With Before Sent

Steve Jeantet

Mark • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

Mark 6:7–13

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The disciples were called to be WITH Jesus before they were SENT by Jesus.

Notes

Transcript

Dismiss Kids (2nd Service Only)

Pray

Introduction - Cooler Backpack

When the kids were younger and we would take them to theme parks, we would have the stroller

While frustrating to push the stroller through the park, trying to weave through breaks in the crowd and spending half the day trying to figure out where to park the stroller to go on the next ride

Ok, you get the idea - I didn’t really like pushing the stroller around the parks!

But it was convenient

We had stuff everywhere

Compartment under the seat

Stroller had multiple cupholders

We had clips so we could hang more bags

We could have survived for days on the Cheez-its and granola bars and bottled water and more that we pushed around on that stroller

I’m pretty sure at times the value of the stroller was as a transportation device for the stuff more than a transportation device for the kids!

But as they got older, we didn’t need the stroller bag anymore

Enter the cooler backpack

Count the pockets

It has a USB port on it

Padded to distribute weight (and trust me, when we fill it and enter the park, it weighs a lot!)

But the biggest thing: the cooler compartment

Loaded up with bottles of water, some frozen to keep it all cool

Needing to carry the 35 pound kid on my front to keep me balanced from the weight of the backpack!

Today we are looking at passage where the disciples are sent - without a cooler backpack - with almost nothing

So let’s look at our passage here this morning, Mark 6:6-13

Scripture Reading

Mark 6:6–13 ESV

And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching. And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

Transition

Fascinating passage here with Jesus sending out the disciples to cast out demons and heal people and dusting off their sandals as condemnation of towns that don’t receive them and more

And even more, what do we do with this passage? What is the application? Are we supposed to go cast out demons?

Are we supposed to cast out demons while only wearing one tunic and no extra food in our picnic basket?

We’ll get to all of that

But first, I want to remind us of where we are in Mark - how we got here

So before we go any further, let me give you the conclusion: WITH BEFORE SENT

Here that again: Being with Jesus comes before being sent by Jesus

Son Affirmed by the Father

Mark 1:9-11 “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.””

Unlike Matthew and Luke, the gospel of Mark does not recount the birth of Jesus

He jumps right in the very front end of Jesus’ public ministry

The person of Jesus first appears in Mark’s gospel as an adult approaching John to be baptized

And what do we hear? The voice of God the Father speaking words of affirmation over Jesus

Before Jesus faced down various temptations, before he performed any miracles, before he taught, before he was crucified, he was with the Father and he was affirmed by the Father

Quick Aside: Dads, grandfathers, I cannot overstate the value of speaking words of affirmation over your children

Have you told your children or grandchildren recently that you love them? That you are proud of them? That you delight in them?

Do so today!

Jesus was with the Father before he was sent by the Father

We see this throughout the public ministry of Jesus

Mark 1:35 “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”

Mark 6:45-46 “Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.”

Jesus was with the Father before he was sent by the Father

Be WITH Jesus

Mark 3:13-15 “And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.”

Do you hear that language?

He called the 12 “so that they might be with him”

Just as Jesus was with the Father before being sent by the Father, so we also are called to be with Jesus before being sent by Jesus

Our value, our worth is found not in our actions, not in doing enough for Jesus, not getting it all right

Our value, our worth is found by being with Jesus

Our formation comes by being with Jesus

Our maturity comes by being with Jesus

Even our model comes by what we see and experience and learn as we are with Jesus

Mark 3:14-15 “And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.”

The first call upon the disciples… the first call upon us is that we might be with Jesus

That we might experience grace, receive forgiveness, grow in wisdom and gentleness and humility

Then he sends out the disciples to preach and have authority to cast out demons

Transition

So now we can come back to our main passage for this morning in Mark 6 where Jesus is going to send them out

He sends out 12 who had lived with him, eaten with him, learned from him… been with him

SENT by Jesus

In the Model of Jesus

Mark 6:6 “And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.”

First thing about the ministry to which he is going to send them is to his ministry

He was already traveling and teaching

He called the disciples into his work of calling sinners to repentance

In Pairs

Mark 6:7 “And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.”

Second, he sent them out two by two

Why?

Various reasons why being sent in pairs is valuable

Companionship when it gets tough

Shared wisdom and learning from one another

But in the culture, it was primarily for the purpose of corroborating witnesses

2 Cor 13:1 “This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.”

Need multiple witnesses to establish the validity of the testimony

Affirms the truthfulness of the message that they were not crazy fanatics on their own

Being sent in pairs establishes the truth and validity of their message

Their Supplies

Mark 6:8-9 “He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.”

Backpack illustration

As I said at the beginning, we load up this backpack with snacks and drinks and wipes and changes of clothes and rain ponchos and more

If you can dream it for a day at the park, we have packed it in this bag

But here Jesus sends them out with pretty strict packing instructions

No bread

No bad

No money in their belts

Which of course I take to be a prescriptive admonition against ever wearing a fanny pack!

No change of clothes

Can take:

Walking stick

Sandals on their feet (but no extra pair of shoes)

Clothes on their back but no extra jacket

Significance: Why does Jesus give them such strict instructions on their packing list?

Have to trust in the Lord

Call to be content with God’s provisions

This was Jesus’ mission that he was sending them on - he would provide

Important side note: There is no indication that Paul or any in the early church who found these restrictions to be binding for all time

In theological terms, this was descriptive, not prescriptive

What I mean is this: This call to take nothing on missions trips was not understood by the early church to be a command that must be followed for all time

Their Mission

Mark 6:7 “And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.”

That word, “send” is the same root word as apostles

This was a mission of importance and urgency!

So what exactly was their mission?

Mark 6:10-13 “And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.”

Task:

Mark 6:12 “So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.”

Their primary task was to call people to repentance!

They cast out demons and healed the sick

But they were the reinforcement of their message

Their primary task was to call people to repentance!

Their Authority

Mark 6:7 “And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.”

Their authority came from Jesus himself!

He gave them the authority over unclean spirits

As they had been with Jesus, so now they went with Jesus’ authority

Their Results

Mark 6:12-13 “So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.”

Mark records here their activities but not their results

The work of changing hearts belongs to the Lord

The disciples task when they were sent by Jesus was to preach repentance and to cast out demons and to heal the sick

That they did… but to what end?

We don’t know… we don’t know how many followed the Lord after this

We don’t know how many conversions their were

But this we know: They were sent by Jesus… with his authority… and that his word never comes back void!

Conclusion

A passage like this works great for missions conferences and calling people to action

And I hope you hear that?

To what mission are you being sent by Jesus?

Who where you live, work, or play needs to hear about Jesus?

Who is God burdening your heart to call them to repentance?

But with before sent

“In Christ” - any missional emphasis must start with being with Jesus

Who you are in Christ comes first

Being with Jesus comes first

So as we close, I want you to hear just a few verses of what it means to be “in Christ”

2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Rom 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Eph 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Gal 3:26-27 “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

Eph 2:6 “and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,”

The first… the primary task for each of us, as it was for the disciples, is to be with Jesus

And then we can be sent by Jesus

Being with Jesus comes before being sent by Jesus

With Before Sent