Intro and Context
God has a problem.
His problem is that he loves working with people to do his work.
Why is this a problem?
Because we’re.... human.
Over the last year, I’ve thought of quitting my role as a pastor. I’ve thought so many times, “If I were only older in the faith, more humble, wiser, more like Jesus, more competent, than my people would be benefited in this insane 2020.”
But again, there lies the problem God has. He only has broken, sinful, and inconsistent people available.
› What stuck me so much in our passage today is that God shares his work with us. Before we jump into our text, let’s set the backdrop again.
Luke has shown the supremacy of Jesus throughout the last few sections.
Jesus has authority over every untamable sphere in life.
In other words, Jesus has power over areas of life where no one else has power.
Man has no power over the weather.
But Jesus does!
Man has no power over demons.
But Jesus does!
And last week we say that though no man power over disease,
But Jesus does!
And though no one has power over life and death.
Jesus does!
And we also saw that all he does and a beautiful timing to it all. There is divine design in the way and timing of all that he does.
For several chapters, Jesus has been demonstrating unmatched, power and authority. However, in our section today, he does this unthinkable,
He shares this same power and authority with his apostles!
And what we will see for us is that,
Jesus wants us to join him in his work with his power.
› One last preliminary in understanding the bible and applying this passage to us today.
A Key to understanding and applying this passage
Whenever we read a story in the Bible we have to think in two categories:
Descriptive versus prescriptive:
Is God prescribing us to do the same as this story?
Or is this a description of what God called a specific group of followers at a specific time and place for a specific purpose that we ought to draw principles from?
In our Text today, it’s a description that has lots of principles we ought to apply.
Throughout this passage, we are going to focus on what happened but try to pull from this mission principals for us as well.
› Finally, to our Text
Text
The 12
Luke 9:1 ESV
1 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,
The 12 were those who Jesus chose to especially spend time with and train to do what he did.
And in this situation he gives them temporary power and authority.
I will explain the temporary word, later.
Power and Authority
Do these sound familiar?
Power and authority over demons and disease.
Who alone has power for this?
Jesus alone! We’ve seen this for chapters and chapters!
Notice that these are tied together.
You cannot just have power or just have authority.
You may have power but not authority to exercise it.
You may have authority but no power to execute it.
For example, just look at the life of Job, Satan has lots of power but doesn’t always have the authority to exercise it.
So these disciples are given both power and authority.
Where does this power come from?
Well it doesn’t come from within.
The authority and power they’re given is delegated authority and power that comes from outside of them.
Luke 9:2 ESV
2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
The sending language is significant.
As God, the father has sent Christ, Christ now sends them out, so they’re going in the name of Jesus with his seal, his power, His Spirit, and his agenda.
God partnering with man, has been the case since the Garden.
Who is this man?
He has the more power than we could ever imagine and he shares it with us?
Everything he does he would do perfectly.
Sinful, flakey, inconsistent us?
YOU SERIOUSLY? I MEAN COME ON!?
ME!????
Rather than point to a recklessness of God, I imagine it shows his power even more. That he will still win and fulfill His purposes despite our failures and weaknesses.
Jesus says, What I have been doing, you go do likewise.
Like an internship or apprenticeship they have been passively working alongside him and observing him, now they have to exercise their faith
ALONE without him.
This is the pattern of discipleship with Jesus:
• They watch him and then debrief about it.
• They will go do likewise and then debrief about it.
• Finally, he will send them out and he will ascend into heaven.
This is one of the reasons why we believe it is so important for discipleship to be not merely content driven but demonstration and action.
In other words, our discipleship at our church should have a large component of seeing others live like Jesus and then imitating what you saw.
This is why we have a big emphasis of doing life together. Because it’s hard to see the character of Christ and the actions of Christ in each other when we are all sitting in a circle listening to a talk or having a Bible study. You will see some, but the exposure to the fullness of Christ will be limited. But rather, see us work, play, see us work through conflict, respond when someone wrongs us, sacrificially love others when we are dead tired. These are the times when you see Christ on display and then, you can catch it.
Because so much of way of Jesus is more caught than taught.
Proclaiming the Kingdom of God
What does that mean to proclaim the kingdom of God?
To understand this, we need to piece together 3 pieces:
a. What does the word, “Proclaim” mean?
b. What is the kingdom of God?
c. How this fits with v. 6
First of all, the word, “proclaim” is a unique word. It’s not merely talking or shouting. It’s heralding or preaching.
“This biblical word for preaching (kēryssō) has its origins in the royal court, where a herald would go out and announce the arrival of the king or some other news of public importance.”
In a similar way, the apostles went out as gospel heralds to announce the coming of king Jesus. They’re not adding or taking away from the message. They are not sharing an opinion or an interesting helpful perspective. They are heralding reality.
So the apostles are sent out to herald or kerysso, the coming of King Jesus.
2. But what is the kingdom of God?
The kingdom of God is essentially that, God’s kingdom, or government where he’s the supreme ruler.
For that audience, Jesus’ kingdom is breaking into the world.
For our context, it has come.
And yet, it will fully come when Jesus returns a second time.
Finally, 3. How do this connects with v. 6?
In v. 6 we see a a similar phrase but with more a different word,
Luke 9:6 ESV
6 And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Notice how similar those phrases are. The gospel is synonymous with the kingdom of God in this passage.
So let’s piece all this together.
The apostles are heralding, announcing the coming reign of King Jesus and it’s good news. Good news that you can be part of a kingdom and not just as a subject, but a family member. And you get to enjoy the benefits of the kingdom as well.
But what’s implied with God’s kingdom is that its not YOUR KINGDOM. And if you want to be in God’s kingdom, you have to reject your kingdom.
Notice the following phrase that is tied to proclaiming the kingdom.
Luke 9:2 ESV
2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
“To heal”
Throughout the Gospels, you repeatedly see this theme that gospel preaching is tied with demonstrations of power.
In other words, they proclaimed the good news and demonstrated the good news.
When they would perform these miracles, they would be giving the audience a picture of what the kingdom of God is like.
The healings during Jesus’ ministry points to the immediate healing of the their souls he can provide as well as the future healing of literally everything!
Now, when we look at our context this is kind of a debate raging in many churches right now.
Should we do good works or share the gospel?
Yes.
The problem is people highjack the framing of the conversation.
They make it an either or.
As if you have a gun to your head and you either have to do a good deed or share the gospel...
The witness throughout the NT is that Jesus and the disciples do both.
Both proclamation and demonstration
This is important for us to consider.
All Christians are going to gravitate towards one over the other.
Some of us are very comfortable boldly preaching the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and how every sinner needs to repent. You’re a gift to the church!
However, you may be tempted to not lift a finger to serve those in need or lift your voice to defend the cause of those who are suffering. To be honest, sometimes it’s easy to lob gospel grenades at non-christians and sometimes harder to open up your home and enter to their mess for the long haul.
On the other hand,
you may be gifted in showing mercy. You are quick to serve. You are quick to fight for justice issues.
However, for a number of a reasons, you haven’t actually shared the good news and called someone to repent in years, if ever.
As John Piper, who pastored our grandmother church helpfully said,
And what I see all around us today in the Christian church is the tendency to care only about the one or the other. There are these two camps:
1. I’m an activist for the cause of justice and life and wholeness and shalom and flourishing!
2. I’m not going to be distracted by all that. I’m going to rescue people from hell!
Here’s what I want. I want all of us at Bethlehem to say, “We will not make that choice!” We will say this sentence and mean it: “We care about all suffering now, especially eternal suffering later.”
› Now, Jesus continues to give them instructions for their mission,
Learning to Trust with NOTHING
Luke 9:3 ESV
3 And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.
Jesus is essentially calling them to travel on this mission with just the shirt on their backs.
Rather than relying on their own resources, the apostles had to entrust themselves entirely to God’s providential care. In this way, they would learn to trust God for everything.
This does not mean all Christians should do the same.
Remember, this is a one-time mission at a specific time, place, and purpose.
However, though we may not imitate each action, we imitate the heart.
There is more than one way to trust God and sometimes it will look like having nothing and sometimes it will look like having something and trusting that God provided it and will sustain it.
Luke 9:4 ESV
4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.
Imagine going on a mission trip and during the prep process you ask the team leader, “Where will we be staying?” And he responds, “Don’t know yet.”
They have to trust Jesus will provide for them though he will not be with them.
However, wherever they sleep at, they should remain there until the reminder of their trip lest they hop around looking for the best accommodations.
› What will come of the apostles mission?
Rejecting the Message
Luke 9:5 ESV
5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”
Sometimes the most basic observations that anyone can make from the baby Christian to the seasoned saint can be so encouraging.
For Jesus to say, “And wherever they do not receive you” implies, what?
That some will not receive them.
Even though they are performing miracles.
Even though they are the 12 apostles who have been directly discipled by Jesus!
Also, look at Matthew’s account of this passage later tonight. In it, Jesus goes further into what they should expect. It’s costly and terrifying.
This should feel liberating for many of us!
For we think, if only God would perform a miracle.
Or IF only I had a better pastor or someone to train me, THEN I would see more fruit.
Or only then would the person I’ve been trying to share Christ with will respond.
Even the 12 apostles were rejected by some.
For some, the greatest miracle will do nothing but harden them in their unbelief.
So feel the freedom to not put confidence on miracles or how trained you are but that God will save who He wills and we must be faithful to the task.
It is not up to us to change lives, but introduce people to the ONE who can change anyone’s life and let him do his work.
Ok, back to the Text. What should the apostles do if they are rejected?
Shake the dust off of their feet.
What is this shaking off of dust?
By shaking the dust off, they are symbolically testifying that this village is judged for their rejection of the rightful king and his reign. So in a sense, that village is unclean and just as the people rejected them, they are now rejecting the town. As a result, those who rejected Christ will ultimately be rejected on the final day.
This leads us to ask ourselves, what do we do about those in our lives that we have shared the gospel with and they have rejected the message?
Ought we to symbolically stare them down and wipe our shoes off of dust?
No.
This is tough because we see a principal taught here that if someone doesn’t want the gospel you move on and we look for those who are open.
However, the uniqueness of this situation is that the apostles were being sent on a specific mission to different towns. So it was a missionary journey.
This does not mean that when they go back home, they share the gospel once with their neighbors and then have nothing to do with them.
Like the Apostles, we have the mission to proclaim the gospel. Unlike the Apostles, most of us are not moving from town to town under Jesus’s direct orders but living in our neighborhoods and jobs day-in-and-day-out so it will look a little different.
Here’s my rule of thumb:
• So for people not in your normal sphere of life, the general rule of thumb is that if they don’t want Christ, you can’t make them, so pray and move on.
• But sometimes, God will stir in you a conviction that you need to continue to labor with them.
• For those in your normal sphere of life, you continue to be faithful to proclaim and demonstrate the gospel, all the while praying and looking for doors, but focusing on those who are open and hungry.
› Back to the text
Obeying the Mission
Luke 9:6 ESV
6 And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Again, preaching and healing, tied together.
Do we have the same mission?
How do we apply this the mission and manner of the apostles to us?
We don’t have less than what they proclaimed, but we certainly have more.
They proclaimed a Jesus that was there right then on the earth.
We proclaim a Jesus who has come and will come again.
We can herald the kingdom as well as how to get into the kingdom, which is through faith in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
But do we have the same power and authority of the apostles?
IF we look at Luke 10 as well as throughout the book of Acts, we see a reoccurring theme that the Holy Spirit empowers ordinary Christians who are NOT apostles to do mighty works.
But what about us? Does the average Christian have the same mission and the same resources as the apostles and these 72 other disciples?
Yes but in a slightly different way.
Two passages are helpful to look at but much more is needed for a more full picture we cannot get into:
The Great Commission and in Acts 1,
Matthew 28:18–20 ESV
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Acts 1:8 ESV
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
So the authority and the power has been entrusted to Jesus from the Father.
And now, he commission his apostles and through them, us to do his work, in the NAME of the father, son, and Spirit.
So we do not have authority and power.
But Jesus does. And in his name, by his Spirit, we are able to exercise His authority and power.
Primarily this is in preaching the gospel as it does say, “You will be witnesses.”
We have the authority to represent Christ and herald his good news.
But we also can pray in his name, to demonstrate his kingdom through miracles and also compassionate works. Demonstrating miracles may not be as automatic as it was seemed to be the apostles, but I believe it could be a lot more if we great in walking by faith and depending on the Spirit. But that’s for another time..
› Let me wrap up this sermon by returning to the last verse in our Text.
› The works of the apostles were clearly newsworthy so much that the local ruler heard,
The Greatest Question
Luke 9:7–9 ESV
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, 8 by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. 9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.
So Herod hears this news of the 12 going around the towns preaching and demonstrating the Kingdom.
And yet, I love that his response isn’t to see them, but to see Jesus.
This means that the disciples did what they ought to have done. That is, preach Christ. Jesus is the star and Jesus get’s the attention.
May that be the case for all of us! That when people leave our presence they have higher thoughts of Christ, not of us.
Back to the Text
Though corrupt and wicked, Herod asks one of the greatest questions you could every ask.
“Who is this about who I hear such things?”
In other words, “Who is this man?”
Everybody has to ask this question no matter what you believe.
Objectively, Jesus is the most influential person who ever walked the truth. even if you are an unbeliever, you must know that all of history hinges on this man.
And you must ask yourself, “Who is he?”
Is he some great teacher?
Or is he the greatest con-man, trickster and has fooled billions?
OR
Is he who he said he is,
The only savior and the only Lord.
The only one who can save anybody who puts their trust in him.
The only one who can forgive sins
The only one who can make all things new.
You must make a decision about who he is.
This is one question you cannot procrastinate on.
Either he is the very reason for living and your rightful king or he’s a liar or a lunatic.
Note, Herod’s, response. “And He sought to see him.”
BUT
Herod does not want to see Jesus because he wants to submit to him and receive pardon for his many sins. He wants to be entertained. You see this hinted here but made clear in ch. 23.
Luke 23:8 ESV
8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him.
There were people who rejected Christ through the message of the apostles.
Butt here, Herod rejects Christ indirectly.
This is important principal that there are many who love the benefits of Jesus but they don’t love Jesus himself.
They want the gifts but not he giver.
They may even want forgiveness but they don’t want the forgiver.
This begs the question for us. Are we like Herod where we are intrigued by Jesus because we want his benefits?
Or are we like those who want Jesus for himself?
Let’ sit on that for a second,
__
Jesus wants to partner with us to proclaim and demonstrate his kingdom.
What a privilege!
Please note, there is not a single verse in the Bible that gives a pass to Christians.
Like there are Christians and then there are CHRISTIANS.
Followers of Jesus do that. They follow him.
They do what he did.
And so Christian, have you embraced this call to proclaim and demonstrate the good news of Jesus?
The question should not be “if” but how?
And the good news is that Jesus’s blood washes us of how imperfectly we live and work with him.
Jesus is powerful enough to use our brokenness.
Let’s partner with him this week.
