Luke 9:1-6 Sending Out the Twelve
“Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.
“Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”
So, they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
“Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” It’s only been a short time since Jesus has chosen his twelve disciples. Now Jesus calls them together and gives them an assignment. Look at that list: power and authority over all demons, curing diseases, preaching the kingdom of God, and healing the sick. By now, the disciples are looking at one another in wonder thinking, “Who us? Jesus, do you really know us? Sure, we’ve been watching you, but you’re the Messiah. We’re just ordinary!” And things get even more challenging.
“And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.”
“Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”
Now the disciples are really griping! “Take nothing for the journey? Don’t take staffs or bags or food or money? Don’t even carry an extra tunic? Jesus, this could wind up in disaster!” Peter, James, and John look at Jesus with questions in their eyes, but Jesus simply smiles and nods his head. Peter shrugs his big square shoulders and turns to the other disciples. “OK, boys, guess we’d better get going, hadn’t we?”
The disciples start walking, preaching as they go. The first time Peter has to deal with a demon, there’s no chance to prepare. A man comes screaming out from behind some rocks, behaving very much like the Gadarene demoniac and threatening to strike Peter with a jagged rock. Peter finds himself shouting, “In the Name of Jesus, come out of him, you foul spirit and go back to the abyss!” Peter stands amazed as the man’s entire being changes, the evil leaves him, and suddenly the man begins to speak in a normal tone of voice, asking “What’s happened to me?” Stammering, Peter explains, and the man goes away rejoicing.
Then at the edge of town, Peter encounters two lepers. These poor fellows have lost most of their fingers and toes and one of them has only a stub of a nose left. But Peter remembers that Jesus has sent him, and he says, “In the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, be healed!” It’s tough to know who’s more surprised, the lepers or Peter. Suddenly, fingers and toes are restored, and all the leprosy sores disappear, replaced by clean new flesh. While these things are happening to Peter, the other disciples are having similar experiences. All the disciples can really do is to copy what they’ve seen Jesus do, but that’s enough.
In this age of certificates and diplomas, it’s tough to realize how short a preparation the disciples have had before going out to minister. Certainly, the disciples probably are hoping for more time, but Jesus wants them to learn something. Jesus wants the disciples to learn that the power is not in them, but in God. When the disciples are doing kingdom work, the King will show up and help.
I was a third-year surgery resident when we handled a very sad case. This nice lady had uterine cancer that had spread throughout her pelvis. Despite chemotherapy and radiation therapy, the tumors had continued to grow until you could see tumor distending the abdominal wall. The lady’s right leg was swollen due to venous occlusion, and she was suffering from blood clots going to her lungs. We had to insert a filter in the big vein bringing blood from her lower body to catch the blood clots. Then the lady had an appendicitis and we had to remove her ruptured appendix. This poor woman was about to be sent home to die when I anointed her with the hospital lotion at her bedside and prayed for her. All either of us was hoping for was for the pain in her right leg to get better, for nothing would touch that pain.
Two years later, I was making rounds on patients to be operated the following day. I entered a room, only to have the female patient tell me, “You don’t recognize me, do you?” It was this same lady! God had healed this lady completely, and now the only reason she was returning was because she had developed a small incisional hernia in one of her incisions. The tumors were gone, and the lady’s legs were both the same size. We had a glory party right there in the room!
Did I have faith for this lady’s healing? No. Did the lady herself have faith for her healing? No. But God showed up! The power wasn’t in me, but in God. God in his infinite kindness healed this woman, and I’m sure she was an encouragement to everyone who knew her or who heard her story.
Want to do miracles and heal people? Ask God to help you pray fearlessly and then trust Him to work. But realize that God might answer your prayers in many different ways. Edith Schaeffer, wife of the famous theologian Francis Schaeffer, has written a book entitled Affliction. In that book, Schaeffer describes different answers to prayers for God to relieve affliction. There are those who are miraculously healed, like the lady I described. These cases prove that God’s power is sufficient to heal. But far more common are those who are not healed miraculously but who are given the strength and courage to survive and even thrive in the midst of suffering. Sometimes people suffer for years, only to be healed miraculously after they have succeeded in giving God complete control over their situation, no matter what happens.
Why does God allow some people to have healing ministries while others don’t? Katherine Kuhlman saw nearly two million people healed through her healing ministry. Sometimes, people who were entering the building would be healed without even being prayed for. What such events tell us is that God is sovereign and can do whatever He wishes. When we trust God as faithful children, we never know how God might use us.
May God help us to go forward in the Name of Jesus, spreading the good news that the Kingdom of God can come into the lives of anyone who will ask and repent.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, thank You that the same power You gave the disciples is still available today and that You do not worry about our ability but only about our availability. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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