Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
They were sent, having left behind the leaven of their former way of life (see First Corinthians 5:8). They were directed, like the ancient Israelites leaving Egypt to go with their staff in hand and their shoes on their feet (see Exodus 12:11).
Just as those leaving Egypt could not be dependent on provisioning from Egypt for the journey, so too would the disciples need to unencumbered by attachment to their former ways of life. They might have preferred to prepare with food, sack, and money in their belts. Who wouldn't? But Jesus wanted them to learn to trust that they would always have what enough if they followed his direction.
They were equipped for that which was specifically designed for the journey, but nothing superfluous that could be received en route. Their feet were shod with sandals, just as ours our shod with readiness to proclaim the Good News (see Ephesians 6:15). They were to take walking sticks, just as the prophet said that the Messiah would slay his enemies with the rod coming forth from his mouth (see Isaiah 11:4). The Messiah's enemies, however, were not people, but rather the sin and unclean spirits that held the people in chains. His disciples were therefore not instructed to take an earthly weapon, but to be equipped with the word of God.
From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron (see Revelation 19:15).
The disciples, we have seen, were like those leaving Egypt, who had to leave much behind to be sufficiently unencumbered for the journey. Yet to leave Egypt the gods of Egypt had to first be defeated. Again and again in the wilderness those same idols resurfaced in the hearts of the people. Time after time the Lord had to show himself alone to be God and to defeat those false gods on the battlefield of the hearts still held captive to them. His disciples were not leaving on an Exodus only for themselves, but were called to lead others, just as the Exodus was not a journey meant for Moses alone but all of the twelve tribes. This meant that the disciples would also need to contend with those idols and false gods as they proclaimed freedom to the Israel.
Jesus ... gave them authority over unclean spirits.
We see that though the disciples weren't permitted to provision for their journey in a conventional way, they were permitted to prioritize the spiritual realities that mattered most. They went with the word of God, the readiness to proclaim the Good News, and the authority over the spiritual forces opposed to their progress. And there was one additional thing which is easy to pass over but was a crucial element of their mission.
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
They did not go alone, without support. They had each other. This ability to confide in and rely on a friend and partner in the Gospel was not merely a negligible addition to the narrative, but mentioned precisely because it was essential. Because they did not go out alone they were able to do as Saint Paul admonished his own readers:
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God (see Colossians 3:16).
When their own fear, weakness, and human frailty seemed to overwhelm them they were not meant to rely only on their own connection to God, which at such times might feel very tenuous. They could rely also on God working in their friend and fellow missionary.
At first blush it might seem like they did not go forth to mission with much at all, but we have come to see that they had an abundance for the task at hand. The thing we should realize is that so too do we.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens
The disciples have found us and called us out of the world on the grand pilgrimage to the Kingdom of heaven. God himself has given us everything we need for the journey. The controlling nature of the flesh may make us wish that we had been permitted more control over our circumstances, but we too can learn that the Gospel and the authority of the Kingdom are all we really need to be faithful, and therefore successful, on this mission.
In him you also, who have heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him,
were sealed with the promised holy Spirit,
Like Amos, this is not a path we would have chosen for ourselves. If the plan had been our own we would have probably done things quite differently. If we had been the ones choosing who would be called we may not have picked ourselves to be prophets. But the Lord has called us, and whether or not we can see it, he has a reason for having done so.
“I was no prophet,
nor have I belonged to a company of prophets;
I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.
The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me,
Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”
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