David balances his prayer between seeking God's mercy to save him and calling upon God's justice against the wicked giving us an OT example of the petition in the Lord's Prayer, -deliver us from evil.-

Jesus sends the disciples and the church on a dangerous mission to seek the lost sheep roaming in the midst of ravenous wolves. These wolves will oppose the mission in any way they can, even with violence. But Jesus promises to be with those whom He sends out so that the mission will bear fruit for God's glory.

As Jesus sends the Twelve out on a short term mission, He charges them to trust the Lord to provide for what they need on the mission as well as look to the Lord for wisdom to discern whom to bless and whom to warn.

Among popular mission and church planting strategies promoted today, -simple and biblical- are not words you'll typically hear very often, if at all. But when we consider the instructions Jesus gives to the Twelve,-simple and biblical- is a good summary of the mission Jesus charges them to carry out.

When Jesus appoints the Twelve to go on a short term mission, He begins to answer the prayer He called His disciples to pray, asking the Lord to raise up laborers for the bountiful harvest. Before sending out these twelve ordinary men, Jesus equips them with power and authority to work great miracles and proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom. All this is in preparation for the Great Commission which is still the mission of the Church today.

The two miracles of Jesus healing two blind men and casting out a demon so that a mute man could speak are critical pieces in the Messianic puzzle that are put into place so that those who have eyes to see and ears to hear would understand very clearly that Jesus was the Messiah.

Jesus responds to the faith of those who seek His help and comfort in the midst of their distress.

Jesus came as the bridegroom to claim His bride, the Church. The old way of mournful discipleship has passed away and the new way of discipleship, marked by joy and gladness, has come.

The Gospel isn't about calling people and helping them to be comfortable in this life- it's about calling sinners to repentance and faith.

Jesus does more than heal a man of paralysis, He does an even greater work by granting forgiveness demonstrating that He truly is the Son of God.