The First Unaccompanied Mission Tour

The First Unaccompanied Mission Tour

Mark 6:7-13, 30

Jesus had been teaching the gospel of the Kingdom to the disciples for some time. They had learned some things and would need to learn a lot more and the power of the Holy Spirit before they were ready to go out on their own. But part of the learning process includes practicing what they were going to do later. Seminary students today do they same thing when they are in supervised ministry. At times the students are let out on their own and later report back with their mentor about the experience. In this, they are following the method that Jesus Himself used.

Part of Jesus’ ministry was showing His authority over demons and unclean spirits. This was a demonstration of the power of the Kingdom. The disciple was to be in every way like the master. If the master had authority over unclean spirits, so must the disciples. Obviously, no human being in their own power and authority is able to bind demons, except Jesus, or course because Jesus was also the Son of God. This authority had to be given to them. This would have been by a temporary granting of the Holy Spirit. Jesus had the authority in Himself, yet He was led by the same Holy Spirit, and by the Spirit cast out demons. This shows that the disciples had the Spirit before Pentecost, at least in measure, and for a season. They could not go out on the mission without it.

Matthew gives much more detail about the commissioning sermon than Mark. A lot of what Jesus tells them in Matthew seems to fit the rejection they would face after Pentecost. Jesus was a good teacher in that even though He gave instructions for the mission at hand, He also gave instruction for the future mission of the Apostles in which they would have to give account even before Gentile kings. Mark only gives the detail concerning the immediate mission at hand. They were to put on sandals, not take money, etc. They were told to stay in place at the first place they lodged in a town, If the message was accepted, well and good. But if not, judgment was to be pronounced. The dust was to be shaken off their feet, and their judgment would be even worse than Sodom and Gomorrah.

But one would be mistaken if one thinks Mark is less concerned about the rejection the disciples would face. The Holy Spirit just said the same thing through Mark in a different way. This is seen in the text sequence of chapter six. It begins with the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth. Although Luke records that they wanted to stone Jesus after throwing Him from the brow of an embankment. But rejected Jesus was, and that by the people who knew Him the best. Jesus is shown first to be rejected by His own brothers, sisters, and perhaps even his own mother as being insane. Then in the just mentioned passage, Jesus is rejected by the rest of His kinfolk. Then He would be rejected by the nation of Israel, His own people. So the immediate context of this mission trip was the rejection of Jesus.

This is not all, the report of how the mission trip is interrupted by a passage on the death of John the Baptist which is sandwiched in-between. Those who proclaim the truth will meet the same fate that John did. Mark uses this sandwich technique on several occasions such as the healing of the woman with the issue of blood is sandwiched in the middle of the story about the raising of Jairus’ daughter. As far as interpretation is concerned, there is something about the woman with the issue of blood which gives light to the story of the raising of Jairus’ daughter. He also inserts the parable of the fig tree around the cleansing of the Temple. The parable of the fig tree in this case says something about the future of the Temple.

So what does the insertion of the death of John the Baptist tell us about the mission of the disciples? As has been shown, it emphasizes the rejection of the message that the disciples would preach. The rejection of the master says so. Jesus mentions they would be rejected in some place directly. And finally, the example of John the Baptist shows that this fate potentially awaits all who will speak the true message of God.

What is the message which will be rejected. Well john proclaimed a gospel of repentance from sin and believing the good news, that the Messiah and his Kingdom were at hand. Jesus proclaimed: “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” What did the disciples preach here? It says the disciples were to preach that people should repent. So it is clear that the proclamation of the gospel begins with repentance. It is just this call to repentance which is so dangerous and leads to rejection. Yet it is most necessary.