In Mark 6, Jesus sends His disciples out to do ministry on their own. It’s the first time they’ve been released from His side to bring the love of God into the world. This is what Christ calls each and every one of His disciples—including you, and me—to do. But Jesus is very specific with His disciples about how to do things…and it’s not because He wants to make things difficult, or just wants to make rules because He’s God and people HAVE to follow them. It’s because He was equipping His disciples to make the biggest impact possible! And if we want to make the biggest impact possible in our world…our time…our generation…we should take a few moments to learn from His advice!
Before Jesus even sends the disciples out, there are two things we should be mindful of:
- The disciples had spent a LOT of time with Jesus first. They had seen many miracles, heard many parables, and learned from many teachings. They had basically lived with the guy who preached the sermon on the mount, and who was constantly saying to them things like “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” He was constantly challenging them and encouraging them. This is SO important, and rightly the first thing to mention, because you cannot go in the name of Jesus if you do not have the heart of Jesus. Demons and sicknesses were subject to the name of Jesus…but it was because the disciples were too! Until we have truly founded our lives on the truths of the gospel and have matured beyond spiritual infancy (He 5:12-14), we won’t be sent out like the twelve were.
- The disciples were commissioned to initiate, not just appreciate. When Jesus sent His disciples out, a shift of perspective happened. They weren’t part of the crowd anymore. They weren’t the observers. They became the teachers, and the prophets, and the healers, and the servants, to everyone else. They became the DOERS instead of the WATCHERS. And if we are going to bring the kingdom of God into the world we have to commit ourselves to the cause. You cannot wait for someone else to lead the way…you have to be willing to blaze trails yourself (after all, we were not given spirits of timidity…2Ti 1:7). When Jesus told Peter that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church, He meant that the church was going to invade—not the other way around! We’ve got to trust in the Lord and unashamedly parade the gospel of Jesus Christ into the darkest corners of the world.
More on the way…
