Our Ministry

Series on Luke

III The Initiation

D The Activities of His Ministry Revealing that the Kingdom Is:

12 Following

Text: 9:1-9

Introduction

This text records a major event in the ministry of our Lord. Unfortunately some churches and mission societies have ignored its historical setting and sent forth missionaries without support or supplies, or any means of procuring them. Since everybody is not David Livingston or Hudson Taylor the result has been disastrous for the poor missionaries. We can only understand this text as we place it in the context of all Jesus’ teaching about our ministry in the world. When we do that we discover that it yields up some important principles concerning not just missionaries but the whole mission we have as followers of Jesus in this present time. Remember Mark tells us in 3:14 that He appointed 12 designating them Apostles that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and the last words He gave them after his resurrection were to go and preach to all the nations. So we have here the first step in carrying out His purpose and we find in it four principles: power, program, provision, and plan.

I Power

This is the foundational principle of all ministry in verses 1 and 2, When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Jesus confers two things here, power and authority. The word authority is the same word he uses in the great commission when he says all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me, therefore go. Here he confers it for this mission, but in the great commission he confers it to the very end of the age. The word power has a different significance. In Luke 24:49 the risen Savior says to his disciples, Stay in the city until you have been endued with power from on high, and in Acts 1:8 he says, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth. It is clear that we get authority from Jesus because He died and rose again and is at God’s right hand and we get power from the Holy Spirit who came to the Church on the day of Pentecost in a new full and final way. However, power and authority are somewhat intimidating concepts so let us bring them down to our level. From Christ because he is the victor we get the right to preach the gospel and from the Holy Spirit we get the ability. This is a fact about the Church and the foundational principle of ministry.

II Program

We have a ministry and the program is in verse 2, And he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God. We are to preach the kingdom of God or more correctly the kingship or rule of God. Two things are evident here. First they were to preach. As I thought about this I realized that we are all preachers although that term is usually applied to pastors. You see the thing that Jesus did that the disciples couldn’t do was teach, but the thing which they shared was preaching. The Greek word for preaching means to proclaim a message as a herald of someone in authority. We are all to be his witnesses. In other words pastors explain as Jesus did, but the whole church is to proclaim the message. And what are we all to preach? Not some little self-help gospel catering to the flesh but the absolute sovereign authority of the King. This is seen in his atoning death and resurrection. Because he humbled himself God highly exalted Him. The gospel does more than offer a way of salvation. It establishes the absolute authority of Jesus over our lives. This is the controlling program of our ministry.

III Provision

As we read on in verses 3-6 we discover the provision, He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.” So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere. Are these provisions to apply to everybody in all times? No! This was a short and hasty mission, but the urgency here is an important principle which sometimes conflicts with careful plans, preparation, and provision. Even the apostle Paul broke most of these rules. He spent three years in Arabia preparing, he stayed in one place as much as 2 years, He earned money by tent-making, he received help and support from the churches, and he continued to study when imprisoned asking for his cloak and books to be brought to him. Also Jesus in the great commission didn’t say only go and proclaim the message, he said make disciples and teach them to obey everything i have commanded you. Surely adequate preparations are not bad, but then on the other hand, minimally trained circuit riding Methodist preachers evangelized the American frontier while the Presbyterians were insisting that the job could only be done by seminary graduates who could use Greek and Hebrew. Both were partly right! In all fairness we must place this event in the proper historical perspective. These disciples were miraculously endowed and provided in a way we would not ordinarily expect to be. Nevertheless we may draw principles from their mission and it appears that we must strike the right balance between provision and plans depending on the circumstances. During the Second World War General Douglas MacArthur asked his chief engineer how long it would take to build a bridge across a certain river. Three days was the reply. So MacArthur said, “Go ahead and draw up the plans.” Three days later MacArthur wanted to see the plans. The engineer was surprised. He said, “Sir the bridge is finished you can cross it anytime you like, but if you want plans you’ll have to wait a while longer.” Make preparations, plans and proper provisions but recognize that sometimes the urgency of the situation may limit these. After all Jesus had been teaching these men about two years but this mission demanded quick action. The same thing is true in our mission as a church.

IV Plan

The urgency of this mission occurred because Jesus was about to turn his ministry in another direction to Perea the land across Jordan on the east and gradually into Judea to the south of Galilee. Reading, more or less, between the lines we see that God had an overall plan. This timetable is revealed at various points in Jesus’ ministry. So, this is like a final warning or last chance for these people in Galilee, but it was also like waving a red flag. The success of the mission was bound to stir up unwelcome interest among the rulers as we read in verses 7-9, Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him. When bloodthirsty Herod is looking for you, you had better watch out. Conflict is inevitable. For Jesus this meant the increasing animosity of the leaders which finally led to Calvary and the cross. But this was His mission and He said to the disciples, As the father sent me so send I you. This too is part of our ministry, because Jesus said that if the world hated Him it would also hate those who follow Him.

Conclusion

And so the principles of our ministry are here: we are authorized and empowered by God, we are all to preach the gospel in the framework of the kingship of Jesus, we are to prepare within the limits of the present urgency of the task, and we are to be prepared for persecution. There is always a cross in the plans.