Jesus Sends His Disciples
Matthew 10:5-15, Mark 6:7-15, Luke 9:1-6
“These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” Matthew 10:5-7.
“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.” Mark 6:11
“And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons to cure diseases, and sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal” Luke 9:1-2
Why the lost sheep of Israel? Jesus called the Jewish people “the house of Israel” and these were the ones that were lost. Isaiah 53:6 says, “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.” Later, the gospel would go to both the Samaritans and the Gentiles, but it had to begin with the lost sheep of the house of Israel. In Romans 1:16, it says “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Jesus wanted to remind the disciples of the urgency of the gospel and the need to depend on Him while on the journey. They were to take no supplies but just trust in Him to provide. They also were reminded that they would not always encounter people of peace (those who would respond to the gospel), that they would be rejected and that they could shake the dust off their feet and move to the next town when that happened.
When Jesus chose the twelve apostles he not only called them, but He sent them. The same is true today, that those He calls, He will equip to do the work. In Acts 1:8 the Holy Spirit would be the presence of Jesus that gave the disciples power and authority when they were sent out on mission. Jesus promises that they would be given power and authority, not by anything they were going to do on their own but by the power of the Spirit. The same is true for us today.
Jesus said “as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20:21). Jesus was deploying the disciples to be sent just as He was sent by the Father to preach, heal the sick, and free the people from demonic possession. The disciples would be furthering the work that Jesus had started. As you reflect on how Jesus asks His disciples to go out, consider these questions: What lie are you believing about your identity while you’re sent out? How can you demonstrate or declare the gospel today?!
