Until this stage of His ministry, Jesus had ministered alone. he had the companionship of the twelve disciples and the company of vast multitudes who followed wherever he went. But none of the Twelve nor the multitudes participated in His ministry except as observers or recipients. With growing hostility among the Jewish leaders, Jesus began the preliminary stages of commissioning the Twelve to join Him as fellow workers. For the balance of His earthly ministry, these men would become the primary object of Jesus' concern, instruction, and training because the establishing of His Church would soon fall squarely upon their shoulders.
Questions/Things to Consider:
- Based on the instructions Jesus gave, what were some lessons He wanted His disciples to learn on their first ministry trip?
- After seeing Jesus and His disciples in action, how would you define "ministry"? How does Jesus' style of preparing people for ministry compare with the typical approach of training clergy and/or lay people today?
Not every believer is called to be a preacher, teacher, pastor or missionary; but every believer is called to be Christ's witness to the world. Jesus has no followers who are not under His order in the Great Commission to "make disciples of all the nations." The first and most essential element from ministry is the unqualified understanding that one is soverignly called, gifted, and empowered by the Lord to do His work in His way. Children of God do not determine their own destiny or mark out their own patterns or plans. They are under divine orders, and their supreme, overarching concern must be to submit to Christ in all things.
* Excerpts from "Mark: The Humanity of Christ," John MacArthur, 2006.
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