Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

[0:00] All right, sounds good. Well, if you've got your Bible, open up to the book of Mark. We're in Mark chapter 6. And last week we looked at Jesus in his ministry at Nazareth. He went to his own hometown and was rejected by his own town folk at home.

[0:25] And we talked through that. Today we're going to be looking at a passage where Jesus sends out his 12 disciples. Up to this point, Jesus' ministry, his healing ministry, his teaching ministry, his proclaiming ministry, his deliverance ministry, has really just been him.

[0:44] He's been going, traveling around from place to place. And at this point, he is going to send out his 12 disciples. He actually grows more of a following of disciples beyond the 12.

[0:58] But in this case, it's his 12 disciples that he's sending out. And we want to look at a few things as we read through this passage and walk through it.

[1:09] And so as we go through, we're going to think about this. Do all the commands to Jesus' disciples that we read throughout the Gospels, do they apply to us directly as we read the commands of Jesus to his disciples?

[1:25] How do we read those? Do they apply to us? Maybe some of them do, some of them don't. How do we know? Do they apply maybe just to pastors or ministers or missionaries? And then the other thing we're going to look at is, towards the end here, is judgment.

[1:45] Repentance, judgment day that is coming, not just for the Jewish people, but for everyone. So let's read through these passages.

[1:56] We're going to go from verse 7, Mark chapter 6, verse 7 through 13. And he called the 12 to himself and began to send them out two by two and gave them power over unclean spirits.

[2:10] He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff, no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts, but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.

[2:23] And he said to them, in whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 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.

[2:38] Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. So they went out and they preached that the people should repent.

[2:49] And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. So we're going to go walk through these different verses and just talk about them verse by verse here.

[3:06] Back to verse 7, he says, There's a strategy here.

[3:26] I think it's a matter of wisdom. Notice he has 12 disciples, but he doesn't send them out one by one, but two by two. And I think, well, why is that?

[3:37] You know, he's got 12 disciples and he's sending them out all over. You think, well, if you have, if you send each one, one by one, you can maybe cover more territory, right?

[3:48] But if you send them out two by two, how many kind of mission groups do you have? Well, a little math, carry the two. Six, right?

[3:59] Yeah, 12 divided by two. You have six mission groups, right, that he sends out. And we look, this isn't something unique to this situation. This is something that Jesus also recommended or gave instruction about when he sent out the 70.

[4:16] There's another passage of Scripture later on in the Gospels where he sends out not just the 12, but 70 disciples. And he tells them the exact same thing.

[4:27] Luke chapter 10, verse 1 says this, After these things the Lord appointed 70 others also and sent them two by two before his face into every city and place where he himself was about to go.

[4:40] But even beyond that, we see this common theme as people go out, his disciples go out, that they are sent out two by two.

[4:51] By the way, I'm going to be going through a ton of Scriptures and we'll go through them fairly quickly because there's just a lot of Scriptures for us to look at. So don't feel like you have to turn there.

[5:01] I'll try to give reference if you're writing notes and want to take them down. But unless I ask you to turn there, don't feel like you need to go find the reference. The next reference we're going to look at is Acts chapter 8, 14.

[5:15] This is in the Acts period after Jesus had ascended. And it says this in Acts chapter 8, verse 14. Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.

[5:30] Peter and John. Not just Peter, but Peter and John. I wonder why that would be the case. In fact, I wonder, you know, Jesus, when he sent out the twelve, he paired them up.

[5:41] And I don't know, maybe they paired themselves up or he paired them up. But maybe Peter and John were gospel buddies. And so they continued being buddies, gospel buddies together on into the book of Acts and their ministry out to Israel.

[5:59] In Acts chapter 13, verse 2, it says this. As they ministered to the Lord and they fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Now separate unto me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.

[6:12] This is Paul, the 13th apostle, as some might consider it, but not really, who was sent out, but was he sent out by himself?

[6:24] Well, he actually probably had even more than Barnabas, but him and Barnabas were gospel buddies. They went out two by two. It's interesting.

[6:37] We know that later on, Paul and Barnabas have a parting of the ways. There was a disagreement. But when we read about that, listen to this. Acts chapter 15, verse 39.

[6:50] It's talking about the disagreement that they had. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another, and so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.

[7:06] Notice how even when they separate, do they go by themselves? No, they have a buddy that comes along with them. And so why would this be the case? Can't you get more done if you kind of split up into just individuals one by one?

[7:24] Well, I think we know from experience when we do things, when we labor, whether it's doing work, building a shed in our backyard or whatever it might be, that one person is not nearly as efficient or effective as two.

[7:43] In fact, the Old Testament speaks to this in the book of Ecclesiastes. In Ecclesiastes chapter 4, verse 9, it says this, Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.

[8:02] For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.

[8:14] Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.

[8:25] And a threefold cord is not quickly broken. This is a matter, this is just a principle of wisdom. You know, when you have a project, maybe you have two projects.

[8:40] You and your neighbor have projects that you need to work on. And you could just both work on them separately. But have you noticed when two people, if you both decide to work together one project at a time, do you get them done in the same amount of time?

[8:58] Or is it more quick when you come together, right? So there's more effectiveness. And you can help care for one another, like it says in Ecclesiastes.

[9:11] When one falls, the other can help pick him up. Another thought around this idea of two by two or going in pairs is encouragement.

[9:22] You know, we all need encouragement. When we're doing things by ourselves, without anyone there to go along with us, it can be discouraging.

[9:34] We don't read this in this passage in Mark, but I think in the parallel passage in Matthew, which I think is, I think it's in chapter 10. We'll probably look at some parallel passages here in a bit.

[9:47] But it mentions, Jesus says, I send you out as sheep among wolves. So when he sends them out, he's saying this isn't going to be, you know, a merry-go-round.

[9:58] This is going to be a difficulty. You're going to run into trouble. And so there's plenty of opportunity to become discouraged. And so when you have two people or more, it's easy when one person becomes discouraged for another to hold them up, to encourage them in the Lord.

[10:18] Another reason would be accountability. Accountability. You know, I don't know if you've noticed this about yourself, but I've noticed this about myself.

[10:29] When I'm doing things alone, it's a lot easier to slack off. You notice that? Anybody ever try to stick to like an exercise routine? And you might be doing good for a while.

[10:45] And then, well, I'm not feeling well today. Next thing you know, you're not doing anything. You're not going for that run anymore. You're not lifting those weights. You're not doing those exercise routines.

[10:57] But what's an effective way to stick with it? Find a buddy, right? Somebody to exercise with. And has anybody noticed that when you do that, you find that it's a lot harder to slack off?

[11:12] And so I think that's another benefit. So another question. He sent them out two by two, but why would he send them out anyway?

[11:23] I mean, Jesus has his own ministry. He's going from town to town. Why does he need to send his disciples out? I mean, after all, it's fairly risky. Right? These guys might screw things up.

[11:34] They might teach something wrong or miss something that they should have said or say something maybe that they shouldn't. Well, I think there's an urgency of the hour that we read about in this time period.

[11:50] Jesus said that the harvest is ripe unto harvest, right? But the laborers are few. And so you need to have many laborers to reap a larger harvest.

[12:04] We could reach more people. And we also see Jesus eventually is going to leave. He says, I'm going to go away, but I'm going to send the comforter.

[12:16] He's going to help you. But I won't be here anymore. And we see this in all kinds of different training. In fact, we see this in the home where you have an opportunity while your children are with you in your home to train them, to teach them, to do certain things.

[12:35] And they can easily come to you with questions. Well, I did this and it didn't work out. Or what do you think about this and how I handled this? And you can come back to your parents and say, and they can give you instruction and feedback.

[12:51] I think that's the way that it was here with the disciples. They went out for a bit and then they came back. And we read that they were astounded at all the things that were done at their own hands because of the authority that Jesus gave them.

[13:07] But eventually, they would be doing this without Jesus. We see that in the book of Acts. And so him sending them out on these kind of short-term mission trips, if you will, was an opportunity for them to get a little bit of experience under their belt while Jesus was still with them.

[13:23] In the last part of this verse, verse 7, it says that he gave them power over unclean spirits. And that word power is, when we look at the word power in the English, sometimes it can mean power is in might.

[13:40] That's the word dunamis. And other times it can mean power as in authority. And in this case, the word here means authority. He gave them authority over unclean spirits.

[13:54] And what's the relevance of that? Well, Jesus had the authority to give them. It speaks to the identity of Jesus. That he himself had the authority to delegate, to give them that authority as well.

[14:07] In verse 8, it says this, that he commanded them, commanded, take nothing for the journey except for a staff.

[14:18] No bag, and it's talking there about a money bag. No bread, no copper in their money belts, but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.

[14:30] Take nothing with you. Well, except for these few things. We read about this same account in Matthew 10, verse 9.

[14:41] If you want to go ahead and open there, we'll probably be referring to Matthew 10 a few times. So if you want to put a finger in there, because we'll be going back and forth between Mark and Matthew a few times.

[14:54] But in Matthew 10, same account. In verse 9, it says this, provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs, for a worker is worthy of his food.

[15:15] And when we read that, do you notice there's a little bit of a difference? Mark says to bring a staff. And Matthew says, well, don't bring a staff.

[15:26] Well, which one is it? And in Mark, he says, you should wear sandals. But in Matthew, he says, don't bring any sandals.

[15:40] So what's going on? Why is there a difference? Is there a contradiction here? Did somebody get the story wrong? I don't think so. I think the whole general idea is just go.

[15:56] Don't bring extra supplies. You have a staff, bring it with you. Don't bring an extra one. You're wearing shoes. Don't bring extra shoes. Just go.

[16:06] We would say today, go with just the clothes on your back. Don't bring an extra tunic or extra clothes, as you would do typically when you're going on a trip, right?

[16:18] We bring today, we have a suitcase. Or maybe, if we're roughing it, we'll take a backpack with our supplies. But he was saying, just start walking with whatever you've got on you.

[16:31] Don't prepare beforehand with supplies. Just go. He also said, don't bring any money.

[16:42] And money is that one thing, right, that if you don't have supplies, at least you've got some cash to get the supplies that you'll need. And we know that actually Jesus and his entourage kept a treasury.

[16:59] People would give them money. And so they had some money to do things with. In fact, do you remember who was the person who was in charge of the treasury?

[17:10] It was Judas, right? And so they had some money that he could have distributed to each one, but he said, go without any money.

[17:22] And so what was the purpose of all this? Why? Well, I think the number one reason was for the sake of time. There's not enough time.

[17:34] We don't have time to prepare. Just go. Go and go from city to city. And we'll talk about what they were doing in those cities.

[17:45] In Matthew chapter 10 again, verse 23, it says this. This is kind of towards the end as he's giving these instructions. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another.

[17:58] He's saying you're going to go from one city to the next. And he's not just preparing them for this one trip. We'll find out that he's actually preparing them for this mission trip, but also the ones to come, and especially the ones after he has left.

[18:14] So he says this, verse 20, again, Matthew 10, 23. For assuredly I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

[18:25] Well, what does that mean? Well, the Son of Man is coming with what? With his kingdom. And we know that he must be talking about a future time when you're going to be going on these mission trips.

[18:39] When I'm gone, we know that Jesus, eventually he died, he was buried, he was raised from the dead, and then he ascended to the Father. But he said, I'm coming back soon.

[18:51] And he's talking about that day, and he's saying, I want you to be going through all the towns of Israel. There won't even be enough time to get through them all. We're in a hurry.

[19:02] There's an urgency here. And I will actually return before that has happened. Well, this passage has caused no end of confusion for so many people because, well, the question is, when did Jesus return?

[19:17] I mean, or maybe the disciples are still working on going through all the cities, or what's going on here? And we won't get into the detail, nitty-gritty details of all that, but the big picture is, the idea was the tribulation period is coming.

[19:35] That's those seven years of tribulation, and the disciples would go out to all of Israel and prepare people for the kingdom that Jesus would be bringing back with him. But that whole plan, that whole tribulation period and that bringing of the kingdom was put on hold for an indefinite amount of time.

[19:56] And God brought in this new era, which we call the dispensation of the grace of God, in which he turns instead to the Gentiles for a season, but he will be returning to the Jews once again.

[20:15] But when we look at this and what Jesus is teaching, their focus was on the urgency of the hour. You don't need to spend the time preparing. Just go. So the question is, that we asked in the beginning, is this how we should operate today?

[20:31] When we send out missionaries, when we send out people to go do gospel work. Occasionally, and I don't know if anyone else has this experience, but through the years of my Christian life, I've come across people who are maybe traveling around doing some kind of ministry, and they'll ask for assistance because they are having a faith ministry in which they are going around from place to place, and they don't have any, have much resources, they don't have a job, they don't provide for themselves, and they don't even have any kind of mission support, if you will, where people are providing for their needs on a regular basis.

[21:18] But they're living, having a ministry on pure faith, and you know, that kind of thing can be very, kind of have, have an exciting, adventurous feel to it, right?

[21:30] That we're just going to live by faith and do everything off of pure faith. But is that how we should operate today? Is that how mission teams should operate today, whether it's a mission team in your local community or a mission team off in another country?

[21:48] There's a man named George Mueller. Anybody ever heard of George Mueller? A few. A tremendous life. He was somewhat of a playboy as a young man and liked to spend money and go after girls, things like that.

[22:06] He had a conversion experience in which he met God and was, his life was changed forever. He's most well known for creating orphanages in England.

[22:24] And over his lifetime, in fact, let me see, I wrote this down somewhere, his orphanages that started out with just one child, and this is at a time when orphanages were very uncommon, almost unheard of at the time.

[22:40] Over his lifetime, he cared for 10,000 orphans in the nation of England, specifically in kind of the, well, I think it was in the city of Bristol is where they eventually kind of built their orphanage.

[22:55] And I read that he raised, over his lifetime, he was given his orphanage ministry, what would be the equivalent of $180 million in today's dollars during his lifetime.

[23:14] time. And early on in his ministry, he made a commitment that he was going to live this life of faith just like they did back then during the early period of the Gospels and the Book of Acts.

[23:36] That he would sell all his earthly possessions and never let anyone know about his needs, but would only through prayer look to have his needs met really in a supernatural way.

[23:51] And there are all kinds of amazing stories. If you've ever read his book or watched a documentary, it's pretty incredible, all the things that happen. But his story, even though it is quite incredible, I think has caused consternation for a lot of different people because it looks like such such a spiritual way of life.

[24:18] It's like this higher Christian calling to live a life of purely faith. But is that really how we ought to live?

[24:30] And I know I've talked about this before and gotten in so much trouble because George Mueller was an incredible man. And so, you know, we see this with all kinds of people.

[24:42] Just because somebody is a hero of the faith, a true hero, does not mean that they got everything right, does it? Right? And so, he never asked, well, except sometimes he did ask.

[24:59] for help. Even though he had made a commitment not to, there were a few times where he struggled through with his faith commitment and did ask people or share the needs that he did have.

[25:15] During this period of the three years of Jesus' gospel ministries and looking forward to this tribulation period, he was asking his disciples to look to God alone to meet their needs, to supply their needs so that they could be singularly focused on the project at hand, the task at hand, which was to reach people with the message of the kingdom.

[25:42] in Matthew 6, verse 25, he's again speaking to his disciples and he says this, therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on, so clothes.

[25:59] Is not life more than food and body more than clothing? So he's talking about food and clothing. Don't worry about it. Don't bring along the extra clothes.

[26:10] Don't bring along the money. Don't bring along that satchel which you might carry food. Just trust in the Lord. He will supply your needs while you are on your mission.

[26:25] When, in this passage, when he says do not worry about your life, other translations say don't be anxious, but the actual Greek there is do not take thought.

[26:39] Take no thought I think is what the King James actually says which is actually a more I think literal type of translation. He says again in Matthew chapter 10, 19, again Matthew chapter 10 is the same passage about him sending out the 12, but when they deliver you up he says so you're going to be persecuted and they're going to deliver you up.

[27:04] Do not worry or take no thought about how or what you should speak for it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak.

[27:15] Don't train, don't prep, don't do a bunch of Bible study, just go. and when people make you stand before a judge or some kind of dignitary, you know what?

[27:29] You're not going to, even though you haven't prepared the Holy Spirit is going to give you the words to speak. This is how things operated at that time. And then we find out a little bit in Luke chapter 22 verse 35, how did that work out for them?

[27:47] Because that's a good question, right? They went out without anything. They went from town to town. And how did it work out? It sounds pretty risky. Luke 22 verse 35 says this, and he said to them, when I sent, and this is at the end of their ministry, this is the very end of this three-year ministry with Jesus and his disciples before he was crucified.

[28:07] Luke 22, 35, and he said to them, when I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything? And so they said, nothing.

[28:19] They didn't lack anything. When it came to their clothes and to food, they lacked nothing. Now, along with it came persecutions. They lacked a little bit of personal safety, and so that was something that they did lack.

[28:33] But when it came to food and clothing, they lacked nothing, they said. So is that what we should expect when we send out missionaries? They just trust in the Lord that he will provide for every need that they have, and they will never lack anything.

[28:55] I want to focus on this phrase because I did a search for this phrase about what is it?

[29:06] To do not worry or take no thought. Look that up. And there's a passage here in 1 Corinthians chapter 7 in which Jesus is talking about the benefits of singleness versus being married.

[29:21] And he's saying one of the benefits of being single is you don't have to care about anything else. You can just focus on one thing, just on the ministry to the Lord. And so in 1 Corinthians 7 verse 32, he says this, but I want you to be without care.

[29:36] Be like me. Be single. Be without care. It's that same phrase, taking no thought. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord.

[29:49] But he who is married cares or takes thought about the things of the world, how he may please his wife. And that is appropriate, right, when you're married.

[29:59] That is the natural course of things. When you are married, especially as a husband, do you need to care for your wife? Do you need to make sure that she's provided for your children, that they are provided for as well?

[30:12] That is your Christian duty. There was, during this time, let's call it a special dispensation in which, now, we don't know much about the family lives of the disciples.

[30:27] Most of them were very young, so likely not even married and didn't have those responsibilities. But we know at least one who was married. We don't know if he had children. Who was that? Peter, right?

[30:38] Peter had a mother-in-law. So he was, we know, married. Now, some people say, well, maybe his wife had passed away at this point. Who knows? It's not clear.

[30:52] But, God was supernaturally caring for both the disciples and I imagine also their families if they had any. But in normal circumstances, that is not how we operate.

[31:05] Husbands are obligated. They have a duty before God to take care of their families. And I don't know how many people, it's been dozens of people that I've met over the years who fail to meet just the standard obligations of caring for their family because, quote, they're trusting the Lord.

[31:25] God. And I think part of it is getting confused with passages like these and understanding the times in which we live and the times in which these disciples lived and not making a discerning difference.

[31:38] in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, Paul is talking to his disciples. His disciples were Gentiles in the age of grace, not those who were under the dispensation of the kingdom of God that was right at hand.

[31:57] And he said this, he's giving instructions, just basic instructions to these converts. He says that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, which means have a job or a business, and to work with your hands as we commanded you.

[32:17] You need to work with your hands to provide a living that you may walk properly towards those who are outside, that you might have a good testimony to those who are not believers, and that you may lack nothing.

[32:30] And how is it that you go about lacking nothing? By working with your hands, having a job. That's how things operate today.

[32:41] That's how things operated for most of the history of the world. There was just a small period of time, and it will happen again in the future, in which caution is thrown to the wind.

[32:51] There is no thought for our basic needs. There will be a time coming when the tribulation again, when this kind of dispensation, this kind of special circumstances will come into play.

[33:05] But for now, just like it has been through most of the history of the world, we have a duty to work to supply our own needs and for those who are under our care. In Romans chapter 8, or sorry, let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 11.

[33:22] Paul talks about his ministry. He was a missionary, right? And he was sent out. And when he was sent out, well, we read that the disciples, when they were sent out without money or without supplies, did they lack food or clothing?

[33:40] They said, no, we didn't lack anything. What about Paul? Did he ever lack? Well, here, 2 Corinthians 11, 27, he's boasting. What's he boasting about?

[33:51] Is he boasting about how much money he had? No. He says this, in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, he went hungry a lot, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

[34:12] He went without proper attire a lot. Nakedness doesn't mean that he was completely naked. It just means that he didn't have maybe the required clothing that would be necessary for the kind of weather that he might have been enduring.

[34:27] He was colder than he should have been. He experienced all of these things under the dispensation of the grace of God.

[34:39] In Romans chapter 8, verse 35, it says this, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine when we are lacking in our need for food or nakedness when we're lacking in clothes or peril or sword?

[35:02] We may be lacking in those things, but we'll never be separated from God's love. And that is the focus in this dispensation of the grace of God in which we live.

[35:15] Not our physical needs being met, though it certainly is nice, right? but God's love for us, his complete fulfillment of all of our spiritual needs.

[35:29] That's a big difference between the gospel of the kingdom or the dispensation under the law and our lives as Christians under grace.

[35:39] God fulfills all of our spiritual needs, every of our spiritual needs. He has given us everything that applies to life and godliness, it says. But our needs may not always be met.

[35:57] He says this in Philippians chapter 4 verse 6, be anxious for nothing. It's that same phrase, do not worry, take no thought, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

[36:15] God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Does he say, give no thought, but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and all of your physical needs will always be met.

[36:35] Is that what he says? He doesn't say that. What does he say? He says the peace of God, the peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus.

[36:48] A few verses later, Philippians 4.12 says this, I, Paul, know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. He says, I know how to suffer lack, and I know how to have plenty.

[37:04] Everywhere in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. And then he says this, and this is a verse taken out of context almost every time.

[37:17] I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And what does he mean there? Does he mean, I can conquer mountains, I can do miracles through Christ?

[37:30] No, he means I can suffer through anything. because Christ strengthens me. That's what he means. I can do all things. I can suffer through anything that comes my way because Christ is my strength.

[37:50] Wow, that's different. And to many, it might feel discouraging. Well, but I have needs. we know and we read in other places that there is a purpose behind us not always getting everything that we feel that we need.

[38:09] God is working in us to build us up in different ways because of that. We're going to move on back to Mark chapter 6 and we'll look at verse 10.

[38:21] Also he said to them in whatever place you enter a house stay there till you depart from that place. So you're going to go from town to town and I want you to go to one house.

[38:34] Don't go from house to house but just stay in one. In Luke chapter 10 this is where he's sending out I think the 70 it says he says and remain in the same house Luke remember they're not bringing their own food they're just depending on other people for support so find a house where people are willing to take you in but then he says this at the end of Luke 10 verse 7 do not go from house to house so he's very clear just find one house and don't go from one house to the other why is that I mean why not go from one house to another I mean you might be a burden I don't know how long they were staying from one place to the next but they were to go from town to town but not from house to house at least not within the same town once you're in a town just stay in the same place and I think the primary reason is for just efficiency remember he said hey

[39:38] I'm coming quickly you need to try to go through each of these towns before I come you're not even going to get through them all but I want you to try and so there's no time to like you know when you go to somebody's house there's like the pleasantries and you know you get to know them and have dinner together and talk and you build a rapport all that what we need to do I find it interesting I looked at this phrase from house to house did a search in the Bible and we look at the ministry of Paul who is the apostle of the dispensation of the grace of God says this in Acts chapter 20 verse 18 and he's talking about his ministry and he says when they had come to him he said to them you know from the his is of the grace of

[41:10] God that Jesus died for the sins of the world and who was he reaching out to was it just Israel just the towns of Israel he was trying to reach the whole world he had a long term strategy he would stay at a place how long do you think it doesn't tell us how long the disciples stayed at a place but you get the idea it's fairly short probably less than a week maybe just enough to get the word out right and then you move on to the next town how long did Paul stay in a town well sometimes over a year we read and so it would change depending on you know he would go visit one place and then he would continue on and he might come back but he spent lots of time and saints because he had a long term strategy that was very different from the strategy of those apostles who were teaching that the kingdom of

[42:11] God is at hand verse Mark chapter 6 verse 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 in the day of judgment than for that city so first of all what is this shaking the dust off your feet well this is just kind of an outward act a public act in order to show the people listen I did what I'm supposed to do but and really this is an offensive thing this is something where they're saying I don't even want your dirt on my shoes that was what Jesus was telling his disciples to do for those who rejected him I want you to let that town know that even the dirt in their streets is worthless reminds you know a lot of people think oh

[43:13] Jesus was so nice and sweet and gentle and kind and he was but not always was he I always go back to the brilliant C.S.

[43:24] Lewis and talking about Aslan it's not a tame lion is he but this was to be done as like an outward act it says as a testimony against them that they would know that that God was against them because they rejected his message we see interestingly enough the same thing with Paul it says in Acts chapter 13 verse 30 or 51 but they shook off the dust from their feet against them and then they went on to Iconium and then also in Acts chapter 18 verse 6 it says but when they opposed him and they blasphemed he shook his garments so before you know we're talking about shoes and this time he shook his garments and said to them your blood be upon your own heads I am clean for now I will go to the

[44:25] Gentiles the Jews so many times rejected his message and so whether it was his shoes or his cloak he said I want to symbolize here that I've done everything that I can I've done my part your blood be upon your own heads in Acts chapter 20 verse 26 Paul says this therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men for I have not shunned to declare to you the counsel of God you know there's an Old Testament precedent for this the Lord spoke to Ezekiel and he says you are like a watchman on a wall and your job like that watchman is to tell the people when trouble is coming and you need to let them know the trouble is right at hand it's coming it's on the way and just like the watchman if the trouble comes and you don't tell anybody about it then their blood

[45:34] I'm going to put it in your hands because you didn't tell them but if you do tell them then their blood is on their own hands or their own heads and that's the way that it is with the gospel whether it's the gospel of the kingdom or the gospel of the grace of God what is our job what is our duty just to get the word out go back to the parable of the soils whose fault was it when the seed did not grow was it the fault of the sower no it wasn't it was the fault of the ground where your heart was and so I think that's comforting to us as sowers for those of us who are trying to get the word out we are just responsible for letting people know judgment day is coming God has provided a way it's so easy you don't have to do a bunch of rituals and try to reform your life and all these things all you have to do is trust him that's all trust

[46:37] Jesus that he died for your sins that's it and when we get that message out the rest it's just it's on the ground it's on the soil it's on the hearers what will they do with that message then he says this oh man assuredly I say to you it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city wow he said with Sodom and Gomorrah were they sweet nice people who tried to serve the Lord they were wicked evil but Sodom and Gomorrah that was a Gentile city this was not a Jewish city and one of the interesting things to note it's not brought out in Mark but in Matthew chapter 10 verse 5 it says this when he sends them out these twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them saying do not go into the way of the Gentiles did he send them to

[47:38] Gentiles no he sent them only to the Jewish people and do not enter into the city of the Samaritans but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel that was where he sent them not to Gentiles Jews not even to half Jews the Samaritans just those who are teachers of the law or the scriptures they will be held under a stricter judgment and so we read in Matthew chapter 11 and Luke chapter 10 when the disciples come back Jesus visits some woes on some of the cities that rejected him and his disciples Matthew chapter 11 verse 23 says this and you Capernaum who are exalted to heaven will be brought down to Hades for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom it would have remained until this day but

[48:39] I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you the other reminder here is that is judgment day just coming for the Jewish people no God has appointed a day in which he will judge everyone Psalm chapter 9 verse 7 says this but the Lord shall endure forever he has prepared his throne for judgment he shall judge the world in righteousness the whole world and he shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness and Paul says as part of his ministry his ministry under the gospel of the grace of God in Acts chapter 17 verse 30 truly these times of ignorance God overlooked but now he commands all men everywhere to repent because he has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained he has given assurance of this to all by raising him from the dead there's a day of judgment coming it's coming for

[49:55] Israel it's coming for the Jews it's coming for everyone in which we will all be judged according to our deeds but there is a way of escape there's a way of escape for the Jewish people what did they have to do to escape that judgment that was to come they had to look to their Messiah they had to receive Jesus as their Messiah and today out of the gospel of grace we just have to receive Jesus as well not as Messiah per se because he's not our Messiah he's the Messiah of Israel but as our Savior the one who died for our sins and that gets us to the next verse in Mark verse 12 so they went out and they preached that people should repent is that all they said they just went out and saying repent repent repent repent if we go back to

[50:57] Matthew chapter 10 it says this and as you go preach saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand and that was the message from the very beginning Jesus went out from the very beginning repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand the kingdom of God is at hand the kingdom that has been prophesied by the prophets for years and years it's here and I need you to turn to God what does repentance mean it means changing your mind turning from one way to a different way and that verse that we just read in Acts chapter 17 speaks to it again again repentance is legitimate for the gospel of the kingdom and for the gospel of grace everyone needs to turn turn to God again Acts chapter 17 verse 31 he has given a oh where I missed it oh sorry Acts chapter 20 verse 21 he says that he testified to

[51:57] Jews and also to Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ Jews and Gentiles repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ now there is a difference under the gospel of the kingdom you turn to God with faith towards the Messiah Jesus the Messiah receive him as the Messiah the one who was prophesied to come under the gospel of grace us Gentiles and Jews who are willing we also turn toward God but our faith is not in Jesus as Messiah but our faith is in him as our Savior the one who God some people kind of twist and turn the whole repentance message and they say well you have to stop sinning and that's repentance well that's just not true in fact you never find that anywhere in the

[53:01] Bible that repentance means you have to stop sinning it always means to turn towards God now for the Jews they did have to keep the law that was a part that was a part of the deal but then they also had forgiveness and sacrifices that made up for when they failed to do that the last verse says and they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and they healed them and so they did all these things through the authority that Jesus gave them in Matthew 10 verse 8 again this is the parallel passage it says Jesus said heal the sick cleanse the leper raise the dead cast out demons and he says this freely you have received freely give Jesus I I I freely give you this authority the authority is yours to do with as you will you know don't take that lightly and so freely give it

[54:03] I want you to use this authority to cast out demons and heal the sick and they did I am going to finish up with this it is important that as we study the Bible we don't do what so many do and kind of cherry pick verses and that's how we live our Christian life is we have a verse on our refrigerator at home or on our wall and those things are fine of themselves right I'm not saying we should never do that but we live in a culture in which people don't read the Bible they don't study it but they just maybe open up a devotional verse of the day and has no context as to what exactly is going on why it says what it says we live in a soundbite world where our attention spans are like that of a gnat we live in a meme culture where people want gotchas and quick little truths to kind of whatever it might be and again those things in and of themselves can be fine but we cannot live our lives by those kinds of things by just

[55:17] Bible verses out of context we need to do the hard work of studying the scriptures and understanding everything in context so I'm going to finish up with this quote which has been repeated at this church many times from Miles Coverdale he says this this is one of the first ones to translate the Bible into English this is right in the period of the Reformation with Martin Luther and everybody and he said this it shall greatly help you to understand the scriptures if you mark not only what is spoken or written but of whom and to whom with what words at what time where to what intent with what circumstances considering what goeth before and what followeth after that's a lot of context but it's important context for us to know and understand how we ought to live our lives in the age in which we live because things have been different if you notice so many people have noticed but they don't necessarily know how to reconcile there's big differences from one part of scripture to another and so some people live their lives well we'll just mix them all together in kind of a big jumbled mess and try that we need to understand what

[56:34] God has for us today and understand that in the right context by studying to show ourselves approved workmen that need not be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth amen let's pray father we love you we thank you for your word we ask you to help us the bible can be a confusing book especially early on in our Christian lives context does take a long time to begin to grasp all the context that's required we thank you for teachers who help us to get there but we ask you to help us being diligent to study ourselves that we like the Bereans might be those who know for ourselves what your scripture says and know for ourselves what the context is and what you would have for us today to live faithful lives that honor you in Jesus name amen thank you everybody