Day 12
Genesis 25:1-26:35; Matthew 10:1-31; Proverbs 1:20-33
I’d encourage you to keep your eye on Abraham’s family as we move on to Jacob and Esau but today I really want us to look at the Gospel.
Here Jesus sends out the twelve disciples. So within this passage we have our first reference to the names of the twelve, so at least we know who they are, and then their instructions. Note that this is a mission to the Jews at this point. The Jews are the people who are expecting the Messiah, who were the chosen people of God and so they should be the easier of the mission fields to go to. They have the background knowledge, they just need to accept that Jesus was the Christ.
Jesus also anoints them to do the stuff that he has been doing. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse leprosy, drive out demons. “Yeah right” they may have said, “raise the dead/ That’s OK for you Jesus, you’re the son of God.” But here Jesus empowers them. He says that they can do it. In the same way he empowers us to do “it”, whatever it is. To do that bit if homework, to do that essay, to preach that sermon, to go off to uni, to raise the dead. Jesus empowers us to do all things and conquer all things in his name.
He then warns them about the suffering that they are likely to suffer and all the things that will happen. From v21 he is kind of saying the the social order is going to go a bit topsy turvy, “brother will betray brother, and father his child”. They may be betrayed but also normal societal values will start to erode.
And then this bit from v24 onwards. A student not being above his teacher but like him. This is Jesus continuing that authority thing. “You are not better than me but you are going out in my name and you have my authority so you are like me”. And then this really weird bit about Beelzebub. Another name for the devil and if we look back at Matthew 9:34 Jesus was accuse of casting our demons in the name of the King of demons (ie the devil). And so here he is saying that the same accusation is likely to come against the disciples.
What to take away from these ones. That Jesus has given you all power and authority in his name, so whatever it is you are putting off, know that you are doing it in the name of Christ and in the strength of Christ.
I’d encourage you to keep your eye on Abraham’s family as we move on to Jacob and Esau but today I really want us to look at the Gospel.
Here Jesus sends out the twelve disciples. So within this passage we have our first reference to the names of the twelve, so at least we know who they are, and then their instructions. Note that this is a mission to the Jews at this point. The Jews are the people who are expecting the Messiah, who were the chosen people of God and so they should be the easier of the mission fields to go to. They have the background knowledge, they just need to accept that Jesus was the Christ.
Jesus also anoints them to do the stuff that he has been doing. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse leprosy, drive out demons. “Yeah right” they may have said, “raise the dead/ That’s OK for you Jesus, you’re the son of God.” But here Jesus empowers them. He says that they can do it. In the same way he empowers us to do “it”, whatever it is. To do that bit if homework, to do that essay, to preach that sermon, to go off to uni, to raise the dead. Jesus empowers us to do all things and conquer all things in his name.
He then warns them about the suffering that they are likely to suffer and all the things that will happen. From v21 he is kind of saying the the social order is going to go a bit topsy turvy, “brother will betray brother, and father his child”. They may be betrayed but also normal societal values will start to erode.
And then this bit from v24 onwards. A student not being above his teacher but like him. This is Jesus continuing that authority thing. “You are not better than me but you are going out in my name and you have my authority so you are like me”. And then this really weird bit about Beelzebub. Another name for the devil and if we look back at Matthew 9:34 Jesus was accuse of casting our demons in the name of the King of demons (ie the devil). And so here he is saying that the same accusation is likely to come against the disciples.
What to take away from these ones. That Jesus has given you all power and authority in his name, so whatever it is you are putting off, know that you are doing it in the name of Christ and in the strength of Christ.
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