Sending Out the Twelve April 16
Mark 6:7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.
Mark has reduced the details of Jesus’ sending out of the twelve disciples to the most basic information. This is characteristic of Mark. Matthew’s version (Matt. 10) is much longer, as is his Gospel.
Mark has already told us that Jesus’ first command to His disciples is to follow Him (Mark 2:14), to imitate His actions until these were their own natural actions.
Jesus called them to Himself….The starting point of any journey - for the disciples and for us - is Himself.
Although Jesus will be left behind physically, they will carry Him with them in the teaching they have received. His tether is His word.
Jesus sends out the twelve two by two. In the higher math of faith, one plus one yields a number greater than two. Their combined talents and support of one another create an effective team. And they are a check upon one another lest temptation or error overtake them.
Jesus will not be physically with them, so He gives them power over unclean spirits. This power is for their protection as well as for their work.
Note that this is not the dunamis power (G1411) of Mark 5:30 or 6:2, but is exousia (G1849), delegated authority. As apprentices, they work under His supervision with whatever power He delegates to them.
Empowerment comes from answering His call and following Him.
No Baggage April 17
Mark 6:8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts— 9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.
He tells them to take only a staff, and the sandals and single tunic they now wear. They are to take no bag, no food, and no money.
The staff is not the shepherd’s crook of Psalm 23:4, but is a straight walking stick, support for physical balance.
“…and began to send them out two by two.” He sends them out from beneath His wings to test their own wings on a limited flight. And they go out in pairs, having the support of another should they begin to falter in their first attempt on their own.
The disciples have seen Jesus’ power over unclean spirits, and He gives them this power. Being told, they receive it. What Jesus gives is sufficient for the journey.
They do not need a bag. They already have left all behind to follow Jesus. And they have no need for a bag in the future, for they will carry nothing except His word with them.
They leave their baggage – physical, emotional and spiritual. And they will accumulate none of this baggage during their journey.
They will not take food or money, but trust that the Lord will provide. Their work is their ministry, and their daily bread is their reward.
Simplicity is the essence of Mark’s – and Jesus’ – message.
Shake off the Dust April 18
Mark 6:10 Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”
Jesus has both modelled and instructed the disciples on the rules of accepting hospitality.
Jesus and the disciples have moved frequently to scatter the seed of truth as widely as possible. Staying too long in one house will make them comfortable and loathe to move onward. Moving from house to house in the same village will give the appearance of idlers taking advantage of the hospitality prescribed in the Scriptures.
The disciples are to treat as heathen those who do not receive them.
John Wesley stated, “The Jews thought the land of Israel so peculiarly holy, that when they came home from any heathen country, they stopped at the borders and shook or wiped off the dust of it from their feet, that the holy land might not be polluted with it Therefore the action here enjoined was a lively intimation, that those Jews who had rejected the Gospel were holy no longer, but were on a level with heathens and idolaters.”
Shaking the dust from beneath their sandals, the footwear of the poor, is a statement of leaving the unclean behind.
At this point in the history of Israel, with the kingdom of God literally at hand, rejection of truth is even more harshly judged than in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, bywords for sin and iniquity.
A New Now April 19
Mark 6:12 So they went out and preached that people should repent.
Nothing reinforces a lesson like going out and teaching others.
The disciples go out from Jesus and preach that people should repent. They are speaking the words of John the Baptist (Mark 1:4), but from a new perspective.
They are carrying an old message into a new world. But there is a spark that is a new light to guide the old into the new.
The disciples have been witnesses to the presence of the kingdom of God on earth, now, in the present moment. This is no longer about something that will happen. The future is now.
Think of that for a moment: The future is now. Every moment is the seed of that future, one moment begetting the next. If every moment is lived as in the past, then the present - the now - will never look like the future that John the Baptist imagined or the disciples are experiencing.
A new future can spring forth only from a changed now.
And the change for which they call, for which John the Baptist called, for which Jesus will call, is a return.
Do not miss the irony here. To free ourselves from the past we have chosen, we must return further back. The Beginning beckons us to return, to experience again the newness of life as one with the rest of Creation, as One with the Creator.
The “now” that led to the misplaced future which is our present time, our now, was created by a wrong turn in the walk of life.
It is up to us to turn back to the Beginning and start anew, inside the kingdom rather than outside.
Empowered April 20
Mark 6:13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.
Jesus has demonstrated the art of healing to the disciples. And He has given them power over demons. They are prepared to go out and to do the work.
“And they cast out many demons…..” Sometimes we own our emotions, and sometimes they own us. Indeed, sometimes they rule us, a literal demon that has taken control. We are reminded of Jesus casting out demons earlier (Mark 1:34).
“And anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.” We are reminded of Jesus healing Simon’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:31)
Anointing with oil is an expression of the outpouring pf the Holy Spirit in both the Old and New Testaments, as in Isaiah 61:1 and Acts 10:38.
A word of caution is in order. Death does not mean a lack of faith or the absence of God. We may be healed once, twice, or many times, but not an infinite number of times. Except for those translated, death will occur. Life here on earth will not be prolonged forever.
The disciples use their training from Jesus. They help their patients to destroy the root of the disease by addressing the cause. This is healing, not suppression of symptoms.
Until the root cause of disease is exposed to the light and destroyed, it will fester and re-emerge. Literal or figurative cleansing can remove the festering sore of a wound or an emotion and make the person whole again.
The fractured person becoming whole is the first step toward oneness with the Father and His creation.
Who Is He? April 21
Mark 6:14 Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.”
15 Others said, “It is Elijah.”
And others said, “It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.”
Herod (short for Herod Antipas), like so many rulers of people, is well insulated from the day to day life of the people he governs. He knew of John the Baptist because of the accusations John had made against him concerning his marriage to his sister-in-law (also his half-niece).
For suggestions as to the identity of this Jesus, the man teaching new doctrine and performing miracles, there are many willing to guess.
The Pharisees would have looked back to the writings of the prophets. Malachi foretold that God would send His messenger to prepare the way for Him (Mal. 3:1), and again that He would send Elijah/Elias before the day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5).
Herod had weathered the storm following the arrest and execution of John. He is sensitive to the issues raised by John and is prepared to stifle any similar dissent before it causes trouble requiring intervention by Rome.
This section of Mark highlights concerns from a guilty conscience and also the difficulty of secular interpretation of spiritual prophecy.
The guilty conscience sees a threat in regards to guilt. More violence, more injustice, must be used to maintain the appearance of integrity.
Interpretation of spiritual prophecy can be accurately done only by the Spirit. In the absence of the Spirit, all prophecy is a mystery and its interpretation is idle guesswork.
Herod vs. John April 22
Mark 6:16 But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!” 17 For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. 18 Because John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
19 Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
We get a glimpse of the history between Herod Antipas and John the Baptist, and we understand the conflict Herod feels.
Herod Antipas is one of at least 14 children by at least 8 wives of Herod the Great. Philip, the first husband of Herodias, is his half-brother.
Philip fell out of favor with his father and Herod Antipas succeeded him. When Herod the Great died, Israel was divided into four parts and Herod Antipas became tetrarch, ruler of one-fourth of Israel, the Galilee portion.
As with many kings of the past, Herod feared John the Baptist for what the man spoke but respected the following the prophet had built.
But the charge that Herod had broken the law of God by marrying Herodias was spoken too strongly and too often.
Next day
Mark 6:7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.
Mark has reduced the details of Jesus’ sending out of the twelve disciples to the most basic information. This is characteristic of Mark. Matthew’s version (Matt. 10) is much longer, as is his Gospel.
Mark has already told us that Jesus’ first command to His disciples is to follow Him (Mark 2:14), to imitate His actions until these were their own natural actions.
Jesus called them to Himself….The starting point of any journey - for the disciples and for us - is Himself.
Although Jesus will be left behind physically, they will carry Him with them in the teaching they have received. His tether is His word.
Jesus sends out the twelve two by two. In the higher math of faith, one plus one yields a number greater than two. Their combined talents and support of one another create an effective team. And they are a check upon one another lest temptation or error overtake them.
Jesus will not be physically with them, so He gives them power over unclean spirits. This power is for their protection as well as for their work.
Note that this is not the dunamis power (G1411) of Mark 5:30 or 6:2, but is exousia (G1849), delegated authority. As apprentices, they work under His supervision with whatever power He delegates to them.
Empowerment comes from answering His call and following Him.
No Baggage April 17
Mark 6:8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts— 9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.
He tells them to take only a staff, and the sandals and single tunic they now wear. They are to take no bag, no food, and no money.
The staff is not the shepherd’s crook of Psalm 23:4, but is a straight walking stick, support for physical balance.
“…and began to send them out two by two.” He sends them out from beneath His wings to test their own wings on a limited flight. And they go out in pairs, having the support of another should they begin to falter in their first attempt on their own.
The disciples have seen Jesus’ power over unclean spirits, and He gives them this power. Being told, they receive it. What Jesus gives is sufficient for the journey.
They do not need a bag. They already have left all behind to follow Jesus. And they have no need for a bag in the future, for they will carry nothing except His word with them.
They leave their baggage – physical, emotional and spiritual. And they will accumulate none of this baggage during their journey.
They will not take food or money, but trust that the Lord will provide. Their work is their ministry, and their daily bread is their reward.
Simplicity is the essence of Mark’s – and Jesus’ – message.
Shake off the Dust April 18
Mark 6:10 Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”
Jesus has both modelled and instructed the disciples on the rules of accepting hospitality.
Jesus and the disciples have moved frequently to scatter the seed of truth as widely as possible. Staying too long in one house will make them comfortable and loathe to move onward. Moving from house to house in the same village will give the appearance of idlers taking advantage of the hospitality prescribed in the Scriptures.
The disciples are to treat as heathen those who do not receive them.
John Wesley stated, “The Jews thought the land of Israel so peculiarly holy, that when they came home from any heathen country, they stopped at the borders and shook or wiped off the dust of it from their feet, that the holy land might not be polluted with it Therefore the action here enjoined was a lively intimation, that those Jews who had rejected the Gospel were holy no longer, but were on a level with heathens and idolaters.”
Shaking the dust from beneath their sandals, the footwear of the poor, is a statement of leaving the unclean behind.
At this point in the history of Israel, with the kingdom of God literally at hand, rejection of truth is even more harshly judged than in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, bywords for sin and iniquity.
A New Now April 19
Mark 6:12 So they went out and preached that people should repent.
Nothing reinforces a lesson like going out and teaching others.
The disciples go out from Jesus and preach that people should repent. They are speaking the words of John the Baptist (Mark 1:4), but from a new perspective.
They are carrying an old message into a new world. But there is a spark that is a new light to guide the old into the new.
The disciples have been witnesses to the presence of the kingdom of God on earth, now, in the present moment. This is no longer about something that will happen. The future is now.
Think of that for a moment: The future is now. Every moment is the seed of that future, one moment begetting the next. If every moment is lived as in the past, then the present - the now - will never look like the future that John the Baptist imagined or the disciples are experiencing.
A new future can spring forth only from a changed now.
And the change for which they call, for which John the Baptist called, for which Jesus will call, is a return.
Do not miss the irony here. To free ourselves from the past we have chosen, we must return further back. The Beginning beckons us to return, to experience again the newness of life as one with the rest of Creation, as One with the Creator.
The “now” that led to the misplaced future which is our present time, our now, was created by a wrong turn in the walk of life.
It is up to us to turn back to the Beginning and start anew, inside the kingdom rather than outside.
Empowered April 20
Mark 6:13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.
Jesus has demonstrated the art of healing to the disciples. And He has given them power over demons. They are prepared to go out and to do the work.
“And they cast out many demons…..” Sometimes we own our emotions, and sometimes they own us. Indeed, sometimes they rule us, a literal demon that has taken control. We are reminded of Jesus casting out demons earlier (Mark 1:34).
“And anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.” We are reminded of Jesus healing Simon’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:31)
Anointing with oil is an expression of the outpouring pf the Holy Spirit in both the Old and New Testaments, as in Isaiah 61:1 and Acts 10:38.
A word of caution is in order. Death does not mean a lack of faith or the absence of God. We may be healed once, twice, or many times, but not an infinite number of times. Except for those translated, death will occur. Life here on earth will not be prolonged forever.
The disciples use their training from Jesus. They help their patients to destroy the root of the disease by addressing the cause. This is healing, not suppression of symptoms.
Until the root cause of disease is exposed to the light and destroyed, it will fester and re-emerge. Literal or figurative cleansing can remove the festering sore of a wound or an emotion and make the person whole again.
The fractured person becoming whole is the first step toward oneness with the Father and His creation.
Who Is He? April 21
Mark 6:14 Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.”
15 Others said, “It is Elijah.”
And others said, “It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.”
Herod (short for Herod Antipas), like so many rulers of people, is well insulated from the day to day life of the people he governs. He knew of John the Baptist because of the accusations John had made against him concerning his marriage to his sister-in-law (also his half-niece).
For suggestions as to the identity of this Jesus, the man teaching new doctrine and performing miracles, there are many willing to guess.
The Pharisees would have looked back to the writings of the prophets. Malachi foretold that God would send His messenger to prepare the way for Him (Mal. 3:1), and again that He would send Elijah/Elias before the day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5).
Herod had weathered the storm following the arrest and execution of John. He is sensitive to the issues raised by John and is prepared to stifle any similar dissent before it causes trouble requiring intervention by Rome.
This section of Mark highlights concerns from a guilty conscience and also the difficulty of secular interpretation of spiritual prophecy.
The guilty conscience sees a threat in regards to guilt. More violence, more injustice, must be used to maintain the appearance of integrity.
Interpretation of spiritual prophecy can be accurately done only by the Spirit. In the absence of the Spirit, all prophecy is a mystery and its interpretation is idle guesswork.
Herod vs. John April 22
Mark 6:16 But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!” 17 For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. 18 Because John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
19 Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
We get a glimpse of the history between Herod Antipas and John the Baptist, and we understand the conflict Herod feels.
Herod Antipas is one of at least 14 children by at least 8 wives of Herod the Great. Philip, the first husband of Herodias, is his half-brother.
Philip fell out of favor with his father and Herod Antipas succeeded him. When Herod the Great died, Israel was divided into four parts and Herod Antipas became tetrarch, ruler of one-fourth of Israel, the Galilee portion.
As with many kings of the past, Herod feared John the Baptist for what the man spoke but respected the following the prophet had built.
But the charge that Herod had broken the law of God by marrying Herodias was spoken too strongly and too often.
Next day