Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
10 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a]drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
I remember years ago being at a conference and the preacher said, ‘I am not a fan of Jesus.’ The room was silent - what was he saying?
‘I am not a fan of Jesus, I am a follower!’
Lots of people love Jesus and admire his teaching but are not following him. Jesus described his followers as those who hear and obey. This is still true today. We are meant to be people who spend time with Jesus, listening to his words and living them out. John Mark Comer says that the pattern of a follower is very simple: we need to spend time with Jesus, become like Jesus and do what Jesus did. In this passage, we see the disciples make a big step. Their faith was to be lived in public and they were to go, leave behind their security, and perform the same miracles that Jesus had been doing. You can fake a lot in Christianity but you can not fake being a follower. The disciples went back to the same streets that they had walked down countless times before but their focus and attention was now completely different.
Interestingly, their approach was not like the prophets who had come before them. They were not to proclaim the Gospel at first but to start by blessing others. They were told to pray for people, to expect miracles, to love people and then to explain that their activity was a sign of the Kingdom of God. We live in a world where everyone is selling something and there are a million opinions about truth, life and faith. People are cynical and wary. Rightly so! So, Jesus tells us to bless people, to allow them to experience the kingdom and then to explain what it is.
A pattern that I have found really helpful as I seek to be a follower of Jesus is B.L.E.S.S.:
Begin with prayer
Listen
Eat
Serve
Share my story
Reflect
- How are you doing at following Jesus?
- What do the words ‘freely you have received, freely give’ mean to you?
- Who could you be B.L.E.S.S. today?
Respond
Pause and pray. Ask God to lead you today and to show you where he would like you to bring blessings. Be bold to pray for miracles in peoples lives and to live your faith in public.
