Jesus was teaching from village to village.
Daniel did an excellent job last weekcovering the passage in Mark 6:6-13. There we find Jesus, going around teaching from village to village. This has been the pattern of Jesus' ministry from the beginning. We saw this in Mark 1:38 (NIV) when Jesus tells his disciples, "Let’s us go somewhere else— to the nearby villages— so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."Jesus was always traveling and always going to where people were located. See Mark 1:39.
But there is something else you should know. It was never Jesus' intention to do all of the preaching. In Mark 1:17 (NIV) Jesus is walking beside the sea of Galilee, and when he sees Simon and Andrew casting their nets he beckons them, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."A few verses later he calls James and John in Mark 1:20 and in Mark 2:14 he calls Matthew the tax collector.
Jesus was assembling these men to preach the gospel! We see this in Mark 3:13-15 (NIV) where it says, "Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve— designating them apostles— that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons."
Preaching the gospelis a dangerous business.
Now I have to confess, this whole idea of following Jesus, and becoming fishers of men, and being used mightily of God, sounds rather exciting— and it is! But it’s also dangerous. I don’t mean that attending church is dangerous, or sitting in the church pew, or singing, or giving money to the church is dangerous. Nor do I mean that volunteering at church is dangerous,and neither isattending a Bible study.
What I mean is that preaching is dangerous.Preaching repentance is dangerous and confronting sin is dangerous. Infiltrating Satan's strongholds and driving out evil spirits is dangerous. There is danger not in here, but out there where Jesus is calling us. It is not dangerousin our comfortable homes, but in the surrounding community, the surrounding villages, and in the hundreds of thousands of homes scattered throughout Sangamon county, danger lurks.
Preaching the gospel can be personally costly.
Not only is preaching dangerous, it's personally costly. I mean, consider the life of John the Baptist in Mark 1. He’s a lone voice calling in the desert in Mark 1:3 (NIV), "Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him."John'smessage is utterly offensive because he’s preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. You know how people feel about baptism. Baptism confronts us in our sinful rebellion. It confronts our pride. It exposes our need to be cleansed and washed. It takes humility to be baptized, and a willingness to submit to God’s authority.
John’s wardrobe was some garment made out of camel’s hair. The only thing around his waist was a belt— no coin purse, no bag, and no belongings. His diet was locusts and wild honey. He had no home or roof over his head. He was completely dependent on God in every way!
Speaking of personally costly, did you take note of Mark 1:14? We get this elaborate description of John the Baptist,and just as quickly as he is introduced, we're told that he was thrown in prison. Do you see Christian mission as some sort of romantic adventure, some sort of pampered luxury cruise to the Bahamas? Do you think that serving God is going to help you win friends, and win over culture, and put you on the road to prosperity?
Isn’t it interesting that the day John the Baptist was thrown in prison was the same day Jesus showed up on the Sea of Galilee? On that day, Jesus beckoned Simon, Andrew, James, and John, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Do you see the interplay between these events? It’s all there. In Mark 1:14 (NIV), "John was put in prison…" and in Mark 1:17 (NIV) Jesus says, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."This is a dangerous mission, a personally costly mission.Calling men to repentance, confronting sin and evil spirits, and baptizing people takes sacrifice, deep sacrifice. It can isolate us, impoverish us, and even imprison us in order to be God’s man or woman.Satan isn’t going to lay down for us. Evil people aren’t going to lay down for us. The mission of God advances through pain and sacrifice— and rarely without pain and sacrifice.
Jesus was opposed in his hometown.
Now we arrive at Mark6.Now here is an interesting chapter of scripture if ever there were one. In Mark 6:1-3 (NIV) Jesus returns to his hometown synagogue and begins teaching. At first, Jesus' homeboys were amazed. "What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles!"But their amazement quickly turns to hostility. "Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon?Aren’t his sisters here with us?"But underline this, "And they took offense at him."
Do you think it will be any different for you or me than it was for Jesus Christ? Before the cross can heal, the cross has to offend. Before there can be forgiveness, there has to be repentance. Before there can be repentance, there has to be an acknowledgement of guilt before a holy God. It’s not dangerous to dance around and never share the gospel facts. But when you mention sin and call people back to God, it's a game changer.
Jesus tells his disciples in Mark 6:4 (NIV), "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor."
Our greatest fear is offending people. Our fear is not being loved and adored. It's people not having our picture on their refrigerators, or on their facebook or twitter pages. Jesus was dishonored in his hometown. His homeboys rejected his message and Jesus had little impact in his hometown.
Yet at this moment, surely one of the lowestin Jesus' ministry, is when Jesus sends the twelve disciples on a missionary campaign! Mark 6:7 (NIV) says, "Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits."And in Mark 6:8-13 (NIV) Jesus reminds them that the mission of God will be personally costly! "Take nothing for the journey except a staff— no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them. They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them."
John the Baptist was beheaded for preaching the truth.
But just as the twelve disciples were about to celebrate,we get the disturbing news about John the Baptist’s fate and the circumstances that led up to his execution. He was beheaded for having embraced the mission of God.
Mark 6:17-29 (NIV)details John's death."For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. For John had been saying to Herod, 'It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.' So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to,because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him."
"Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, 'Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.' And he promised her with an oath, 'Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.' "
"She went out and said to her mother, 'What shall I ask for?' 'The head of John the Baptist,' she answered. At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: 'I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.' The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison,and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb."
We would do well to wrestle with these verses, and allow them to shake us from our place of comfort.
What are you willing to do to preach the gospel?
Areyou willing to hear Christ’s call to preach repentance? Preach the cross? Preach baptism? Preach the forgiveness of sins? Preach eternal life? Are you willing to break the silence with people far from God and point the way home? If you are serious about the call of God on your life, I encourage you to attend the remaining evangelism workshops.
Are you willing to trust God? God gives us the authority and power we need to have an impact. As we make sacrifices, God provides everything we need. He honors our faith, and he surprises us with one blessing after another. Ultimately, he gives us a resurrection hope.
Are you willing to change your purpose? What are you most concerned about? We are consumed with our lifestyle— what we're going to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, how much money we're making and saving,the kind of shoes and clothing in our closets, the house we live in, and the kind of cars we drive. Simplicity of lifestyle multiplies our impact on others. It frees us from the tyranny of things. It allows us to have a singular focus.
Are you willing to enter the mission field? The church building isn’t our primary mission field. The mission field is in the surrounding villages, or it's the kitchen table of our neighbors, our coworkers, and our acquaintances. The kitchen table is the where the mission advances. It advances through the hospitality of strangers. We must be faithful to step through the doors that God opens for us.
Are you willing to make people responsible? Not everyone is receptive to the gospel. At times,we have to be willing to move on to more fruitful fields.
Areyou willing to touch the whole person? The twelve disciples preached repentance andthey released people from evil, but they also engaged in a ministry of healing. They anointed people with oil and encouraged their spirits.
Are you willing to sacrifice in order to preach the gospel?