Sent By Jesus
Luke 9:1-9 (1-2)
August 26, 2018
It is always amazing to me how the Lord
Seems to fit together His message for the church.
• I prefer not to engage on individual studies that follow topics of interest or even
my own personal soap boxes.
• I just like to study through books of the Bible so that the Lord has
opportunity to communicate whatever He desires to His church.
And in studying books of the Bible like this I’m always encouraged.
• We at times study topics we might not otherwise choose
• We certainly study texts that I would skip where it up to me
But I’m encouraged how the Lord always seems to bring it all together
Just last week, we took a break from our normal study
To commission our students and teachers back
Into the great mission field of the public school system.
We talked about the “How To” of missions.
Listening to Paul instruct Timothy in regard to a practical way to get back in the saddle and once again preach the word.
And now this morning we return to the gospel of Luke
And it’s as though THE LORD REINFORCES THAT MESSAGE AGAIN
As we approach Luke 9.
If we saw “How To” last week,
Then I think this week we can accurately call it the “What To”.
Paul told Timothy HOW TO do it.
Here Jesus tells the 12 WHAT TO do.
There’s NO AMBIGUITY from our Lord in regard to our mission.
For all the times that He speaks somewhat cryptically in parables,
He does not do that in regard to our mission.
Jesus speaks clearly as to what we are to do.
It is encouraging to us to be able to listen to what He told the 12.
FROM A CONTEXT STANDPOINT:
You are also familiar with where we are in Luke’s gospel.
Jesus has already issued a very solemn warning
To the region of Galilee.
We heard that parable of the soils and we heard that warning:
Luke 8:18 “So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”
Jesus reminded the people of Galilee that a failure to value the truth
Can quickly result in a failure to receive the truth.
And we even saw that being practically played out.
• Jesus left the crowd and took the disciples to the region of the Gerasenes.
• And when Jesus returned His miracles were sort of hidden.
• Not many were allowed to witness the raising of the girl from the
dead.
• Really the only reason Jesus publicly healed the hemorrhaging
woman was to be able to speak about her faith.
We’ve seen Jesus sort of pull away from the crowds
And invest in the disciples.
WHAT IS CLEAR IS THAT GALILEE IS IN DANGER.
At this point Jesus is only about 18 months from His crucifixion
And He is about to leave Galilee behind for good.
Luke 9:51 “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem;”
It’s almost over for Galilee.
• They had been given over a year of unprecedented access to God incarnate.
• He stood right in front of them.
• He was the valuable seed being sown.
But for those who were rejecting it,
They were in great danger of losing it all together.
And yet this is where THE HEART OF OUR LORD really shines.
Certainly He is frustrated with their overall lack of belief,
But He is not quite ready to just write them off completely.
So the Lord has just a couple more plans.
• Here in chapter 9 He’s going to send out the 12 to cover the region again.
• And then in chapter 10 He’s going to send out the 70 for one final mission.
It is a definite endurance and patience by the Lord.
It reminds me, honestly,
Of that missionary heart you see in the APOSTLE PAUL.
If you will remember he dealt with the same frustrations of rejection
In his ministry among the Jews.
When preaching at Pisidian Antioch, the Jews rejected and Acts records:
Acts 13:46-47 “Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. “For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.'”
He’s done with the Jews, he’s going to the Gentiles.
Which is why we read in the very next chapter:
Acts 14:1 “In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.”
And again in:
Acts 17:1-3 “Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.”
He has to flee from there and lands in Berea
Acts 17:10 “The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.”
Even later when Paul preaches in Corinth:
Acts 18:5-8 “But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” Then he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue. Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.”
There is that same frustration, but you can see he didn’t go far.
And again later:
Acts 19:8 “And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.”
THE POINT IS that Paul was certainly frustrated with the lack Jews,
More than once he wanted to wash his hands of them,
But something in him would not let him quit.
To the Romans he would write:
Romans 9:1-3 “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh,”
The reason Paul felt that way is because He had the Spirit of Christ inside Him.
THAT IS EXACTLY THE HEART OF JESUS.
• He is grieved
• He is frustrated
• He has warned them
• But He is not yet ready to just write them off
He’s sending out the 12.
It also reminds me of the admonition that the Lord gave to the apostle John as he was stranded on Patmos receiving the Revelation.
Revelation 10:8-11 “Then the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he said to me, “Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.”
You remember that incident.
• Where John was called to digest the truths of God’s coming judgment.
• And then John was commanded to “prophesy again”.
Don’t give up just yet. Tell them again.
That is the Lord here.
And we see in that His PATIENCE and His DESIRE.
Certainly one could say that He has done enough
He could document enough rejection
To justifiably wash His hands of the entire region.
And yet He continues.
He is like that prodigal father we will see in a few chapters
Who is eagerly watching for the return of His son.
There’s good encouragement in that for us.
PRESS ON
WELL THAT IS WHAT WE HAVE OCCURRING HERE.
WHAT LUKE DOES NOT RECORD
• Is that after Jesus healed the hemorrhaging woman and raised Jairus’
daughter
• He then went one more time back to Nazareth.
One more time (even after they tried to kill Him last time)
He returns and again they reject.
In fact, it was there that Scripture records Jesus
Marveling at their unbelief.
And after leaving Nazareth He started again through Galilee,
BUT TIME IS RUNNING OUT.
At this point Jesus is the only preacher.
• He is the only miracle worker.
• If you want to hear the gospel, He is the only One you can hear it from.
And so now Jesus is about to multiply His preaching efforts.
He has modeled for the disciples exactly how He does it.
• They’ve heard Him preach
• They’ve seen Him work miracles
• They’ve seen Him cast out demons
Now He’s about to further their education
By sending them out on a little internship.
On one hand, He’s granting salvation one more time to the stubborn region of Galilee.
On the other hand He is continuing to train His disciples for the ministry that will soon be their full time.
What we see in this text are
THE SPECIFICS OF WHAT CHRIST WANTS THEM TO DO.
There are 5 things I want you to see here.
#1 THE CALL
Luke 9:1
Here we read that “He called the twelve together”
This is really a unique thing for the ministry of Jesus.
• Up until now the “disciples” of Jesus have been a large group.
• He already named these 12 as apostles,
• But here He is about to further distinguish them from the rest.
And He first distinguishes them by the power He gives them.
He “gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.”
Matthew includes “raising the dead” and “cleansing lepers” in his list.
I like the distinction “power and authority”
• “power” without authority makes you a rogue or a renegade.
• “authority” without power makes you frustrated.
Jesus gave the disciples both.
He just promoted them totally above even the angelic rank.
They now had full authority and ability to command even demons.
What you are picking up on here is that Jesus just gave the apostles
The same power and authority that the Father had given to Him.
These men now have the power and authority of Jesus.
They can walk around Galilee and do the same things He did.
• What Jesus did in the boat with the raging storm, now they can do.
• What Jesus did in Gerasa with the demoniac, now they can do.
• What Jesus did with Jairus’ daughter, now they can do.
He called them and He equipped them.
WHY?
#2 THE COMMAND
Luke 9:2
Now you see that He has equipped them
So that they can fulfill their specific command.
What is the command?
• “proclaim the kingdom of God”
• “perform healing”
FIRST, AND PRIMARY, is that they are to go out as preachers.
• They are to “proclaim the kingdom of God”
Certainly this is before the cross or the resurrection.
Certainly this is before the Holy Spirit.
SO WHAT ARE THEY PREACHING?
Namely that God has a kingdom and you must enter it.
And Jesus has already made it abundantly clear who gets to enter it.
• It is the poor in spirit, it is the humble, it is the outcast, and the beggar.
• It is those who are broken over sin, and desire repentance.
It is in essence THE MESSAGE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
Who told me to “repent for the kingdom of heaven was at hand”.
This is what Jesus has called them to do.
• To go from city to city and village to village
• Declare to men that God’s kingdom can now be entered
• It is entered through repentance.
This has been the message of John
This has been the message of Jesus
This is now the message of the apostles
Mark 6:12 “They went out and preached that men should repent.”
The implication is yet again obvious.
GOD HAS A KINGDOM AND YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF IT.
GOD HAS A KINGDOM BUT YOU ARE NOT WELCOME IN IT.
In order to enter that kingdom,
You must confess your rebellion to God, ask for His forgiveness,
And humble yourself under His sovereign hand.
This is the message.
It’s always been the message.
AND THIS IS PRIMARY.
We have seen that too.
• John the Baptist didn’t work any miracles, all he did was preach.
• And while Jesus came working miracles, it was not hard to see His priority.
Luke 4:42-44 “When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them. But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.”
That is what He did.
Going everywhere He could preaching that men should repent of their sin
That they might be able to enter God’s kingdom.
And just as He does with us today,
Jesus commanded the apostles to go and preach.
There’s really no way around it.
• We are here to preach.
• You are here to preach.
1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION,A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”
1 Peter 3:13-16 “Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.”
This is God’s ordained means
Through which He will draw the elect to Himself.
Go preach the gospel.
• Jesus didn’t tell the 12 to set up a camp meeting
• Jesus didn’t tell the 12 to organize a carnival
• Jesus didn’t tell the 12 to try and draw in unbelievers and make them feel welcome
I heard the statement from a pastor again this week.
He as organizing an event and he said, “Because there’s just a lot of people that will never come into our church.”
That’s true!
It’s always been true.
In their sinful, unredeemed state,
They have no interest in coming into a sanctuary
Where we will worship God and listen to His word for an hour.
They aren’t coming.
So we are called to go to them.
AND LET ME ASK YOU, who do you think God should lean on here?
• Is it more likely that rebellious sinners will obey God’s command to come to
worship,
• Or is it more likely that God’s submissive followers will obey His command
to go to the lost?
THEY AREN’T COMING.
That is why verse 2 says, “He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God”
It ALSO SAYS He sent them “to perform healing”.
This is why He gave them the power and authority mentioned in verse 1.
He wanted them to heal, so He gave them the power to heal.
And don’t let this blow up your doctrine.
Charismatics today would read a verse like this
And then tell everyone in the congregation
That they should also be healing everyone’s diseases.
(Funny, I’ve never heard them get quite so definitive on verse 3 where Jesus tells the disciples to go without any of the world’s comforts…that one isn’t publicized quite so much)
But what do we do with that?
It’s very simple, and we’ve mentioned it many times.
THIS WAS THE APOSTLE’S CREDIBILITY.
If two preachers are in town and they are both telling you how to enter God’s kingdom, which one are you going to listen to?
Well, the one who can raise the dead.
That is why Jesus gave this authority to the apostles.
And I remind you that it was unique to them.
• We don’t have these abilities any longer.
• Many of the great men of Scripture never had these abilities.
• When Timothy had stomach problems Paul told him to drink wine, not heal his stomach.
So why the miraculous power?
It was validity for them.
And for them alone.
2 Corinthians 12:12 “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.”
Paul there was fighting for vindication of his ministry against a group of false apostles who had come in and tried to steal the Corinthians away.
Paul merely points out that unlike them,
God had born witness to his ministry.
Hebrews 2:3-4 “how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”
Notice even the writer of Hebrews says that
“God also testifying with THEM” (not us)
Jesus gave the apostles the ability
To do all these miraculous things to validate them.
WELL WHY DOESN’T HE GIVE IT TO US?
Seems like that might be important.
BECAUSE WHAT JESUS GAVE US
IS MORE POWERFUL THAN WHAT HE GAVE THEM.
What did Jesus give us?
THE WORD (the New Testament; the apostles teaching)
And the revealed word of the New Testament
Is much more effective and powerful
Than the ability to work signs and wonders.
You want proof?
Remember the rich man who died and went to Hades and was in torment?
• He begged Abraham to send Lazarus to give him relief…
• He then begged Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers so that they would repent and believe…
Remember Abraham’s answer:
Luke 16:29-31 “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ “But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'”
So did Abraham just not care about this man’s brothers?
• I don’t think that’s it.
• This man’s brothers were descendants of Abraham; they were his great-great-great (you get it) grandsons.
So why was Abraham so unwilling to work the miracle for their salvation.
BECAUSE ABRAHAM KNEW THEY ALREADY HAD SOMETHING BETER.
Abraham in effect told the man that
They already had a more powerful witness.
They had the very word of God.
We’ve talked about this issue before:
TURN TO: DEUTERONOMY 13:1-5
How can that be?
• If we are supposed to recognize a genuine prophet by his fulfilled prophecies
or miraculous signs,
• Then how is it that we are supposed to recognize a false prophet who can work
miracles?
And the answer was clear.
By God’s revealed word.
The message of that false prophet was specific, he said to go and worship other gods, and then he worked a miracle.
The children of Israel should know better
Because at this point they already had the Mosaic Law
Which specifically forbid worshiping other gods.
THE POINT?
The revealed word trumps the miraculous sign
When there is no revealed word available
Then miracles and powers are valuable,
And that is why Jesus gave them to the apostles.
But even more powerful than those miracles
Are the revealed word of God, which the apostles left for us.
YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS BELIEVER.
YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE AT YOUR DISPOSAL.
We can talk all day about the amazing nature of miracles…
We can talk all day about how much miracles glorify God…
We can talk all day about how beneficial miracles are to leading the lost to God…
But tell me of a miracle that can do this:
Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
Tell me of a miracle that can dissect between the thoughts and attitudes of the heart and lay a man’s sin to bear before God.
HERE’S THE SIMPLE POINT.
Jesus gave this power to the apostles (and only the apostles; at least in a permanent sense) because they had no written authority to stand on.
But we now have the authority of their words.
It’s called the New Testament and I’m telling you
I wouldn’t trade 1 verse of the New Testament
For the most spectacular miracle ability in the world.
Would it be nice to have the power to heal the sick? Absolutely
Would it be nice to be able to cast out demons? Of Course
But read your New Testament.
Most of the people Jesus healed, and most of the people Jesus delivered,
Died lost in their sin and went to hell.
MEN DON’T BELIEVE AFTER SEEING SIGNS.
But Scripture makes a promise regarding the word:
Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
Or how about:
Isaiah 55:11 “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
So you may not have power to work miracles,
But you do have the more powerful word of God!
Listen to Peter:
2 Peter 1:16-19 “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased” — and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”
There Peter speaks of the day when he saw Jesus transfigured.
He had a great vision!
And yet, he says, “Do you want to know what’s more powerful than that? Do you want to know what’s ‘more sure’ than that? We have ‘the more sure prophetic word’!”
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?
Do you understand now why Jesus empowered them with miracles and not us in that way?
He was granting them validity to their message.
We have that same validity, every time we quote from the New Testament.
Every time we quote the Bible
We have at our disposal power even greater than that.
BUT THERE’S ANOTHER ELEMENT HERE
Besides validity to why Jesus told them “to perform healing.”
If the issue were only validity then there is any number of ways
That they could have accomplished that.
• Satan tried to get Jesus to throw Himself off the temple; that would’ve done it.
• The disciples wanted to call down fire.
But the specific display they were to put on at the command of Jesus
Was one that was beneficial to people.
They were told to heal.
They were told to cleanse.
They were told to cast out demons.
They were told to raise the dead.
There is an element here to what Jesus is commanding
That deals with compassion.
And this is so important.
Jesus just endowed 12 men with supernatural power
• And He told them to go and preach a message of repentance
• Because those people had fallen short of the glory of God and were under divine wrath.
It would have been real easy to disassociate with those people.
To make sure they didn’t,
Jesus also commanded them
To get up close and personal with their suffering.
• Listen to their stories…
• Look into their eyes…
• Hear that broken mother talk about her child’s illness…
• Grieve with that broken father whose son is demon possessed…
• Look at the struggle of the lame man…
The disciples needed power to validate their message.
They needed this specific power to activate their compassion.
And even since that day the two have gone hand in hand.
There are two great motivators for evangelism,
And I think there will forever be a great mystery
As to which motivates us the most.
One reason we preach is the glory of God.
He has been offended by His creation and yet offers salvation through His Son, and He deserves to be glorified for that.
The other reason we preach is for the love of sinners.
They are under divine wrath and headed for judgement and must be warned.
And you’ll have a tough time telling me
Which of those motivations was more inspiring to Jesus.
He certainly preached for the glory of God.
He certainly preached out of love for sinners.
I love the balance of the statement Paul made in regard to the gospel message.
2 Corinthians 5:18-21 “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
On one hand we are “ambassadors for Christ” – it’s all for Him.
On the other hand “we beg you…be reconciled to God”
You see both there.
This is what Jesus told the disciples to do.
Both motivations must be there,
And Jesus ensures that they will both be there with His disciples.
So, take just what we’ve seen so far
And you’re already getting a pretty good indication
Of what we are to do.
• We are to go to the lost and proclaim the gospel to them,
• Standing on the authority of the apostles teaching,
• And being compassionate to the plight of sinners.
Go do that.
We’ll stop there this morning, and pick back up next time with the rest.
