The Harsh Response

We are working through the six responses to Jesus in Mark 6, and today we come to the second response, found in Mark 6:7-13. Here we find a harsh response for those who reject the Gospel. I want to consider this text in two points: the Charge for the Church and the Condemnation of the Hardhearted.

In verses 7-9 and 12-13 we find the charge of the church. After the rejection of his family and friends in his hometown of Nazareth, Jesus calls his twelve disciples to himself and gives them a commission. This commission has three components. First, the commission comes with dominion. Jesus calls them to go out two by two, and he sends them out with authority. The word for “authority” used here is exousia, which is the same word used by those who first experienced Jesus’s preaching in Mark 1. There they said that Jesus preached with “authority.” They marveled again when he cast out demons, wondering where this authority came from. Jesus preached and ministered as though he was sovereign – as though he had complete control over the world. So now, he gives that same authority to twelve men who were to be his apostles – his “sent out ones.” It is in this authority that the Apostles would establish the church. They would preach on the day of Pentecost and 3000 souls would be saved. They would enter the temple and cause a lame man to walk. They would go to the ends of the earth, and men and women would believe their story of the resurrected Christ. But, this authority didn’t end with the apostles. The church of Jesus Christ has been given this same authority through the power of his Spirit. So, Jesus would say, in Matt. 16:18, that not even the gates of hell can resist the authority of a faithful church. Paul says, in Eph. 6:10, that we can resist and stand firm against the attacks of Satan because we have the armor of God through our salvation. So, the church carries on this same charge, given to the apostles, through this same dominion of Christ.

Second, the commission comes with dependence. They were not to take any food or money. They weren’t even to take a beggar’s bag. Nor were they to be extra prepared by taking two tunics. Those who were sent out on this mission for Christ were to depend on God for everything, even their most basic needs that they might be able to provide for themselves. This dependence has two aspects. For one, they were to trust that God would provide for them. They were to trust that they would find food along their way, that God would protect them from harsh weather, and that he would keep them from harm. But, they were also to depend on the people of God scattered throughout the towns they visited. In verse 10 he tells them to stay in the first house that will receive them. In other words, they were to depend on the hospitality of those who welcomed them and received the Gospel. This too is a charge for the faithful church. We are to be dependent on God for our needs. We are to trust him with protection and provision. In this age of growing hostility towards Christians, it can be tempting to think that we need to defend ourselves, to take extra precautions or to set aside as much money as we can, just in case harder times come. But, the church is called to depend on Christ to meet our needs and to defend us.

Third, the commission comes with a demonstration. In verses 12-13, we find that the apostles went out and preached the Gospel, and as Jesus promised, they were given authority to cast out demons and heal the sick. These miracles were demonstrations of the trustworthiness of their message. You might say that the proof was in the pudding. The faithful church of Jesus Christ has been given this same demonstration. When we share the Gospel, people are brought from darkness to light and set free from their bondage to Satan. When we pray, people are healed, and lives are changed. Even this week, I’ve seen evidence of God answering my prayers in three different situations. Those who are committed to a faithful church will be blessed because of the presence of the Holy Spirit among his people, and this demonstrates that the Gospel is true.

Now that we’ve seen the commission of the church, consider the Condemnation of the Hardhearted, from verses 10-11. Jesus warns his apostles of a certain response that they might receive as they go. Certainly, there are many who will welcome, feed, and shelter them. But, there will also be those who reject them. They will see the miracles, they will hear the truthfulness of the message, and yet, they will turn the apostles away. In those cases, Jesus tells his apostles to “shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” This was a common practice for Jews when they traveled through a Gentile region. After they passed through a place like Galilee or Samaria, where there were large numbers of Gentiles, they would shake off their clothes to symbolize the unworthiness of that land. They were passing from condemned lands to the promised land. Interestingly, in this case, Jesus is sending the disciples into Jewish lands and to individual homes. Remember, Jesus is the king of a new covenant. He has come to announce the advent of the kingdom of God. He’s already explained through parables that this kingdom is not for everyone. It is not for the half-hearted, the familiar, or the distracted. This kingdom is for those who have faith. So, even though the apostles are going into Jewish lands and passing by Jewish homes, if they will not receive the Gospel by faith, then they are to be marked out like a Gentile.

Understand, the call to receive the Gospel isn’t a call to accept some new philosophy. It is not an invitation to accept a new set of facts. In the Gospel, Jesus is not begging. He is demanding. So, think of it this way. Imagine that we all are part of an ancient city, ruled by a tyrant. This tyrant has enslaved everyone in the city, but we all have grown used to it. In fact, because we don’t know anything better, we prefer it. One day, the army of a powerful and good king encircles the city. The tyrant is warned that at any moment, he will be thrown down and his city will be destroyed. The king sends two ambassadors into the city, and they go street by street, announcing the coming destruction. But, with this announcement of doom comes a promise – everyone who pledges allegiance to the king and takes the sign of his kingdom will be spared when the final battle starts. Like Rahab, who hung the scarlet thread outside her window when the Israelites conquered Jericho, all who align with the king and take his sign will be spared. You can imagine that many would hear this offer and reject it because the tyrant is all they know, or because their business depends on the current political system, or because they have gained a great deal of power in the tyrant’s administration. Those who reject the king have no excuse when the final battle is waged. This is the reality of the Gospel we preach. Our king Jesus has encircled the great city of Satan, and he is ready, any day, to bring that final judgment. Yet, he is a gracious king, who sends his ambassadors out into the city to call on men and women to trust the king. If they will take his sign – the sign of faith – they will be spared on that day of judgment. But if not, they are marked out for destruction with the tyrant and his army.

Friend, won’t you come to Jesus in faith today and be marked out as his? Won’t you escape the judgment to come by trusting king Jesus?

Brothers and sisters, we are those ambassadors who have been sent into the city to tell of the king. Our king is good and gracious and not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But, he will not turn back from his judgment, and so we should be faithful ambassadors who urgently proclaim the Gospel, trusting in God to provide for us as we do.