And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff--no bread, no bag, no money in their belts-- but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. Mark 6:7-9
Why two by two? I offer a two answers as possible suggestions, though likely all could have been reasons for sending pairs.
1. Protection, not only from wild animals wandering about in the wilderness, but also from personal injury. Injury inflicted either my natural misfortune such as a twisted ankle or a head injury from a fall, or from falling due to hunger or dehydration. Perhaps even protection from others who may not receive the message of the Gospel with such welcoming arms as they had. Solomon mentions the value of friendship saying, "though one may be overpowered by another, two an withstand him." (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
2. Testimony, held in accordance with the Jewish law, "A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established." (Deuteronomy 19:15) By two witnesses is a matter established, though in this case the charge is made for Christ and not against Him the matter still remains true that two were trusted by their account and one was not. We see this applied by the pharisees against Jesus, And our Lord defends Himself with the same Law in John 8 starting in verse 12.
And he said to them, "Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." Mark 6:10-11
"It was common for Jews to Shake the dust off their feet--as an expression of disdain-- when returning form Gentile regions. Paul and Barnabas also did this when expelled from Antioch (Acts 13:51). This was a visible protest, signifying that they regarded the place as no better than a pagan land." John MacArthur Study Bible
"So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent." Mark 6:12
Application:
"No one ever came to acknowledge Jesus as Lord because they lost an argument." It is not by the power of persuasive words, nor by the experience of sensationalism, neither is it by playing with human emotions by the use of stories and music that causes people come to a true understanding of Jesus Christ, ONLY He can reveal Himself to us. This does not negate the necessity of sharing the good news with others, and it really is good news. All of mankind has done things that have offended this holy God, one so pure and uncorrupted that the only thing acceptable is purity and uncorrupted people, something that can not be achieved. How is this good news? its not. The good news is that Jesus left that perfection, entered into time and space to pay the penalty on our behalf, by trusting Him and what He had done on the Cross makes us pure. He came to pay a dept He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. This is good news indeed, and when sharing it we must allow room for God to work in the hearts of those who hear, and open the opportunity for others, the seed cannot be planted until the soil is ready, give God room to ready to soil and pray for wisdom when He does.
No comments:
Post a Comment