get to hear it.

James 5:14 CSB

Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

When you minister to people do you feel like you have a ministry of healing?

The Disciples ministry was on of healing spiritually (cast out demons) and physically (anointed with oil).

People can tell if you really and truly care for them and their health. Do you care for people mind, body, and soul? Or is your ministry just a program. The american church has become very number focused and less and less people’s health focused. Which is funny because the American church is number focused and they have been in a number decline for a while now.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 6:12–13

Anointing the sick with oil is unique to Mark. This use of olive oil was both because of its medicinal properties (cf. Luke 10:34; James 5:14) and its symbolic value indicating that the disciples acted by Jesus’ authority and power, not their own.

Big Idea: When people reject you or your ministry Jesus’ challenge for you is to start a bigger mission.

Jesus expanded His mission when He faced rejection.

So knock the rocks out of your shoes and get started sharing the gospel with someone new.