THE CHRISTIAN’S LIFE, MINISTRY AND MISSION
Luke 9:1-22
“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 proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.”
When Jesus invited us to be his disciples, offering to us the saving grace that comes with it, what does he intend us to be and to do?
The “being” aspect we know from his discourse with his disciples in John 15 and 16. We are to be his branches, abiding in him, drawing his life and bearing his fruit, in the context of his command to love one another. In doing so we receive two resources: the power of answered prayer, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
This chapter gives us a preview of what we are to do: to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. In addition to what we have already received as branches, we have the added power and authority of his name; in other words, we go in his name.
Jesus tells his disciples “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
The most immediate consequence of this is that his disciples must depend on the kindness of the people they are sent to. The mission is not to go from a position of strength but from a position of dependence. This gives us an idea how we are to be in relation to the people we are called to reach out to. We are firstly to establish a relationship of dependence, where we are indebted to these people we are called to reach out to and minister to.
In what way can you express a dependence on the kindness and welcome of the people whom you are to minister to? Surely it cannot be to arrogantly proclaim your message whether or not you are welcome. Surely it cannot be out of a spirit of judgement and condemnation. Surely it cannot be to be rude, to be disrespectful of culture and even gods. How can we reach out to people from a posture of dependence on their kindness and welcome? The church needs to meditate on this much more.
The second is to accept rejection as the rejection of Jesus and to move on, upholding the dignity and sovereign will of our Lord. We are not to take rejection personally, nor should we respond to rejection personally, because we represent our Master. Jesus tells his disciples, if people do not welcome you, leave. I don’t think it means never to return; at least Jesus did not spell it out to that extent. I don’t think it means stop doing good to them (e.g. healing). But the kingdom of God is not for those who are too proud, too self-sufficient or too full of themselves and we must not debase Jesus’ name and grovel.
Paul in Acts 13:46 said this to the Jews who rejected them: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.” Here is a sensitivity to whom the Holy Spirit is leading us to.
The key point, I think, is that rejection of Jesus, and the Gospel of Jesus, is a reality that we must accept.
For that to happen, Jesus’ disciples will have to be transparent as to who they are and what they stand for—perhaps in word; perhaps in deed; perhaps in cultural observances and practice—people must know who they represent. In our hearts and minds we must know who we go in the name of. That is most fundamental, most crucial.
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”