Sunday School Lesson 6 - Mark 6:7-13, 30-32 - SENDS
TWO WEEKS AGO: In Mark 5:21-24, 35-43 we studied the forceful story of Jesus raising the young daughter of Jairus from the dead. We saw Jairus, who was a prominent leader in the Capernaum synagogue, undergo the supreme test of faith. From that lesson, we identified nine steps of faith demonstrated by Jairus through the course of his ordeal: (1) he came to Jesus; (2) he humbled himself before Jesus; (3) he begged Jesus for help; (4) he had faith that Jesus could heal his daughter; (5) he awaited patiently through the process; (6) he showed unwavering faith in the face of terrible news; (7) he followed Jesus' leading without question; (8) He showed astonishment when Jesus raised his daughter; and (9) he followed in faith by obeying Jesus' order to remain silent.
THIS WEEK: In today's lesson, Mark 6:7-13, 30-32 (skipped), we catch up with Jesus just after He'd left the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth as reported in Mk. 6:1-6, where the people questioned His wisdom and disputed His ability to perform mighty works because they knew him to be a carpenter who was the son of Mary and had ordinary brothers and sisters. As we come into today's text, we find Jesus in the summoning His twelve disciples and preparing them to go out on their first mission journey in pairs with the power to cast out demons. Sandwiched between this and the return of the disciples from their mission is the story of the martyrdom of John the Baptist as reported in Mk. 6:14-29 (skipped). Mark purposely inserted the martyrdom story within the mission story to give assurance to early Christians that God's work continues even in the face of the martyrdom of great, godly men.
Read Mark 6:7 - HE SUMMONED (CALLED) THE TWELVE
7 And He *summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits;
v. 7a: "And He *summoned the twelve" - We now see Jesus activating the plan he put into place when He originally chose the twelve (Mk. 3:14-12). Jesus will refer to these twelve as "apostles" when they report back to Him in v. 30, the only place where Mark uses this word in his gospel. v. 7b: "and began to send them out in pairs" - Jesus knew the advantages of two-man teams: • A partner adds strength by not only protecting each other from danger but also in providing companionship and support to one other in tough situations. • A second person adds credibility to the mission. Deut. 15:19 requires at least two witnesses to convict a person of a crime, because one witness has much less credibility than two or more. •Partners encourage accountability between each other because a person is less likely to succumb to temptations when accompanied by another person. Jesus could have sent groups of three, but two people are generally a more effective unit because in threes, two will often bond with each other, leaving the third as the odd man out. v. 7c: "and gave them authority over the unclean spirits" - Notice that Mark makes no mention of teaching. The emphasis for the disciples on this particular journey would be preaching (v. 12), casting out demons, and healing the sick (v. 13).
Read Mark 6:8-11 - HE INSTRUCTED THEM TO TAKE NOTHING
8 and He instructed them that they were to take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff-no bread, no bag, no money in their belt- 9 but to wear sandals; and He added, "Do not wear two tunics." 10 And He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. 11 Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust]off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them."
vv. 8-9: "and He instructed them that they were to take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff-no bread, no bag, no money in their belt- 9 but to wear sandals; and He added, "Do not wear two tunics." - Jesus isn't an a miser or an ascetic-people who voluntarily subsist on basic food and few possessions because they believe it makes them better-and doesn't require his disciples to live that way. Nonetheless, Jesus tells them to take nothing but a staff, a single garment, and sandals. No food, no bag, no money, or extra cloths. Jesus not only prohibits frivolous items, but essential ones, too. His requirements go beyond minimums to "wobbly" faith. The disciples are being made to proceed without adequate provisions and trust local people for hospitality and above all else, trust God to provide for their needs.
v. 10: "And He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town"' - The requirement that the disciples not move from house to house served two purposes: (1) it prevents bad feeling among hosts who might be embarrassed if the disciple left their home for better accommodations; and (2) it prevented the disciples from being tempted to find better lodging merely out of concern for their physical comfort.
v. 11: "Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust]off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them" - Rabbinic writings report that Jews returning from a Gentile lands would routinely shake the pagan dust off their feet as a gesture of cleansing and contempt. Thus, when the disciples shake from their feet the dust of an unreceptive village, they are declaring the village to be pagan-announcing God's judgment on the village, which had the effect of releasing them from any further responsibility for it. It served as a warning to the unreceptive village and freed to disciples to move on to more promising places. Their responsibility to the gospel-and ours, too-is faithful proclamation, not success.
Read Mark 6:12-13 - THEY CAST OUT DEMONS AND HEALED THE SICK
12 And they went out and preached that people are to repent. 13 And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.
v. 12: "they went out and preached that people are to repent" - Although Jesus' instructions didn't mention preaching, it's inferred by vv. 11-12: the disciples go where Jesus tells them to go and do exactly what He tells them to do. Like John the Baptist, they preached a gospel of repentance: that we are separated from God because of our sin (Rom. 3:23). "Repent" comes from the Greek root word metnoeo, which means to change your mind. In the NT context, it means conforming to God's point of view regarding sin, lifestyle, and the place God has in your life. It doesn't mean we are perfect and never sin again, but we can be forgiven through God's grace.
v. 13: "And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them. This is where the rubber meets the road: The disciples have gone from living with Jesus day to day, listening to Him teach, watching Him heal, cast out demons, and perform miracles to the point where they are ready and prepar-ed to engage the world themselves. Like Jesus they cast out demons, and like Jesus, they heal the sick. He equips them with the bare minimum of pwers so that they won't get side-tracked from their main mission (v. 7). Although olive was known to have medicinal properties qualities, it is used here to symbolize healing and seen only in this instance. There is no record in the gospels of Jesus ever using oil as a healing agent.
Read Mark 6:30-32 - THEY GATHERED TO JESUS
30 The apostles *gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. 31 And He *said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) 32 And they went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.
v. 30: "The apostles *gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught" - The twelve have just returned from their first mission without Jesus, and they have done well in performing the mission that He gave them. Although they are eager to report what happened, their specific stories aren't recorded in Scripture. Only in this instance does Mark refer to them as "apostles." The title comes from the Greek word apostolos, which is defined as a messenger sent out with authority to speak for one who sent him.
v. 31: "And He *said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while. (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)" - As Jesus traveled through Galilee, preaching and performing miracles, He was often so swamped with crowds of people who surrounded Him that He frequently didn't even have time eat or rest. Now, having just returned from their own mission, the Twelve gain a better understanding of what Jesus goes through all the time. This passage tells us that we need be sensitive to the needs of our own spiritual representatives-our pastors, church leaders, and ministry workers. When we ensure our leaders are well-rested and well-provided for, we are simply giving them the love and care that Christ gives to all His people.
v. 32: "And they went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves" - Boats have been a indispensable refuge in Jesus' ministry for some time. He uses them to preach to a mob that crowded a little too close for comfort (Mk. 3:9; 4:1) and as an escape from the crowds that follow Him everywhere (Mk. 4:35-41). It's very likely to have been the boat owned by Peter and Andrew. John reported that they went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (Jn. 6:1) and Luke say they went to Bethsaida (Lk. 9:10).
APPLICATION-simple and straightforward:
1. Any person who claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ is by definition a disciple. It doesn't involve any special qualifications or talents and has only one basic qualification: That you are willing to follow Him with a receptive and obedient heart.
2. The main job of any disciple is to simply make more disciples. Although some followers are called into full-time ministry, the vast majority have full-time jobs family responsibilities. Even so, we may have to give up some things in life from time to time order to be an obedient disciple. The main principle here is that our mission as a disciple should always take priority over our personal comfort and convenience.
3. A disciple on mission always needs to be walking in steadfast faith. Like the twelve disciples in today's lesson, we need to be prepared for potential rejection, opposition, and even persecution. Like them, we are likely to be confronted with situations where we can only shake the dust off our feet and go elsewhere (v. 11). While we are accountable for our faithfulness, we must trust in God to produce the results.
PRAYER: Lord God, our Father in Heaven, we come before You this morning with praise and thanksgiving for allowing us to gather together as a body of believers and learn from the truth of Your Holy Word. We don't take this freedom of worship for granted, Lord, and we thank You for it. As we come together again and resume our normal in-person church activities, I pray, Lord, that you would guard the health and safety of every person here today, and specifically ask that You protect all of us from infection by the Corona-virus. We thank you, God, for this good church and know that You didn't place us here at this location by accident. We know, father, that You put us here to build Your Kingdom here on earth. The lesson this morning from Mark's gospel reminds us that as followers of Jesus Christ every single one of us is by definition a Disciple, and our main job is to make more disciples. For myself and every person here this morning, I ask, Lord God, that you would use Your Spirit to motivate and empower us to GO-to go outside the comfortable confines of this sanctuary and invite people to join Your Kingdom and receive a new life through salvation in Christ Jesus. If we do this, we know that You, Father, will produce the results-the harvest. In the name of my Redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ, I ask all of these things, AMEN.
