JESUS SENDS
HIS TWELVE APOSTLES
7And he called
the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over
the unclean spirits.
8He charged them
to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in
their belts— 9but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.
10And he said to
them,
“Whenever you
enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11And 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.”
12So they went
out and proclaimed that people should repent.
13And they cast
out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
MARK 6:7-13
COMMENTARY
After Lord Jesus
was rejected in his home town of Nazareth, He send his Twelve closest
disciples, later on called ‘Apostles’, to preach the Gospel all over Galilee
and nearby areas to the Jews, calling them to repentance.
This was an
important period of preparation for all of them.
By disseminating
his disciples, Jesus got to cover more area in a lesser time; but also, it was
a crucial time for the twelve disciples. They had seen Jesus curing grave sicknesses
and resurrecting the dead. They had seen Him curing the woman suffering of
blood loss, paralytics, and leppers. They had seen with their own eyes the
power of this man who claimed to be the Messiah, the Son of God. Now, they will
learn to depend on Him at a distance.
When Jesus sent
them, He made a point of no taking with them nothing that could indicate
preparation in sustainability, so much in food as in clothing. When He
specified that to them, implicitly, Jesus took the responsibility of them, to
provide them with everything they needed to survive, so they will taste the
power of Jesus, and his divine authority.
In his Wisdom,
the Master, sent them in twos, not one by one, not only because that was the minimum
number of witnesses to give testimony about anything in Jewish culture, but because
He knew the devil, and how he whispers to the ears of men when they feel weak
and alone, like he did with Jesus in the desert. Jesus knew that one will
support another, and together they will remain faithful even if they were far from
their teacher.
He also did not
deny Judas Iscariot, the traitor, this blessing. Jesus knew from the beginning he
will betray Him (John 6:70), nevertheless, He was also given the authority of
performing God’s service while he was pure. He had a fair go. And by the
condemnation of those who Jesus said, would reject them (v.11), Judas knew that
sin is punished. The blessing of that day, became later because of his corrupted
heart, a curse to him.
Finally, Jesus
sent them to proclaim Repentance and Faith in his Name, followed by all kinds
of signs, including the open testimony in their own lives of the divine providence
over them.
The people and
they themselves, came to know that Lord God YHWH, the God of Israel, was with
Jesus, and that He was the Messiah they were expecting, almighty and merciful.
Omar Flores.
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