Then Jesus went throughout all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were bewildered and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.[1]
Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.[2] Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” Jesus called his twelve disciples[3] and gave them authority over unclean spirits so they could cast them out and heal every kind of disease and sickness.
Jesus sent out these twelve two by two[4] to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is near and to heal the sick.[5]He instructed them as follows: “Do not go to Gentile regions and do not enter any Samaritan town.[6] Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near!’
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Take nothing[7] for the journey except a staff,[8] and put on sandals. Do not take gold, silver, or copper in your belts[9] – no bread, no bag for the journey, or an extra tunic, or sandals or staff,[10] for the worker deserves his provisions.
“Whenever you enter a town or village, find out who is worthy there and stay with them until you leave the area.[11]As you enter the house, give it greetings. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.[12]
And if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your message, as you leave that house or town, shake the dust off your feet[13] as a testimony against them. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town![14]
When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their towns. Then the disciples departed and went throughout the villages, proclaiming the good news and preaching that all should repent. They cast out many demons and anointed sick people everywhere with oil and healed them.
A few comments on some dynamics at work here.
The disciples would do the things that Jesus had been doing to prove their power and message were from him. They were given Christ-like credentials to confirm their message.
They were to stay in the first house that welcomed them —no rejecting poor accommodations or working toward getting to a nicer place. The value of their host and their relationship with their host was more important than the comfort of their bed.
They were not to pressure those who refused to be hospitable to them or their message, but were to shake off the dust from their feet (hospitable hosts would have cleaned their feet for them) and move on.[15]
This was not to be a means to accumulate wealth. Jerome (347-420) wrote, “Spiritual gifts are defiled if connected with rewards.” He was very concerned that it would look like “they were preaching not for the sake of humanity’s salvation but for the sake of their own financial gain.”[16] They had received their blessings without cost and were to pay it forward on the same basis.[17] Neither the miracles of the Kingdom nor the good news of the free gift of grace in the Kingdom were intended to make one wealthy by earthly standards.
This passage could be mined pretty deeply. There is a lot of treasure here below the surface. I am going to offer six points to ponder in hopes that at least one will challenge or encourage you.
1. The transformative reality that “the kingdom is near” needs to take root here before we take it there. Jesus wasn’t telling them to only go the Jewish people because he disliked the Gentiles and Samaritans. He had already spoken to the woman at the well in Samaria (who brought the whole village to see him), so the Kingdom tree was growing in Samaria. He had been healing Gentiles (we read last week that an entire household was converted), and the former demoniac was telling people about Jesus in the largely Gentile side of the Sea of Galilee, so it’s not as if the Gentiles had been ignored.
I suspect he steered the 12 toward the Jewish people for two reasons.
First, the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” are his children, his family. His sheep are wandering around like sheep without a Shepherd because they don’t know who the shepherd is. The Father loves his children, and he begins with them. He has not given up on them. His ministry will not end with his family, but it will begin with His family.
I’ll just note: if God has given you the gifts and talents to do ministry for the Kingdom on his behalf, begin with your family. It probably won’t end there, but it should start there. Trust me, as one for whom it took a long time for this to sink in. This is important.
Second, I wonder if it has something to do with the development of truth and character in those who will spread the message before they spread the message. There was some work that needed to be done so the ambassadors could represent the King well. For example, his disciples will soon ask him to call down fire on a Samaritan town.[18] Yeah, you might not want to send those guys to the Samaritans just yet. They might have known the message of Jesus, but they didn’t understand the heart of Jesus.
There is a lesson here :) It is important that we not neglect our spiritual formation as we build the reach and impact of the Kingdom. We don’t have to be perfect, obviously. We can a mess, in fact, as God is working to heal all the many ways we are broken. But we need to understand the heart of God for people, and we need to be committed to the ongoing serious discipleship that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, increases our likeness to Jesus. If we are planning to head out and beg God to call down fire on those who are lost, we aren't ready. When we see them as lost and confused sheep who need to meet the Shepherd, we are.
2. The crowds were like sheep without a shepherd, a ripe harvest with no one gathering. Is that how we view the lost or wandering crowds around us? It’s worth noting that it’s likely at least some of these people eventually clamored for Jesus’ crucifixion. Perhaps being able to view even hostile enemies this way is how, Jesus, while on the cross, could say, “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.”
When we see news coverage of THAT group marching for THAT issue, how do we see them? Do we see sheep without a shepherd? When we walk downtown during Cherry Festival, do we see a field ripe for harvest, needing to have someone who an ambassador for Jesus enter into their lives with the good news of salvation? And what does your response motivate you to do: retreat in fear, lash out in anger, take an eye for eye, get a hostile bumper sticker that’s sure to trigger somebody? Or are we moved to prayerfully seek them out to share the message - and show with our lives- that the good news that the Kingdom of heaven is here?
3. What does it look like to live prophetically? “Biblical prophets had to live simply in times of widespread apostasy, not dependent on decadent society (1Kings 17:4 – 6; 18:13; 2Kings 4:38; 5:15 – 16,26; 6:1).”[19]
Do we live in times of widespread apostasy (followers of Jesus falling away from the faith)? Yes, at a record pace for the United States. Is our culture decadent? Almost 50 years ago, Francis Schaeffer argued vigorously that it is, and I don’t know of anyone who disagreed then or now.
We often talk about speaking prophetically, which 80+ percent of the time in the Bible meant proclaiming God’s word and plan boldly in what called forthtelling as opposed to foretelling about future events (that’s the other percentage points).
We talk about speaking prophetically in both of those ways (as we should), but we don’t so often talk about living prophetically. Why? It’s a lot easier to say some words than it is to change a lifestyle.
I wonder what it looks like for us to live prophetically? I’m not sure where to go with this: maybe… it’s this? Or that? These are just ideas. I’m spitballing. There is something important here, and I feel like I’m nibbling at the edges. Maybe in Message+ we can get to the core. These are things I thought of this week.
We refuse to support the destructive nature of greedy consumerism by reigning in our consumption and from our savings, practicing generosity.
In an age of indulgence - often at the expense others - we practice self-restraint so that we are better able to serve others.
We refuse to live in luxury when those around us live in squalor. Where is that line? I have no idea. But it’s somewhere.
We fight the culture’s objectification and exploitation of people sexually and financially by determining to honor the intrinsic value of people with our thoughts, our words, and our actions.
We refuse to go about our daily life as if everything is okay when it’s not okay. We commit to holy disturbances in the rhythm of our lives to spread the Kingdom.
I’m sure there’ more here. I hope this inspires us to think about it.
4. It is just as important to receive hospitality as to give it. In Jesus’ time, people honored others by showing hospitality. But it works both ways. Hosts were honored when people received their generosity, as simple as it may be. Imagine if a disciple had stayed one night at a house and the next day said, “Hey that was really nice, but I’m going to THAT house.” (Points toward the mansion up the block). Imagine how the poorer host would feel. I love that Jesus’ instructions required his disciples to appreciate people rather than the things that they had.
Also, there is something very, very important about receiving hospitality that affirms the value of the person giving. From a reddit post:
"I heard my mother asking our neighbor for some salt. I asked her why she was asking them as we had salt at home. She replied: 'It's because they're always asking us for things; they're poor. So I thought I'd ask something small from them so as not to burden them but at the same time make them feel as if we need them too.'"
5. The messenger of the Kingdom are purposeful, but not pushy. Notice that the disciples did not hound, berate, yell, march, picket, boycott those who were inhospitable to them or their ideas. They tried, and then moved on to those who were hospitable. I suspect, given enough time, they would have tried again or at least encouraged others to give it a shot. It’s not that they didn’t care. But they had a message of good seeds that needed to be sown in good soil, and there was only so much time.
There’s something here about discerning the moment. Of all the points, this might be the one that most obviously requires a sensitivity to whether the Holy Spirit is pushing you toward or pulling you from someone. The best explanation I have in my life is that there have been times when I’ve been talking to both Christians and non-Christians and it was clear they had heart soil ready for truth about all kinds of things, from who Jesus is to how to love others well or be honest about themselves…you name it, they were ready to have truth planted in their hearts.
In other conversations I’ve had, it became clear after a while that they were only in this to show me how smart they were, or to try to humiliate me, or to defend themselves from any and all attempts to help them see themselves as God and others saw them.
I don’t have a template or a scientific explanation about how you know the difference, but when you know, you know.
I don’t believe for a minute God was done with those villages when the disciples moved on. The Holy Spirit, the Hound of Heaven, will pursue them through someone else. When we feel nudged to move on, remember that just because we aren’t the messenger doesn’t mean there will be no messenger. I suspect God will send other people into their lives who will be far more effective than you or I ever would have been.
6. I wonder what signs are ‘credentials’ in our culture? What things would lay out our credentials as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God? For the disciples it was those specifically miraculous things, many of which directly pointed back to Old Testament prophecy concerning what the awaited Messiah would do. In many times and places throughout history, that kind of miraculous work has been like planting a flag in the ground and saying, “This is Kingdom territory,” and everybody got it.
In increasingly secular cultures, where all miracles are explained away as unknown science, I wonder if the signs and wonders are sometimes something different. It’s not like God can’t be creative with how He displays His power and goodness to the world.
In the book of Acts, miracles were the primary credentials. That continues today in many parts of the world, especially in countries where the supernatural world clashes very publically.
In the first few centuries of the early church, miracles didn’t stop, but it was their love for everybody that awed the Gentiles more than anything else.
Throughout history, faithful martyrdom has caught the attention of those far from Jesus.
In the Middle Ages (when things went well) it was hospitable communities and the preservation of schools and libraries that shone like a city on a hill.
In the Great Awakenings, it was repentant, transformed individuals, who often led the charge to address social issues (poverty, racism, alcoholism, orphans).
In the Asuza revivals, it was the gifts of the Holy Spirit being used in power and love for the building of the church.
The 2000s began with a proliferation of apologetics, philosophical, historical and theological arguments in defense of the faith that for many skeptics removed the hurdle of feeling like faith was not for the intellectual or scientific.
Now, I think the most powerful credentials in the United States is increasingly returning to 1) the testimony of transformed lives, and 2) the witness of church communities characterized by embodied truth, love and grace displayed in the family, church and broader community. As has often been noted, people don’t care what we know until they know that we care.
None of these are never not important. What is important is “understanding the times,” and entering into what God is doing at a particular time in a particular place for a particular people.
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[1] Ezekiel 34:5
[2] “The state of things suggested two pictures to His mind: a neglected flock of sheep, and a harvest going to waste for lack of reapers. Both imply, not only a pitiful plight of the people, but a blameworthy neglect of duty on the part of their religious guides—the shepherds by profession without the shepherd heart, the spiritual husbandmen without an eye for the whitening fields and skill to handle the sickle.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
[3] “The Twelve were evidently not together all the time (some had homes and families).”
(ESV Reformation Study Bible)
[4] “[This] satisfies the requirement of two or three witnesses and provides them a measure of protection.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds of the New Testament)
[5] “[This] is not appointment to a permanent office but commissioning for an immediate task.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
[6] Jesus had already been to Samaria. Also, “That Jesus felt it necessary to mention the Samaritans at all presupposes John 4. The disciples, happy in the exercise of their ability to perform miracles, might have been tempted to evangelize the Samaritans when they remembered Jesus' success there. Judging by Lk 9:52-56, however, the Twelve were still tempermentally ill-equipped to minister to Samaritans.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
[7] He will send out others where the instructions are different (Luke 22). Don’t think of the specifics as a timeless command. The specifics are for this group of people, at this time.
[8] “According to Mark 6:8, the disciples were allowed to take a staff. Here in Luke’s account, Jesus is probably not prohibiting a staff altogether but prohibiting taking an extra one, as Luke 10:4 prohibits extra sandals.” (ESV Global Study Bible)
[9] “Biblical prophets had to live simply in times of widespread apostasy not dependent on decadent society (cf., e.g., 3:1,4; 1Ki 17:4 – 6; 18:13; 2Ki 4:38; 5:15 – 16,26; 6:1).” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)
[10] Remember how John the Baptist was likely an Essene, or at least heavily influenced by the Essene community? “When Essenes (members of a strict Jewish sect) traveled, they traveled light, depending on hospitality from other Essenes.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible) Then, consider how all of Jesus disciples either followed John or were influenced by him. In other words, these instructions would not have felt unusual.
[11] “Rather than moving from house to house, perhaps in a quest for better housing, the apostles were to establish their ministry headquarters in one home. (ESV Global Study Bible) “They would rely on hospitality, but staying in one house limited the time they spent in any one place.” (ESV Reformation Study Bible) “The disciples should receive hospitality graciously. Hospitality was important as well as necessary in days of difficult travel conditions and poor accommodations at inns. The disciples were not to move about from house to house, a practice that might gain them more support but would insult their hosts.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
[12] “The conventional Jewish greeting was shalom, “May it be well with you.” This was a blessing, i.e., an implicit prayer to God.” (NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)
[13] “Proper hospitality included offering water for guests to wash their feet; here the travelers’ feet remain conspicuously unwashed. Jewish people sometimes shook profane dust from their feet when entering a more holy place (Ex 3:5) [or] leaving pagan territory to enter the Holy Land.” (NIV Cultural Background Study Bible)
[14] Note that this is not a judgment on Gentiles. This is a referendum on God’s people, those who have the Law and are not practicing hospitality. The prophets said that one of the prominent sins of Sodom was inhospitality (Ezekiel 16:49). The people of Sodom were (in a sense) Gentiles who didn’t know any better. What they did was bad, but God’s people knew better. It’s worse.
[15] Believer’s Bible Commentary
[16] As found in Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Matthew 1-13
[17] Believer’s Bible Commentary
[18] Luke 9
[19] NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible