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He left that place and came to his home town, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Maryand brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honor, except in their home town, and among their own kin, and in their own house.’ And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.’ So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. (Mark 6:1-13)
Dear Friend! Thank you for starting your day with God! Actually, any time with God is a blessings; but I find I start my days off better if I spend time in prayer and God's word. I pray you made time to worship the Lord with other believers at the church of your choice, and that you're planning even now to be in church next Sunday. As we pray today, please keep Mr. Bob Clark in prayer as he has started cancer treatments; also for my wife, Nellie, as she undergoes surgery this afternoon at 1 pm in San Antonio.
There are two parts to this passage; the rejection Jesus received from His hometown, and the sending of the Twelve out to do ministry. It seems that on the pain of rejection can come mission and purpose. Let's focus on the rejection. I wonder how many of you still live in the same town? How many of you have never left for any reason? And if you did move, did you have a say in that move? I've shared how economic realities of the mid-60s made necessary our move from Kingsville to Houston. Had I had a vote I would have voted to stay. Given the wisdom of the move, now I would change my vote. How many of you still attend the very same church you did as a child? Again, because of the impact my tiny church in Kingsville had on my life, I would have voted to stay in Kingsville precisely because of the church; however, looking back it was an awesome move. If you've moved away for any reason and then come back, your experiences may have varied, but some of you may identify with Jesus' dilemma. Jesus returns home and does His thing. The hometown folks praise Him in one breath and with another they criticize Him. They would never forget that Jesus was the son of a carpenter, nor who HIs family was. All the wrinkles and pimples had been counted and never forgotten; and Lord have mercy on those families where a member, however distant, ever broke the law or committed a deed that would never be forgotten! The oppressive spirit of that crowd kept Him from doing His thing in the way folks expected. I almost titled today's devotion, "Is Jesus amazed at your unbelief?" because of the verse that says, very sadly, "And He was amazed at their unbelief."
Jesus continued His mission going from village to village teaching. And He reached a point where He decided the disciples were ready to go and try their hand at ministry. Sending them out two by two, with complete authority over unclean spirits, he prepared them by saying they needed no special equipment for this ministry, for as The Message version says, "You are the equipment." In other words, use your gifts to bless people. Open your mouth and words will flow out with God's words. Visit with all you can, and stay as long as you feel there is a need, and then leave. Early in my days as a superintendent I received a call from a church who had a "serious" problem. Their pastor did not know how to have short visits with families. Now, some of you would welcome that, others, not so much. I remember my professor saying these words about home and hospital visits, "Leave them wanting more!" And I try to still practice that. Jesus said that if any place did not welcome them, the disciples were to leave, shake the dust off their feet "as a testimony against them," and go start over some place new. Their mission was a success; many repented of their sins, many demons were cast out, and many who were sick were made whole.
You and I have a daily mission service project to do. Just like the disciples, everywhere we go, whomever we see, we should find an opportunity to share God's word with them. It may just be a word of hope or encouragement; it may simply be an "I understand, and I'm praying for you" phrase. There is lots, I repeat, LOTS of work still to be done and in some of the least likely places you can imagine. One may just simply need to walk across the room or across the street.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, for the joy of Jesus, we are thankful. Help us to share with those in need that same joy You have shared with us. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! You are the equipment; use it!
Eradio Valverde
