READ: Mark 6:7-13
So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. – Mark 6:12,13
The Lord Jesus sends out His twelve disciples to preach the Gospel of repentance and perform miracles. He has given them gifts and powers that an ordinary person does not possess. Once again, Jesus proves He is both God and man. However, the residents of His hometown of Nazareth refuse to believe in Him despite His miracles (v.1-6). They see Him as just an ordinary man. There is no faith in Him as they’re His people.
Jesus presents them with a clear choice in the Gospel message: for or against Him. Therefore, He now sends out His disciples: two by two as witnesses of Him. They don’t need to bring much with them: a staff and sandals. No extra clothes, no food, no money: the Lord who sends them will provide everything they need. They are in His service and therefore under His care (2 Tim. 2:4). They are authorized and equipped by Him to even cast out demons. They will also be able to heal the sick to strengthen their preaching.
However, they should also expect unbelief and rejection alongside faith. They should not be afraid of it. If they are welcome in a house in a city, let them continue to work in that city from there. But what if they are not welcomed anywhere and nobody listens to them? Then, they should not want to be connected to that city in any way: “shake the dust off your feet.” The punishment there will be worse than that of Sodom and Gomorrah because they rejected their Lord and Savior.
The work of the disciples bears fruit: they preach and perform many miracles (v.12,13).
Is a call to repentance easy to accept?
Singing: Ps. 25: 1
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