Mark 6:7-13

[snapstur]

@Shield> So let's get right to it.

@Shield> I want to start off by inviting Rock to say something about his channel

Rock> Thanks Shield.

Rock> It is great to see all of you here tonight.

Rock> As I scroll down the list of names I recognize a number of you and I see your names on a regular basis.

Rock> It is the dedication to the server that keeps it going. Without chatters, we wouldn't have chat.

Rock> I am the founder of the #lobby and I have been chatting here for many years. During this time I have seen a number of chatters come and go.

Rock> Right now we are experiencing a growth spurt as word of the server gets out to a broader audience.

Rock> This is a wonderful thing but at the same time it can be frustrating at times.

Rock> The #lobby is intended to be the "Welcoming Room" of the Server.

Rock> Since we are the Welcoming Room, that makes all of us "old" chatters greeters in a sense.

Rock> As greeters we should try to keep the conversation moving and light hearted and to direct people to the various rooms on the Server.

Rock> Tonight I would like to petition your help to make the #Lobby a true Welcoming Channel.


Rock> After the study take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the various channels on the Server and see what is happening there.
Rock> We have special interest channels from women, men, teens, law enforcement and those who are disabled or caring for someone who is, just to name a few.

Rock> I truly would appreciate your help in keeping the server a good, clean, safe and fun place to teach, learn and edify.

Rock> Can I count on you?

@Shield> how much does it pay?

@Shield> :|

Rock> I will give everyone double your salary, Shield.

Deacon> :)

LoOkOuT> lol

Bethel> you can count on me

LoOkOuT> o/ I’m in Rock

Pamela> me too

Snapstur> o/ me too

Rock> Thank you all and may the Lord continue to increase our territory and to bless us beyond our expectations!

@Shield> thank you Rock

@Shield> make sure you compliment Rock on his comb over before you leave too.....

@Shield> so anyway
@Shield> I am happy to see the support you are all willing to continue giving. Thanks!

@Shield> Let's open in a word of prayer.

Rock> Love you too, Brother Shield! hee hee

@Shield> :D

@Shield> Father thank you for this day.

@Shield> Thanks Lord for ordering our steps.

@Shield> Sometimes you ask us to do things, that in the natural seem odd to the world.

@Shield> But in your economy, they are quite appropriate for developing in us trust and obedience.

@Shield> Tonight may we gain a deeper glimpse into your economy as it applies to our lives.

@Shield> in Jesus name amen.

Snapstur> Amen

LoOkOuT> amen

@Shield> How many of you have every planned a long trip?

carol> I have

Snapstur> o/

Bethel> o/

Rock> o/

Deacon> o/

LoOkOuT> o/

carol> 0/

GentleDove> 0/

@Shield> mmk

@Shield> let me be more precise...

@Shield> how many of you have ever planned a trip to a place where you have never gone?

LoOkOuT> o/

Snapstur> o/

Rock> o/

Deacon> o/

GentleDove> 0/

Bethel> o/

@Shield> hmmm

Jewel_4_Jesus> nope

@Shield> let me be even more precise...

@Shield> How many of you have ever planned a trip where you were not sure how well you would be received and the area had potential for hostility?

Jewel_4_Jesus> I have :)

@Shield> let's turn to Mark 6

@Shield> verse 7

@Shield> and read together

@Shield> be ready to make observations....

@Shield> remember, our goal is to consider the text on its own terms

@Shield> Mark 6:7 Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.

@Shield> 8 These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff-- no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.

@Shield> 9 Wear sandals but not an extra tunic.

@Shield> 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.

@Shield> 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them."

@Shield> let's pause there...

@Shield> and observe

@Shield> here are the questions we want to ask tonight

@Shield> who

@Shield> what

@Shield> where

@Shield> why

@Shield> when

@Shield> first who

@Shield> who did the calling?

@Shield> anyone?

Snapstur> o/

Bethel> o/

@Shield> yes Bethel?

Bethel> Jesus

GentleDove> 0/

@Shield> exactly, because that is our context

@Shield> next question, whom did he call?

Snapstur> o/

@Shield> yes Snapstur?

Snapstur> the 12 disciples

GentleDove> 0/

@Shield> yes...erm..wait...

@Shield> all the twelve?

@Shield> even Judas Iscariot?

@Shield notes this is not a trick...

Snapstur> o/

@Shield> yes Snapstur?

Snapstur> "Calling the 12 to Him"

@Shield> ah ha!

@Shield> the text says what the text says

@Shield> so the twelve it is, including Judas.

@Shield> I will return to that point in a moment:)

@Shield> there is a method to any madness of which I would accuse Rock

@Shield> still on who....

@Shield> how did he send them out, in what multiples....

GentleDove> 0/

Rock> o/

@Shield> yes GentleDove?

GentleDove> two by two

@Shield> yes

@Shield lobs a softball to Rock...

@Shield> how many groups, then, went out?

GentleDove> 0/

@Shield bites his nails nervously, hoping Rock can catch it

@Shield notes the ball is about to fall into GentleDove's hands unless Rock dives...

Rock caught it and is winding up to throw it back.

GentleDove> lol

@Shield> yes Rock?

Rock> I am thinking he sent out 12 or more groups.

Rock> I don't recall the number right at this moment.

@Shield> hmm k

Bethel> o/

Rock> But if you give me a minute. . .

@Shield> GentleDove, would you like to help Rock out with that one?

@Shield> yes Bethel?

GentleDove> 6 groups if I can divide right. lol

@Shield> correct:)

Bethel> 12 divided by 2 = 6 groups

@Shield> exactly

Rock> Six groups!

@Shield> the point is, he sent them out in teams into the community

Bethel> Rock is a genius

@Shield> Rock, stop looking on other people's papers

@Shield> welcome BeautifulSoul19 we are studying Mark 6:7 and following

@Shield> what did Jesus tell his Disciples NOT to take with them?

@Shield> rattle em off

@Shield> no need to raise hands on this one

Rock> an extra tunic

Bethel> bread

Bethel> bag money

@Shield> uh huh....

@Shield> keep going...

GentleDove> nothing but a staff only?

@Shield> and sandals

carol> leather pouch

Snapstur> wear only sandals

Rock> take nothing but a staff, shoes and a tunic.

Deacon> no extra tunic

@Shield> in other words, what they had on their backs, feet and in their hand.

@Shield> no planning for the future

Rock> Probably just what they had at that moment.

@Shield> how many of you would do that if you were planning the trips mentioned above?

@Shield> I would imagine none of you would

Rock> If the trip was short and I knew I was coming back quickly, I might.

@Shield> but here we see Jesus telling them to do that very thing.

@Shield> yes, but that is just it.

@Shield> this is not a short trip we are talking about.

@Shield> basically we are speaking of six separate missionary trips into the surrounding villages

@Shield> remember
@Shield> Jesus' own town did not honor him

@Shield> now he was ready to commission his disciples into the surrounding areas

@Shield> what did he send them to do?

@Shield> anyone?

Snapstur> o/

@Shield> yes Snapstur?

Snapstur> Cast out evil spirits

@Shield> yes

@Shield> anything else?

Rock would raise his hand but he is afraid he might drop the softball.

carol> ol

@Shield> what precisely did Jesus tell them?

@Shield> or rather, did he do

@Shield> he gave them authority over evil spirits

carol> gave them power over unclean spirits

@Shield> correct

@Shield> remember, this is narrative literature

@Shield> it is not prescriptive as a model, it is descriptive

@Shield> but it suggests the deep discernment of Jesus as he knew what they would be going into, the situations, the contexts, the people

@Shield> a land in which demonization was quite commonplace, as we have seen thus far in the text

@Shield> there are many reasons for this, not least the many false religions, tribal spiritualities, idolatries, etc

@Shield> Jesus anointed them with authority which was necessary for them to proclaim repentance...

@Shield> more on that in a moment

@Shield> where were they to go?

@Shield> anyone?

Bethel> o/

@Shield> yes Bethel?

Bethel> possibly house to house

@Shield> very true

@Shield> 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.

@Shield> households, in that day, range from elaborate dwellings of the wealthy, which could boast a terrace and multiple rooms

Jewel_4_Jesus> did the bible say something about if they don't welcome you stomp the dust off your feet and move on... and also that you should go out in pairs?

@Shield> to the more common home with one room, and a roof which serve as a place to sit outside

Jewel_4_Jesus> *feet

Jewel_4_Jesus> sorry...

@Shield> yes we spoke about the pairs earlier

Jewel_4_Jesus shuts up

@Shield> and he did mention that they should move on if not welcomed:)

@Shield> good reminder

@Shield> if they were welcomed into a home, what treatment should they have expected to receive?

Jewel_4_Jesus> o/

@Shield> yes Jewel_4_Jesus?

Jewel_4_Jesus> Christ like treatment... like Jesus fed the hungry... gave drink to the thirsty let them rest their heads etc?

@Shield> exactly

Jewel_4_Jesus> even washed their feet

@Shield> which goes back to the fact that Jesus told them not to bring bread or extra clothing

@Shield> because they needed to trust that God would meet their needs where they were sent.

Jewel_4_Jesus nods

@Shield> This has strong points of application for us in our contemporary context.

@Shield> and if the places where they go refused hospitality....

@Shield> 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them."

Jewel_4_Jesus nods

@Shield> One wonders how this applies to Jesus own hometown, which doubted him/

@Shield> 12 They went out and preached that people should repent.

@Shield> consider the language there....

@Shield> Jesus sent them on a prophetic mission.

@Shield> He sent them as emissaries of himself, reminiscent in a sense of John the Baptist.

@Shield> not that they were in any sense comparable to the Baptizer

Tigre_blanc (POWERFULCHUCK@71.88.212.163) has joined #TheChapel

Jewel_4_Jesus> uh huh

@Shield> but yet, there is a sense in which their going out, preaching repentance as itinerant commissioned emissaries reminds us of John.

@Shield> 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

@Shield> Because of the structure of Mark's gospel, it is hard to get a sense of the actual timing

@Shield> Mark writes with great urgency, abbreviating time frames and allocating narratives so as to maximize the narrative intent.

@Shield> in fact we see a parenthetical sidebar in the verses to come, mentioning John the Baptist and his execution.

@Shield> we will return to that text next week

@Shield> but for tonight

@Shield> we see twelve disciples, including the one who would betray Jesus, functioning prophetically, apostolically, in the communities

@Shield> casting out demons

@Shield> preaching repentance

@Shield> ministering healing

@Shield> doing the work of Jesus as his hands extended to a hurting region

@Shield> it shook the foundations of the territory

@Shield> Mark my words

@Shield> the authorities of that day were on notice

@Shield> not only had they Jesus to deal with

@Shield> now his disciples, the twelve, were doing miraculous works, and preaching repentance.

@Shield> which makes next week's study all the more telling

@Shield> all the more provocative

@Shield> John the Baptist was Jesus forerunner in life

@Shield> and as we shall see, he also foreshadowed the persecution to come in response to the rapidly spreading word of these mighty deeds by Jesus and his disciples

@Shield> one wonders when it was that Judas would begin to have a change of heart....

@Shield> one wonders, even in the face of doing mighty works for God, when he would begin to harbor ill will

@Shield> one wonders how capable my own heart is of that very kind of treachery

@Shield> so it is by God's grace and through trusting Jesus that I cast my hope on him.

@Shield> the disciples were experiencing glorious days, but the darkness was not far away, as Jesus well knew.

@Shield> let's pray

Jewel_4_Jesus> :)

Bethel> Father thank you for your word

Bethel> We received from you Lord with open hearts

Bethel> Lord, just as you called the disciples to spread your word

Bethel> you have also called us to spread your word

Bethel> We have great opportunity to do just that right here on this server

Bethel> Let us not fail to do that when you give us the opportunity

Bethel> There are so many hurting people and help us to be sensitive to their needs.

Bethel> Lord, thank you for giving us this tool to reach the lost and the hurting

Bethel> I pray that all who enter this server will be blessed and touched by your spirit

Bethel> May each one here be blessed with your joy

Bethel> thank you Lord for loving us

Bethel> amen

carol> amen

Snapstur> Amen

Deacon> Amen

GentleDove> amen