“He sent them out …” This is what Luke 9:2 tells us. Jesus sent the twelve Apostles out on a mission trip. Mark’s Gospel let’s us know that Jesus sent them in pairs (so six sets of two), but NONE of those pairs included Jesus. Jesus stayed at a home base, and sent His disciples out on a special project.
Why would Jesus do such a thing? After all, His ministry was going extremely well! Everywhere He went in Galilee people flocked around Him. Many, many people had been healed from disease or delivered from demonic possession by His very capable hand. Every message Jesus preached was PERFECT. After all THE WORD preaching the Word would be pretty amazing!!! And yet at the zenith of His Galilean ministry, He sends the disciples out to do His work. Why?
There was NO ONE like Jesus. He was (and is) the unique Son of God. No one could teach like Him, love like Him, care like Him. He is in a league of His own. Why not have the disciples secure a booking at the large amphitheater at nearby Beth Shean for Jesus to address thousands in one setting? Why decentralize the approach?
Why did He do it? Well, He did not just do it once in Luke 9. HE IS STILL DOING IT TODAY. The Luke 9 mission trip lasted only a few days, but today, Jesus has sent out His followers on mission for 2,000 years (and counting!!) That’s right … we are a SENT PEOPLE.
In Luke 9:1-9, Jesus continues to prepare His disciples (and by proxy you and I) to carry on His mission now that He has ascended to heaven. This Sunday, we will dive into these verses together at Wildwood Community Church in part 7 of our “Feeding the Flock” sermon series. We will see what Jesus was sending the Twelve to do, and what connection that has to you and me as His followers today. Join us in our 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 service on Sunday. See you there … and bring friends!