1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.REFLECTIONSWritten by Susan DucHaving told his disciples to pray for God to send out workers to gather the harvest (9:37-38), Jesus calls them and sends them to do the work of mission. Jesus empowers the twelve to take on his ministry, to proclaim the coming kingdom and heal people. His instructions are to avoid the Gentiles and go to the lost sheep of Israel. This is an urgent mission to Israel!Jesus’ earthly ministry prioritised the Jewish people, for it was God’s plan for the gospel to go first to the Jew and then to the Gentile (Romans 1:16). But after Jesus’ resurrection, he gave the apostles a much bigger task in his Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Jesus’ mission to Israel was only the beginning of a mission to proclaim the gospel to people of all nations.This passage reminds us that God is faithfully working out his saving plan, in his way and in his timing. Here, Jesus summons a ragtag group including fishermen, a tax collector and even a traitor to carry out his work of calling people to himself. Through them, the gospel of the long-awaited Messiah and King would be preached to the lost sheep of Israel and fan out to all people, fulfilling God’s ancient promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3).Most or all of us are Gentiles, who have received the gift of the gospel and become God’s people through the later mission to all nations. We are now called to obey Christ by praying for God’s saving mission to continue. As we do, we know that God is faithfully carrying out his promise to bless all peoples on earth through his Son, the seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16). QUESTIONJesus is still sending people all over the world to spread the news of his kingdom. Do you know who our church mission partners are, and which parts of the world Jesus has sent them to?ABOUT THE AUTHORSusan is a member at our Bossley Park congregation.