There are two times that Jesus sent His disciples out to minister without Him. You can refer to them as practice runs for when He would be gone out of this world. We have come to the first of these missions. Before He sends them, Jesus gives them a long set of instructions that are recorded in the tenth chapter of Matthew. This is a long section of scripture, but I would like you to read through it one time in order to get an overview of what Jesus is trying to tell them. Many of the passages recorded in this chapter are restated in other connections within the gospels, meaning that Jesus used them on other occasions. You might also notice that these instructions appear to go well beyond the scope of their experience on this occasion. It is almost as if Jesus is beginning to prepare these men for what they will experience within their lifetimes. This chapter can almost be seen as a sketch of the early history of His church.

Over the next few days, we will sift through what Jesus says here and will look carefully at each section. For now, let me leave you with this idea. In this exercise, Jesus is able to multiply His own ministry by six within the small villages and towns of Galilee. It was as if six pairs of His ministry went forth and ministered. Isn’t that what the mentoring relationship of discipleship is all about? One person can only do so much when it comes to the task that Jesus left His church. He can see only so many people. He can influence only so many lives. Yet when someone teaches several people, his own ministry and influence are multiplied many times over. Dr. Alexander Bruce in his book, The Training of the Twelve, says, “This mission of the disciples as evangelists or miniature apostles was partly, without doubt, an educational experiment for their own benefit; but its direct design was to meet the spiritual necessities of the people, whose neglected condition lay heavy on Christ’s heart.” To the Pastors and the teachers who are reading this right now, does this describe your heart? Are you taking pains to train up people with the same heart as you have? Are you giving them opportunities within your community to reach those who lay heavy upon your heart? Your marching orders, as given by the Apostle Paul in the fourth chapter of his letter to the Ephesian church, are to become equippers. That’s all you are to do. Do you find yourself doing more ministering than equipping? Then maybe you have your ministry a bit out of kilter. As to that possibility, I will leave that between you and God.

Day 2 – Present Instructions

We are still in the tenth chapter of Matthew talking about the first time Jesus sent His disciples out in pairs to the lost villages and hamlets within the Galilean region to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven. His instructions break down into two distinct parts that we will talk about over the next couple of days. The first part can be found in the first fifteen verses. As you read these verses, notice the kind of instructions that He gives these men.

The first thing that I see is that it was at this point that these twelve men were given an unusual power. It’s not that Jesus noticed some latent talent within them that He developed into the ability to cast out demons or heal the sick. As His followers, these men were given the right to use His name, and with it His power, in order to do His work. There was a twofold purpose to this exercise. The first was for the spiritual growth of the twelve. The second was that these six pairs of men could greatly multiply His outreach. As Jesus’ representatives, these men had to do the kind of things that Jesus was doing in His ministry. Also these men would later remember this experience when they went forth after Jesus’ death. In the Book of Acts for example, we see a confident Peter and John heal a lame man at the gate called Beautiful by using the same name that they now used to do these kinds of miracles.

The second thing I notice is that the disciples were sent only to the Jewish cities, within the region of Galilee. In fact, they were expressly forbidden to preach to any Gentiles or in Samaria. The time would come when Jesus would give His Great Commission to go into all the world, but the disciples were not yet ready. The fact was they were still way too Jewish to be effective outside of their own people. They didn’t know about the cross or the resurrection. The only thing that they really knew was what they had learned from John the Baptist; that repentance was the first step to entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. This message would have no meaning outside of Israel.

Notice the tasks that Jesus charged them to do while they were gone. They were to preach and to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out the demons present in those with whom they came into contact. It was essentially the same mission that Jesus had spent most of His time doing up to this point. They were to use the miracles to gain a hearing and to preach about a Kingdom that was close at hand. The miracles were all done in Jesus’ name so that those the disciples came in contact with would not be wondering who these men were, but they would be left to ponder who this Jesus was.

Provisions for the journey would be just what these men normally carried on their persons. They would not be packing a lunch. Judas would not be dividing the group purse so as to give each man a little “pocket change.” It was necessary that these men begin to understand and live by the provision of the God they served. The great faith that these men were known for in the Book of Acts had its beginning right here in Galilee. Each time they stepped out trusting only in their master and the God they served, their faith grew as they saw God’s provision in their own lives.

Finally in Jesus’ instructions, we see that the disciples were given some measure of judgment. They were to enter into each town on the lookout for worthy people with deserving homes. It was with these kinds of individuals that the disciples were to stay with. It was to these kinds of homes that they would leave the kind of peace that only God can give. Of course, the opposite was true when the disciples failed to find a good reception to their message.

I’ve not seen any ceremony commissioning missionaries today that even closely resembled the charge that Jesus gives here. Normally when a missionary hears the call of God, the first thing that is done is that support is raised for the work for which God has called that particular missionary. I believe that a great deal of what Jesus spoke of here was for these men and for this time in their development. If you want to draw an application out of this chapter of scripture, it is not God’s will for our lives to simply attend a church and learn about Him. Jesus expects us to tell those He brings into our path about all that God has done for us. The second application you can draw here is that faith is developed in steps. Faith is never something that just shows up unannounced. You start out trusting God in little things and as you see that He is always faithful, you begin to trust Him more and more each day. Those are the lessons that I see that can be applied right here, right now.

Day 3 – Future Warnings

It is doubtful that Jesus said the words recorded in Matthew 10: 16-42 to His disciples at this time. There are two reasons that I believe this to be true. The first is that these words are not recorded in the parallel accounts of this event in Mark 6: 6-12 and Luke 9: 1-6. The second reason is that such a warning would have scared the living daylights out of the disciples. In this initial state of following Jesus, they would have been far more likely to go in pair right back to the relative safety of home if Jesus had said these words to them. I believe this is another example of Matthew teaching his readers on the reality of persecution when they choose to follow Jesus. To be sure these words were spoken by Jesus, it’s just that they weren’t spoken at this time in the disciples’ development.

When one takes on the mantle of discipleship, it is wise that we look at both the rewards and costs of such a move. Jesus said the very same thing when He would later advise people to count the cost of that discipleship. It is easy for us to become fascinated with the idea of pleasing our savior. It is easy to become wrapped up in the great rewards that await the disciple of Christ in heaven. It is also easy to overlook the kind of things that Jesus is talking about in this section of Matthew. So let’s take a look at what Jesus has to say.

The first thing that Jesus tells us is that persecution is going to come upon these men from three different sources. Persecution is going to come from men who want nothing to do with a God that they perceive might limit their own personal freedom. Persecution will come from those who worship religion instead of God because following Jesus upsets their own power base. It will come from the civil authorities for much the same reason as the religionist; Jesus upsets the natural order of things. I’m sure there are those reading this today who have seen persecution from at least one of these sources. Yet Jesus’ promise to us is that He will be right there with us, giving us the words that we need at the moment to defend our faith.

Second, Jesus teaches that He is the cause of all of the persecution. It is because men hate all that Jesus stands for that His disciples will also face persecution. We are not above our master. They persecuted Jesus and called Him Satanic, they will do the same to His disciples. If your wish is to make friends with all men, then being a disciple of Jesus is not something you should do.

Jesus’ third lesson to His disciples is that they are not to fear. The God whom we serve is more powerful than anything man can muster. There is nothing that man can do to you that will affect your eternity; only God can do that. We serve a God who cares deeply about even the smallest details of our lives. When we face opposition, we must always remember who it is that we work for.

Finally, I find that verses 32 and 33 make great marching orders for the disciple of Christ. For me it just puts it all in perspective. If we serve God, we must do so with all of our heart, mind and soul. All of our former relationships, even family ties, are now different. We serve a new master now and to do that effectively we must not let earthly relationships derail us from the task at hand. To be sure, we take to heart Jesus’ advice that we are to be as shrewd as snakes and as harmless as doves when we deal with people, but we are not to let persecution stop us from advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Day 4 – A Brief History of Antipas

As we move through the gospels, especially in the sixth chapter of Mark, we come to a part that seems to be almost a parenthesis. The events that Mark records in verses 17-29 take us back a bit in time to explain the final outcome of John the Baptist. In order to figure out what the big deal was, you have to have to open up a book titled Antiquities of the Jews by the Jewish historian Josephus. Let’s travel back in our story to the rule of Herod the Great.

Now in order for Herod to remain in power, he had to fight to stay on top of the hill. He had to placate and please Augustus Caesar. He had to placate the Jews and keep them happy. He also had to be on the lookout for those within his own family who would be a threat to both his life and his rule. Josephus records that Herod had five wives and various children by those wives. His first wife, Doris, bore him a son whom Herod named Antipater after his father. Antipater was the heir apparent to Herod’s throne. Unfortunately as he grew up, Antipater wanted to rule a bit before his father was done ruling. In other words, Antipater thought Herod was living a bit too long and wanted to correct the situation. Herod the Great discovered the plot and had his oldest son executed.

That event opened up the position of heir apparent, which then fell to his next eldest son, Alexander. If you go back to when Herod came to power, you have to understand that Herod was not Jewish, he was Idumean. In order for Herod to have some legitimacy to rule Israel, he married Mariamme I, who was of the Maccabean line that had ruled Israel for over three hundred years. With Mariamme, Herod had four kids, two boys and two girls. The boys were named Alexander and Aristobulus after their Macabean ancestors who had ruled in Israel’s past.

The relationship between Herod and Mariamme was one of mutual suspicion and outright hostility. She was also influenced by her mother; Alexandra who believed that rule of Israel should never have left their family. Add into the mix the fact that Herod’s sister, Salome, wanted to rid the world of the entire Maccabean line and their influence at court. As another sidelight you need to understand that Salome had also married into the Maccabean line to a man by the name of Costobarus, who was governor of Idumea. Earlier Salome had tired of him, denounced him and had him executed. All of this is so that you will understand the influences that Herod the Great was under.

Salome teamed with her mother, Kypros and allegedly caught Mariamme in a supposed plot to end Herod’s life and see her sons, Alexander and Aristobulus take over rule of the kingdom. Josephus goes into a lot of detail about the two boys and how they promoted their own innocence. After a mock trial, Herod ordered Mariamme and later Alexander and Aristobulus executed for treason.

The next in line for the throne was Herod Phillip who was married to Herodias at the time. When Herod the Great finally died and his will was validated by Rome, it divided his kingdom up among three of his sons, none of which were named Herod Phillip. Herod Phillip was given a nice house in Jerusalem and a comfortable income, but no power. That wasn’t good enough for Herodias, so she left him and charmed her way into the life of the younger brother, Herod Antipas, who was given rule over Galilee and Perea. It was John the Baptist’s criticism of that arrangement that caused him to be arrested by Herod Antipas. I will talk more about this tomorrow.

I only go into this history so that you can understand the background of what happened to John. It also helps when we look at Herod Antipas to understand what kind of man he was. The man does figure prominently in our story as he ruled part of Israel and would have viewed Jesus’ rise in popularity with much suspicion and fear.

Day 5 – Herod Antipas, a Character Study

As we left Herodias yesterday, she had been safely married to the next in line to rule Israel after the death of Herod the Great. Her plans were thwarted when the old tyrant had changed his will at the last minute. The new will had left his son, Herod Phillip, quite wealthy, but with no political power. What had started out as a guarantee that she would help rule Israel ended with Herodias being put on the proverbial shelf. Such an event was absolutely unacceptable to a woman with the ambitions of Herodias, so she set her sights and won the favor of Herod Antipas, who would rule both Galilee and Perea. It was on a visit to Jerusalem by Herod Antipas that the intrigue started. One can only imagine the scene as it unfolded. The end result was that it was agreed that upon Herod Phillip’s return from Rome, Herod would repudiate his marriage to his current wife, the daughter of King Aretas of Arabia and wed Herodias.

Antipas’ current wife caught wind of the plot and quite innocently got permission from Herod Antipas to visit his palace in Macchaerus. From that point it was an easy jump over the border to daddy’s house. Her father was quite understandably a bit upset over the whole affair. Upon Antipas’ return from Rome, he married Herodias even though both were married to other people. Such a thing was illegal under Jewish Law. While the Jewish leadership remained silent and did not criticize the marriage, John the Baptist was quite vocal about the situation.

We are in the gospel of Mark. If you could take a moment to read Mark 6: 14-20, you will see an interesting portrait of this man. From what we’ve said so far, one can easily understand that Herod Antipas was used to getting what he wanted. Most who opposed the king saw the business end of a sword real fast. He had learned those lessons quite well from his father. Yet, Herod Antipas had not had John killed, only imprisoned. We are given the reason for the hesitation in verse 20. There seemed to be a part of Herod Antipas that longed for the goodness that he saw in John the Baptist. Herod Antipas was one of those people who kept their religion separated from the rest of their life.

One can only imagine what Herod and John talked about during those long sessions lasting well into the night. We know from John’s ministry where his heart lay and the kinds of things that John would have told Herod about his lifestyle. Yet there had to be some tenderness in the words of John or he would have lost his head a lot sooner. What resulted from these conversations was a very conflicted Herod Antipas. If what John had told him about the coming Messiah was true, then to kill God’s anointed messenger would put Herod in bad with an angry God. Yet for Herod Antipas to believe John and to put his life right would have meant that he would have lost all of his power and wealth. That was something that he just wasn’t willing to do.

So Herod Antipas left John in a holding pattern, refusing to set him free either by releasing John or having him executed. In the end, his dilemma was solved by his wife. Most historians agree that the execution of John the Baptist was a turning point in Herod’s life. A few years later, after an unsuccessful war with King Aretas, Herod Antipas and Herodias were removed from power by Rome and sent into exile.

Herod Antipas’ lifestyle can be seen in a lot of people today. Perhaps there are some reading this who see too much of the man in their own lives. You flirt with Christianity, but are unwilling to give all of your heart to God out of fear for what you might lose. You go to church because it makes you feel good, but you hold back fearing what you will lose if your take the idea of discipleship seriously. To such people, I would say that you need to look at things from an eternal perspective. All that you treasure and hold important is going to pass. You can lose it all in the next recession. You can’t take it with you when you die. What Jesus Christ offers you will last for eternity. Herod Antipas chose the temporary and lost it all. John chose the eternal and is still enjoying the fruits of that decision. What will you choose?

Day 6 – Salome

She was born with the proverbial silver spoon in her mouth, the product of a strong willed mother and a weak father. For her upbringing, she had been taught to use her charms to gain the only thing that mattered, power. To describe her physically, one could only say that she was beautiful, but that beauty was only on the outside. Inside her heart and mind was only the constant lessons she had gained from her mother. She had learned early on that she could trade on her beauty. There were plenty of weak men without character that she could control. To be sure the world was run by powerful men, but she learned early on that they could be controlled and made to bend a certain way. All it took was to bat her eyes and stand in that way that could cause a man to forget what he was about and to desire only her.

She had danced well that night. It was quite unusual for someone with royal blood to become such a spectacle, but she rather enjoyed the looks in the eyes of the men that had ogled her. She knew that it was in those stares that true power lay. At the head of the table sat the “birthday boy”, her hated step-father. To see him looking at her in that way made her skin crawl. Yet even as he stared, she knew she had him right where she wanted him.

At the end of the dance, the applause was deafening. The adoration that was lavished upon her had built up her self-esteem to the point where she felt she was on top of the world. Then came the moment that was totally unexpected; her step-father actually offered her anything that she desired, up to half of his kingdom. In confusion she excused herself and fled the room to find the only person who could help her in her dilemma as to what to ask for. She knew her mom would know what to do. Upon telling her mom what her step-father had offered, she saw a gleam come into her mom’s eyes. It seems that her mom had wanted something for quite some time but was unable to get her new husband to grant her request. Salome knew about the Baptist. I mean who didn’t know about the man? As an evil smile cross Herodias’ lips, she carefully told her daughter what to ask for.

Quickly she swept back into the great hall in front of all who had gathered for the party and made her request known. Salome knew that Herod Antipas could not possibly fail to grant her request given the oath that he had just sworn in front of his guests. With the utterance of her request, orders were given to bring her the head of John the Baptist mounted on a silver platter.

There are a lot of examples of parenting that can be found in the Bible. Some of the examples are good and should be followed. Others, like our story today, are examples that should be avoided at all costs. Parents have a lot of influence over their children. Unfortunately the influence can be both positive and negative. Wise is the parent who makes God a central part of their parenting strategy. For those parents reading this today, let me ask a few questions of you. Do you pray daily for your children? Have you ever apologized to your child when you have blown it? Do you accurately share with your child everything about your own walk with God? Children can spot hypocrisy better than anyone on earth. If you want your child to have a solid walk with God, then you better be real with them and you better be authentic.

Day 7 – 5000 Hungry Men

The event that we are going to talk about today is one of the few miracles that appear in all four gospels, so we might be skipping around a bit. If you can grab something to hold your places, we will be in Matthew 14: 13-21, Mark 6: 30-44, Luke 9: 10-17 and John 6: 1-13. Each writer adds something the story so the only way to gain a full picture of what went on is to look at all of them.

After the disciples had returned from their first missionary experience, Jesus wanted to take them aside and rest. By that time, Jesus’ popularity had risen to the point where finding a place to be alone was quite a challenge. Mark 6: 30-32 says that they boarded a boat and headed for a solitary place on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Dr. Luke tells us that the intended destination was the area of Bethsaida, which was most likely the Bethsaide-Julias that Herod’s son Philip ruled. Apparently they didn’t sail too far from land because the people were able to follow them on land and were there when the band disembarked. Mark tells us that Jesus had compassion on the crowds and began to teach them many things. Both Matthew and Luke record that Jesus also did miracles that day.

The crowd must have been there for quite some time as all of the gospel writers report that there arose a concern from the disciples about the fact that no one had eaten. Since it was late and they were a long way from a grocery store, it was suggested to Jesus that He dismiss the crowd to allow them to enter into the local towns and villages to buy food. The disciples reacted with the wise and right thing to do given the circumstances. John’s narrative tells us that Jesus reacted to their concern with a question intended to try Philip. In verse 7, we see that Philip either had done an audit of the group’s financial wealth or just pulled a number out of his head that it would take more than eight month’s wages to even give each person a single bite of bread.

Andrew comes walking up with a small boy who was wise enough to pack a lunch. John tells us that the bread consisted of five small barley loaves. These loaves would have been the size of one of our dinner roles, and barley was the cheapest grain available on the market. Now I know that we have always viewed the two fish as being of a good size. Most pictures we’ve seen of this event even show them to be about a foot long. Unfortunately the Greek word the John uses for fish is in the diminutive tense. In other words, these fish were of the tiny variety. Such fish were about the size of one of our sardines and were often pickled and eaten with bread. You have to remember the whole package was originally intended to serve the needs of one small boy.

Both Matthew and Mark record that Jesus had the disciples get the crowed to sit down in the grass. Jesus then took the offered lunch and raised it towards the heavens, giving thanks to God, the provider, and started to divide the bread and fish for the disciples to distribute to the crowd. Matthew tells us that those who ate their fill that day numbered around five thousand men and then you had to count the women and the children present.

Finally Jesus sent the disciples through the crowd each carrying a small wicker basket to collect the leftovers. The narratives say that each disciple filled his basket with bread and fish. We’ll talk more tomorrow about the reaction of the crowd, but let’s draw some lessons for ourselves from the events we talked about today.

Over the years, I have been in groups where someone has uttered a statement something like this, “Why should I give? The church really doesn’t need the small amount that I can afford.” If we truly understand what Jesus is teaching us today, we would never even think this thought. The boy gave all he had and it was used by God to fill a multitude of need. That’s the God whom we serve. You can find no where in the Bible where God criticizes a person for the size of a gift given in love to Him. All He has ever asked of us is our all, and then He opens up the windows of heaven and pours out more than enough to fulfill the need. So the next time you drop your money into the plate, remember the God who you serve and wonder at the abundance that He will do when you give sacrificially.

Day 8 – Let’s Make Him King

In this country there never is a shortage of people who would like to be President. I suppose that is why there is rarely a time over the last several decades when there wasn’t someone running for the job. They may have not yet declared that they are running, but they are running none the less. As these people give us their view of what our country could look like, we begin the process of minutely examining this potential President to determine if they have the right stuff to lead our country and if they could do the job we want done. And so begins the vetting process where the people of this country are constantly bombarded by news about the various aspects of all of these candidates. One by one each Presidential hopeful falls by the wayside until there is left standing a single person to lead our country for the next four years.

I suppose the reason people would put themselves through all of this in order to gain free rent in a nice house is that they have a desire to do something with their lives that has great significance. Of course I understand that there are a lot of reasons someone would like to be President, but this one wo