Passage: Mark 6:7-13
The Big Idea
God’s activity in my life personally is always connected to His mission globally. Jesus called the Twelve to Himself, sent them out two by two, and gave them power. They went with nothing in their hands so they would learn to depend on Him for everything. That’s still how ministry works: we come as poor servants, receive everything from the Father as a gift, and pass it on. God isn’t looking for people who will give all they have for Him. He’s looking for people empty enough that He can pour all He has into them.
Personal and Global
What is God’s mission? Bringing His kingdom.
What is His kingdom? God’s work in this world of bringing people into a right relationship with Him through the finished work of Jesus.
What part of the world is He concerned about? Every part. He sends His people into every nation to save people everywhere.
Where should I be focused? Where God has placed you first. Then your region. Then the whole world!
Jesus has a mission to reach your city, and He always does it through a deep, personal work in our hearts.
Major Ian Thomas taught that the very life Jesus lived then, He now lives in you. Jesus reached the world in His day through His love and power, and He still wants to do the same today, by giving His life to you and me.
It Starts with Relationships (Mark 6:7)
Jesus called the Twelve to Himself and began sending them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits.
This passage is about serving God, partnering with Him on His mission. And His mission is to spread the good news of His salvation. What is His salvation? Jesus. Jesus has come and given His life for everything we need. Pretty great news!
What do we learn here about serving on that mission? It all starts with relationships, committed and real.
- Relationship with Jesus. “He called the Twelve to Himself.” Earlier Mark told us Jesus appointed the Twelve so that they might be with Him, and that He might send them out to preach (Mark 3:14). Being with Him comes first.
- Relationship with each other. “Two by two.” Nobody goes alone.
Given Power
Next we see that to serve God, they needed grace. In other words, they had to be given power and abilities they didn’t have naturally.
“He gave them authority.” Give is the language of grace, and grace is how we’re meant to serve God today, just as in the book of Acts. Jesus promised His followers they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came on them, and they would be His witnesses from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
The verb “gave” is in a tense that suggests ongoing action: He kept on giving them power all through their tour of Galilee. A limitless supply! And that’s available to us. God’s commands are always His enablements.
God isn’t looking for people who will give all they have for Him. He’s looking for people who are empty enough that He can pour all He has into them.
If God is giving you all He has, what else do you need?
Travel Light (Mark 6:8-9)
He told them to take nothing for the journey but a staff: no bag, no bread, no money in their belts. Wear sandals, and don’t take an extra tunic.
- They had to go by faith.
- They needed dependence on the Lord, not on wealth or any human ability.
- The minimum of provision was meant to call out the maximum of faith.
- With no resources, they were totally cast on the Lord.
Paul told Timothy that godliness with contentment is great gain. We brought nothing into the world and can take nothing out. If we have food and clothing, we’ll be content. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil; some have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows (1 Timothy 6:6-10).
- Don’t trust in anything besides Jesus. Everything else is a snare.
- Israel was tempted to trust in chariots and horses, the strength of men and machines (Psalm 20:7).
- We trust in the same things today: armies, weapons, technology.
- It’s all a snare, and it brings sorrow. Our trust belongs in our God alone.
- What are you trusting besides Jesus? Your job? Your strength? Your money? Your stuff?
When People Don’t Receive You (Mark 6:10-11)
Jesus told them to stay in whatever house welcomed them until they left that town. And wherever people wouldn’t receive them or listen, they were to shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against them.
- People may not receive your message. Don’t freak out. Just give the message: God’s kingdom has come, and you can be saved by trusting the Savior God has given.
- Remember what’s at stake for them. The stakes are eternal. So don’t add to their pain. Give them the truth, with love.
What They Did (Mark 6:12-13)
So they went out and preached that people should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
- They gave truth. They preached that people should turn to God.
- They exercised spiritual power. They were enabled to break the strongholds and chains that held people spiritually bound.
- They met physical needs. They cared for sick and broken people. Olive oil was one of the best medicines of the ancient world, used inside and out, and the word for “anoint” here can simply mean to rub on, as A. T. Robertson pointed out. Their ministry was practical care.
This describes real ministry. It looks a lot like friendship: love, selfless action, caring.
What If We Tried It in Our Own Strength?
What if we, as a church, devoted ourselves to these three things with all our own strength?
- Preach truth. We’d come off like jerks.
- Try to free people from spiritual bondage. Failure and weakness. “Who are you to tell me what to do?” So we’d fall back on purely human methods to win a spiritual victory, and it wouldn’t work.
- Care for the sick and bring real change into their lives. We could never do enough. We’d run out of strength and resources.
This is the main lesson.
Jesus came as a poor servant of God. Everything He needed, He received from His Father. He invested in that relationship every single day; it was His priority. Through that relationship He was empowered and sent to serve us: to give us truth, freedom and healing.
And Jesus is reproducing that same plan in us. Same mission, done the same way.
We come as poor servants. Everything we need is a free gift from our Heavenly Father. We’re invited to invest in our relationship with Him every day, to make it our priority. Through that relationship we’re empowered and sent to serve the whole world God loves: to speak truth, to see people spiritually set free, and to care for them practically.
The mission:
- Speak truth to the world.
- See people delivered from spiritual bondage.
- Care for them, medically and practically.
The training:
- Abide in Christ. Spend time growing in a real relationship with Him.
- Humility and faith.
- Real relationships.
Life and Death
The Italian patriot Garibaldi once stood before his men in Rome and said: “I offer you neither pay nor provisions. I offer you hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles and death. Let him who loves his country with his heart and not with his lips only, follow me.”
Jesus similarly says that whoever wants to come after Him must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Him (Mark 8:34).
A relationship with Jesus is life and death.
- It’s death to our flesh and our supposed self-sufficiency.
- But it’s life: His life and power, freely given to us.
How do I take up my cross and follow Him?
Picture your morning. Your flesh wants to get after it. Or it wants to give up. Or it wants to relax and chill. Or it wants something else. Every one of those desires needs to go to the cross. How? By saying no to them and purposefully choosing Jesus instead.
So get up, open the Word, and seek His face. Let His truth speak to you, and pour your heart out to Him.
It will be hard on your flesh. But it will be life-giving. You’ll find life poured into you even though you don’t deserve it. You’re not earning it. You’re coming to God in humility and faith, and His response is to freely give you His life-giving Spirit and grace. Everything we need is found in Him.
Grace Takeaway
Jesus didn’t send the Twelve out with full bags; He sent them out with empty hands and a limitless supply of His power. Serving God was never about what we bring Him. It’s about staying close to Him and handing out what He gives. Be with Jesus first, travel light, and let Him pour His life through you to the people He loves.
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