Advance the Kingdom

Those who follow Jesus have the honor and joy of advancing and extending His kingdom, actually sharing in what He is doing. There are some specific aspects to our calling. First, He calls us to go and we obey. Period. Second, He sends us out with His authority in on-the-job training. And third, we actually continue and extend the ministry of Jesus as we preach the gospel to the nations and minister to the hurting there (cf. Matt 28:16-20).

Jesus has just left His hometown of Nazareth, where He was rejected for a second time (Luke 4:16-30; Mark 6:1-6). That experience will impact the counsel He gives His 12 apostles as they go on their evangelistic/mission assignment (6:4, 11). He moves on to other villages where He continues His teaching ministry. He may be disappointed (as all of us will be from time to time), but He is not deterred from fulfilling the will of His Father.

After discipling and mentoring the Twelve for an extended period, it is now time for them to get their feet wet, to move to the next level. Though all aspects of their training and instruction do not apply to us, we would be wise to consider some significant principles in our particular assignment as we join hands with Jesus to “advance the kingdom.”

Go with Jesus’ Authority and as a Team

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Mark 6:7

Jesus begins to send out (apostello; root of “apostle”) the apostles two by two. Jesus sends them out as teams for several reasons. First, it is safer and wiser. Lone Rangers are easy targets of the evil one. As Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, “Two are better than one.” Also, the law required two witnesses to verify a matter (Deut 17:6; 19:15; 2 Cor 13:1). This was in keeping with a cultural norm for that day.

He also gives them His authority over demons and unclean spirits. The Twelve were His authorized and appointed representatives. The Twelve were (as are we) extensions of King Jesus. Indeed a man’s representatives were viewed as the man Himself. What an honor! What a responsibility! Paul complements this: “We are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us” (2 Cor 5:20). We represent the King! Called as fishers of men (Mark 1:16-20) and those who are set apart to be with Jesus (3:13-19), they are now ready to go out on their own as extensions of their Master.

Go Mean and Lean with Nothing Nonessential

Mark 6:8-9

To be effective in God’s work, we must do what we do unencumbered, with no excess baggage that could impede our mission. Further, we must go in radical faith and dependence on our God.

The instructions Jesus provides for the Twelve also provide principles for our work. They are to travel light, taking nothing that is not absolutely essential, only a staff. In the parallel accounts the apostles are told not to take a staff (Luke 9:3) or sandals (Matt 10:9-10). The idea in those two accounts may be to not purchase additional items. Further, Mark may have in view the shepherd’s staff for walking, while Matthew and Luke may have in view the shepherd’s club for protection (Lane, Mark, 207n31). The bottom line is that the most basic preparation is to be made.

They do not travel first class! They do not make their ministry a means for accumulating stuff. They are to stay mean and lean. The four items required of the Twelve are identical to what God told the Hebrews to take on their flight from Egypt (Exod 12:11). Is a new exodus under a greater Moses (Deut 18:15-18) in view? Is the emphasis on faith in God to provide what we need the point of the passage? According to James Edwards, “True service of Jesus is characterized by dependence on Jesus, and dependence125 on Jesus is signified by going where Jesus sends despite material shortfalls and unanswered questions....They must trust him alone who sends them” (Edwards, Mark, 181). Little provisions require big faith in God to meet your needs (cf. Phil 4:19)!

Go Where You Are Welcomed and Move On When Rejected

Mark 6:10-11

Jesus now tells them where to stay and when to move on. When you find a receptive home, stay there until your work is done in that area. Do not impose yourself on multiple homes or seek out nicer accommodations. This is not a pleasure tour. Adequacy is your goal. Accept what is offered and be grateful. Do not dishonor the kindness of a lesser home by moving to a nicer one and thereby become an offense to the gospel. Don’t be aloof. Live among the people. Be dependent on them. Be accountable. Share life with them. Live in community. Be transparent. Show integrity!

If you do not receive a warm reception in a “short-term” mission (a crucial contextual point), if they will not receive you or listen to you, move on and leave a sign of their personal responsibility and prospective judgment (shake off the dust). We should anticipate rejection by some. When turned away, move on, at least for now. When you leave, in “a merciful prophetic act” (Hughes, Mark, 1:136), shake off the dust from your feet to warn them of what they are rejecting. This was something pious Jews did when they had traveled outside Israel to signify their disassociation from their paganism and the divine judgment that awaited them.

There will be times, with a broken heart, that we must warn others of the danger of rejecting Christ and the judgment they will experience (Ezek 33:1-20). It hurts but it is necessary.

Go Preaching the Word and Doing the Work of the Kingdom

Mark 6:12-13

The final two verses of this section summarize the specifics of the apostles’ mission. It mirrors what they had seen Jesus do. With His authority and enablement, they cast out many demons. They anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them (cf. Jas 5:14-16). They went out and preached repentance, the same message preached by both John the Baptist (Mark 1:4) and Jesus (1:15). They were to go as servants. They were not to compromise their message even if it brought rejection and persecution. They had to have the courage to tell the truth about Jesus and the gospel.

126If “repentance” was the first word out of the mouth of John, Jesus, and the apostles (Acts 2:38), it must be an important component of the gospel and the Christian life.

Thomas Watson, English Puritan (ca. 1620-1686), wrote a helpful treatise on repentance. He stated, “Repentance is a grace of God’s Spirit whereby a sinner is inwardly humbled and visibly reformed” [Watson, Doctrine, 18]....

Watson identified six ingredients necessary for true repentance. The first is sight of sin, whereby a person comes to themselves (Luke 15:17) and clearly views their lifestyle as sinful. If a disciple fails to see their sin, they are rarely motivated to repent....

The second ingredient for true repentance is sorrow for sin (Ps 38:18). We need to feel the nails of the cross in our soul as we sin. Repentance includes godly grief, a holy agony (2 Cor 7:10).... The fruits of repentance will be expressed in genuine, anguishing sorrow over the offense itself and not just its consequences. This sorrow for sin is more than just a “worldly grief”; it will be seen in the ongoing actions it produces....

The third ingredient is confession of sin. The humble sinner voluntarily passes judgment on themselves as they sincerely admit to the specific sins of their heart.... In the Scriptures, we find at least seven benefits to confession:

1. Confession of sin gives glory to God (Josh 7:19).
2. Confession of sin is a means to humble the soul (2 Chr 26:19).
3. Confession of sin gives release to a troubled heart (Ps 51:11-12).
4. Confession of sin purges out sin (Neh 3:13). Augustine called it “the expeller of vice.”
5. Confession of sin endears Christ to the soul that needs atoning (Rom 7:25).
6. Confession of sin makes way for forgiveness (2 Sam 12:13; 1 John 1:9).
7. Confession of sin makes way for mercy (Prov 28:13).

Fourth, shame for sin is an ingredient for true repentance....

Repentance causes a holy bashfulness. Ezra prayed, “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens” (Ezra 9:6). The repenting prodigal was so ashamed of his sin that he did not feel he deserved to be a son anymore (Luke 15:21). Sin makes us shamefully naked and deformed in God’s eyes and puts Christ to shame, the one who took the scorn of the cross on himself.

127The fifth ingredient in repentance is hatred of sin. We must hate our sin to the core. We hate sin more deeply when we love Jesus more fully. Repentance begins with the love of God and ends with hatred of sin.... Tolerating sin is a willful leap toward committing it. True repentance loathes sin deeply.

Finally, the sixth progressive ingredient of repentance is turning from sin and returning to the Lord “with all your heart” (Joel 2:12). This turning from sin implies a notable change, “performing deeds in keeping with their repentance” (Acts 26:20). Ezekiel records these words of God to the house of Israel: “Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations” (Ezek 14:6). We are called to turn away from all our abominations—not just the obvious ones or the ones that create friction in others. The goal of repentance is not to manufacture peace among others with perfunctory repentance, but rather to turn to God wholly.

Most importantly, though, this repentance is not just a turning away from sin; it is also a turning “of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:21). [We should repent of our] doubt by believing in the goodness, greatness and graciousness of God, and [turning] in faith to trust in the freedom Christ offers in the gospel. Repentance is rooted in a hatred of sin and a joyful awareness of God’s loving-kindness, which leads to joy: “God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance” (Rom 2:4). We rejoice that Christ has done everything for us—all that we need to secure our salvation and our growth in holiness. Our prayer is, “Lord,

I am an adopted child, not a slave to sin. I am accepted because of Christ. I have forgotten how loved, secure, rich and free I am in Christ. Please let me be astonished by your love.” (Thomas and Wood, Gospel Coach, 87-90)

The mission of the Twelve (Mark 6:7-13, 30-32) brackets an interesting and tragic event in biblical history: the murderous beheading of John the Baptist (6:14-29). What are we to learn? Could it be—at least in part—that the kingdom advances mysteriously in the midst of rejection and even the death of God’s choice servants? We go as a team, and we may suffer and die as a team. We go with little, and even what we have can be taken away. Some will welcome us, but others will not only reject us; they will try to destroy us. Preaching the Word and helping others may result not in our praise but in our death.

This was the fate of John and of Jesus and of the Twelve (minus perhaps the apostle John). This may be your fate or my fate. But did not Jesus say in128 John 15:18, “If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me before it hated you”?

As we advance the kingdom of King Jesus, if indeed we are rejected and persecuted, may our Lord give us the heart of the apostles, “[who were] rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be dishonored on behalf of the Name” (Acts 5:41). Carry His Name and you may suffer shame and even pain, but do not forget the great gain now and forever!

Reflect and Discuss

1. Have you served in any sort of apprenticeship? What do you remember about the first time you did the work on your own?
2. What are the advantages of working as a team in mission work? What are the dangers of going alone?
3. When people know that you are Jesus’ ambassador, what do they see?
4. How should Jesus’ restrictions on what the apostles should take with them be applied today?
5. What are the advantages to having few possessions? What are the advantages to having abundant possessions? What are the dangers of either situation?
6. What are the advantages to staying in someone’s home on the mission field, as compared to staying in paid lodging or on a missionary compound?
7. What might we do or say as an equivalent to the custom of shaking the dust off one’s feet when leaving an unreceptive town?
8. How would you define repentance to someone who had never been in a church?
9. What are the thematic connections between the story of Jesus’ sending the Twelve on their mission and the beheading of John the Baptist?
10. What is the true definition of success with regard to missions? What, then, is the nature of failure?