Mark 6:7-13 All We Need
Jesus called the Twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their money belts. They were to put on sandals but not to wear two coats. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that area. Any place that will not receive you or listen to you, as you leave there, shake off the dust that is under your feet as a testimony against them.” They went out and preached that people should repent. They also drove out many demons. They anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. (Evangelical Heritage Version)
As I was thinking about our text this week, I kept remembering an old Steve Martin movie, The Jerk. His character started out with nothing, became rich, and then lost it all. So he walks out of his mansion saying, “I don’t need any of this. I don’t need you. I don’t need anything, except this ashtray. This ashtray and this paddleball game. The ashtray, the paddle game, and this remote control. That’s it. And this lamp. I need that, but that’s all. Nothing else. And this chair.” And he walks down the street lugging all these useless things that are all he needs.
When Jesus sent his disciples out on their own, they didn’t even have an ashtray to take with them. But they had all they needed. A staff and a pair of sandals. Nothing else. A staff, a pair of sandals, and a single coat. That’s all they needed. And some oil. They’d need oil to anoint the sick. A staff, a pair of sandals, a coat, and some oil. They didn’t need anything else.
If he sent us out on our own, I wonder what we would say is all we needed. A staff, a pair of sandals, and a coat, and a remote control, and the tv that goes along with it, and a chair. That’s all. And a bed. And a car to get around, because a walking staff won’t get us very far. And that’s all we need. Nothing else. And a lamp. But that’s all. I suppose the car would make it a little easier for us to lug all those other things down the street, but do we really need them all. It’s worth spending a little time comparing our list of all we need with the very short list of all Jesus thought the disciples needed, to see if we aren’t weighing ourselves down unnecessarily on our journey.
You notice what they didn’t need: a wallet, a money belt. It doesn’t mean money isn’t going to come in handy once in a while, or even be necessary at times; after all, he also told them not to take any bread or food. I’m pretty sure they were going to need some of that before the first day’s journey was over, but he wanted them to trust that they’d be taken care of. They’d find help along the way. He’d see to it that they had food, clothing, and shelter, every material thing they really needed.
Now, before we get too far into comparing our own list of possessions and necessities with this brief list of everything they needed, we have to remember, of course, where he was sending them. He didn’t just say, “Go into the world, and live there.” This isn’t a checklist of all the things we need in life in a general sense. He was sending his twelve disciples out on a missionary journey. They’ve been students for a couple years now, sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening closely to all he taught them; now it’s their turn to be the teachers, to be Christ’s witnesses and ambassadors in the world. They’ve sat at the master’s feet; let’s see what they’ve learned and how well they’ll do on their own. Jesus’ time here on earth was running out, and six pairs of preachers going to all the cities and towns of Israel could cover a lot more ground more quickly than Jesus could. He didn’t want one village that he hadn’t had the time to visit to miss the message that the Christ had come.
As he sent his disciples out with the command to take nothing and to trust the people they served with the gospel to provide for their needs, you realize Jesus was also giving the Church a responsibility to do so. The disciples were going to need food and shelter and maybe even money once in a while, and there were people in all those towns and villages who had been blessed by God with their daily bread and then some, with shelter and room to spare, with money enough to take care of their families’ needs and enough left over to give, to the disciples, to this ministry of the Word, or to anyone in need.
I’m not just talking about the wealthy. There weren’t that many of them. And I’d say there were none in these small towns who were wealthy by our own modern standards. Jesus didn’t encourage the disciples to enter a town and look around for the biggest, fanciest house and say, “They’ve got the most money. It’s their responsibility to provide for the work of the Church.” Or to say, “They look like they’ve got the nicest house. That’s where I want to stay and be taken care of.” No, whoever they met, rich or poor, who welcomed the messengers of the gospel, would welcome the opportunity to provide for their needs, and that’s where they’d stay. A widow whose last two mites weren’t going to buy them anything more than a very watery bowl of soup, but she was happy to give. A family with nine kids and just two small bedrooms would find a corner where two more tired bodies could sleep, and be thankful that their offer wasn’t turned down as not good enough. They didn’t have much to spare, but by God’s grace and blessing they had something to spare, and they had the gratefulness and contentment to recognize that they could spare it. That’s why the disciples didn’t need to take food or money for lodging or extra clothes. God provides for his people so that his people can provide for his ministry.
People would invite the disciples in, invite them to stay, and see it as an honor as if Jesus himself had come and knocked on their door. It’s a privilege for us, for all of us, to share in the work of providing for the work of the Kingdom. It’s not just for the few who have the most, or the ones the Church has figured out it can count on, so it keeps going back to the same few for every new need that comes up. It’s for all of us, to look at what God has given us and give back that his ministry might be carried out to the salvation of souls, to give from our wallets, our time, our talents, our kitchens and our work spaces, whatever is needed.
If Jesus could have personally visited every single home in Israel in his short three-year ministry, I imagine he would have. But he sent his disciples to go for him, and to report back to him the joys of finding it was just as he said. God provided. God’s people provided. And the Word spread.
Not everyone welcomed them. Not everyone received the Word with eager and joyful hearts of faith. Once in a while they left a town where no one had invited them in and no one had listened, and they shook the dust off their feet as they left. It’s fitting; they brought nothing into this town but the clothes on their back and the words of Christ. They’d leave with nothing more than they came with. If the people would give them nothing, they wouldn’t even take a little bit of the town’s dust when they left. And the Word they had brought, a Word that brings life and light and peace, forgiveness and love and salvation, would be nothing but an echo they left behind.
There were more towns to visit. And time was short, even with twelve disciples dividing up the territory to cover. Soon, time would be up. Soon Jesus would be gone. Sooner than the disciples expected. Too soon, in their opinion. But, though his own work would be accomplished when he cried out, “It is finished,” from the cross, the work of the Church and of all his followers would go on to the end of time and to the ends of the earth.
There will always be work to do. But what else do God’s servants need as they go out to do his work. What do all of us need who live as his servants and ambassadors? The very first thing Jesus provided was a companion. He sent them out two by two. They weren’t going to be alone on this journey. They had each other. They had a staff, a pair of sandals, a single coat, and each other.
We have each other. Whether any of us has been sent out as Jesus sent out the Twelve, as a public proclaimer of the Word, or simply as he has called all of us in our individual callings, none of us serves him alone. None of us has been sent out into a desert where there’s not a single other soul to work beside, to help and be helped by each other. We might not use the “buddy system,” here in church, two by two, everyone with an assigned companion. We have better; we have a whole congregation to help and be helped by. But the one advantage that a two by two buddy system has is that it’s easier to keep an eye on one person than a dozen. You can easily keep track of one person who needs your help. In a congregation, we’re going to have to be much more alert. We need to be much more careful to keep an eye out for anyone in need, for everyone, so no one is forgotten.
So we have a staff, a pair of sandals, a coat, a little oil, and each other. What else do we need? Jesus also sent the Twelve out with power. The power to do miracles, to heal the sick, to cast out demons. Notice, though, he didn’t send them out with the power to turn stones into bread and feed themselves. The power he gave them was all power to help others, not themselves. We might not have the power to do miracles, but we have a God who can still do miracles whenever and wherever they are needed, and we have the privilege of prayer, to bring our needs to God. And we have been given the power to help those who are in need, the power of compassion and love, the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, wherever they are needed.
So we have a staff, a pair of sandals, a coat, some oil, each other, and power. And that’s all we need. Nothing else. One thing else: the Word. That’s what Jesus provided and sent the disciples out with. The Word. The same thing he had spent a couple years sharing with them for their own faith, salvation, and strengthening in life. As Jesus told Martha, one thing’s needful, and it will never be taken from us. He’s given us his Word of Life. And we need to both make use of it—a Bible doesn’t do any good gathering dust on a shelf—and to share it with others. That Word, that is in our hearts and on our lips, introduces us to Jesus, brings him as a personal guest into each of our homes, lets us sit at his feet and learn from him, and learn of him, our Savior, our Lord, our great Physician, and our Friend.
Jesus called the Twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their money belts. They were to put on sandals but not to wear two coats. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that area. Any place that will not receive you or listen to you, as you leave there, shake off the dust that is under your feet as a testimony against them.” They went out and preached that people should repent. They also drove out many demons. They anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. (Evangelical Heritage Version)
As I was thinking about our text this week, I kept remembering an old Steve Martin movie, The Jerk. His character started out with nothing, became rich, and then lost it all. So he walks out of his mansion saying, “I don’t need any of this. I don’t need you. I don’t need anything, except this ashtray. This ashtray and this paddleball game. The ashtray, the paddle game, and this remote control. That’s it. And this lamp. I need that, but that’s all. Nothing else. And this chair.” And he walks down the street lugging all these useless things that are all he needs.
When Jesus sent his disciples out on their own, they didn’t even have an ashtray to take with them. But they had all they needed. A staff and a pair of sandals. Nothing else. A staff, a pair of sandals, and a single coat. That’s all they needed. And some oil. They’d need oil to anoint the sick. A staff, a pair of sandals, a coat, and some oil. They didn’t need anything else.
If he sent us out on our own, I wonder what we would say is all we needed. A staff, a pair of sandals, and a coat, and a remote control, and the tv that goes along with it, and a chair. That’s all. And a bed. And a car to get around, because a walking staff won’t get us very far. And that’s all we need. Nothing else. And a lamp. But that’s all. I suppose the car would make it a little easier for us to lug all those other things down the street, but do we really need them all. It’s worth spending a little time comparing our list of all we need with the very short list of all Jesus thought the disciples needed, to see if we aren’t weighing ourselves down unnecessarily on our journey.
You notice what they didn’t need: a wallet, a money belt. It doesn’t mean money isn’t going to come in handy once in a while, or even be necessary at times; after all, he also told them not to take any bread or food. I’m pretty sure they were going to need some of that before the first day’s journey was over, but he wanted them to trust that they’d be taken care of. They’d find help along the way. He’d see to it that they had food, clothing, and shelter, every material thing they really needed.
Now, before we get too far into comparing our own list of possessions and necessities with this brief list of everything they needed, we have to remember, of course, where he was sending them. He didn’t just say, “Go into the world, and live there.” This isn’t a checklist of all the things we need in life in a general sense. He was sending his twelve disciples out on a missionary journey. They’ve been students for a couple years now, sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening closely to all he taught them; now it’s their turn to be the teachers, to be Christ’s witnesses and ambassadors in the world. They’ve sat at the master’s feet; let’s see what they’ve learned and how well they’ll do on their own. Jesus’ time here on earth was running out, and six pairs of preachers going to all the cities and towns of Israel could cover a lot more ground more quickly than Jesus could. He didn’t want one village that he hadn’t had the time to visit to miss the message that the Christ had come.
As he sent his disciples out with the command to take nothing and to trust the people they served with the gospel to provide for their needs, you realize Jesus was also giving the Church a responsibility to do so. The disciples were going to need food and shelter and maybe even money once in a while, and there were people in all those towns and villages who had been blessed by God with their daily bread and then some, with shelter and room to spare, with money enough to take care of their families’ needs and enough left over to give, to the disciples, to this ministry of the Word, or to anyone in need.
I’m not just talking about the wealthy. There weren’t that many of them. And I’d say there were none in these small towns who were wealthy by our own modern standards. Jesus didn’t encourage the disciples to enter a town and look around for the biggest, fanciest house and say, “They’ve got the most money. It’s their responsibility to provide for the work of the Church.” Or to say, “They look like they’ve got the nicest house. That’s where I want to stay and be taken care of.” No, whoever they met, rich or poor, who welcomed the messengers of the gospel, would welcome the opportunity to provide for their needs, and that’s where they’d stay. A widow whose last two mites weren’t going to buy them anything more than a very watery bowl of soup, but she was happy to give. A family with nine kids and just two small bedrooms would find a corner where two more tired bodies could sleep, and be thankful that their offer wasn’t turned down as not good enough. They didn’t have much to spare, but by God’s grace and blessing they had something to spare, and they had the gratefulness and contentment to recognize that they could spare it. That’s why the disciples didn’t need to take food or money for lodging or extra clothes. God provides for his people so that his people can provide for his ministry.
People would invite the disciples in, invite them to stay, and see it as an honor as if Jesus himself had come and knocked on their door. It’s a privilege for us, for all of us, to share in the work of providing for the work of the Kingdom. It’s not just for the few who have the most, or the ones the Church has figured out it can count on, so it keeps going back to the same few for every new need that comes up. It’s for all of us, to look at what God has given us and give back that his ministry might be carried out to the salvation of souls, to give from our wallets, our time, our talents, our kitchens and our work spaces, whatever is needed.
If Jesus could have personally visited every single home in Israel in his short three-year ministry, I imagine he would have. But he sent his disciples to go for him, and to report back to him the joys of finding it was just as he said. God provided. God’s people provided. And the Word spread.
Not everyone welcomed them. Not everyone received the Word with eager and joyful hearts of faith. Once in a while they left a town where no one had invited them in and no one had listened, and they shook the dust off their feet as they left. It’s fitting; they brought nothing into this town but the clothes on their back and the words of Christ. They’d leave with nothing more than they came with. If the people would give them nothing, they wouldn’t even take a little bit of the town’s dust when they left. And the Word they had brought, a Word that brings life and light and peace, forgiveness and love and salvation, would be nothing but an echo they left behind.
There were more towns to visit. And time was short, even with twelve disciples dividing up the territory to cover. Soon, time would be up. Soon Jesus would be gone. Sooner than the disciples expected. Too soon, in their opinion. But, though his own work would be accomplished when he cried out, “It is finished,” from the cross, the work of the Church and of all his followers would go on to the end of time and to the ends of the earth.
There will always be work to do. But what else do God’s servants need as they go out to do his work. What do all of us need who live as his servants and ambassadors? The very first thing Jesus provided was a companion. He sent them out two by two. They weren’t going to be alone on this journey. They had each other. They had a staff, a pair of sandals, a single coat, and each other.
We have each other. Whether any of us has been sent out as Jesus sent out the Twelve, as a public proclaimer of the Word, or simply as he has called all of us in our individual callings, none of us serves him alone. None of us has been sent out into a desert where there’s not a single other soul to work beside, to help and be helped by each other. We might not use the “buddy system,” here in church, two by two, everyone with an assigned companion. We have better; we have a whole congregation to help and be helped by. But the one advantage that a two by two buddy system has is that it’s easier to keep an eye on one person than a dozen. You can easily keep track of one person who needs your help. In a congregation, we’re going to have to be much more alert. We need to be much more careful to keep an eye out for anyone in need, for everyone, so no one is forgotten.
So we have a staff, a pair of sandals, a coat, a little oil, and each other. What else do we need? Jesus also sent the Twelve out with power. The power to do miracles, to heal the sick, to cast out demons. Notice, though, he didn’t send them out with the power to turn stones into bread and feed themselves. The power he gave them was all power to help others, not themselves. We might not have the power to do miracles, but we have a God who can still do miracles whenever and wherever they are needed, and we have the privilege of prayer, to bring our needs to God. And we have been given the power to help those who are in need, the power of compassion and love, the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, wherever they are needed.
So we have a staff, a pair of sandals, a coat, some oil, each other, and power. And that’s all we need. Nothing else. One thing else: the Word. That’s what Jesus provided and sent the disciples out with. The Word. The same thing he had spent a couple years sharing with them for their own faith, salvation, and strengthening in life. As Jesus told Martha, one thing’s needful, and it will never be taken from us. He’s given us his Word of Life. And we need to both make use of it—a Bible doesn’t do any good gathering dust on a shelf—and to share it with others. That Word, that is in our hearts and on our lips, introduces us to Jesus, brings him as a personal guest into each of our homes, lets us sit at his feet and learn from him, and learn of him, our Savior, our Lord, our great Physician, and our Friend.