Session 5 > Mark 6:7-13,30-32
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Session 5 > Mark 6:7-13,30-32 Sends Jesus commissions His followers to point others to Him. “You want to go where and do what?” My daughter smiled as I asked this question in astonishment. She wasn’t asking to attend some wild party. She wanted to sign up with her college student ministry team to travel overseas to a country that was officially closed to Christian missionaries. The students planned to teach conversational English and basketball to teenagers as a bridge to sharing their Christian testimonies. The dangers were apparent to her mother and me, but that did not deter our daughter. We talked frankly about some of the challenges, including the potential perils for the students and the difficulty of raising money for travel. Nothing dissuaded her. Her heart was fixed, convinced that God was calling her to go. We prayed together and agreed that if God opened the door for her to go, we would support her. In time, she received enough financial support not only to cover her travel expenses but also to help with other students’ expenses. God graciously protected the student team during their journey and brought them home safely. That trip helped confirm to our daughter—not to mention her parents— that God was calling her to serve Him as a missionary. Today, our missionary daughter and son-in-law (and our grandchildren) live sixteen time zones away from us, sharing and living out the gospel message in a nation that is almost completely unchurched. It sometimes saddens my wife and me to be able to see them only by means of electronic video-conferencing. Still, we have never doubted or regretted our daughter’s obedience to God’s call. This session’s focus is on Jesus’ sending out His disciples on a gospel mission. The study emphasizes that God wants all believers to participate in taking the good news of Jesus Christ to people everywhere. Whether among our families, friends, neighbors, or work associates, we as Christians encounter numerous opportunities to fulfill the Great Commission. Also, like our daughter’s experience as a college student, sometimes the Lord directs us by His Spirit to intentionally go to specific places and people far away to share the gospel. This worldwide gospel advance continues the mission that Jesus began with His first disciples. 50 Explore the Bible © 2019 LifeWay UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT MARK 6:1–7:23 Jesus and His disciples continued to travel throughout the towns and villages of Galilee. Although Jesus continued to attract crowds wanting to hear Him teach and see Him heal, He also encountered unbelief and opposition. The events reported in this section of Mark’s Gospel highlight the mixed reactions Jesus received. In 6:1-6, Mark reported a visit that Jesus and His disciples made to His boyhood home, Nazareth. Jesus taught in the synagogue there, but the worshipers were skeptical of Him and disbelieved the reports of His miracles. Because of their unbelief, Jesus performed only a few healings in Nazareth. Mark 6:7-13 describes the disciples’ first efforts in carrying out Jesus’ message and ministry. Jesus instructed them on what to say and do; then He sent them out in pairs to minister in His name and with His authority. They experienced the amazing results of Jesus’ power as they preached, expelled evil spirits, and administered healing to the sick. In 6:14-29, the Gospel writer inserted an account of John the Baptist’s death at the hands of Herod Antipas. Mark had previously noted John’s arrest in connection with the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry (1:14). In the context of Mark 6, John’s execution already had occurred. It explains, however, the reason Herod believed that Jesus was John the Baptist having returned from the dead. Mark 6:30-43 reports one of Jesus’ best-known miracles, the feeding of at least five thousand people using only five loaves of bread and two fish. He performed this miracle of provision in the context of an all-day teaching event. A crowd of people had followed Jesus and His disciples to a place they went for a time of rest. Jesus had great compassion for the people, who appeared to Him as sheep without a shepherd. Following the miraculous feeding of the crowd, Jesus directed His disciples to board a boat returning across the sea toward the town of Bethsaida. He planned to dismiss the crowd and then meet the disciples later after a time of prayer. As the disciples were crossing the sea, a storm arose and threatened to capsize their boat. Jesus walked on the water to the boat and calmed the storm (6:45-52). This amazing event was followed by a period of miraculous works Jesus performed throughout the region of Galilee (6:53-56). In 7:1-23, Mark described the rising opposition that Jesus encountered from the scribes and Pharisees. These groups accused Jesus and His disciples of ignoring long-standing religious traditions. Jesus used Old Testament quotations and parables to call out the scribes’ and Pharisees’ hypocrisy. Session 5: Sends 51 © 2019 LifeWay EXPLORE THE TEXT SENT BY JESUS (Mark 6:7) Jesus appointed twelve of His disciples to be apostles, a word that means “sent-out ones” (see 3:14-19). For a time these select men traveled with Jesus and observed as He taught, healed the sick, cast out evil spirits, and exercised authority over the forces of nature. All the while, Jesus was preparing the Twelve to go on mission in His name. The time had come for them to put into practice what they had learned and received from their Master. VERSE 7 He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs and gave them authority over unclean spirits. Jesus summoned the Twelve. The Greek word rendered summoned (“called,” KJV; ESV) literally means “to call to oneself.” The term does not necessarily mean the twelve apostles were in different locations at this time. More likely, it simply describes Jesus’ decision to move the apostles to the next level in their discipleship. The time had come for the apostles to go on short-term ministry ventures in His name. Additional followers of Christ would also participate in ministry efforts at a later time (see Luke 10:1-2). First, however, Jesus focused on the twelve apostles. They (except for Judas) would become the leaders of the gospel movement after Jesus’ ascension; some would become writers of the New Testament Scriptures. The phrase began to send them out may indicate that Jesus did not deploy all twelve apostles at one time but instead sent out teams on a staggered basis over a short period of time. Regardless, the main emphasis of verse 7 is that the apostles did not initiate these ministry excursions on their own. They went out at their Master’s command and in His name. Jesus organized the ministry teams in pairs. In this approach, no apostle traveled and worked alone. Each apostle had a companion apostle along for encouragement, counsel, and protection. Had they been organized in larger groups, however, fewer villages might have been reached and adequate lodging might have been more difficult to secure. As a precursor to the Holy Spirit’s empowering presence in believers (see Acts 2:4), Jesus gave the apostles authority (“power,” KJV) over unclean spirits. The Greek word rendered authority refers to conferred spiritual or moral power to command. Jesus knew that the ministry teams would face strong opposition from people who were controlled by unclean spirits (“impure spirits,” NIV). As they encountered this opposition, the apostles needed to 52 Explore the Bible © 2019 LifeWay remember they were ministering in their Lord’s name and authority, not their own. They had observed as Jesus was victorious in spiritual warfare against numerous and various manifestations of evil: disease, demon possession, unbelief, and hypocrisy, to name a few. The apostles would experience similar victories only if they served with the spiritual authority Jesus gave them. What encouragement this passage offers to believers today as well! Those of us who seek to serve others in Jesus’ name can do so with confidence. We are never alone when we face spiritual opposition in its many manifestations. The Holy Spirit goes with us and empowers us to minister in the name and authority of our Lord Jesus Christ. EXPLORE FURTHER How could your Bible study group utilize a “two-by-two” approach to serve others? When have you encountered opposition to Jesus and the gospel in your efforts to serve? What gave you confidence to persevere despite the opposition you faced? EQUIPPED BY JESUS (Mark 6:8-11) As Jesus sent His apostles on ministry assignments, He told them to carry minimal provisions. They were to trust God to provide for them through the hospitality of townspeople. If they found no hospitality or encountered widespread rejection in a village, they were to leave with a clear conscience. VERSE 8 He instructed them to take nothing for the road except a staff— no bread, no traveling bag, no money in their belts, Jesus instructed (“commanded,” KJV; “charged,” ESV) His apostles to take nothing for the road. In Mark’s Gospel, one personal item was permitted: a staff. Staffs were walking sticks usually made from cut saplings or limbs. They could also serve as a means of defense against wild animals or bandits. In the parallel accounts of this instruction in Matthew 10:10 and Luke 9:3, even a staff was prohibited. The minor variances in the accounts may reflect different apostles’ recollections.