Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. These were his instructions: - “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.
- Wear sandals but not an extra shirt.
- Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.
- And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
Sometimes people say
“They didn’t teach me that in school.”
Usually, they did. It's just that we weren't listening.
Often, we approach life with an expectation that before we do anything, we must be fully ready.
I don’t think that is how life works.
That is like saying you need to know how to parent a 5-year-old when your child is still in the womb.
Yes, we certainly need some level of learned ability.
Yet, if we think back to most positions where you have performed well, whether at home, or school, or work. Did you know it all before you started? Or, was learning and figuring things out part of what made it a great experience?
Here in Mark 6:6b-13, Jesus is sending out the disciples. There was no detailed trained program, no graduation ceremony, no laying on of hands for spiritual knowledge and insight.
A chapter earlier, the disciples were more than a bit uncertain about their faith in Jesus.
Part of us wants to say to Jesus, “These people are not yet ready!”
But still, Jesus sends them out.
- They have followed him.
- They have spent time with him.
- They expressed doubts.
- They were fumbling along.
- And, it is important to note, they are hanging in there with him.
In this passage we see Jesus’ confidence in his followers. He is like that coach you had. The one who put you in a situation you were pretty sure you were not ready for—but he put you into the game despite your objections. He was there with you. He celebrated with you when you succeeded. He was the first one there to console you when it did not perform as you (and he) hoped.
Think back, can you remember any situation like the one I just described? I can remember many.
This is especially true when it is Jesus that is sending you. In Mark 5 Jesus was encouraging people to have faith. Again and again he invited people to trust in Him.
Now he, in faith, sends the disciples out. He is not physically present with them. He has given them his authority.
I have often heard people say, especially in church, that they are not ready. But God is always calling us to step out in faith. Relying on him for all that we need to do what he is calling us to.
Today God may be asking you to risk yourself, to do something, and to grow. The moment of growth arrives when I am able to speak a word of witness, or do some gospel deed, in which my reputation, my being, depends on His power being there.
I get it. We like safety. But a life of faith is not a safe life. Jesus, who we follow, risked everything.
- He risked being born of a virgin.
- He risked being rejected.
- He risked death!
Where is God challenging you today to step out in faith to serve him? Are there situations where the “spirit of this age” is telling you that you are not ready? Pray, asking God to equip, empower, and send you.
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