TEXT: Luke 9:1-10

SUBJECT: Luke #33: The Work Goes On

In the first eight chapters of His Gospel, Luke has the Lord Jesus Christ doing nearly everything all by Himself. He has done all the preaching, all the healing, and all the casting out of demons. This worked very well for the short term.

But it’s no good for the long haul. The Lord won’t be here forever and if His work is going to outlive Him, He has to train others to do it. That’s what He starts doing in today’s story. I chose the word train on purpose. Thus far, He’s been teaching them, but now it’s time they got some practical, hands-on training.

A few chapters back, the Lord had named these men Apostles (which means The Sent Ones). On the Day of Pentecost and thereafter, they would be sent into the world to do the work of Christ. To prepare them for that universal and lifelong work, He gives them a crack at local, short-term missions. That’s what today’s story is about.

The story takes place—well, Luke doesn’t tell us exactly where—but judging by the context, it seems to have occurred in or around Capernaum. This was the hometown of Peter, Andrew, James, and John and the place our Lord spent most of His early ministry.

At the time, our Lord was a giant celebrity—people mobbed Him wherever He went; he hardly had a moment to Himself. But He found one, at last, and while the town slept, He pulled His twelve best friends aside, and sent them into His work.

The work would not be easy, but the Lord prepared them for it by giving them a special gift. Luke calls it

The Apostles, you must remember, were ordinary men—or maybe a bit less than ordinary men. They were not educated; they had no gift for public speaking; and their personalities lacked the charisma or the dynamism that sets men up for leadership.

But these ordinary men would be cloaked with a power out of the ordinary. They would become Ambassadors with a message from the King! And because of Him—and not themselves—they would command a hearing—and get one.

What the authority looked like, we can’t say for sure. But I have something to compare it to, something I’ve seen off and on over a lifetime of going to church. I’ve seen little, shy men—men with weak personalities and mediocre minds take the pulpit and become Spokesmen for the Living God. When the sermon is over, they sink back into the nobodies they were before.

Elisha was a menial servant until he put on his master’s coat. The Apostles were even less than he was, until the Lord Jesus Christ cloaked them in His own Majesty Divine.

THE COMMISSION, V.2

With the gifts came a responsibility to use them. They weren’t given to boost Peter’s ego or to make the men feel special. They were given to use. In two ways:

First of all, they would use the gifts to "Preach the Kingdom". A lot can be said here, but I can only summarize. The Twelve were to announce that the Kingdom of God has broken into the world and that its King is the Lord Jesus Christ.

The message was clear-cut and called for immediate action. Men must submit to Christ without delay and look to Him to fulfill every promise God ever made.

In the second place, they would use the gifts to "Heal the sick". Jesus Christ is a complete Savior. He heals both the soul and the body. Though Christian bodies are often ravaged in this life, this life is not the only life. In the life to come, the believer’s body will be as saved as his soul is saved—fully and forever.

The miracles of healing point to this. Many say they illustrate the saving of the soul, but I’m not so sure of that. I think they anticipate the healing of the body which will occur on the day Christ raises the dead to life and garbs His people in immortality.

As for the "power over demons" mentioned above, I think it’s included in healing the sick. It too points to Christ as the Liberator of His People, rescuing us from the devil’s slavery and setting us free to serve God from the heart.

This is the job the Twelve were given to do and by the power and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, they did it well. In a similar story, Luke says they came back rejoicing at their success—at what the Lord was doing through them.

The mission they were sent to do must not only be done, it must be done the Lord’s way. He gives them three rules to follow during their mission:

Number One is Trust God—"Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bags nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece".

The Apostles were men, not angels. Thus they had to eat and drink; they needed a roof over their heads and something to wear. All of these needs could have been met ahead of time. They could have taken up a collection to support them in the days ahead. But the Lord doesn’t want that. He wants them to travel and to preach on faith alone, the faith that what He commands He will also supply.

The Second Rule is Be Content—"Whatever house you enter, stay there and from there depart".

In some towns, the Word would be well-received—even rich people would listen to it. The preachers would be tempted with social climbing. They might bunk down in a carpenter’s shop the first night, but within a few days the big farmers and attorneys and businessmen would ask them in. The preachers must say no thanks. They must be satisfied with the hospitality of the poor men and not look for something better.

Among preachers nothing is more common—or vile—than this kind of ambition. I’ve known men who have climbed the ladder of success in the ministry. Every few years the Lord calls them to a new church—and coincidentally—it’s always to a church that offers a bigger salary, a better parsonage, or more prestige.

The Lord would have none of this! If the Son of Man had nowhere to lay His head, His agents in the world must Be content with what they have.

Rule Number Three is Be Serious—"Whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the dust of your feet as a testimony against them".

The King is not kidding and His messengers must not give the impression that He is. The Word saves those who accept it and damns those who reject it. If a city won’t listen to its King, His messengers must warn them of the consequences. If they still turn a deaf ear to Him, they must perform an act every Jew at the time understood.

At the city limits, he would take off his shoes and knock then together, shaking off all the dirt of that town. What does this mean? It means he’ll have nothing to do with them anymore—even their dust offends him. And not only him, but the King as well. In another place, the Lord said,

To reject the Apostles’ Word is to reject Christ and God! The men must communicate that to the towns they enter. It’s that serious.

What the Lord told His disciples to do, they did,

They didn’t spend time discussing the work or wondering how they could accommodate the message to the felt needs of the people, but they simply did what the Lord told them to do when He told them to do it. There’s a word for what they did: obedience.

This is what the Lord wanted from His people then—and now. He doesn’t tell us to plot a strategy for evangelism, but to evangelize! Nothing kills the spirit of witnessing like workshops on witnessing. There’s probably some value in this, but the best way to witness is to just do it.

The Apostles were given a clear message and a clear mandate. And so are we. Our problem is not confusion—my problem is not confusion. The problem is disobedience. We don’t do what we know the Lord wants us to do. Reformed Christians (of whom I am one) are better at criticism than obedience. We know what others are doing wrong in Evangelism, but are we doing any better? Are we doing anything at all? It’s something to think about--and repent of.

The mission to Galilee had real results. We don’t know how many were saved, how many were hardened, or how many were left in the middle. But we do know how the people felt about it.

They were utterly amazed! They had grown up with Peter, Andrew, James, and John—and knew they were nothing special. Yet these regular guys were preaching and acting with the power of a great prophet!

King Herod did them one better. Under the power of a bad conscience, he believed it was the man he had murdered a few months before, John the Baptist risen from the dead.

Whatever they were, one thing is sure: the Apostles were possessed by a power from another world—an appalling, superhuman authority was given to them. Everything the Lord of Glory had done the last year or two, they were now doing.

The story ends with the disciples back with their Master. Where they met Him, we can’t say, but we know He sneaked off with them to some quiet place outside of Bethsaida.

Why would they withdraw from the work? And why now, when their powers were still fresh and inspiring awe in everyone who saw them?

Mark says it was to rest. The men needed a break and the Lord gave them on. I suspect other things were needed too. For one thing, they had long reports to give the Lord and He was so busy in town, that He couldn’t hear them unless He was hidden away somewhere. For another, his friends needed humility—and there’s no way to get while being cheered on everywhere you go. The quiet time would remind them that the power was the Lord’s—not theirs. And that the glory must go to Him alone.

That’s the story.

The message is one we all know, but are apt to forget: The work of Christ is done through His people.

The Lord did not need the Apostles’ help. Everything they did in today’s story, He had already done over and over again. One Man did far more Himself than Twelve men could do. Jesus Christ does not depend on Peter and John or on you and me, either. Whatever He wants to do, He can do without your help or mine!

Speaking to the Disciples, the Lord didn’t say, "Without you I can do nothing". No, what He said is

John the Baptist said the same thing. When priding themselves on their Covenant status, John confronted the smug Jews by saying,

We’ve got to knock this out of our heads once and for all: Jesus Christ does not need us; He can get by just fine without you and me.

But, though He does not need us, He wants us to do His work. And the things done by Christ in the world are mostly done by His people. Underline the word, mostly. I know that He can prophesy by a Sadducee or even a donkey if He wants to, but mostly He uses His people.

This means if Christ is going to do His work in the world, you’re going to have to do it. It’s easy to think others ought to be doing it, but that’s what they think too. Like Moses at the burning bush, they say,

But that wins no favor with God. He wants you to do His work—not all of His work, of course, but all the work He assigns to you.

Does the Lord want the lost saved? If He does, He also wants you to witness to them.

Does the Lord want missions supported? If He does, He also wants you to give to them.

Does the Lord want the church to be better? If He does, He wants you to make it better—holier, more prayerful, and so on.

The Bible teaches predestination—that God works all things after the counsel of His will. But the Bible does not teach fatalism—that ends are met without means to achieve them. No, the decree of God includes both ends and means: the ends are God’s business alone. But we’re responsible to be the means to those holy ends. And, as we yield ourselves to Him, we will be!

The Apostles were not perfect men, of course, at the time they weren’t even very mature. But on this one, they obeyed their Lord—and that all by itself—shook the nation as it hadn’t been rocked since the days of Elijah!

There’s no telling what Christ can do through His people—His scared and ignorant people who simply do what He tells us to do.

Let’s be honest: He has a big job for you—and you’re not up to it—you’re not adequate! You’re not smart enough, brave enough, or consistent enough; your reputation is not good enough and neither is your prayer life.

In other words, you’re just the kind of person Jesus Christ can use! He chose the weak and foolish and base things to bright to nothing the things that seem to matter. And He did this—not because He didn’t know better, but so that,