Mar 6:13 | KingComments | STEP | In His love for the miserable among His people the Lord is going to extend His service by sending out the twelve. He first calls them to Himself. From His presence He begins to send them out two by two. They do not leave on their own initiative. Only when He orders them to go somewhere, they can go. He also provides them with the necessary power over the opposition they will meet. They are sent two by two, that they may testify of Him (cf. ). He also gives them authority over the unclean spirits. He is the Servant, but He is also God, for the giving of that authority can only be done by Someone Who is God. They need take nothing but a staff to lean on in their walk. The starting point is this: trust in the mighty protection of Him Who has sent them and that they will lack nothing. He is the sovereign Lord. All things are available to Him. Wearing sandals means that they will have to walk a lot. In order to do work for the Lord, effort must be made. Spiritually, it means that for this work it is necessary for the feet to be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace ( ). That is to say, in order to do a work for the Lord, we ourselves must have the peace of the gospel in our hearts and show it in our walk so that we can pass it on wherever He sends us. They also do not need to take extra precautions against the cold. It is not necessary to have two tunics. Unnecessary luxury is only a hindrance in the work. Service to the Lord is not a holiday trip. He gives clear orders for the stay. They should not enter somewhere, stay there for a while, and then look for another place to lodge. Such behavior would not speak of inner peace, but of unrest. They can enter a house and they have to stay there until they go to the next town. They do not have to worry about housing. Where the Lord has prepared a heart to receive them, there they can stay. If it turns out that somewhere they are not welcome and there is no ear that listens to their preaching, they should not stay there any longer. They must shake even the dust of that city from their feet, so that they will not take anything, not even the dust, from it. That will be a testimony against that city because they reject the gospel that is brought to them. The disciples do what the Lord says. Their first work is to call people to repent. In their preaching they also use the authority they have been given to cast out demons. They also anoint many sick people with oil, possibly as a medicine, but perhaps even more so as a symbolic act that expresses the value of the sick person as a person. Where anointing happens in the New Testament, we see that it happens to honor someone ( ; ), while not anointing is seen as dishonor ( ). In the Old Testament, priests, kings, and sometimes prophets are anointed. The fact that the disciples do this to the sick may mean that those who may be desperate for life are particularly encouraged by this act that they are important to God. They would know in the persons who anoint them that God is after all looking after them. The subsequent healing provides proof of this.

‏ Mark 6:13

Sending Out the Twelve

In His love for the miserable among His people the Lord is going to extend His service by sending out the twelve. He first calls them to Himself. From His presence He begins to send them out two by two. They do not leave on their own initiative. Only when He orders them to go somewhere, they can go. He also provides them with the necessary power over the opposition they will meet. They are sent two by two, that they may testify of Him (cf. 2Cor 13:1). He also gives them authority over the unclean spirits. He is the Servant, but He is also God, for the giving of that authority can only be done by Someone Who is God.

They need take nothing but a staff to lean on in their walk. The starting point is this: trust in the mighty protection of Him Who has sent them and that they will lack nothing. He is the sovereign Lord. All things are available to Him.

Wearing sandals means that they will have to walk a lot. In order to do work for the Lord, effort must be made. Spiritually, it means that for this work it is necessary for the feet to be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace (Eph 6:15). That is to say, in order to do a work for the Lord, we ourselves must have the peace of the gospel in our hearts and show it in our walk so that we can pass it on wherever He sends us.

They also do not need to take extra precautions against the cold. It is not necessary to have two tunics. Unnecessary luxury is only a hindrance in the work. Service to the Lord is not a holiday trip.

He gives clear orders for the stay. They should not enter somewhere, stay there for a while, and then look for another place to lodge. Such behavior would not speak of inner peace, but of unrest. They can enter a house and they have to stay there until they go to the next town. They do not have to worry about housing. Where the Lord has prepared a heart to receive them, there they can stay.

If it turns out that somewhere they are not welcome and there is no ear that listens to their preaching, they should not stay there any longer. They must shake even the dust of that city from their feet, so that they will not take anything, not even the dust, from it. That will be a testimony against that city because they reject the gospel that is brought to them.

The disciples do what the Lord says. Their first work is to call people to repent. In their preaching they also use the authority they have been given to cast out demons. They also anoint many sick people with oil, possibly as a medicine, but perhaps even more so as a symbolic act that expresses the value of the sick person as a person. Where anointing happens in the New Testament, we see that it happens to honor someone (Lk 7:38; Jn 12:3), while not anointing is seen as dishonor (Lk 7:46). In the Old Testament, priests, kings, and sometimes prophets are anointed.

The fact that the disciples do this to the sick may mean that those who may be desperate for life are particularly encouraged by this act that they are important to God. They would know in the persons who anoint them that God is after all looking after them. The subsequent healing provides proof of this.