Twelve Sent Out Series

-AD 28-

Nazareth

Lesson: Twelve Sent Out

(1 Corinthians 9:14), Matthew 9:35-11:1, Mark 6:6-13, Luke 9:1-6

What a privilege, to be a messenger of God and give His word to those who are hungry for it. I have seen what the Word of God can do for a person who will not only believe it, but will live it. It has the power to change lives! Those who are preachers of the Gospel have the responsibility due to their calling, to give their very best for God. It’s a full time job that needs the support of their family and their flock. They are to support the preacher with their prayers, and by encouraging him and by providing him with a livable salary.

We are told in I Corinthians 9:14, “Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.” God intends for the preacher to be supported by his church. I don’t believe that a preacher should be rich, because riches tend to get a hold on a man; but his family should not have to go without, and neither should he. I believe that God will bless the church, which takes good care of their pastor, and loves him. In today’s study, Jesus sends out His disciples with a mission and there are some good lessons for us in His instructions to them. Mathew, Mark and Luke record this account.

-Matthew-

Matthew 9

35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

“The gospel of the kingdom” was the announcement that the Kingdom of heaven was at hand. It meant to get ready for the King. It required a heart condition that would accept and follow the King, who was then on the way to the cross. And on the way to the cross, He was “healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” Matthew keeps impressing upon us that there were thousands of people who were healed by Jesus. This is the reason the enemy never questioned the fact that He performed miracles-it was too obvious.

In our day, a great many people get excited by the claims of certain people that they have the gift of healing. Personally, I don’t think that anyone in our day has that gift; but I do believe that God heals. He heals, if it’s His will, and since we do not know His will in these matters, we should ask Him for healing and pray, “But thy will be done, not mine.”

In contrast to today, there were thousands of people healed by Our Lord Jesus. I know that Jesus is the Great Physician, and that He can heal today as well as yesterday. I have a great confidence in Him. When we are sick, we should seek the best medical help available to us, but we need to recognize that doctors are extremely limited. However, the Lord Jesus is not limited. We should be confident that He will deal with us according to His perfect will, and we need to give Him the credit for whatever happens.

36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

Note the compassion that is evident in this verse; and it is for the multitudes of people who flocked to Him.

Jesus said they were like sheep that didn’t have a shepherd. God’s ideal kings and rulers had been shepherds. Both Moses and David had been shepherds before they led God’s people. When we pray for missionaries to take Christ to the lost, pray that they will be shepherds. And let’s pray that God will give us a heart for the lost.

37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;

38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

After Jesus said this to His disciples, He sent them out. He asked them to pray for laborers to send into the harvest; then He sent them out, the very men He asked to pray about it. Isn’t this interesting? Should we be ready to do what we pray about, in case God decides to send us?

Matthew 10

The disciples did not go out as forerunners, but as after-runners. Our Lord gave them power to perform miracles-this was their credential. (Have you ever noticed that John the Baptist never performed a miracle?) Note that their title is changed from disciple (learner) to apostle (delegate).

1 And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.