CSI Heaven
Standard; Mr 6:7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.
8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff--no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts--
9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.
10 Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.
11 "And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"
12 So they went out and preached that people should repent.
13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.
(NKJV)
One of the classes we had at S.I.T. A couple of weeks ago was on the Gospel of Mark, and a couple of things were mentioned right at the top that are helpful in the study of this Word. First of all, it is the shortest of all the Gospels, so if you are in a hurry to get through one of the Gospels, this is a good place to start.
In addition, the Gospel of Mark was written primarily to a Gentile as opposed to a Jewish audience. This is very helpful by the way as you seek to interpret scripture. I'll give you an example as it relates to the matter of marriage and divorce and re-marriage. It's called “context,” and it can help you discern the meaning for today.
Both Luke and Mark were written to a Gentile audience and neither one of them contain the so-called exception clause for divorce. The exception clause is only found in the Gospel of Matthew because Matthew was writing to a primarily Jewish audience.
Why? Because of the Jewish customs surrounding marriage as opposed to Gentile customs. The Gentiles did not have that betrothal thing going on as the Jews did, and to understand the exception clause you need to know that the Jewish exception for divorce was only if the groom discovered that he was getting damaged goods. (A possibility of getting out of the marriage.)
This betrothal clause wouldn't mean anything to the Gentile so it's not included. But what is included, is the permanence of marriage betrothal or not.
There are no exceptions given in Luke and Mark which were written primarily to the Gentiles and so the consistent teaching of Scripture concerning marriage is simply this: “What God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Mk 10:8, Mt 19:6,) No exceptions. It truly is , “till death do us part!.”
Another thing about the Gospel of Mark. It is generally assumed that much of the material included in this Gospel came right from Peter. This is a Gospel of action! Peter was a man of action! The word “immediately” is used over 40 times!
This Gospel is written in the style of John Madden. Yea, Peter and John Madden had similar personality types, and this Gospel of Mark is Peter using a telestrator and instant replay to tell the Good News of Jesus.
In our text today, I am going to use some biblical numerology, not that this is the proper way to interpret this Scripture, but it will be helpful in getting a point across to us. So, let's pick it up in Mk 6:7
Mr 6:7 And He called the twelve to Himself, (twelve is the number of the church. The twelve tribes representing the OT church, and the 12 apostles representing the NT church. And it is Jesus who calls, who summons His church to the task at hand.)
“and began” (Don't miss this little but important word! This was the start of the great commission. It was a trial run for His church. He gave them a taste of the power and provision the church would have to spread the Gospel and deliver people from the clutches of the devil. This was the first effort for His church, and the work would continue in earnest after Pentecost and it continues today!
“to send them out two by two,”
Why 2 by 2? Because that's the way the Mormons and the Jehovah Witnesses do it! Not! Certainly there is some benefit to mutual encouragement and back up as one goes door to door spreading the Gospel, but there is a more compelling reason for this division.
One of the overriding principles of Scripture is the necessity of two witnesses. It is not enough to have the testimony of one witness, you had to have two. Mt 18:16 "But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'
Therefore, in sending them out by two, their witness of the Gospel is established. But I believe there is more going on here. I believe this number also has some symbolic importance. The witness of the church is not just you and one other person going out to tell about Jesus (Although that' s not a bad idea) The witness of the church is the Word and Sacraments!
Now let's do a little math here. 12 divided by two is what? 6. (So they are going to the number 6) And the number 6 is the symbol of man .
And so what we have here is Jesus calling, His church, empowering His church and sending them out to man with word and sacrament to deliver them from the devil.
“and gave them power over unclean spirits.
This power is found in the Word and the Sacraments. Every baptism is an exorcism. As the Spirit of
God comes to dwell in the baptized. The strong man (The Holy Spirit) arrives and kicks out the devil, who occupies the house due to original sin.
When the Word is believed and the waters of baptism applied in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, the number of man 666 is added to the number of the Triune God 111 and you wind up with 777, the number of God united with man!
This is the great commission of the church.
How do we carry it out? It must be carried out in utter reliance upon God. It is not our own cleverness or resources but God and God alone!
8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff--no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts--
9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.
The staff represents the staff of Moses...the Law. Shod with the Gospel of peace and clothed with the righteousness of Christ and reliant on Him for everything else.
10 Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.
11 "And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"
12 So they went out and preached that people should repent.
13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.
So what was their message? What did they preach? It was repent! The message of John the Baptist. The message of Jesus, the message of the Apostles, and the message of the church! We must not back off in our call to repentance, and the call to repentance comes through the preaching of the Law!
Men must understand that they are living their lives 180 degrees out of line with the will of God! The Law shows us that we are not traveling in the same direction of God and we need to turn and get in step with Him! His steps are found in the Law!
“People should repent!” We should be constantly examining our lives to see if we are in step with God!
When people see their need to repent They are ready for the deliverance and healing balm of the Gospel and the Sacraments!
The sad fact is that many will hear the call to repentance and not respond. They really don't see the need for the Gospel and the Sacraments and Jesus tells of their end in terms that all understand. Their judgment will be worse than the judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah!
There are two travel brochures available for the afterlife. One featuring a place worse than Sodom and Gomorrah....the other better than the Garden of Eden! Where do you want to go? Then you should repent!
The stomping of the feet is not something done in anger, or “I'm through with you!”. It is another witness of the church. For as the dust shakes loose from your sandals it is proof positive that you have been there with the two witnesses.
CSI Heaven, can examine the evidence, and say with certainty..........you have heard, you have rejected, you are guilty, you are damned!
This evidence works both ways, and points out the necessity of evangelism.
Eze 3:18 "When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
(NKJV)
Now I honestly don't know what that means, but I expect it is addressed to the church,.......but I know it doesn't sound real good does it? That sounds like I need to find my role in evangelism in the church..
I don't care how careful you may be in wiping off your shoes before you enter a house, you will always have some dirt clinging to the shoe. CSI Heaven can also examine our sandals and they can tell if you have brought the witness to the wicked or if we have been content with just carrying it back and forth to church on Sundays.
Where have you been with the Gospel? Where has Living Word gone? Where are you going with the Gospel, Where is Living Word going to go? We need to answer those questions. We need to engage in evangelism!
Jesus has CALLED us to the task. He has equipped us for the task! He has provided all we need for the task including the two witnesses. People need to repent, but they won't know their need until we have dirtied our sandals in their lives nations, their cities, their towns, their homes.
Last week I asked you to write down the name of someone you want to see saved. This week, I want you to write down the name of one neighbor who doesn't know Jesus. We will add them to our list and pray for them at every opportunity.
Evangelism begins with prayer. It's followed up with contact. We're not talking about banging on their door with the heaviest Bible you can find. We are talking about establishing meaningful friendships. They need to know you and see Jesus in you, even if from afar, so that when the winds are blowing contrary in their lives, they will have someone to come to, and you will have someone who may be ready to hear about Jesus. .....simply because they have been prayed for.
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