TITLE: “Jesus Sends the Twelve”

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen. Our text for today is Jesus sending the Twelve, from Mark chapter 6.

Last week we learned about how Jesus was rejected in His hometown of Nazareth.  Rejection seems to be a way of life for our Lord.  He preaches repentance and forgiveness of sins, and the people reject His message.  It’s too easy!  It’s too hard!  I’ve got other things to do.  Whatever.  This week, right after our lesson from last week, our Lord sends out the Twelve, his chosen disciples, and commissions them to go and preach the gospel of repentance to the countryside.

God uses people to carry his message of salvation out to the world.  In particular, God sends the Church pastors.  These twelve men were Jesus’ inner circle.  They were the men that He had chosen to be His special instruments in the world.  We call them Apostles.  And the word apostle comes from a Greek word that we see here.  The word is sent.  An apostle is someone sent by God to carry the message of repentance.  Let’s unpack this a bit first before we move on.

Jesus called the twelve disciples to him, and then sent them out two-by-two and gave them authority over evil spirits.  First, Jesus called the disciples.  This is, to put it another way, God’s work.  Sometimes in the Church we get the idea that the cross was the end of God’s work, and getting the message of the cross out is our work.  It’s kind of a tag-team deal with God.  But that’s not true.  It’s all God’s work.  So God chooses those whom He will send out with this message of repentance and forgiveness.

God then gives them authority over evil spirits.  This sounds like Paul’s words at the end of Ephesians: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers of this dark worlds and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Eph. 6:12)  Jesus is out to do battle with Satan, the old evil foe.  Satan’s power is great.  So great, in fact, that left to our own devices we would fail utterly.  But more than that.  Left to ourselves, we are on Satan’s side!  You don’t have the power within you to be a part of God’s kingdom.  You are a part of Satan’s kingdom, because you live under the curse of sin.  This sin has corrupted you, and made you into one of Satan’s minions.

Jesus knows this, and so He gives the Apostles’ authority over evil spirits.  He gives them the power to drive out demons and to cleanse the hurting soul.  So when the Apostle went out into the countryside to preach the good news, whose message was it?  By whose authority was he driving out demons and preaching and healing?  It was on the authority of Jesus.  Jesus gave His authority to the disciples.  So when they spoke, they were acting as God’s mouthpiece.

This shouldn’t surprise us too much.  God had been doing this throughout the history of the people of Israel.  He would take a man and call him to a special task.  Think of our Old Testament lesson for the day.  Amos was a shepherd, and took care of sycamore trees.  But God called him away from that life of the shepherd, and made him into a shepherd of men.  God made Amos a prophet.  And like Ezekiel last week, the message Amos was given to preach was not always pleasant.  We could sum it up in one word from the Gospel lesson: Repent.

Amos, Ezekiel, the prophets, and even Jesus Himself were not called, were not sent to give their own opinion on things.  God didn’t send them to talk about the weather or social conditions, the economy, political candidates, or anything else of this earth.  No, they were sent to call people back to God.  They were sent to preach a message of repentance.  To repent means to turn away from the way of the world, and to turn toward God as the source of your life.  For the people in Jesus’ day, that meant not relying on their sacrifices and their so-called works to gain their way into heaven.  Make no mistake about it, if you believe that you can work your way, or somehow sneak your way into heaven, then you are on the devil’s side and not God’s side.

That message of repentance is the message of the Scriptures and the Church to this day.  The purpose of the Church is to point people away from themselves and back toward God, the author and giver of life.  Now you must admit, that isn’t always going to be an easy task.  We live in a culture and in a world that is utterly self-absorbed.  Everything around us teaches us to look inside ourselves to find meaning in life.  During an election year, it is very common to hear lots of talk about moving toward the future, making a better America, and so forth.  But the fact is that our culture is decaying, not improving.  Violence and destruction are a way of life in the new millennium.  And that violence is not going to go away easy.  Even the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ himself, had to die so that we might live.

Yes, the message of the cross that Jesus sent out with his Apostles’ is very different from the message of the world.  And to prove it, Jesus told them that they could bring no money, no extras on their journey.  They were to rely on the generosity of the hearers to survive.  That means that sometimes God’s messengers would be well taken care of, when the message took root and grew.  But other times, the treatment wouldn’t be so good.  Jesus did this to demonstrate to the disciples that they are to rely on God for their well-being, not their own charisma or organizational skills.  No, the preachers of the Gospel are to depend on God, who will provide them with whatever they need.

But let’s get back to the message they were to bring.  Think back to these words from the text, 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.  This is a bit startling to our ears.  God’s message of repentance and salvation has an end.  There were times for the Apostles when the message was rejected, and so they shook the dust off their feet and they left.  In other words, the time of salvation is now.  The time of repentance is now.  Not tomorrow.  Not when your children are older or when you think you’ll have more time.  The time for repentance is now, today, as this message is heard in your ears.

There are nations all over the world that had the message of the Gospel for a time and then rejected it.  Probably the most vivid example of this would be modern day Germany.  If you were to travel to Germany today, you will see some of the most beautiful churches, some of the most incredible structures ever built to the glory of God.  But on Sunday morning they’re empty.  Churches meant to seat a thousand or more will have twenty, thirty or maybe forty people.  This is the home of the Reformation!  This is the place where God raised up Martin Luther and others to preach the Gospel to a dying world.  And now today, the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod sends missionaries back to our spiritual homeland.  It’s heartbreaking, but it’s true.

If you look at our nation today, I believe you see a country that as a whole has rejected God, and specifically has rejected the message of Jesus Christ for life and salvation.  Our schools demonstrate this, our entertainment, music, art, almost every part of our public lives as a nation seem to say to the world that we don’t believe God exists.  We don’t believe that He plays any part in our lives.  How long will it be until orthodox Lutherans from Africa start sending missionaries to America to save us?

But there is hope.  The Apostles went out.  They preached the Gospel.  They cast out demons and healed the sick.  God’s message does ring forth.  And His Word does not return void.  There is always a remnant, always a few faithful who hear what our Lord in His mercy has to say to them.  God does not abandon us before the end.  He promises that He will be with you to the very end.  I will never leave you nor forsake you.

And to prove this to you, He gives you His body and blood as a seal and guarantee of His eternal love for you.  God loves you so much that He sends you preachers, He gives you His gifts of life and salvation, and He gives you His very Son for the forgiveness of your sins.  Come, then, to the Table of the Lord, and receive all of the wonderful things He has to give you.

In the name of the Father and of the † Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

The peace of God, which passes all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting.  Amen.

 

Todd A. Peperkorn, STM

Messiah Lutheran Church

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Pentecost 8B (August 6, 2000)

Mark 6:7-13

 

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Last Revised: August 14, 2000