Mk. 3:13-15; 6:7-13; Jn. 15:22-24, Unbreakable Truth (3)

As we continue in Mark we see more emphasis on “unbreakable truth” as Jesus sends out the Twelve (6:7-13).

Why did Jesus send out the Twelve?  This was, of course, the plan from the time that He had chosen these men (Mk. 3:13-15).  They are, by designation, “apostles,” meaning people who are sent out by someone with orders.  Jesus here gives them their “orders,” not only that they would preach and perform the signs that He had been performing, but also how they were to travel.  They were able to perform the signs because Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits.  The message (v12) was the same one Jesus was preaching.

As to why Jesus did this at this point, certainly there were still many “villages” that needed to hear (v6b).   It was a critical time in His ministry, as the Jews who opposed Him becoming very definite in that opposition.  In the opening verses of Mark 6 Jesus had been rejected by His own country.  And, as the following passage will tell us, the “forerunner” John had been beheaded.  This would have raised questions in the minds of people.  Did John’s death indicate the “failure” of the “movement?”  The sending out of the Twelve would make it clear that Jesus’ ministry was still operational and growing.

Jesus’ instructions to the Twelve were specific to the time.  Being cared for by people in a village was the Jewish way.  Prophets were cared for through the hospitality of ordinary people where they were preaching.  The stories of Elijah (1 Kings 17) and Elisha (2 Kings 4) illustrate this.  The “apostles,” like Jesus, had a prophetic ministry, calling people to repentance.

Jesus’ instructions make clear that the preaching of the Twelve would have significant impact.  How they were received, or not received, had eternal consequences.  Your translation might not have the comment about Sodom and Gomorrah in v11b, but it is present in Matthew’s account of the same story (Mt. 10:15).  It would be more tolerable for those wicked cities than for the village or city that rejected the message of these men, sent out by Jesus.  Jesus even gave them an act, shaking the dust of that city off their feet.  The observable act was intended to make it clear that they had received a message that required a response, to accept or reject the call to repentance.

We read in John 3:17 that Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save them.  That “salvation” depending on receiving the word that was preached.  To reject that word was to be unsaved and to remain in the place of condemnation (Jn. 3:18-19).  Read John 12:46-50.  If we will not receive the words of salvation from Christ, those very words will judge us in the last days, the days of eternal judgment!  This is “unbreakable truth.”