Mark 6:7

Mar_6:7-18

And He called unto Him the Twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two.

The first mission of the twelve

Christ sends them forth.

I. Orderly.

1. As to the persons evangelized. To the Jew first. To have disregarded that, would have excited most bitterly the jealousy of His countrymen, as well as committed the apostles to a work for which they were by no means prepared, because their national antipathies were not yet eradicated.

2. As to the persons engaged in the work of evangelization. Two and two: companionships most desirable arrangement. How important then was this pairing off, enabling them to hold sweet converse together, and strengthen and correct one another when necessary.

II. The mission was in a sense self supporting. They were to go forth in simple dependence upon their Master, and He would put it into mens hearts to supply their wants. The work on which they were now sent demanded the total surrender of all their energy and will for Christs cause.

III. It was fraught with serious consequences. Those to whom they addressed the gospel message would reject it at their own peril; and the guilt of impenitence would be proportioned to the force with which the truth was revealed. (H. M. Luckock, D. D.)

The mission of the Twelve

I. Consider by what this mission was preceded.

1. By a return to Nazareth where His life was once threatened. (a) This shows Christs readiness to forgive and to do good to His enemies.

2. By graciously seeking to win back His fellow townsmen.

3. By another scornful rejection of Himself and His message.

II. The occasion and purpose of this mission.

1. The occasion (see Mat_9:36-38).

2. The purpose.

(a) To preach.

(b) To heal the sick.

(c) To cleanse the lepers.

(d) To raise the dead.

III. The conditions under which they were to go forth.

1. They must go forth without taking anything for their journey.

2. If rejected in one city, they must proceed to the next. They might flee from danger, but not from duty (Matthew Henry)

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3. They must refrain from all resentments and retaliations.

4. The full assurance of their Lords assistance in every trouble. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)

Apostolic labours and their reception

I. Christs ministers receive from Him power for their appointed work.

II. When called to high service, they need not care for common wants.

III. The rejection of the greatest good leads to the greatest ill. (J. H. Godwin.)

Preparations for preaching

Mark significantly says, Then Jesus began to send them forth: forever since that day He has been giving similar work, and qualifying similar representatives.

I. To go forth from the presence of Jesus.

II. To be willing to work together.

III. To be content with the use of moral influence. Men are to be urged, not forced.

IV. To exercise self-denial and cheerful trust in God. (A. Rowland, LL. B.)

The apostolic commission

The grandest commission ever entrusted to man. Consider-

I. Its imposed conditions.

1. In company: by two and two. Thus for mutual encouragement and help. For the heart of the strongest may fail in presence of danger, difficulty, death.

2. In poverty. Thus was it shown that their power and influence with men was not of earth.

3. In danger. Those whom they went to bless would turn against and persecute them.

4. Yet in safety. God watching over and protecting them. And even if the body is slain, the soul will be safe, and the confessor of Christ will be owned by Him before the Father.

II. Its trust or, the terms of the commission. How grand, how honourable, how precious to the world-the world of ignorant, suffering, sinful men! The great mission has for its object the removal of the evils of human life. Its foulness, its suffering, its error, its subjugation to evil, are all to be combated.

III. Its limitation. Only to the Jews, at present. The children must first be filled.

IV. Its success. (R. Green.)

Missionaries

I. Missionaries must not be, as a rule, solitary men. For counsel, defence, cheerfulness, two are better than one.

II. Missionaries must be, as a rule, frugal men. No luxuries; bare necessaries. Like the soldier on the march, or the exploring traveller.

III. Missionaries must not be, as a rule, sedentary men. Sound the trumpet blast, and then on again.

IV. Missionaries must, as a rule, act directly upon the conscience of men. The missionarys work is to break up the fallow ground. (E. Johnson, M. A.)

Companionship

The solitary soul on a new enterprise is apt to lose heart, and not half perform his part. With no counsellor, sympathizer, helper, he goes uncertainly. Jesus would give His ambassadors all advantage of fraternal support, that in this apprenticeship, as one terms it, they might not falter. The confirming word, too, is of might when the message is novel. The apostles afterward went thus in pairs. St. Pauls strongest expression of regret was that, on any part of his journey, he must be left alone. Livingstone, in the depths of the African continent, longed for the society and cheer of her who laid down her life on the way thither; and, as the end drew near, he leaned harder on the Lord, for no hand but Gods could smooth the troubled brow on which the death-damps gathered, as the noble man, kneeling at his bedside in prayer, bade farewell to earth. (De W. S. Clark.)

Incumbrances to be abandoned

Armies most amply furnished with stores and comforts are most inefficient. The Zulu hordes, with but spear and shield, held long at bay the well-provisioned and disciplined troops of England. Baggage is well termed impedimenta. It checks, by just so much, the quickness, and fosters, by hardness. The soul heavily freighted with the luxuries and appliances of this life is at a disadvantage for the sudden movements and missions on which the great Captain would send it. (De W. S. Clark.)

No money:

Literally, no copper, for that is the metal that is got from the bowels of the earth. Brass is an artificial alloy, having in it a mixture of tin with the copper, and was unknown, as is supposed, to the Hebrews. The word is not used by the evangelist to denote any particular copper coin, but simply, though representatively, copper money in general. The underlying idea is money in general. Not even coppers would be needed, not to speak of silver and gold. (J. Morison, D. D.)

Mutual help

Why did Jesus send the apostles forth by two and two? The answer is, in order that they might be helpmeets for each other. A father was walking one day in the fields with his two children. The wind was blowing over a fine field of ripe corn, and making the beautiful golden ears wave like the waves of the sea. Is it not surprising, said one of the children, that the wind does not break the slender stalks of the corn? My child, said the father, see how flexible the stalks are! They bend before the wind and rise again when the wind has passed over them. See, too, how they help to support each other. A single stalk would be soon bent to the ground, but so many growing close together help to keep each other up. If we keep together when the troubles of life come upon us like a stormy wind, we shall keep each other up, when one trying to stand alone would fall.

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 6:7. He calleth unto him the twelve — While Jesus preached among the villages in the neighbourhood of Nazareth, he sent his twelve apostles through the several cities of Galilee, to proclaim that God was about to establish the kingdom of the Messiah, wherein he would be worshipped in spirit and in truth; and instead of all external rites and ceremonies, would accept nothing but repentance, faith, and sincere obedience. Moreover, to confirm their doctrine, he gave them power to work miracles of healing, which also would tend to procure them acceptance. See Luk 9:1-2. By two and two — We may suppose that Matthew had an eye to this circumstance in the catalogue which he has given of the apostles; for, chapter Mar 10:2-4, he has joined them together in pairs; very probably just as they were sent out now by their Master. Jesus ordered his disciples to go by two and two, doubtless that they might encourage each other in their work. The history of their election and commission is given, Mat 10:1, &c.; where see the notes. But it seems they were not actually sent till now, when Jesus intended forthwith to enlarge the scene of his ministry. He, therefore, on this occasion renewed their powers, and repeated the principal things contained in the instructions formerly given.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

§§ 57, SENDING OUT HIS APOSTLES, Mar_6:7-13.

(Compare notes on Matthew 10.)

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

SIXTH SECTION

CONFLICT OF JESUS WITH HEROD. THE CALL AND MISSION OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES. THE BEHEADING OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. THE WITHDRAWAL OF JESUS INTO THE WILDERNESS, AND THE MIRACULOUS FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND

Mar_6:7-44

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1. The Calling and Mission of the Twelve. Mar_6:7-13

(Parallels: Mat_10:1; Mat_10:7; Mat_10:9-11; Mat_10:13; Luk_9:1-6.)

7And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; 8And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their 9, purse [girdle]: But be shod with sandals; and not put on4 two coats. 10And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. 11And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you,5 when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment than 12, for that city. And they went out, and preached that men should repent. 13And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

1. Compare on the parallel passages of Matthew 10 and Luke 9.—It has been already observed, on Mar_3:13-19, that he distinguishes the separation of the Twelve from their first mission: Luke does the same, while Matthew combines their call and mission in one. The two events are indeed one, as Matthew records them, in this respect, that the separation took place with reference to an appointment of duty which then immediately impended. But they are distinguished by this, that the election occurred in the solitude of the mountain-range (hence Mark and Luke place them on a mountain, the latter connecting with the event the Sermon on the Mount; while the mission, on the other hand, occurred at the beginning of the third preaching-journey, on which our Lord passed through the sea-towns of Galilee, as we are told by Matthew. But, since the calling of the Twelve, between the Sermon on the Mount and the passage to Gadara (the second Galilean journey), was only as yet a preparatory vocation, we must make a distinction between a general separation of the narrower circle of disciples and that calling of the Twelve on the mountain which briefly preceded their sending forth in the valley, during the first year of Christ’s ministry. Now it is peculiar to Mark that he gives prominence only to the most essential points of the mission; that he records it as the beginning of the apostolical missions (Mar_6:7), and as a mission in pairs; that he lays emphasis exclusively upon the power given over unclean spirits (not that of healing the sick), in harmony with his fundamental point of view, and that to him this involved at the same time the preaching of the kingdom; that he most precisely gives the Lord’s injunctions touching their staff, their shoes, and their clothing; and that he finally makes allusion to the anointing-the sick with oil, in its relation to the work of the Apostles—here mentioning the sick, who had been previously omitted. Mark’s more limited account of the instructions given to the Apostles in comparison with that given by Matthew, is to be explained by the fact, that he has this first mission exclusively in view; while Matthew combines it with all subsequent missions, and consequently presents it in its ideal meaning.

Mar_6:8. Save a staff only.—Meyer insists that there is here a discrepancy between Mark, on the one hand, and Matthew and Luke, on the other—to be explained, as it regards the two latter, by exaggeration. (Comp., on the contrary, Ebrard, p. 382; Lange, Leben Jesu, ii. 2, p. 712.) They were to go forth with their staff, as they had it at the time; but they were not to seek one carefully, or make it a condition of their travelling. And thus it becomes no more in Mark than a rather more precise statement of the meaning of Matthew and Luke. The same may be said of the permission to take sandals, in opposition to the prohibition of the ὑποδήματα, or travelling shoes proper, in Matthew. So the injunction not to put on two coats (in change), is only another form of the injunction not to have two garments. The fundamental idea is this, that they were to go forth with the slightest provision, and in dependence upon being provided for by the way. Gfrörer and Baur see in Mark’s expressions only intentional qualifications and softenings. We find in them no other than a more express view of their pilgrim-state, burdened with the least possible incumbrance, and as free as might be from all care.

Mar_6:11. For a testimony against them.—As a symbolical, but to an Israelite perfectly intelligible, declaration, that they were excommunicated,—“no better than heathen.”

Mar_6:12. Preached, that men should repent (ἵνα).—They not only preached the doctrine of repentance, amongst other articles of doctrine; but their whole preaching had for its end the producing of penitence, and change of mind.

Mar_6:13. And anointed with oil.—Oil was generally a very important medicament among the Orientals, according to Lightfoot and others. Here it is simply a symbolical medium of the miraculous work; just as the application of the spittle was (Mar_8:23; Joh_9:6), on the part of the Lord Himself. Meyer does well to contend against the supposition that the oil was applied as a natural means of cure (Baur, Weisse), or that it was used as a mere symbol (Theophylact, Beza, etc.),—not to mention other still less tenable notions. He is not right, however, in altogether detaching the symbolical significance from the medium. It is a fact, that the Old Testament anointing with oil preceded, as a symbol, the New Testament bestowment of the Spirit; and that it re-appears in the Catholic church, where the real impartation of the Spirit is wanting. Hence, it may be assumed that for the disciples, who could not like the Lord Himself awaken faith, it was appropriate to appoint such a medium for their miraculous power as would be at the same time a symbolical sign of the impartation of the Spirit, and the energy that awakens faith. Thus the anointing was a symbol of the bestowment of the Spirit as the preliminary condition of healing; consequently, not of the divine mercy (Theophylact), the healing virtue of which was symbolized by balsam, or of the divine regeneration (Euthym. Zigabenus), the symbol of which was water. The anointing with oil, which James prescribed to the elders in their ministry for the sick (Mar_5:14), appears, on the other hand, to have been a blending of the natural means of health with the saving energy of prayer as symbolized by it.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. See on the parallel passages of Matthew and Luke.

2. The sending of the Apostles by two and two.—According to Grotius, with allusion to the Old Testament law concerning witnesses ad plenam testimonii fidem. But also for mutual complement, and encouragement, and strengthening. We have, accordingly, six special embassages: six was the number of labor and toil. The twelve missions of the individual Apostles were as yet only in the prospect.

3. We need only suggest here, that the New Testament anointing with oil—even that later one which James prescribed to the elders in their care of the sick—forms a perfect contrast to the extreme unction of the Romish Church. To us, this ecclesiastical anointing seems no other than an unconscious admission, on the part of the ceremonial church, that it had yet to bestow on its dying member the real communication of the Holy Spirit, whose type the oil was.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

The first sending of the Apostles abroad into the world may also be likened to the little seed-corn.—He began to send: the end of His sending is the end of the world.—The mission of the Apostles by two and two, in its significance for the Church: 1. As to ecclesiastical office, 2. as to the people.—The blessing of the mutual help of laborers in the kingdom of God.—The embarrassments, dangers, and disgraces which so often follow a too early isolation in office, and in the religious life generally.—Christianity in life and office is a discipline of unenvying brotherly love.—The messengers and pilgrims of Christ not without needs, but without anxious needs.—The world loses, amidst its external equipments and means of resource, the internal end of life: the servants of the Gospel obtain, while they supremely regard the end, all the other equipments and resources.—The destruction of the kingdom of Satan, and the abolition of his power, is the great task of Christ’s servants, after the example and in the strength of their Lord.—The shaking the dust from their feet is in its kind a Christian martyrdom to the disciples of Jesus (a testimony in suffering).—The anointing with oil; or, how the miracles of the kingdom of Christ have leaned upon the marvellous powers of the kingdom of nature.—The kingdom of the Son attaches itself to the kingdom of the Father in the great whole as well as in individual things.—Those bound by Satan, and the sick, are everlasting tokens of the need of Christ and His messengers.

Starke:—This authorization a demonstration of the divinity of Christ.—The ministers of the Gospel should be one and united.—Quesnel:—Ambition and avarice perilous things to the preacher and his work.—Osiander:—Ministers should be satisfied, though they do not at once have all advantages they could desire, and things at their will.—Gerlach:—On account of their weakness, the Lord does not send His disciples alone. Laborers in the Lord’s harvest should look round for helpers in their work.—Schleiermacher:—The Lord’s direction in regardto the equipments of the Apostles no literal rule [he refers to the cloak of Paul, 2Ti_4:13], but a rule of wisdom.—If the provision of all these external things is so great as to rob us of a portion of our true strength, they are no real advantage, but tend rather to impair our usefulness and peace.—Bauer:—They were not to act as if they thought they might force men to hear.

Footnotes:

[4]Mar_6:9.—The best reading is ἐνδυσήσθε (A., C., D., E., &c.), which Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, and others adopt. The change in the construction, or the direct quotation of this command, makes it more emphatic.

[5]Mar_6:11.—Tischendorf, after B., L., Δ., &c.: ὅς ἆν τόπος μὴ δέξηται μηδὲ ἀκούσωσιν ὑμῶν. Preferable in regard to importance of Codd., and is the more difficult reading. “Verily,” &c., wanting in B., C., D., L., Δ. Probably taken from Mat_10:15.

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

HE SENDS OUT THE TWELVE

Mat 9:37-38. “Then He says to His disciples, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest, in order that He may send out the laborers into His harvest.” Our Lord, seeing the awful state of the Jewish Church, destitute of competent spiritual guides, going miserably into eternal ruin, and consequently calls on all of His disciples to unite in a prayer to God to send out more laborers into the harvest. This prayer ascends up to Heaven, and receives a speedy answer, so that, instead of a single evangelistic force, He determines to multiply seven-fold, sending out the twelve apostles, two by two, to scour the whole country of Galilee and Judea, moving with all possible expedition, and preaching the gospel in every city and village. O how inconceivably urgent a similar policy this day! N.B. The time has not yet arrived to unfurl the gospel banner to the Gentile world. Hence, all of this evangelistic movement was confined to the Jews; i.e., in the Churches, preaching in the synagogues, as well as to the multitudes in the open air.

Mat 10:1-42; Mar 6:7-13; & Luk 9:1-6. Matthew: “And calling His twelve disciples, He gave them power over unclean spirits, so as to cast them out, and heal every disease and every malady. Luke says, “He sent them forth to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” The kingdom of God, or kingdom of heaven, is the Divine government, which prevails among the angels and redeemed spirits throughout all celestial worlds; hell having none of it, and earth a mixture — some, citizens of God’s kingdom; others, the denizens of Satan’s pandemonium.

Matthew “Jesus sent forth these twelve, commanding them, saying, Go not into way of the heathens nor enter ye into a city of the Samaritans; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” As the Jews were the organized Church of God, and the custodian’s of the Divine Oracles, God’s plan was first to give them the gospel, so they might turn evangelists, and carry it to the ends of the earth. For a similar reason, we should now begin with the Churches, and get all of them saved who will receive the living Word, and then go to the world. You see our Savior repeatedly mentions “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Do you not know that this included the rank and the of the ministry and membership? There were a few honorable exceptions, like Simeon, Anna, Zacharias, Elizabeth, and the apostles. The Divine economy originally contemplated the Jewish Church en masse receiving Christ, and enjoying the immortal honor of heralding Him to the world. This they missed, both preachers and people, except the elect few. In a similar manner, it is the glorious privilege of the whole Church to receive Christ at His second coming; but amid the sad apostasy of the latter days (2 Thessalonians 2), we see that only the elect few will enjoy this transcendent glory. “Going, preach, saying, That the kingdom of the heavens draweth nigh.” This was significantly true, because they were the heralds of the kingdom, enjoying citizenship in the same, and commending it to all others. “Heal the sick, raise the dead.” We have a number of instances, in the ministries of Paul and Peter, of healing the sick; and at Joppa, Peter actually raised Dorcas from the dead. Her tomb was pointed out to me when I was there a few days ago. “Cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Paul at Philippi ejected the fortune-telling demon from a damsel. The genuine, regular work of the Holy Ghost in the gospel dispensation, saving and sanctifying souls, is constantly accompanied by demoniacal ejectment and bodily healing. “Possess neither gold nor silver, nor copper in your girdles;” i.e., do not wait and prodigalize God’s precious time and opportunity in order to get money of any kind, as God can feed and clothe you as well out in the evangelistic field as at home. Have faith in Him to feed you like the birds and clothe you like the lilies. “Nor valise, nor two coats, nor sandals, nor staff; for the laborer is worthy of his food.” Hence, you see, we are to wait for nothing, but go as we are, taking what we have, and trusting God for everything.

“Into whatsoever city or village you enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and abide there until you may depart.” This is not an interdiction of house-to- house preaching; but their time was short, and the work too great to admit of it. Hence they are commanded to find some place with God’s elect, and thence radiate out everywhere, preaching the Word, till they traverse the field. “And going into a house, salute it. And if the house may be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it may be unworthy, let your peace return unto you.” Salvation is optionary, and never goes begging. God is infinitely rich, and can get along without any of us. “Whosoever may not receive you, nor hear your words, going out from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Truly, I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.” When we go to a people and offer them the gospel, we have done our part, and will be rewarded in eternity as if they had received it. When they reject our message, they relieve us, and assume the responsibility of their own damnation. Sodom and Gomorrah were Gentile cities, in the beautiful, rich, and productive Vale of Sidim, which were destroyed for their wickedness, the very site they occupied being now covered by the Dead Sea. These heathen cities never had the opportunities of the Jews and the Christians. Consequently the latter, who reject the gospel, will sustain a more grievous responsibility in the judgment-day, and sink to a more terrible doom in the world of woe, than the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, with all their dark vices.

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” The serpent is the symbol of Satan, who has a wonderful intelligence, shrewdness, and cunning; while the dove is the symbol of the Holy Ghost, full of innocent, sweet, regenerating, and sanctifying love, and ready to pour it out into every penitent, believing heart. “Harmless” is akeraioi, from akeranumi, from a, “not,” keranumi, “to mix.” Hence the word means unmixed, the strongest statement of entire sanctification. Sinners are full of unmixed evil; holy, sanctified saints are full of unmixed good; while unsanctified Christians have a mixed experience, the pure love of God in a heart which is not free from depravity, but needs the second work of grace to eliminate it all away, leaving nothing but the pure love of God to fill the sanctified heart. We see from this commandment that, while we are to be innocent, holy, and faithful, trusting God for everything necessary to soul and body, we are still to carry with us the good, common sense with which we are born, and to utilize all the intelligence God gives us, “watching” lest we enter into temptation. Ministerial failures are constantly being made, simply because people do not use their common sense. “Beware of men; for they will deliver you up unto the Sanhedrins, and scourge you in their synagogues.” You see how they arrested, beat, and imprisoned Paul and Silas. “And you shall be led before governors and kings, for My name’s sake, for a testimony to them and the Gentiles.” Whereas the former clause specifies Jewish punishments and persecutions, this gives those they will encounter among the Gentiles; e.g., Paul, at Paphos, on the Isle of Cyprus, testified, when arraigned before Sergius Paulus, and won him; but when, in a similar manner, at the tribunal of Felix, another Roman proconsul, at Caesarea, he testified; but Felix rejected.

“But when they may deliver you up, do not he solicitous, how or what you may speak, for it will be given to you in that hour what you shall say; for it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father who is speaking in you.” Wonderful has been the testimony and preaching of the martyrs, in all ages, when brought face to face with the burning fagot or the blood-thirsty lion. This Scripture has been most wonderfully verified, the heathen historian’s of the first three centuries certifying that the testimony of the dying martyrs often won their own murderers, so that they embrace the Christian religion, likewise sealing their faith with their blood. “Brother will deliver up brother to death, and father the child; and the children will rise up against the parents, and put them to death.” It has been estimated that two hundred millions of martyrs, during the Pagan and Papal ages, have died for Jesus. You can readily see how families would all be divided during those times of peril and bloodshed, the persecutors requiring them to testify against each other, and even participate in their martyrdom, as the only way of escape from a similar fate. “You shall be hated by all men for My name’s sake; but he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.” Those apostles, to whom He gave this commission and appended these stringent liabilities, all proved true to the end, except poor Judas. Matthew suffering martyrdom in Ethiopia; Mark, in Egypt; Luke, in Greece; James the Elder, the first of all, beheaded by Herod in Jerusalem; and James the Less, at a later date, hurled from a pinnacle of the temple; Matthias, the successor of Judas, suffered martyrdom in Abyssinia; Thomas, in India; Jude, in Tartary; Andrew, in Armenia; Bartholomew, in Phrygia; Philip, at Heliopous, in Syria; Paul and Peter, at Rome; and John, miraculously delivered from martyrdom in the caldron of boiling oil at Rome, and, as we believe, finally translated into heaven without seeing death.

“And when they may persecute you in this city, fly into another.” Thus you see, the people of God who bear this message of love and grace are not to use carnal weapons in self-defense, but run away, trusting the Lord for another open door. “For truly, I say unto you, That you may not complete the cities of Israel, till the Son of man may come.” You must remember, the immediate commission of these apostles, under which they are now going out, is restricted to the Jews, that restriction being removed when our Lord ascended, and the Holy Ghost fell on them, qualifying them for the conquest of the world. They are only gone out about three months in these duets, traversing the territory of Israel, till they return to the Lord, and accompanied Him the ensuing year of His ministry. N.B. The Mount of Transfiguration was really a prelude of the Lord’s second and glorious coming. This they actually witnessed in a few months from that date, thus verifying this mysterious declaration, as they had not yet gone over all the cities of Israel till the Son of man did actually come in adumbration on the Mount of Transfiguration, thus preliminarily revealing to them His second and glorious coming.

“The disciple is not above his teacher nor the servant above his lord.” Where we have “Master” so frequently in E.V., the word didaskalos, the noun, from didasko, to teach, hence it literally means a teacher. Jesus is the world’s Great Teacher, without whom the black darkness of the pandemonium would envelop it. “It is sufficient for the disciple that he may be as his teacher, and the servant as his lord. If they called the landlord Beelzebub, how much more the inmates of his house?” Our Savior here reveals to all who would be His witnesses, and herald His truth to a dying world, that we must be ready for any fate and disappointed at nothing.

“My rest is in heaven, My home is not here; Then why should I murmur at trials severe?

Come trouble, come sorrow; The worst that can come, Will shorten my journey, and hasten me home.”

Our Teacher and Lord, our great Exemplar, was homeless, destitute, and the world combined against Him, not even permitting Him to live on the earth which He had created. If we can riot accept the situation, and walk in His footprints, we can not be His disciples.

“Therefore be not afraid of them. For nothing has been hidden which shall not be revealed, and secret which shall not be known.” This follows as a logical sequence from the preceding affirmation in reference to the grave, criminal, and even diabolical affirmations which have invariably been adduced against the people of God. The Roman historians, Seutonius, Pliny, and Sallust, have all chronicled the gravest sins and darkest crimes against the Christians during the Martyr Ages of the heathen empire, thus apologizing for the bloody persecutionary edicts issued against them by the emperors. Of course, these historians only recorded hearsay, not claiming ocular testimony in the case. They said of Jesus, constantly, “He hath a demon,” “He is gone mad,” and “He is beside Himself.” They finally killed Him in the most disgraceful method, even hanging Him up between two criminals, notorious for robbery and murder. Similar accusations have been arrayed against the martyrs of all ages, thus signally verifying these prophecies of our Savior. Millions of people have been put to death, under gravest accusations, who, in the judgment-day, will shine like angels, while their accusers and persecutors, who stood at the head of the Church, will be calling for rocks and mountains to fall on them, and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne. While, of course, the primary application of our Lord’s affirmation as to the revealment of all secrets is the ultimate and eternal vindication of His saints, it certainly follows that we should, in this life, become perfectly lucid and transparent to all illuminated eyes, so they can actually look through us, and read the hieroglyphics the Spirit has written on the tablets of our hearts, thus sweeping away the oath-bound secrecy of lodgery in all its forms and phases. “What I say to you in the darkness, speak ye in the light; and what ye hear in the ear, proclaim ye upon the house-tops.” This is a confirmation of the preceding, showing up the thorough transparency of God’s true saints. When filled with the Holy Ghost, secrecy evanesces.

“Be not afraid of those who kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The sainted mother, by her godly teaching, baptized with loving tears and fired with the prayer of heavenly inspiration, should put the hell-scare on her infant so thorough that the tomfoolery and superficialism of the popular religion, which brings a polar iceberg into the Church to melt in hell-fire, can never be able to obliterate; but an early conversion will only add expedition to the race-horse speed with which you are running from an open hell and an unchained devil, and sanctification give you eaglewings to expedite the velocity of your precipitate flight from the awful, deep-toned thunders of that quenchless damnation which awaits all who, by the intrigues of men and devils, shall fall below the Bible standard of “holiness to the Lord.” (Heb 12:14.) “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father; indeed, all the hairs of your head are numbered.” The infinite minutiae of the Divine cognizance, absolutely passing by nothing, but taking in everything indiscriminately, are here mentioned as a constant and potent inspiration to us all, peremptorily to settle matters for judgment and eternity by actually getting rid of the devil and everything belonging to him, in the glorious experience of entire sanctification and the constant indwelling of the Holy Spirit, as nothing short of this can actually settle that awful problem, whose solution is the “destruction of soul and body in hell.” “Therefore be not afraid; for you are of more value than many sparrows.” “Perfect love casts out fear.” Consequently the poorest and weakest saint, if true to God, can shout perennial victory from the mouth of hell to the gate of glory.

“Therefore, every one who shall confess Me before the people, I will confess him in the presence of My Father who is in heaven; but whosoever may deny Me in the presence of the people, I will also deny him in the presence of My Father who is in the heavens.” O what a potent inspiration to Christian testimony, semper et bique, “always and everywhere!” The awful delinquency in this duty and depreciation of this glorious privilege, thus turning the Churches into graveyards instead of battle-fields, is the “Ichabod” superscribed on the walls of modern Churchism. In the face of these glorious promises on the one side, and terrific denunciations on the other, voiceless pews are an incontestable proclamation of dead Churches. “Do not consider that I came to send peace on the earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword.” The Bible abounds in riddles and enigmas, inexplicable to the carnal mind. Jesus is called the Prince of Peace, and at the same time described as a mounted military General, leading His embattled host into deadly conflict, deluging the world with blood, and heaping it with mountains of the slain. Both of these characteristics are literally true. The peace which He gives only follows a bloody war with sin and the devil, fought under the black flag, which means victory or death. The sword in this passage is the formidable weapon wielded by the Holy Ghost in the extermination of sin and the decapitation of Adam the First

“For I came to divide a man against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and the enemies of a man shall be the inmates of his own house.” All this is the normal effect accompanying a true work of salvation; Satan’s grip on the people being so tight that he is certain to hold enough to represent him in every family, unless literal miracles of grace flood the home with heavenly conquest and stampede the devils down to hell. Bogus, popular religion makes no disturbance in families and communities, from the simple fact that the devil is not fool enough to waste his ammunition on dead game, as there are plenty of live people to shoot at. Whenever the holiness movement gets so it does not arouse the devil in dead Churches and stir up hell in debauched communities, you may go and write “Ichabod” on its banner, and prepare its winding sheet as quickly as possible, to bury it speedily, before the stench of a putrifying carcass disseminates pestilential malaria far and wide. “He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whosoever does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” Here we see illustrated the absolute sine qua non confronting every aspirant to discipleship and heaven; i.e., the utter subordination of consanguinity, affinity, home, friends, and earthly possessions to the great Captain of our salvation. This is the fatal maelstrom into which many a bark has foundered.

“The one having found his soul, shall loose it; the one having lost his soul for My sake, shall find it.” The E.V. here has “life,” instead of soul. The word used by our Savior is not zoe, “life,” but psyche, the regular word for soul. In every instance in the New Testament, where the E.V. has “soul,” the Greek is psyche. Hence I give it just as Jesus said it. While King James’s translators were scholarly theologians, they were not eminent for spirituality, but much on par with the English clergy. I do not think they saw down into the profound depths of our Savior’s meaning in this passage. There never was but one creation of the human race. We were all created in Adam seminally. Hence, in the fall, we all fell with Adam, forfeiting the Divine and receiving the Satanic or carnal mind. James speaks of the “double-soul man.” (Jas 1:4; Jas 4:8.) The sinner has but one mind, and that is bad. The wholly sanctified has but one mind, and that is good; while the unsanctified Christian is James’s double-minded man, having the carnal mind in subjugated state, and the mind of Christ, received in regeneration, ruling in his heart and life, but must have the carnal mind sanctified away before he can go to heaven. Psyche, “soul,” is the word used by James. The reason why so few get saved is because they are not willing to travel the death route to heaven. Millions, intimidated by the grim monster, lifting up the battle-ax to decapitate Adam the First, turn away, and travel some other road, which does not require so much self- denial. We are born into the world with an evil soul, which must die, or hell is our doom. Hence this awful test: Unless you are brave enough to die, and take chances for life beyond the black river, your heavenly hope is Satan’s ignis tatuus,

“whose delusive ray Glows but to betray.”

“He that receiveth you receiveth Me; he that receiveth Me, receiveth Him that sent Me.” Christ bridges the chasm between God and man. Hence the wonderful feasibility of the redemptive scheme. He sends out His saved people to save others. The lost millions of earth have nothing to do but receive us, with our messages of truth and holiness, and in so doing they receive Christ; i.e., the loving, sympathizing Brother, Jesus. But He is not only man, but God. Therefore when the condescending, tender-hearted Nazarene takes you by the hand, behold! the hand of the Omnipotent grips you, lifting you from the lowest hell to the highest heaven. “He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet’s reward; he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man’s reward.” O what a thrilling incentive to wide-open door and generous hospitality, ever ready, with joyful enthusiasm, to receive the saints and prophets, whom Jesus sends forth into this dark world to rescue the perishing and save the lost! The reward of God’s prophets and righteous people — what is it? None other than a crown of life and a home in heaven. The departure of hospitality from the Church is the death-knell now ringing from ocean to ocean, pealing out the mournful funeral of the great Protestant denominations.

“Whosoever may only give one of these little ones a cup of cold water to drink in the name of the disciple, truly, I say unto you, Can not lose his reward.” We must remember that God sets great store on little things, appreciating the giver rather than the gift. How these promises should inspire us all to lend a helping hand in the expedition of every gospel pilgrim on his way, publishing salvation to the ends of the earth! “And it came to pass when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, He departed thence to teach and to preach in all the cities.” The preceding discourse, delivered by our Savior to His twelve apostles, when He sent them out, two by two, to traverse all Israel with the uttermost expedition, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, should receive the especial and diligent study of all who read these pages. O that He may so pour on you the Holy Ghost, meanwhile, that you may hear His interior voice calling you into the evangelistic field! I assure you, this is the grand incentive inspiring the humble writer of the Commentaries, praying incessantly that all the readers may catch the heavenly flame, respond to the loving call, and enter the gospel-field unhesitatingly.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CHAPTER 6:7-13 (Mar_6:7-13)

THE MISSION OF THE TWELVE

"And He called unto Him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and He gave them authority over the unclean spirits; and He charged them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no bread, no wallet, no money in their purse; but to go shod with sandals: and, said He, put not on two coats. And He said unto them, Wheresoever ye enter into a house, there abide till ye depart thence. And whatsoever place shall not receive you, and they hear you not, as ye go forth thence, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a testimony unto them. And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them." Mar_6:7-13 (R.V.)

REPULSED a second time from the cradle of His youth, even as lately from Decapolis, with what a heavy heart must the Loving One have turned away. Yet we read of no abatement of His labors. He did not, like the fiery prophet, wander into the desert and make request that He might die. And it helps us to realize the elevation of our Lord, when we reflect how utterly the discouragement with which we sympathize in the great Elijah would ruin our conception of Jesus.

It was now that He set on foot new efforts, and advanced in the training of His elect. For Himself, He went about the villages, whither slander and prejudice had not yet penetrated, and was content to break new ground among the most untaught and sequestered of the people. The humblest field of labor was not too lowly for the Lord, although we meet, every day, with men who are "thrown away" and "buried" in obscure fields of usefulness. We have not yet learned to follow without a murmur the Carpenter, and the Teacher in villages, even though we are soothed in grief by thinking, because we endure the inevitable, that we are followers of the Man of Sorrows. At the same moment when democracies and priesthoods are rejecting their Lord, a king had destroyed His forerunner. On every account it was necessary to vary as well as multiply the means for the evangelisation of the country. Thus the movement would be accelerated, and it would no longer present one solitary point of attack to its unscrupulous foes.

Jesus therefore called to Him the Twelve, and began to send them forth. In so doing, His directions revealed at once His wisdom and His fears for them.

Not even for unfallen man was it good to be alone. It was a bitter ingredient in the cup which Christ Himself drank, that His followers should be scattered to their own and leave Him alone. And it was at the last extremity, when he could no longer forbear, that St. Paul thought it good to be at Athens alone. Jesus therefore would not send His inexperienced heralds forth for the first time except by two and two, that each might sustain the courage and wisdom of his comrade. And His example was not forgotten. Peter and John together visited the converts in Samaria. And when Paul and Barnabas, whose first journey was together, could no longer agree, each of them took a new comrade and departed. Perhaps our modern missionaries lose more in energy than is gained in area by neglecting so humane a precedent, and forfeiting the special presence vouchsafed to the common worship of two or three.

St. Mark has not recorded the mission of the seventy evangelists, but this narrative is clearly colored by his knowledge of that event. Thus he does not mention the gift of miraculous power, which was common to both, but he does tell of the authority over unclean spirits, which was explicitly given to the Twelve, and which the Seventy, returning with joy, related that they also had successfully dared to claim. In conferring such power upon His disciples, Jesus took the first step towards that marvelous identification of Himself and His mastery over evil, with all His followers, that giving of His presence to their assemblies, His honor to their keeping, His victory to their experience, and His lifeblood to their veins, which makes Him the second Adam, represented in all the newborn race, and which finds its most vivid and blessed expression in the sacrament where His flesh is meat indeed and His blood is drink indeed. Now first He is seen to commit His powers and His honor into mortal hands.

In doing this, He impressed on them the fact that they were not sent at first upon a toilsome and protracted journey. Their personal connection with Him was not broken but suspended for a little while. Hereafter, they would need to prepare for hardship, and he that had two coats should take them. It was not so now: sandals would suffice their feet; they should carry no wallet; only a staff was needed for their brief excursion through a hospitable land. But hospitality itself would have its dangers for them, and when warmly received they might be tempted to be feted by various hosts, enjoying the first enthusiastic welcome of each, and refusing to share afterwards the homely domestic life which would succeed. Yet it was when they ceased to be strangers that their influence would really be strongest; and so there was good reason, both for the sake of the family they might win, and for themselves who would not become self-indulgent, why they should not go from house to house.

These directions were not meant to become universal rules, and we have seen how Jesus afterwards explicitly varied them. But their spirit is an admonition to all who are tempted to forget their mission in personal advantages which it may offer. Thus commissioned and endowed, they should feel as they went the greatness of the message they conveyed. Wherever they were rejected, no false meekness should forbid their indignant protest, and they should refuse to carry even the dust of that evil and doomed place upon their feet.

And they went forth and preached repentance, casting out many devils, and healing many that were sick. In doing this, they anointed them with oil as St. James afterwards directed, but as Jesus never did. He used no means, or when faith needed to be helped by a visible application, it was always the touch of His own hand or the moisture of His own lip. The distinction is significant. And also it must be remembered that oil was never used by disciples for the edification of the dying, but for the recovery of the sick.

By this new agency the name of Jesus was more than ever spread abroad, until it reached the ears of a murderous tyrant, and stirred in his bosom not the repentance which they preached, but the horrors of ineffectual remorse

William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.

6:7-13 Jesus now sent the disciples out to preach and heal. During this mission, Jesus’ memorable teachings were engraved in their minds by retelling, and it prepared them to remember and retell later what Jesus did and taught (Luke 1:2).

6:7 two by two: This practice fulfilled the Old Testament requirement of two witnesses (Num 35:30; Deut 17:6; 19:15; see Matt 18:16) and provided for companionship and mutual help (Acts 13:1-3; 15:22, 39, 40). • giving them authority: Jesus can delegate his authority (see Mark 1:27; 2:10) to others. • The disciples were to cast out evil spirits and to preach and heal (6:12-13; see 6:30).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mar 6:7. Ἤρξατο, began) After that they had made some progress.—δύο δύο, by two and two) six pairs; Mat 10:2-3.—καὶ, and) The rest of His instructions are evident from Mar 6:12-13.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar_6:7-13. Comp. Mat_10:1-14; Luk_9:1-6. Mark here adopts, with abridgment and sifting, from the collection of Logia what was essentially relevant to his purpose; Luke follows him, not without obliteration and generalizing of individual traits.

ἤρξατο] He now began that sending forth, to which they were destined in virtue of their calling; its continuance was their whole future calling, from the standpoint of which Mark wrote his ἤρξατο.

δύο δύο] binos, in pairs. Sir_36:25. A Hebraism; Winer, p. 223 [E. T. 312]. The Greek says κατά, ἀνά, εἰς δύο, or even συνδύο (see Valckenaer, ad Herod. p. 311; Heindorf, ad Plat. Parm. p. 239). Wherefore in pairs? Ad plenam testimonii fidem, Grotius. Comp. Luk_7:19; Luk_9:1.

Mar_6:8. αἴρωσιν] should take up, in order to carry it with them, 1Ma_4:30.

εἰ μὴ ῥάβδον μόνον] The variation in Matthew and Luke betokens the introduction of exaggeration,[96] but not a misunderstanding of the clear words (Weiss). There is an attempt at a mingling of interpretations at variance with the words in Ebrard, p. 382; Lange, L. J. II. 2, p. 712. It ultimately comes to this, that εἰ μὴ ῥ. μ. is intended to mean: at most a staff. Even Bleek has recourse to the unfounded refinement, that the staff in Mark is meant only for support, not as a weapon of defence.

Mar_6:9. ἀλλʼ ὑποδεδεμ. σανδάλ.] There is no difference from μηδὲ ὑποδήματα, Mat_10:10, not even a correction of this expression (Bleek, comp. Holtzmann). See on Matt. l.c. The meaning is, that they should be satisfied with the simple light foot-covering of sandals, in contrast with the proper calceus (ὑπόδημα κοῖλον), which had upper leather, and the use of which was derived from the Phoenicians and Babylonians (Leyrer in Herzogs Encykl. VII. p. 729). Comp. Act_12:8. The construction is anacoluthic, as though παρήγγειλεν αὐτοῖς πορεύεσθαι had been previously said. Then the discourse changes again, going over from the obliqua into the directa (ἐνδύσησθε). See Kühner, II. p. 598 f., and ad Xen. Mem. i. 4. 15, iii. 5. 14, iv. 4. 5. A lively non-periodic mode of representing the matter; comp. Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 330 [E. T. 384 f.].

Mar_6:10. καὶ ἔλεγ. αὐτ.] a new portion of the directions given on that occasion. Comp. on Mar_4:13.

ἐκεῖ] in this house: but ἐκεῖθεν: from this τόπος (see the critical remarks).

Mar_6:11. εἰς μαρτύριον αὐτοῖς] which is to serve them for a testimony, namely, of that which the shaking off of the dust expresses, that they are placed on a footing of equality with heathens. Comp. on Mat_10:14.

Mar_6:12 f. ἵνα] the aim of the ἐκήρυξαν.

ἤλειφον ἐλαίῳ] The anointing with oil (the mention of which in this place is held by Baur, on account of Jam_5:14, to betray a later date) was very frequently applied medically in the case of external and internal ailments. See Lightfoot, p. 304, 617; Schoettgen, I. p. 1033; Wetstein in loc. But the assumption that the apostles had healed by the natural virtue of the oil (Paulus, Weisse), is at variance with the context, which narrates their miraculous action. Nevertheless it is also wholly unwarranted to regard the application of the oil in this case merely as a symbol; either of the working of miracles for the purpose of awakening faith (Beza, Fritzsche, comp. Weizsäcker), or of the bodily and spiritual refreshment (Euthymius Zigabenus), or of the divine compassion (Theophylact, Calvin), or to find in it merely an arousing of the attention (Russwurm in the Stud. u. Krit. 1830, p. 866), or, yet again, a later magical mingling of the supernatural and the natural (de Wette). In opposition to the latter view the pertinent remark of Euthymius Zigabenus holds good: εἰκὸς δὲ, καὶ τοῦτο παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου διδαχθῆναι τοὺς ἀποστόλους. Comp. Jam_5:14. The anointing is rather, as is also the application of spittle on the part of Jesus Himself (Mar_7:33, Mar_8:23; Joh_9:6), to be looked upon as a conductor of the supernatural healing power, analogous to the laying on of hands in Mar_6:5, so that the faith was the causa apprehendens, the miraculous power the causa efficiens, and the oil was the medians, therefore without independent power of healing, and not even necessary, where the way of immediate operation was, probably in accordance with the susceptibility of the persons concerned, adopted by the Healer, as Jesus also heals the blind man of Jericho without any application of spittle, Mar_10:46 f. The passage before us has nothing to do with the unctio extrema (in opposition to Maldonatus and many others), although Bisping still thinks that he discovers here at least a type thereof.

[96] Inverting the matter, Baur holds that the reasoning Mark had modified the expression. Comp. Holtzmann and Hilgenfeld.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 6:7 . ἤρξατο , etc.: Jesus calling to Him ( προσκαλεῖται , vide Mar 3:13 ) the Twelve began at length to do what He had intended from the first (Weiss), viz. , to send them forth as missioners ( ἀποστέλλειν ). δύο δύο , two (and) two, Hebraic for κατὰ or ἀνὰ δύο ; two together, not one by one, a humane arrangement. ἐδίδου , imperfect, as specifying an accompaniment of the mission, not pointing to separate empowerment of each pair. ἐξουσίαν τ . π . τ . ἀ ., power over unclean spirits, alone mentioned by Mark, cf. Matthew and Luke.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The disciples are prepared to that general Apostleship, by a peculiar sending forth.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Here is, I. The commission given to the twelve apostles, to preach and work miracles; it is the same which we had more largely, Mt. 10. Mark doth not name them here, as Matthew doth, because he had named them before, when they were first called into fellowship with him, Mar 3:16-19. Hitherto they had been conversant with Christ, and had set at his feet, had heard his doctrine, and seen his miracles; and now he determines to make some use of them; they had received, that they might give, had learned, that they might teach; and therefore now he began to send them forth. They must not always be studying in the academy, to get knowledge, but they must preach in the country, to do good with the knowledge they have got. Though they were not as yet so well accomplished as they were to be, yet, according to their present ability and capacity, they must be set to work, and make further improvements afterward. Now observe here,

1. That Christ sent them forth by two and two; this Mark takes notice of. They went two and two to a place, that out of the mouth of two witnesses every word might be established; and that they might be company for one another when they were among strangers, and might strengthen the hands, and encourage the hearts, one of another; might help one another if any thing should be amiss, and keep one another in countenance. Every common soldier has his comrade; and it is an approved maxim, Two are better than one. Christ would thus teach his ministers to associate, and both lend and borrow help.

2. That he gave them power over unclean spirits. He commissioned them to attack the devil's kingdom, and empowered them, as a specimen of their breaking his interest in the souls of men by their doctrine, to cast him out of the bodies of those that were possessed. Dr. Lightfoot suggests, that they cured diseases, and cast out devils, by the Spirit, but preached that only which they had learned from the mouth of Christ.

3. That he commanded them not to take provisions along with them, neither victuals nor money, that they might appear, wherever they came, to be poor men, men not of this world, and therefore might with the better grace call people off from it to another world. When afterward he bid them take purse and scrip (Luk 22:36), that did not intimate (as Dr. Lightfoot observes) that his care of them was abated from what it had been; but that they should meet with worse times and worse entertainment than they met with at their first mission. In Matthew and Luke they are forbidden to take staves with them, that is, fighting staves; but here in Mark they are bid to take nothing save a staff only, that is, a walking staff, such as pilgrims carried. They must not put on shoes, but sandals only, which were only the soles of shoes tied under their feet, or like pumps, or slippers; they must go in the readiest plainest dress they could, and must not so much as have two coats; for their stay abroad would be short, they must return before winter, and what they wanted, those they preached to would cheerfully accommodate them with.

4. He directed them, whatever city they came to, to make that house their head-quarters, which happened to be their first quarters (Mar 6:10); "There abide, till ye depart from that place. And since ye know ye come on an errand sufficient to make you welcome, have such charity for your friends that first invited you, as to believe they do not think you burthensome."

5. He pronounces a very heavy doom upon those that rejected the gospel they preached (Mar 6:11); "Whosoever shall not receive you, or will not so much as hear you, depart thence (if one will not, another will), and shake off the dust under your feet, for a testimony against them. Let them know that they have had a fair offer of life and happiness made them, witness that dust; but that, since they have refused it, they cannot expect ever to have another; let them take up with their own dust, for so shall their doom be." That dust, like the dust of Egypt (Exo 9:9), shall turn into a plague to them; and their condemnation in the great day, will be more intolerable than that of Sodom: for the angels were sent to Sodom, and were abused there; yet that would not bring on so great a guilt and so great a ruin as the contempt and abuse of the apostles of Christ, who bring with them the offers of gospel grace.

II. The apostles' conduct in pursuance of their commission. Though they were conscious to themselves of great weakness, and expected no secular advantage by it, yet, in obedience to their Master's order, and in dependence upon his strength, they went out as Abraham, not knowing whither they went. Observe here,

1. The doctrine they preached; They preached that men should repent (Mar 6:12); that they should change their minds, and reform their lives, in consideration of the near approach of the kingdom of the Messiah. Note, The great design of the gospel preachers, and the great tendency of gospel preaching, should be, to bring people to repentance, to a new heart and a new way. They did not amuse people with curious speculations, but told them that they must repent of their sins, and turn to God.

2. The miracles they wrought. The power Christ gave them over unclean spirits, was not ineffectual, nor did they receive it in vain, but used it, for they cast out many devils (Mar 6:13); and they anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. Some think this oil was used medicinally, according to the custom of the Jews; but I rather think it was used as a sign of miraculous healing, by the appointment of Christ, though not mentioned; and it was afterward used by those elders of the church, to whom by the Spirit was given the gift of healing, Jam 5:14. It is certain here, and therefore probable there, that anointing the sick with oil, is appropriated to that extraordinary power which has long ceased, and therefore that sign must cease with it.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 7. By two and two] That they might encourage and support each other; and to show that union among the ministers of the Gospel is essential to the promotion of the cause of truth. See Clarke on Lu 10:1.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(7) He called unto him the twelve.—See Notes on Mat_10:1-15. The omission by St. Mark of the greater part of the discourse connected with the mission of the Twelve in Matthew 10 is every way characteristic of the writer, whose main work it was to trace the ministry of action rather than of speech.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7–13. Mission of the Twelve

7. he called] Rather, He calleth unto Him.

two and two] St Mark alone records this. They were sent forth probably in different directions on a tentative mission, to make trial of their powers, and fit them for a more extended mission afterwards. Their election had taken place in the solitude of a mountain range their first mission occurred amidst the busy towns and villages of Galilee.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he called unto him the twelve,.... "His twelve disciples", as some copies read; whom he had before called by his grace, and had appointed and ordained them his apostles, but had not yet publicly sent forth; in order to which, he now called them to him, and gave them their commission, qualifications, and instructions:

and began to send them forth by two and two: he first sent forth one couple, and then another; the reason of his sending them by pairs, was partly for the sake of company, and that they might be useful and assisting to one another; and partly to show their agreement in doctrine; and that they might be proper and sufficient witnesses of it, whereby it might be established; and the rather, being thus sent by pairs into different parts, their message would be the sooner dispatched, than if they had all went together:

and gave them power over unclean spirits; that is, to cast them out; as it is expressed in Mat_. 10:1; see Gill on Mat 10:1; and which is here added in the Syriac and Persic versions. Many things are omitted by this evangelist, which are mentioned by Matthew: he does not give us the names of the twelve apostles; the reason of that indeed may be, because they are related by him in Mar 3:16, and he did not choose to repeat them here: nor does he take any notice of the places where the apostles were to go, and where not; nor of the persons to whom, or not; as not into the way of the Gentiles, nor into any of the cities of the Samaritans, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel: nor does he say any thing of the subject matter of their ministry or what they had in charge to publish; as that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, or the Gospel dispensation: nor does he observe the several things they were to do in confirmation of their doctrine and mission; as healing the sick, cleansing lepers, raising the dead, and casting out devils: he only relates the directions given them with respect to their journey, in the following verses; the reason of all which seems to be, because he refers not to the same time as Matthew does, to their appointment and ordination; but to the time they were sent out, and proceeded on their journey.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;

Ver. 7. By two and two] Both for more authority, and for mutual comfort. Two are better than one, Ecc 4:9. {See Trapp on "Ecc 4:9"} {See Trapp on "Mat 10:1"} {See Trapp on "Mat 10:2"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he called unto him the twelve - See the notes at Mat 10:1.

And began to send them forth by two and two - In order that they might “support” and “encourage” each other in their work. Amid the trials and opposition with which they would meet, mutual counsel and aid would greatly lighten their burdens and alleviate their calamities. Mutual counsel might also contribute to their success, and lead to “united” plans to advance the kingdom of the Redeemer. Jesus here, as in all the work of religion, consulted at the same time the “happiness” and the “usefulness” of his disciples; nor are they ever separated. Whatever contributes to the “usefulness” of his people produces also their happiness; or, in other words, the secret of being happy is to be “useful.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Mark had before told us of the election of the twelve, Mar 3:14, which neither Matthew nor Luke mention: here he gives us an account of their mission, which is mentioned by both them also. The instructions which he gave them are much the same with what we meet with in Mat 10:1-42, and there opened. He would have them, upon their first mission, commit themselves to and find the experience of the Divine providence; and therefore he charges them,

1. To take no money as a reward of their pains.

2. Not to go provided with any sustenance, or money to buy any; only they might take a walking stick in their hands, for, as Matthew reports it, he forbade them taking any staves to bear burdens, as well as any scrips; or it may be he meant two staves, that if one had any way miscarried, have been broken or lost, they might have another at hand.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

At Mar_3:7 we had the account of our Lord"s selection of the twelve. Here we find the notice of their being first sent forth. Their names have already been recorded. He gave them authority mark the imperfect (edidou )over unclean spirits. St. Matthew (Mat_10:1) adds, "and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease." But St. Mark here fixes the attention upon the great central object of Christ"s mission to contend against evil in every form, and especially to grapple with Satan in his stronghold in the hearts of men.

Vers. 7-13. The mission of the twelve.

The twelve disciples now first became apostles. This sending forth was a prelude to their life-long mission, to be fulfilled alter their Lord"s ascension. They had now been long enough with the Master not only to have imbibed much of his spirit, but to have learned the nature of his ministry and to have entered into its methods. Their evangelistic journey would be disciplinary to themselves and profitable to the population of Galilee, and it would increase and extend the interest of the people in the ministry of the Lord.

I THE PREPARATION FOR THE MISSION, Wisdom and simplicity are here alike apparent,

1. The twelve were grouped into pairs. This was for the sake of companionship, and to secure that none should be unfriended and unsupported; as well as, in all likelihood, to bring about that one should supply the other"s lack.

2. They were sent as pilgrims. Two things only they were to take with them their sandals and their staves, which were part of their natural equipment as travelers afoot.

3. Yet they were forbidden to provide for their journey. luxuries and superfluities they must not take with them, neither must they provide for their subsistence, but must act upon the expectation that the labourer would be deemed worthy of his hire. In all these respects the instructions given to the twelve were significant of the method in which our Lord desires his people to undertake their spiritual mission to mankind. The work is to be done in fellowship and with mutual sympathy and support; it is to be done in the spirit of those who are in the world but are not of the world, who are not entangled in its snares, and who mind heavenly things.

II THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF THE MISSION. like their Lord, the apostles were enjoined to have compassion upon the varied needs of their fellow-men, to address themselves to the supply of both spiritual and temporal wants.

1. They were to summon men to repentance, the indispensable and universal condition of pardon and life to sinful, guilty men. A change of mind and heart alone could prepare men for the blessings of the Messianic kingdom.

2. At the same time they were to confront the power of evil in its most malignant manifestations, and to cast out demons in the name of that stronger One who was binding the spiritual tyrant of mankind.

3. And they were to heal the sick, both as a symbolic act, and as a proof and exercise of true and practical benevolence. All this they did efficiently and successfully, in the authority of their Divine Lord. The nature of this commission is parallel with that given by our Saviour to his whole Church; for he has put his people in charge with the welfare of mankind, both socially and temporally, and also spiritually.

III THE SPIRIT OF THE MISSION. The directions given by the Master as to the apostles" bearing with regard to those to whom they ministered were worthy of himself. There is a beautiful combination of meekness and dignity in these instructions, very like the Lord who gave them. Wherever received with cordiality, the apostles were directed to abide with their hosts, grateful for kindness and content with their entertainment. Wherever their message was rejected and they were disregarded, the twelve were commanded to "shake off the dust under their feet" for a testimony against the unbelieving and impenitent. The servants of the Lord Jesus cannot too carefully study these counsels, in considering in what spirit they shall fulfill the commission entrusted to them in human society. On the one hand, all selfish desires, all pride and restlessness, must be repressed; on the other hand, the high vocation must be esteemed, the office must be magnified, the authority of the Redeemer must be upheld, and the responsibility of rejecting the gospel must solemnly, and with appropriate dignity, Be cast upon the unbelieving and unspiritual.

PRACTICAL LESSONS.

1. All Christians may be reminded of their position in this world as the representatives and ministers of Christ.

2. All hearers of the gospel may be admonished as to the serious responsibility they incur when a message from heaven is brought before their minds.

Vers. 7-13. The mission of the twelve.

Already the Master had called them more than once. He had "many things to say" unto them, and was ever drawing them into closer sympathy with himself, and a higher sense of individual responsibility. St. Mark is not so full as St. Matthew, but from what he does tell us we are able to understand the nature of the work and its reason. The disciples are now to become apostles.

I CHRIST PREPARES AND AUTHORIZES HIS OWN MINISTERS. There was need for this. Many whom he had cured were proclaiming him, not only without permission, but against his express command; and the devils were continually confessing him. This was inconvenient on account of danger to his person, because of the fact that he had been charged with being in collusion with Beelzebub, and the misrepresentation that took place as to the nature and aims of his kingdom. Christ first says, "Come, follow me," ere he says, "Go." He "began to send them forth by two and two," i.e. tentatively, as they were ready, and as his purpose demanded. "Great is the authority of conferring authority" (Bengel).

1. The representatives of the Christian ministry were qualified for their task by the personal instruction of the Master, and communion with him in suffering.

2. Those most highly qualified to proclaim the gospel waited until he authorized them.

3. Their appointment had relation to their personal fitness and the exigencies of Christs work. All the disciples do not seem ever to have been away from Christ at one time.

II WHEN CHRIST HAS PREPARED HIS DISCIPLES HE HAS WORK FOR THEM TO DO. Their office was not to be a sinecure. The state of society, its rampant evils, its transitional character, and the attitude of expectancy exhibited by many, were so many reasons for their being sent forth.

1. There is never a time when earnest Christian effort is needed.

2. The adaptation of men is to be considered in determining the ministry they have to perform.

III THE APOSTLESHIP INVOLVED TESTIMONY, MORAL APPEAL, AND SUPERNATURAL POWER. (Vers. 7, 11-13) The particular duties of the Christian ministry are determined by the demands of the age, etc, in which it is carried on, but in essence they are always the same.

IV IT INVOLVED A DIVINE COMMUNION AND A HUMAN FELLOWSHIP.

1. He sent them forth, but his spiritual presence went with them. It was only of what he had given that they could communicate to others, and as he accompanied their efforts with his power.

2. He sent them "by two and two. " For mutual comfort, help, and cooperation. The deficiencies of one would be made up in the gifts of the other.

V THE EQUIPMENT FOR IT WAS SPIRITUAL, NOT MATERIAL; DIVINE, NOT HUMAN. What they were to take with them is suggested only by the directions as to what they were not to take. It was in their message and its spiritual accompaniment their influence was to consist. The Master who sent them would provide for them. Christianity, which subsidizes all honorable means and influences, is independent of all. "Silver and gold have I none, but what I have give I thee". M. (Act_3:6)

Vers. 7-12. Preparations for preaching.

From amongst his disciples our Lord selected a few who were to be in a peculiar sense his representatives and ambassadors, and they have had their successors in all the ages of Christendom. Mark significantly says," Then Jesus began to send them forth;" for ever since that day he has been giving similar work, and qualifying similar representatives. A study of their characteristics and of their instructions may be profitable to us.

I THEY WERE TO GO FORTH FROM THE PRESENCE OF JESUS. All the apostles had companied with him, and so had heard his instructions and been witnesses of his work. This qualified them for their mission. They were not to teach dogmas which might be read up as for an examination, but they were to tell of a life, of a person, of a death, of a man through whom they had known God. Hence Jesus "called them to be with him," and then sent them forth. This principle has always prevailed in the Church. Moses would never have proclaimed God"s law, or known it, unless he had gone into his presence on Sinai. Elijah would never have dared to attempt what he did, had he not been able to realize the truth of his often-uttered declaration, "The Lord God of Israel, before whom I stand!" These disciples could not have spoken as they did, unless they had been with Jesus. So, if we merely get up certain facts or theories, and rehearse them in the audience of the people, without ever having a sense of our Lord"s nearness, our work will be a spiritual failure. First let us come and see the Lord in the temple, as Isaiah did, and when we hear his voice, and have our tongue touched with a live coal from off the altar, we shall be ready to say, "Here am I; Lord, send me.

II THEY WERE TO BE WILLING TO WORK TOGETHER. "He began to send them forth by two and two," for their mutual encouragement and help. Show the advantage of Christian friendship and fellowship. We lose spiritual culture by the isolated condition of Christian life, United work does not always bring pleasure, but it always brings discipline, often through the trials which come from incompatibility of temperament. Picture to yourself the experience of the disciple who was appointed by our Lord to have Judas Iscariot as his companion. Simon the Cananaian would see and lament his growing selfishness and avarice; he would fear to weaken his influence or damage his reputation among strangers, and yet would feel he must be loyal both to Judas, and his Lord. What self-control this would beget! what charity, which would shut its eyes to evil to the very last! what discipline of self! what earnestness of prayer for guidance! And if an unpleasant companionship may be thus fruitful, much mare may the companionship that is pleasant become so, if it be the appointment of the Lord. When two young people agree to link their destinies for weal or woe, to bear with each other"s failings, and to strengthen one another"s hands, it is a happy thing when they can say and feel, that "the Lord Jesus sent them forth by two and two.

III THEY WERE TO BE CONTENT WITH THE USE OF MORAL INFLUENCE. On entering a town, they were not to demand accommodation from strangers by some display of miraculous power, but they were to inquire who in the town was worthy, i.e. who was receptive, being numbered amongst the devout ones who were "waiting for the consolation of Israel." The home of such a one was to be the center from which the apostles worked. If their message was rejected, on leaving the place they were to "shake off the dust under their feet for a testimony against them an act symbolic of renunciation of influence and responsibility, and of the announcement of coming judgment. They were not to attempt to force men to listen and obey. Spiritual work is slow, but sure. We are not to endeavor, by the establishment of a great organization, to embrace all in a nominal Christianity, nor are we to conquer men by physical force, as Mahomet did; but are to seek lovingly and prayerfully to turn one soul from darkness to light, that it may become the source of illumination to others.

IV THEY WERE TO EXERCISE SELF-DENIAL AND CHEERFUL TRUST IN GOD, This was the meaning of the instructions given in vers. 8, 9. They were to make no special provision for their journey, but were to go forth prepared to deny themselves; ready to live in the spirit of pilgrims; burdened with the fewest possible earthly things; free from all care, because the Father cared for them. When the Church has their spirit, she will win their results. A.R.

Vers. 7-13. The apostolic commission.

The harvest truly is plenteous" and " the labourers are few," therefore "the Lord of the harvest" would "send forth labourcrs late his harvest." To this end "he called unto him the twelve," and gave them the grandest commission ever entrusted to man. let us consider that commission in

I ITS IMPOSED CONDITIONS.

1. In company: "by two and two." Thus for mutual encouragement and help. For the heart of the strongest may fail in presence of danger, difficulties, and threatened death.

2. In poverty: "He charged them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no bread, no wallet, no money in their purse." The source of their power and influence with men was thus shown to be not of earth, while no false motives were present to draw men to them. And they, the teachers of faith in God, would be the highest examples of that faith. So in simple wisdom were they to go forth, and in every city seeking the man that was worthy, abide with him, honoring with their prayer of peace the house that judged them worthy to cuter.

3. In danger: "As sheep in the midst of wolves" shall ye be. They whom ye go to bless will become your foes. "Up to councils" shall ye be delivered; "in their synagogues they will scourge you;" "before governors and kings shall ye be brought;" "hated of all men," ye shall be persecuted from city to city.

4. Yet in safety the life exposed for truth and righteousness is not wholly undefended. "The Spirit" of the "Father speaketh in" them in the hour of need; the patiently enduring "shall be saved." Even if men "kill the body," they" are not able to kill the soul;" and the Father, without whom not a sparrow shall fall on the ground, watches the minutest incident of the imperilled life very hairs of your head are all numbered;" "while at length the confessor of Christ among men will he also confess before his" Father which is in heaven." Moreover, in all this "the disciple" is but "as his Master that Master and Lord who will reward the least service done to himself, and punish their foes as his own that Master and Lord who declared that the life lost in his cause should be most truly found.

II ITS TRUST; or, the terms of the commission. How grand, how honorable, how precious to the world the world of ignorant, suffering, sinful men! "He gave them authority over the unclean spirits." "As ye go," he said, (Mat_10:7, Mat_10:8) "preach, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils." So the great mission has for its object the removal of the evils of human life. Its foulness, its suffering, its error, its subjugation to evil, are all to be combated. Truly this was "to preach the kingdom of God". (Luk_9:2) Happy are the subjects of so good a King!

III ITS LIMITATION. "Not into any way of the Gentiles, not into any city of the Samaritans," but solely "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," may they go. So the promises to the fathers are fulfilled. Truly God did not cast off his people which he foreknew." Truly "all the day long" did he "spread out" his hands" even to them who "as touching the election are beloved for the fathers" sake." Yet "the time is at hand" when "even to the Gentiles also God will grant repentance unto life;" and out of them will he take "a people for his name." But, according to his will; the order must be observed: to "the Jew first," and, seeing he is the God of Gentiles, "also to the Gentile." Yet, "let the children first be filled.

IV ITS SUCCESS. "And they went out, and preached that men should repent," and they preached the gospel, and cast out devils, and healed the sick. Few and simple are these words; yet do they declare conquests greater than armies could gain, and works of service to men that lift these labourers to a pitch of unapproachable honor. When the world is won to true wisdom, these men and their works shall be magnified above every other; and when the Church awakes to her true wisdom, she will see that herein is the pattern for all time of the chief principles by which the kingdom of God is to be extended in the earth. G.

Vers. 7-13. Missionaries.

I MISSIONARIES MUST NOT BE, AS A RULE, SOLITARY MEN. For counsel, defense, cheerfulness, "two are better than one." Without artificially imitating this example, in natural and quiet ways it will be found good to follow.

II MISSIONARIES, AS A RULE, MUST BE FRUGAL MEN. NO luxuries; bare necessaries compose their outfit. It is like the soldier in "marching order," or the exploring traveler. Luxury is a relative term, but the Christian minister will always put it in a secondary place.

III MISSIONARIES, AS A RULE, MUST NOT BE SEDENTARY MEN. They are sent with a witness. They must deliver a few clear statements, sound a blast upon the trumpet that calls to repentance, and then forward again. The rule for the pastor is very different. We must try to understand our call.

IV MISSIONARIES, AS A RULE, MUST ACT DIRECTLY UPON THE CONSCIENCE OF MEN. This is a great canon, and a mark of distinction between the missionary and the pastor. "They, departing, proclaimed that men should repent." A fresh voice, delivering this word, "Repent!" with intensity and power, will awaken echoes. Bat, repeated in the same place by the same person, the effect must wear off. Solid and continuous instruction then is needed. The teacher must sow where the exhorter has broken up the fallow ground. J.

Vers. 7-13. Parallel passages: Mat_9:35-38 Mat_10:5-42 Luk_9:1-6. The mission of the twelve.

I THEIR FIRST MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE. Our Lord had already, as recorded in Mr 3, made choice of his twelve disciples, to accompany himself during their time of training, and subsequently to go forth on their apostolic mission and with indubitable credentials of their commission. The time had now come for their first brief and tentative effort in that direction. They go "forth by two and two in pairs (duo duo , a Hebraism for kata duo , or ana duo). The wisdom of this method is obvious for many reasons. It was the condition of true testimony according to the statement of the Old Testament, that "at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word should be established" or confirmed. Two are better than one for counsel and encouragement. Two would numerically warrant the expectation of the Divine presence in prayer, for where two or three are met" together in God"s name, his presence is promised. In many ways two would be mutually helpful, and abundantly justify the prudence of the arrangement. Endued with miraculous power, they had no need of human recommendation; the powers they possessed were amply sufficient to certify the Divine origin of their mission; while the works of heavenly beneficence to suffering humanity were well adapted to gain them acceptance. With such abundant spiritual equipment, they received the Master"s word of command (parhggeilen) to set out on their first expedition.

II THEIR PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT. Their physical equipment, however, was of the scantiest kind. In fact, they were to make no special provision for themselves whatever; such provision might delay them when setting out, and impede them on their journey. Consequently they proceeded at once to their sphere of labour, without delay and encumbrance of any kind. Without staff, except the one in common or daily use they were even expressly forbidden to acquire or provide for themselves (mh kthshsye) another in addition, or for the particular purpose of their present mission; without shoes, save the sandals they every day wore (upodedemenouv); without bread for immediate use; without scrip for provisions by the way, or copper in their purse to procure such; without two tunics, or under-garments, they set out on their first mission, pensioners on the providence of God and the pious hospitality of his people.

III THE ARRANGEMENT FOR THEIR LODGING. They were not at liberty to lodge in any or every house that might open its door to them. They were to act circumspectly in this matter, and carefully inquire, on entering a city or village, who in it was worthy. By acting without due discrimination in this particular, and lodging in disreputable quarters, they might imperil their own reputation or bring discredit on their mission. Once they had obtained a suitable stopping-place, they were not to change for another, even if the offer of a better place of sojourn or superior accommodation should tempt them to such a step. Their wants were few, their mode of life simple, and with the humblest hospitality it behoved them to be content. In case such Oriental and usual hospitality was denied them, or in the event of their being refused admittance, they were, by a significant symbolic act, to express their renunciation of all intercourse with persons guilty of such churlish rudeness or barbarous want of hospitality. They had rejected them, though they went in their Master"s name; and, rejecting them, they rejected the Master who sent them, and thus cut themselves off from future opportunities of blessing.

IV THE DOCTRINE THEY PREACHED. Above all was the great doctrine which they preached. That doctrine was repentance the doctrine which our Lord"s forerunner had proclaimed before; the doctrine which our Lord himself reiterated; the doctrine which, joined to faith, became afterwards one of the elements in that twofold apostolic testimony, when, after their Lord"s resurrection and ascension, the apostles went forth, declaring "repentance toward God, and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ." While thus busied in seeking the salvation of men"s souls, they did not neglect the sufferings of the body; but cast out devils and healed the sick, using oil, if not medicinally, at least symbolically, to establish a point of contact or connection between them and their patients. J. J.G.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Matt. x, 1; Luke ix, 1.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Mark

THE MASTER REJECTED: THE SERVANTS SENT FORTH

Mar 6:1 - Mar 6:13.

An easy day’s journey would carry Jesus and His followers from Capernaum, on the lake-side, to Nazareth, among the hills. What took our Lord back there? When last He taught in the synagogue of Nazareth, His life had been in danger; and now He thrusts Himself into the wolf’s den. Why? Mark seems to wish us to observe the connection between this visit and the great group of miracles which he has just recorded; and possibly the link may be our Lord’s hope that the report of these might have preceded Him and prepared His way. In His patient long-suffering He will give His fellow-villagers another chance; and His heart yearns for ‘His own country,’ and ‘His own kin,’ and ‘His own house,’ of which He speaks so pathetically in the context.

I. We have here unbelief born of familiarity, and its effects on Christ {Mar 6:1 - Mar 6:6}.

Observe the characteristic avoidance of display, and the regard for existing means of worship, shown in His waiting till the Sabbath, and then resorting to the synagogue. He and His hearers would both remember His last appearance in it; and He and they would both remember many a time before that, when, as a youth, He had sat there. The rage which had exploded on His first sermon has given place to calmer, but not less bitter, opposition. Mark paints the scene, and represents the hearers as discussing Jesus while He spoke. The decorous silence of the synagogue was broken by a hubbub of mutual questions. ‘Many’ spoke at once, and all had the same thing to say. The state of mind revealed is curious. They own Christ’s wisdom in His teaching, and the reality of His miracles, of which they had evidently heard; but the fact that He was one of themselves made them angry that He should have such gifts, and suspicious of where He had got them. They seem to have had the same opinion as Nathanael-that no ‘good thing’ could ‘come out of Nazareth.’ Their old companion could not be a prophet; that was certain. But He had wisdom and miraculous power; that was as certain. Where had they come from? There was only one other source; and so, with many headshakings, they were preparing to believe that the Jesus whom they had all known, living His quiet life of labour among them, was in league with the devil, rather than believe that He was a messenger from God.

We note in their questions, first, the glimpse of our Lord’s early life. They bring before us the quiet, undistinguished home and the long years of monotonous labour. We owe to Mark alone the notice that Jesus actually wrought at Joseph’s handicraft. Apparently the latter was dead, and, if so, Jesus would be the head of the house, and probably the ‘breadwinner.’ One of the fathers preserves the tradition that He ‘made plows and yokes, by which He taught the symbols of righteousness and an active life.’ That good father seems to think it needful to find symbolical meanings, in order to save Christ’s dignity; but the prose fact that He toiled at the carpenter’s bench, and handled hammer and saw, needs nothing to heighten its value as a sign of His true participation in man’s lot, and as the hallowing of manual toil. How many weary arms have grasped their tools with new vigour and contentment when they thought of Him as their Pattern in their narrow toils! The Nazarenes’ difficulty was but one case of a universal tendency. Nobody finds it easy to believe that some village child, who has grown up beside him, and whose undistinguished outside life he knows, has turned out a genius or a great man. The last people to recognise a prophet are always his kindred and his countrymen. ‘Far-away birds have fine feathers.’ Men resent it as a kind of slight on themselves that the other, who was one of them but yesterday, should be so far above them to-day. They are mostly too blind to look below the surface, and they conclude that, because they saw so much of the external life, they knew the man that lived it. The elders of Nazareth had seen Jesus grow up, and to them He would be ‘the carpenter’s son’ still. The more important people had known the humbleness of His home, and could not adjust themselves to look up to Him, instead of down. His equals in age would find their boyish remembrances too strong for accepting Him as a prophet. All of them did just what the most of us would have done, when they took it for certain that the Man whom they had known so well, as they fancied, could not be a prophet, to say nothing of the Messiah so long looked for. It is easy to blame them; but it is better to learn the warning in their words, and to take care that we are not blind to some true messenger of God just because we have been blessed with close companionship with him. Many a household has had to wait for death to take away the prophet before they discern him. Some of us entertain ‘angels unawares,’ and have bitterly to feel, when too late, that our eyes were holden that we should not know them.

These questions bring out strongly what we too often forget in estimating Christ’s contemporaries-namely, that His presence among them, in the simplicity of His human life, was a positive hindrance to their seeing His true character. We sometimes wish that we had seen Him, and heard His voice. We should have found it more difficult to believe in Him if we had. ‘His flesh’ was a ‘veil’ in other sense than the Epistle to the Hebrews means; for, by reason of men’s difficulty in piercing beneath it, it hid from many what it was meant and fitted to reveal. Only eyes purged beheld the glory of ‘the Word’ become flesh when it ‘dwelt among us’-and even they saw Him more clearly when they saw Him no more. Let us not be too hard on these simple Nazarenes, but recognise our kith and kin.

The facts on which the Nazarenes grounded their unbelief are really irrefragable proof of Christ’s divinity. Whence had this man His wisdom and mighty works? Born in that humble home, reared in that secluded village, shut out from the world’s culture, buried, as it were, among an exclusive and abhorred people, how came He to tower above all teachers, and to sway the world? ‘With whom took He counsel? and who instructed Him, and taught Him?’ The character and work of Christ, compared with the circumstances of His origin and environment, are an insoluble riddle, except on one supposition-that He was the word and power of God.

The effects of this unbelief on our Lord were twofold. It limited His power. Matthew says that ‘He did not many mighty works.’ Mark goes deeper, and boldly days ‘He could not.’ It is mistaken jealousy for Christ’s honour to seek to pare down the strong words. The atmosphere of chill unbelief froze the stream. The power was there, but it required for its exercise some measure of moral susceptibility. His miraculous energy followed, in general, the same law as His higher exercise of saving grace does; that is to say, it could not force itself upon unwilling men. Christ ‘cannot’ save a man who does not trust Him. He was hampered in the outflow of His healing power by unsympathetic disparagement and unbelief. Man can thwart God. Faith opens the door, and unbelief shuts it in His face. He ‘would have gathered,’ but they ‘would not,’ and therefore He ‘could not.’

The second effect of unbelief on Him was that He ‘marvelled.’ He is twice recorded to have wondered-once at a Gentile’s faith, once at His townsmen’s unbelief. He wondered at the first because it showed so unusual a susceptibility; at the second, because it showed so unreasonable a blindness. All sin is a wonder to eyes that see into the realities of things and read the end; for it is all utterly unreasonable {though it is, alas! not unaccountable} and suicidal. ‘Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this.’ Unbelief in Christ is, by Himself, declared to be the very climax of sin, and its most flagrant evidence {Joh 16:9}; and of all the instances of unbelief which saddened His heart, none struck more chill than that of these Nazarenes. They had known His pure youth; He might have reckoned on some touch of sympathy and predisposition to welcome Him. His wonder is the measure of His pain as well as of their sin.

Nor need we wonder that He wondered; for He was true man, and all human emotions were His. To one who lives ever in the Father’s bosom, what can seem so strange as that men should prefer homeless exposedness and dreary loneliness? To one whose eyes ever behold unseen realities, what so marvellous as men’s blindness? To one who knew so assuredly His own mission and rich freightage of blessing, how strange it must have been that He found so few to accept His gifts! Jesus knew that bitter wonder which all men who have a truth to proclaim which the world has not learned, have to experience-the amazement at finding it so hard to get any others to see what they see. In His manhood, He shared the fate of all teachers, who have, in their turn, to marvel at men’s unbelief.

II. The new instrument which Christ fashions to cope with unbelief.

What does Jesus do when thus ‘wounded in the house of His friends’? Give way to despondency? No; but meekly betake Himself to yet obscurer fields of service, and send out the Twelve to prepare His way, as if He thought that they might have success where He would fail. What a lesson for people who are always hankering after conspicuous ‘spheres,’ and lamenting that their gifts are wasted in some obscure corner, is that picture of Jesus, repulsed from Nazareth, patiently turning to the villages! The very summary account of the trial mission of the Twelve here given presents only the salient points of the charge to them, and in its condensation makes these the more emphatic. Note the interesting statement that they were sent out two-and-two. The other Evangelists do not tell us this, but their lists of the Apostles are arranged in pairs. Mark’s list is not so arranged, but he supplies the reason for the arrangement, which he does not follow; and the other Gospels, by their arrangement, confirm his statement, which they do not give. Two-and-two is a wise rule for all Christian workers. It checks individual peculiarities of self-will, helps to keep off faults, wholesomely stimulates, strengthens faith by giving another to hear it and to speak it, brings companionship, and admits of division of labour. One-and-one are more than twice one.

The first point is the gift of power. Unclean spirits are specified, but the subsequent verses show that miracle-working power in its other forms was included. We may call that Christ’s greatest miracle. That He could, by His mere will, endow a dozen men with such power, is more, if degree come into view at all, than that He Himself should exercise it. But there is a lesson in the fact for all ages-even those in which miracles have ceased. Christ gives before He commands, and sends no man into the field without filling his basket with seed-corn. His gifts assimilate the receiver to Himself, and only in the measure in which His servants possess power which is like His own, and drawn from Him, can they proclaim His coming, or prepare hearts for it. The second step is their equipment. The special commands here given were repealed by Jesus when He gave His last commands. In their letter they apply only to that one journey, but in their spirit they are of universal and permanent obligation. The Twelve were to travel light. They might carry a staff to help them along, and wear sandals to save their feet on rough roads; but that was to be all. Food, luggage, and money, the three requisites of a traveller, were to be ‘conspicuous by their absence.’ That was repealed afterwards, and instructions given of an opposite character, because, after His ascension, the Church was to live more and more by ordinary means; but in this journey they were to learn to trust Him without means, that afterwards they might trust Him in the means. He showed them the purpose of these restrictions in the act of abrogating them. ‘When I sent you forth without purse . . . lacked ye anything?’ But the spirit remains unabrogated, and the minimum of outward provision is likeliest to call out the maximum of faith. We are more in danger from having too much baggage than from having too little. And the one indispensable requirement is that, whatever the quantity, it should hinder neither our march nor our trust in Him who alone is wealth and food.

Next comes the disposition of the messengers. It is not to be self-indulgent. They are not to change quarters for the sake of greater comfort. They have not gone out to make a pleasure tour, but to preach, and so are to stay where they are welcomed, and to make the best of it. Delicate regard for kindly hospitality, if offered by ever so poor a house, and scrupulous abstinence from whatever might suggest interested motives, must mark the true servant. That rule is not out of date. If ever a herald of Christ falls under suspicion of caring more about life’s comforts than about his work, good-bye to his usefulness! If ever he does so care, whether he be suspected of it or no, spiritual power will ebb from him.

The next step is the messengers’ demeanour to the rejecters of their message. Shaking the dust off the sandals is an emblem of solemn renunciation of participation, and perhaps of disclaimer of responsibility. It meant certainly, ‘We have no more to do with you,’ and possibly, ‘Your blood be on your own heads.’ This journey of the Twelve was meant to be of short duration, and to cover much ground, and therefore no time was to be spent unnecessarily. Their message was brief, and as well told quickly as slowly. The whole conditions of work now are different. Sometimes, perhaps, a Christian is warranted in solemnly declaring to those who receive not his message, that he will have no more to say to them. That may do more than all his other words. But such cases are rare; and the rule that it is safest to follow is rather that of love which despairs of none, and, though often repelled, returns with pleading, and, if it have told often in vain, now tells with tears, the story of the love that never abandons the most obstinate.

Such were the prominent points of this first Christian mission. They who carry Christ’s banner in the world must be possessed of power, His gift, must be lightly weighted, must care less for comfort than for service, must solemnly warn of the consequences of rejecting the message; and so they will not fail to cast out devils, and to heal many that are sick.

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Mission of the Twelve.

Preparations for their journey:

v. 6. And He went round about the villages, teaching.

v. 7. And He called unto Him the Twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;

v. 8. and commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse,

v. 9. but be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.

Note: The people of Nazareth rejected the Lord, they wanted nothing of Him; but that did not discourage Him nor cause Him to abandon His work for others—a significant hint for us in the work for Christ. And while He was making His journey through the villages of Lower Galilee, continuing His labors in the Word, He taught His disciples. The Twelve were now to become His associates; they were, in a measure, to work in an independent capacity. And for the beginning of this work He gives them special instructions. To make their ministry somewhat easier, to give the individual a sort of moral backing, He sent them forth two by two. As a necessary part of their equipment, that they might substantiate their mission, He gave them power over unclean spirits, over demons that were wont to torment people. The authority and the ability to command these evil spirits argued for a power beyond human endeavor, and would thus give their preaching the necessary prestige. Their luggage, dunnage, or duffel for their journey was to be kept at the minimum. They should take nothing on the trip, for the way, not even a staff, no bread, no hand-bag, no money in their girdle; literally: He gave them instructions not to take anything for their trip, not only not a staff, no bread, not a sack, no money in the girdle, but be provided with sandals, also not to put on two tunics. What the Lord said in these words is plain: It is not at all necessary that you be fully equipped for your preaching-trip; you are not going out for a vacation journey, but to labor in the ministry of the Word. The sack of which the Lord here speaks throws an interesting side-light upon customs in those days. "The wallet mentioned is now seen not to have been a mere traveling-bag, as was formerly supposed, but almost certainly a beggar’s ’collecting bag,’ such as peripatetic religious teachers were accustomed to carry at that time, for it is called by this same name. Our Lord means to teach that His disciples are to go out as laymen, not in any special ministerial garb or making any special claim of mendicant piety, but nevertheless dependent for their living upon those who receive the Word. " Those that serve the Gospel should not be weighted down by a great deal of earthly baggage, should not be involved in the business of this world, lest their ministry be harmed and the effect of their preaching be spoiled. "They should speak or do nothing for the sake of money, favor, honor, not set their hearts upon money, honor, goods. The ministry of the Word seeks something different, has a different object, namely, eternal salvation and the honor of God."

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

We heard before, chap. 3, of our Saviour’s solemn calling his apostles to their work and office; now he sends them forth to execute their office.

Where observe, 1. The person that sends them forth; Christ.

Learn thence, That none ought to take upon them the office of preaching, or any other ministerial function in the church, till thereunto lawfully called by Christ himself, and received the doctrine which they taught immediately from Christ’s own mouth. His ministers now are called immediately, they receive their authority from Christ by the hands of the governors of his church.

Observe, 2. The manner of their sending, by two and two in a company: partly to make their message of more authority; partly to testify their mutual consent in the doctrine which they taught; and partly to comfort and encourage, to help and strengthen, to assist and support each other: in imitation of this example, the Jesuits send forth their emissaries by pairs.

Learn hence, That the ministers of the word do stand in great need of the mutual help and comfort, of the united assistance and encouragement of each other, in the weighty duties of their calling and function; like labourers in the harvest-field, they should help one another, the strong endeavouring to strengthen the hands of the weak.

But, Lord, what tears are sufficient to bewail the want of love and unity, yea, the prevalency of that fear and malignity which is found too often amongst the ministers of the gospel! So that instead of going forth by two and two, happy is he that is alone in a place. Well might Melancthon bless God, when he lay a-dying, that he was going to a place where he should be freed from the implacable hatred of divines. This is, and ought to be, for a lamentation.

Observe, 3. The power given by Christ to work miracles for confirming the doctrine of the gospel which his apostles preached; he gave them power over unclean spirits, and they cast out devils, and anointed with oil them that were sick, and healed them. This power to work miracles was necessary for the apostles; partly to procure reverence to their persons, being poor and unlearned men, but principally to gain credit and authority to their doctrine; for the doctrine of faith in the Messiah, as now come, and exhibited in the flesh, being a strange and new doctrine to the Jews, the truth and certainty of it was to be extraordinarily ratified by Christ’s and his apostles’ miracles, some of which were casting out of devils; and by anointing with oil, to heal and recover sick persons. This gift of healing remained some time in the church, as appeared by St. James, Is any sick? Anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, Jas 5:14.

Where observe, That the apostles did not use oil as the instrument and means of healing, (for then the cure had not been miraculous,) but only as a symbol of the cure, or as an outward sign and testimony of miraculous healing: which outward sign was for the strengthening of the faith of such as were healed; assuring them, that as certainly as their bodies were anointed, so certainly should their health and strength be restored.

The Papists upon this ground their sacrament of Extreme Unction; but very vainly: for the apostles anointed those that were sick, as a sign of their recovery: but the Papists anoint those that have the pangs of death upon them, that their sins may be blotted out, and the snares of the devil avoided.

Observe, 4. The charge given by Christ to his apostles at the time of their sending out. This is threefold: first, Touching their preparation for their journey, he bids them not take much care, nor spend much time in furnishing themselves with victuals, money, apparel, weapons of defence, and the like; only taking a walking-staff in their hands, because they were to finish their journey speedily, and to return again to Christ.

This command of our Saviour to his apostles, not to incumber themselves when going forth to preach the gospel, teaches his ministers their duty, to free themselves as much as possibly they can from worldly incumbrances, which may hinder them in the performance of their office and function, No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, 2Ti 2:4.

Secondly, Touching their lodging in their journey. Our Saviour advises them not to change it, during their stay in one place; but into whatsoever house they first entered, they should there continue till they departed out of that place; that so they might avoid all show of lightness and inconstancy, and testify all gravity and stayedness in their behaviour, this being a special mean to win authority to their persons and ministry.

Thirdly, Christ gives a charge to his apostles touching their carriage towards such as should refuse to give entertainment to them and their doctrine. They were to denounce the judgments of God against such contemners, by shaking off the dust of their feet for a testimony against them.

Thence learn, That the contempt of God’s ministers, and especially of their ministry and doctrine, is an odious and execrable sin, detested by God, and which ought to be abhorred by man: Shake off the dust of your feet. This action was emblematical, signifying that Almighty God would in like manner shake them off as the vilest dust.

Learn, 2. That wherever the word is preached, it is for a testimony; either for or against a people. For if the dust of a minister’s feet bear witness against the despisers of the gospel, their sermons much more.

Observe, lastly, The dreadful judgment denounced by our Saviour against the contemners of the apostles’ doctrine: Verily it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.

Where note, 1. That there shall be a day of judgment.

2. That in the day of judgment some sinners shall fare worse than others.

3. That of all sinners the condition of such will be saddest at the day of judgment who having lived under the gospel, have died after all in impenitency and infidelity: Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. He called unto him the twelve. For the commission of the twelve see notes on Matt. 10:1–42, and compare Luke 9:1–6. Matthew's account is much the fullest.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

Jesus sends his disciples out in sets of two to preach and to heal.

General Information:

Jesus' instructions in verses 8 and 9 can be reordered to separate what he told the disciples to do from what he told them not to do, as in the UDB. (See: Verse Bridges)

he called the twelve

Here the word "called" means that he summoned the twelve to come to him.

two by two

"2 by 2" or "in pairs" (See: Numbers)

no bread

Here "bread" is a synecdoche for food in general. AT: "no food" (See: Synecdoche)

no money in their belts

In that culture, men carried their money tucked into their belt. AT: "no money in their moneybags" or "no money"

translationWords

call

the twelve

send

authority

demon

staff

bread

sandal

tunic

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

7–13. THE MISSION OF THE TWELVE

Mat 10:1; Mat 10:5-15. Luk 9:1-6

7. τοὺς δώδεκα. The number is regarded as final, but we cannot be sure that they were already known as “the Twelve.” The expression is especially freq. in Mk (Mar 4:10, Mar 9:35, Mar 10:32, Mar 11:11, Mar 14:10; Mar 14:17; Mar 14:20; Mar 14:43).

ἤρξατο αὐτοὺς ἀποστέλλειν. They were appointed (1) to be with Him to be trained, (2) that He might send them forth to preach (Mar 3:14). The first of these purposes has been to some extent accomplished, and now the second is to begin. Note the ἤρξατο: the pairs were not sent out all at one moment.

δύο δύο. The more classical expression would be either κατὰ δύο (1Co 14:27), or ἀνὰ δύο, which [1332] has here, and Lk. has Mar 10:1 of the sending out of the Seventy-two. Cf. Mar 9:14. The double numeral (Gen 6:19-20; Gen 7:2-3; Gen 7:9, etc.) is not purely Hebraistic. We have μυρία μυρία, “by tens of thousands” (Aesch. Pers. 981), and μίαν μίαν = κατὰ μίαν is quoted from the Eris, a lost play of Sophocles: δήσῃ τρία τρία occurs in a papyrus of the 3rd cent. A.D. Deissmann, Light, p. 124. In the Gospel of Peter 9, and in the Acts of Philip 36, we have the two constructions mixed, ἀνὰ δύο δύο. The duplication occurs in modern Greek.

[1332] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mar 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

The advantages of pairs are obvious (Ecc 4:9-12). The Baptist had adopted this method (Luk 7:19; Joh 1:37), and we find it repeatedly in the Apostolic Church; Barnabas and Saul, Judas and Silas, Barnabas and Mark, Paul and Silas, Timothy and Silas, Timothy and Erastus. Our Lord and the six pairs now made seven centres of preaching and healing. Cf. Mar 11:1, Mar 14:13.

ἐδίδου. Here and in Mar 6:41, Mt. has ἔδωκεν, as usual preferring aor. to imperf. But as each pair was dismissed, He continued the bestowal of this ἐξουσία. It represents miraculous power of healing generally (Mar 1:39, Mar 3:15). It is strange to think of Judas having ἐξουσία to cast out demons. In the Testaments (Benj. Mar 6:2), “If ye do well, even the unclean spirits will flee from you”; cf. Issachar vii. 7.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7-13.] The sending forth of the Twelve. Mat 10:1-15.Luk 9:1-5Luk 9:1-5. See also Mat 9:36-38, as the introduction to this mission. The variations in the three accounts are very trifling, as we might expect in so solemn a discourse delivered to all the twelve.

See the notes to Matt.;—and respecting the subsequent difference between Matt. (ver. 16 ff.) and Luke,—those on Luk_10.

7.] δύο δύο (see reff.) is a Hebraism: see Winer, § 37. 3. The Greek expression would be κατά, or ἀνὰ δύο, as inLuke. Winer observes that the Syriac version always renders this latter expression by doubling the cardinal number. These couples are pointed out in Matt.’s list of the Apostles—not however in Mark’s, which again shews the total absence of connecting design in this Gospel, such as is often assumed.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7-13. Jesus sends out the twelve to aid him in his more extended work. His instructions to them.

Jesus is now engaged in one of those journeys through Galilee, in which he branches out from his more restricted work in the neighborhood of Capernaum, and instead of keeping the twelve with him after his ordinary custom, he sends them out in groups of two to help him in his work of proclaiming the kingdom, and preaching repentance, and healing the sick. His instructions, which are evidently practical in their nature, not ascetic, nor involving any important principle, are that they should not encumber themselves with any unnecessary outfit, nor spend their time in finding better entertainment than that which first offers itself in any place that they enter.

7. καὶ προσκαλεῖται τοὺς δώδεκα—This statement belongs immediately with the preceding περιῆγε τὰς κώμας κύκλῳ διδάσκων. Evidently, this mission of the twelve is for the purposes of this wider work undertaken by him. In this going around from place to place, this attempt to cover more ground than usual, he calls in the aid of his disciples. ἤρξατο ἀποστέλλειν—Since the appointment of the apostles, this is the first mention of such a general circuit as this, and hence this is designated as the beginning of Jesus’ sending them forth. So Meyer and others. Morison treats it as an idiosyncrasy of Mark’s, a part of his vividness of style. And I am inclined to agree with him, that the general use of this verb in the Gospels is periphrastic and peculiar, many of the cases not yielding to treatment. But it is not peculiar to Mk., and this is a case in which there is evidently a beginning pointed out.

δύο δύο—two by two.1 ἐξουσίαν τ. πνευμάτων τῶν ἀκαθάρτων—authority over the unclean spirits. This is to Mk. the representative miracle, being mentioned by him frequently as if it were by itself, where it is evident that it must have been accompanied by other miracles. See 1:39, 3:15, Tex. Crit. It was so accompanied in this case. See v. 13

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By two and two. To help and encourage each other, and also for fullness of testimony.

8 - 12. See Matthew 10.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.