Mark 6:1-13
Key Verse 6:7.....  “Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.”
 

 Last week we learned the faith of Jairus, a synagogue ruler and a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. When they both had faith and hope in Jesus, Jesus could not ignore their faith. He helped Jairus by his words, “Don’t be afraid; just believe”, and then he raised his little daughter from the dead. The woman with the bleeding problem was healed by Jesus both physically and spiritually. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” 

 In today’s passage, Jesus sends his twelve disciples out on a training mission. We call it “fieldwork training.” Why did Jesus send them out on fieldwork training? It was because from the time he called them (1:17-20; 3:13-15), Jesus had hope for them to be future gospel workers who would bring the gospel to the ends of the earth. Jesus’ heart and desire is to save the whole world through the preaching of the gospel to the ends of the earth. Jesus called Twelve disciples and started world mission through them. This fieldwork training marked the end of their life as spectators. It began the life as participants in God’s redemptive history

Through this fieldwork training, Jesus taught them how to be successful missionaries wherever they went.  This principle of fieldwork training became the model for all successful future workers in God’s harvest field. May God strengthen you to be a successful worker in his mission field by humbly learning from this passage. May God help you to believe that Jesus has given you authority over the evil spirits.

Part One: A Prophet Without Honor (1-6a)

 Let’s read verses 1-2a, “Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue…” Why did Jesus go to Nazareth, his hometown? Did he there to attend a high-school reunion? Did he go to take a vacation? 

It does not appear here that Jesus went to his hometown to take a personal vacation. Verse 2a says that when the Sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue. Jesus went to teach the word of God. Going home could possibly make Jesus sentimental. However, Jesus knew who he was and why he had come. He was the Son of God, the promised Messiah. He came to preach and teach the good news of the kingdom of God. Jesus always cared more about people’s souls and their salvation, then his own personal comfort.

 What was their first reaction to Jesus’ teaching? Look at verse 2b. It  says, “…and many who heard him were amazed…” Their first reaction was one of amazement. Where did their amazement come from? This amazement came because they had never heard such words before from anyone. They said, “Wow! What magnificent words! What beautiful words! He speaks so fluently! He sounds so intelligent!” 

However, as they heard the words of life from Jesus, they began to pay more attention to who they thought Jesus was ratherthan who he really was and what he was now saying. As they heard the words of God from Jesus, they began to become critical and uncomfortable. Let’s read what they said about him in verses 2c-3, “…Where did this man get these things? They asked. What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us? And they took offense at him.” 

 The people of Jesus’ hometown had amazement that should have turned to an earnest heart searching and an earnest desire to repent and believe the message from Jesus. But what happened? They complained and became offended by him. “Isn’t he just a carpenter’s son? Where is his seminary degree? He never went to any seminary school did he?” Others said, “I knew him when he was in diapers!” Still others said, “How can he say these things? Isn’t he just a homeboy?” 

We see here that they did not pay attention to the words of life from Jesus. Instead, they attacked him because of his appearance and upbringing. Perhaps some also complained that he was born illegitimately. We can say that they saw Jesus from a human point of view and with spiritual ignorance. When they only thought of him from a human point of view and with human thinking, (3) they became spiritually blind and they  hardened their hearts to the message from Jesus. The message from Jesus actually offended them. This means that their pride was hurt. Instead of repenting, they became angry and jealous. 

How did Jesus view their reaction to his message? Let’s read verse 4, “Jesus said to them, ‘Only in his own hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”  Jesus recognized that a man of God is not recognized in his hometown from this word. 
 However, Jesus wasn’t sorry for himself. He was sorry for these people whom he came to save, but who had hardened their hearts to the message because they judged him from his background and human appearance. Jesus could not bless these kinds of people. Verses 5-6a show us why Jesus could not help and bless these people. Let’s read verses 5-6a, “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith…” 

According to Jesus, they had a lack of faith. This means that they had no faith. Jesus was amazed that they had a lack of faith. As we know, without faith, it is impossible to please God. Without faith in God and his word, we can not experience God. Especially, when we hear the message or see the work of God in others and don’t respond, then we can not but be like Jesus’ hometown people. In Mark chapter 5, we saw two people, Jairus and one woman who had a 12 year bleeding problem, who had faith in Jesus. When they had faith, Jesus was able to do great things to help them and to give them joy and peace. With faith in Jesus, Jairus’ daughter was raised from the dead! Jesus one time said, “Everything is possible for him who believes.” (Mk.9:23) Also, on the other hand, nothing is possible when we don’t believe. 

Clearly, faith is the key element. When we have faith in Jesus’ words and in Jesus himself, then God will do mighty things through us. There is also another thing we want to learn from this incident. We want to learn not to see the Missionaries and shepherds from a human point of view.  Some people who have been blessed to study the Bible 1:1 discontinue their Bible study because their Bible teacher does not have the word “Priest” or “Father” before his name. 

Others lose God’s blessing from Jesus because they wonder how a fellow college student like themselves can teach them the Bible. However, God’s work is from those who love God and obey his word. We should not judge a person by their outward appearance. We should also not judge God’s work from looking at the church building and saying, “Where are the stained glass windows and the pews here?” God works through those who have faith in his word and obedience to his will. 

 When God sent many Korean missionaries to America, many could not accept them because of their poor English and their small statures. They could not accept being taught the Bible from foreigners. As a result, they lost God’s blessings. They were like Jesus’ hometown people.  However, there were some Americans who did not see them like that.  Instead, they believed the word of God through them and saw them as God’s servants. Because of this their spiritual eyes were opened up and they have become blessed with salvation and God’s holy mission. As a result, the church of God in UBF is growing not only in the USA but all over the world.

Another thing we can see here is that we should not be surprised when our family and hometown people, like our neighbors, reject us when we come back to them with the message from the Bible. When we receive the word of God and meet Jesus personally, through our Bible studies, we become very excited. Because we are closest to our family members the most,  we go eagerly to them first and tell them, “I am saved!! Bible study is great!”  We then begin to preach to them. We expect our parents, and relatives and neighbors to share our joy. But this does not happen. This is because they remember our past wild life and our mistakes and especially, they see us from a human point of view, not as God’s servants who we really are. When Shepherdess Lynn first believed, her parents did not share in her joy and excitement. Instead they persecuted her and prohibited her from attending Christian fellowship. When we are rejected and misunderstood by those whom we love most because of our faith, pray not to become discouraged. Rather, remember that even Jesus was rejected by his own hometown. 

 Part Two. Jesus Sends Out the Twelve (6b-13)

Let’s read verses 6b-7, “…Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.” Jesus could have become discouraged by his hometown people’s lack of faith and their rejection of him as the Son of God.  He could have despaired and done nothing for weeks and weeks. Instead, he acted positively. What did he do? He continued to go from village to village and preach the word of God. Then, he went even one step further. He sent the Twelve out on their first missionary journey. Look at verse 7 again, “Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.”

 This is a new stage in Jesus’ training his disciples. Until now, the disciples had been merely participants in the work of God. They were happy that they were called by Jesus and that they were chosen by him. When Jesus did miracles in front of the crowds, they high-fived  each other and said, “Yeah, awesome!!” They enjoyed tagging along with Jesus and being known as his followers. They seemed to enjoy all the attention. They really felt like somebodies for the first time. However, they themselves had not done anything yet. Just being spectators in God’s work  is not enough. This is because one’s faith only grows through experience and challenges. It is like a student who goes to class every semester. He may learn a lot. But he becomes too comfortable. The classroom experience will not equip him for the real world. What he needs is an internship. He needs on the job training. This is the way he or she can become good in their field. 

Now he sent them out two by two to get valuable hands on training  and valuable experience. We call it, “fieldwork training.” Sending out the Twelve two by two looks small and insignificant in the eyes of the world. However, when Jesus did so, he believed that God Almighty would be with them. He believed that one day they would be like a mighty army going throughout the world with the powerful gospel. Through this small event, Jesus had world mission vision. Here we see the heart and hope of Jesus, the heart of God. Jesus wanted to use these men to save the whole world.  God loves all the people of the world and does not want anyone to perish, but all to have eternal life. However, without raising up disciples and training them, there can not be any work of world salvation. Jesus felt that it was urgent that he train them and raise them up to bring the life-giving message of the gospel to the whole world.  These twelve were full of many mistakes and human weaknesses. However, Jesus’ vision for these “dirty dozen” was indeed great.

To start, Jesus sent them out two by two. Why did Jesus send them out two by two? This is because each person can help support the other. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can pick him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to pick him up!”  In UBF we engage in fishing on campus for many students inviting them to 1:1 Bible study. When we go out two by two to the campus, we are like the Twelve whom Jesus sent out. It is a great thing to see two by two going to the campus to unsuspecting students. 
When we go out two by two, Jesus is with us. When our coworker witnesses, we can pray for them and for the person who is listening. If our partner seems to be having trouble, we can take over the conversation. Together we can pray and build each other up. In the Bible we read about Paul and Silas who teamed up to go two by two while Barnabas took Mark to go two by two. Paul and Silas became a great team. In Acts chapter 16 we see that when they were persecuted and thrown in jail because of their witnessing, they encouraged each other by singing hymns together and praying. When they formed this small vessel, God worked powerfully among them. When they were in prison, God sent a great earthquake that shook the foundations of the prison. The doors of all the jail sells became loose and the chains on all the prisoners fell off. The jailer became afraid from this and fell trembling and Paul and Silas and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul and Silas replied in unison, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved---you and your household.”  (Acts 16:29-31) The powerful working of God came through two by two witnessing. In God’s history this is always the case. May God encourage us to cowork in doing his work just as Jesus sent the Twelve out two by two.

As Jesus sent them out two by two, he gave them spiritual equipment. What was the spiritual equipment that he gave them? Verse 7b says that he gave them authority over evil spirits. Here we see what Jesus thought was most important for his disciples to have. It was authority over the evil spirits. This was Jesus’ authority. He did not equip them with swords or clubs. He did not teach them karate skills.  Jesus armed  them with his authority over the evil spirits. 

This was because Jesus knew that the real battle is a spiritual battle. It is not a battle against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:10-18) The real problem of people is their powerlessness and helplessness due to evil spirits or unclean spirits.  So Jesus gave them authority to cast out evil spirits. He called them to be liberators of men.

 In Mark chapter 5 we saw how Jesus freed a man who was possessed by 6,000 evil or unclean spirits. This man lived by himself among the tombs. Night and day he would cry out and cut himself with stones. He wandered restlessly and aimlessly without hope. He became like a monster rather than a man because of these evil or unclean spirits that had invaded him. No one could help this man. No one wanted to even go near this man. He was too violent and sick. But when Jesus saw him, the first thing he did was to command the evil spirits to come out of the man. It is quite obvious to us that whenever we see the news on TV or on the internet or hear it on the radio, the first few stories are always one’s of murder, violence and sexual immorality and corruption. It is clear that it is the work of the evil spirits in people who do such dirty  and evil things. 

 These problems of men can not be solved by drugs and psychology. They can not be solved by any of  man’s efforts. What people need is God’s intervention through his servants who have been given Jesus’ authority. How then can we claim Jesus’ authority? We must believe his word. Then we must keep praying and rely on God in prayer. The more we pray and the more we personally study his words the more we can believe that we have authority. We are not to be excorsists. Some people may remember the movie “The Excorcist” about a priest who drove out a demon from a girl. It was very graphic and gruesome. This is not how it is done. It is done through the word of God and through prayer (9:29) and sometimes fasting and prayer. But the main point is that we must believe that we have been equipped with God’s authority. This is God’s authority to teach the Bible and to witness and to cast out evil spirits, regardless of who we are; high-school student, college student, worker or housewife. 
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What instructions did Jesus give his disciples? Let’s read verses 8-11, “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 tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.’” 

 There are three principles here for gospel workers. First, Jesus told them to take nothing for their journey (8-9)  What, take nothing for the journey? Was Jesus out of his mind. For anyone going on a journey, these instructions look ridiculous! Who goes on a journey and does not take any money with them!! Who goes on a journey and does not take any food, even a box of crackers?!  Why did Jesus give such instructions? Did Jesus want his disciples to learn to be beggars? The reason he gave these specific instructions was because he wanted them to learn to rely on God alone in their journey. He also wanted them to focus on their mission first. He didn’t send them out to be tourists. He sent them out with the mission of God. He sent them out to expand the kingdom of God, as he himself was doing.

 When we read Genesis chapter 1, we find that God gave man mission. God gave man mission first, then he also gave him food to eat (Gen.1:28-29). His command to be stewards of the world came first before his command to eat any of the food. God did this so that man may know that God’s greatest blessing for man is to be the steward of the world. God did this also so that man may simply trust that God would provide all his needs. As long as man does God’s mission first, man does not have to worry where any of his food will come from. An example of this is the prophet Elijah.When God sent Elijah the prophet to proclaim God’s word, Elijah did not have to worry about what to bring to eat, even though there was a severe drought and famine in Israel. God took care of his servant Elijah by using ravens to feed him. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and meat in the evening to eat (1 Kings 17:2-6). 

 Jesus also instructed the disciples not to take any money. They were not to take their ATM cards or even their American Express Card which says about itself, “Don’t leave home without it!”  They were to take nothing that would hinder them from doing God’s mission and from being witnesses of their faith in God.  Imagine if Jesus didn’t give them any of these specific instructions as what to bring and not to bring. 

In modern terms we can imagine them bringing many heavy bags of clothes and personal belongings. On one shoulder they would also carry their laptop computers. On their belts they would have their pagers and cell phones. Some might even carry a portable TV with them. With all these things, they might be concerned if they misplaced them or lost them. With their credit cards, they could check into a nice and comfortable motel or hotel. This would hinder them from really getting to know the people and be effective witnesses. Instead of praying for God’s leading and provision, they would just stick their hands into their pockets and take out their wallets and pull out their credit card.  It would also make them feel more like they were on a vacation rather than on God’s mission. 

 By nature as human beings, we rely on what we have, not on God, even if we have five dollars in our pockets. When we are put in an adverse situation and without much, we can learn simply to rely and depend on God, our Heavenly Father. Then we can become powerful and fruitful. In the history of God’s work at UBF we can see this. God has used a poor nation like Korea to be a missionary sending nation to the world. Most ministers thought that world mission could only be done by rich Americans and Canadians. However when the Korean students heard Jesus’ world mission command through Bible study, they began to pray with earnest desire to obey Jesus. They had no money and not much clothes. However, because they had a heart to obey, God began to use them to bring his gospel to the world. This is because they depended on God alone. As a result, God provided for them and they even began to lend to poor American college students. I remember countless times how God’s people helped me. Missionary Rebekah Lim always took made sure I pants to wear for worship service. 

 Second,  build a power station.  (10). Look at verse 10, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.”  Jesus wanted his disciples to look for one worthy person who would welcome them. If one person welcomed them and welcomed the message that they disciples proclaimed, then God could use that house as a power station for expanding his work. 

 When we begin God’s work in a new place, we always pray for one Abraham of faith to be raised up. God uses one person and one’s family for this reason. In Philippi, Paul and Silas found one woman named Lydia who welcomed them when she accepted the gospel through them. Her house became a power station for the work of God in Europe. (Acts 16:11-15). 

Third, anticipate rejection (11). Let’s read verse 11, “And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet as testimony against them.” The disciples were instructed to accept the hospitality which was offered to them. However, they were not to compromise with the people’ sins. Rather, they were to rebuke those who did not accept the message. They were to do so by shaking the dust off their feet as a testimony against those who did not welcome them and listen to them. Back in those days, this meant disassociating with these people. Why? It was because when people reject the servants of God and the message from them, they actually are rejecting God himself. Jesus said in Luke 10:16, “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” We see here that it is no small thin to reject the servants of God and the message they come to bring. Those who do so are inviting the wrath of God on them. When Jesus gave the disciples these instructions, he clearly wanted them to believe in the superiority of the gospel. They must have confidence in the absolute gospel and teach people by their attitude that the gospel is absolute and it should be taken seriously. Rejection of it is inviting God’s wrath and judgment. Jesus teaches us that we must anticipate rejection, and not get discouraged or give up when we are rejected. Instead we must arm ourselves with the right attitude as a servant of God with Jesus’ given authority.

 Many years ago when I went fishing with M.Esther, I would habitually say after a student turned down the Bible study invitation, “O.K.”  But M. Esther taught me not to say, “O.K.” The reason is because by saying this the student would think it was O.K. not to study the Bible. Instead it is better just to walk away without saying anything and let them become a little uncomfortable. Perhaps in that way their conscience would  be hurt and they might think again what they did instead of forgetting about it. These days, the majority of people are polite and say, “Have a nice day!” We can say that too, after a student rejects our Bible study invitation, “O.K. Have a nice day!” But this is not O.K. It is not a nice day when one rejects God’s word. It is because those who reject the servant of God and his message are rejecting God himself. We must believe that when we go out two by two that we are God’s servants. We must believe that the gospel we proclaim is absolute. Those who believe will be saved. While those who reject the gospel will be condemned. Those who hear the gospel message are responsible when they hear it before God. What was the disciples message and what was the result of their fieldwork training? Let’s read verses 12-13, “They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.”  The disciples message was simple and clear. It was “repent.” We see here that the disciples delivered the message that they heard from the Lord Jesus (1:15)  The disciples did not create their own message. They didn’t give their opinion about something or talk a lot of theology, or political and moral issues. They simply were servants of God’s word. Their message “repent”, is the best message. Not only was it brief and to the point, it also could touch people’s conscience. What does “repent” mean? It means to acknowledge that you have sinned against God. It is then to turn to God and ask his mercy and forgiveness. It is then to seek him and try to live according to the Bible. In short, it is turn from self-centered life,  to a God-centered life, that is one of sacrifice and serving and worshiping God. This message of repentance is the only one that leads people to God and to a blessed life. Look again at verse 13 to find out the result of their simple trust and obedience in Jesus fieldwork training for them. It says, “They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” Their mission was both powerful and successful. They became like small Christs who began to do even greater things than Jesus. According to verse 14, even King Herod heard about all these things. The disciples began to glorify Jesus’ name and not their own name. Praise Jesus who gives us authority to do his work when we just trust and obey! Praise Jesus who makes us fruitful workers in his harvest  field when we don’t compromise the message of the gospel. From this morning’s passage we learned Jesus’ broadmind and vision for world salvation. Jesus called the Twelve and sent them out two by two. He gave them authority over the evil spirits. When they obeyed God gave them victory. God used them to spread the good news through the message of repentance. In our times, God wants to use us like the Twelve. God has given us authority through faith in Jesus to do his gospel work. Let us have faith and trust and obedience to Jesus. May God help you to challenge the coming summer ministry as Jesus’ Twelve disciples challenged the people of their times.