7.   And he calleth unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits; 8   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; 9   but to go shod with sandals: and, said he, put not on two coats. 10   And he said unto them, Wheresoever ye enter into a house, there abide till ye depart thence. 11   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. 12   And they went out, and preached that men should repent. 13   And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
      30.   And the apostles gather themselves together unto Jesus; and they told him all things, whatsoever they had done, and whatsoever they had taught.

Verse 7. How did He send them out? What is the advantage of two being together? Eccl. 4:9, 10; Deut. 32:30; Matt. 18:20. Comp. 2 Cor. 2:12, 13. Over what did He give them authority? Over how many kinds? Luke 9:1. (Did they always take hold by faith and use this authority with powers? Matt. 17:16-20. Whatever privilege or power the Lord gives men, then, must they lay hold of it, use it, and carry it into effect by faith?)

Verses 8, 9. What special instruction did the Lord give them as to equipment? Were these permanent instructions? Luke 22:35-38. Why did they lack nothing? Was the Lord's care any less certain after these first instructions were repealed?

Verse 10. Were they to change headquarters? Do preachers do well today to change their abode often while preaching at a place?

Verse 11. What would be the meaning of shaking off the dust? See Luke 10:10-12. Would it be serious to reject these authorized messengers of Jesus? Is it a serious matter today to reject a faithful servant of God? Is it a serious matter to receive and entertain teachers who deny the fundamental truths of Christianity? Note carefully 2 John 10, 11, in the light of 2 John 7 and 1 John 4:2, 3.

Verse 12. What was the burden of their message? How important is the place of repentance in the preaching of the gospel since Pentecost? Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; 26:19, 20.

Verse 13. By what kind of signs and works of power did the Lord enable them to confirm their message? Was it the natural healing power of oil that accomplished this effect? If it had been, would that have been any proof of the authority of their message? In James 5:14, 15--is it the oil, or the "prayer of faith" that is said to heal?

Verse 30. When they returned from their errand, what did they do? Ought the preacher or Christian worker today tell the Lord about his work, with all its successes and failures? Over what were the disciples (the seventy, whom Jesus sent out on the same sort of commission) especially rejoiced? Luke 10:17. What did Jesus say to that? Luke 10:18, 19. It is good to depend upon our successful labors for our joy and peace? Why not? What better foundation did the Lord point out to them? Luke 10:20.

THE FIRST MISSION OF THE TWELVE.

      This mission of the twelve stands in important contrast with the later mission, given in Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15, 16; Luke 24:46, 47; and [116] John 20:21-23. This was strictly limited to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel." They must not go into the highway of the Gentiles; and must not enter into any city of the Samaritans. (Matt. 10:5-7). The message also was strictly Jewish: "Repent ye"--that was the cry of the prophets down to John the Baptist; "for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand"--that was Israel's hope: the glorious kingdom of their Messiah of which the Prophets had foretold. John showed that their only hope of it turned upon their repentance. (Matt. 3:1-12); and Jesus told Nicodemus that apart from a new birth there would be no entrance for the nation.

      The second mission, after the Lord's resurrection, on the other hand was world-wide. (Acts 1:6-8). They were to begin at Jerusalem and preach the gospel to all the world. Up till then they were not even allowed to proclaim Jesus as the Christ (Matt. 16:20) but now "repentance and remission of sins" was to be preached "in his name;" and they were to baptize the believers "into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," teaching them to observe all things whatsoever Jesus commanded. (Luke 24:47; Matt. 28:19, 20). On the first mission the Lord made a special dispensation, which would preclude them from making the ordinary provisions for their necessities. Afterward this was rescinded; and while God's providential care over His own never slack, it would now be presumption to take unnecessary risks without such special instruction as the Lord had previously given.

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF LIGHT.

      When these messengers went out from the Lord they carried forth with them both a blessing and a judgment; a blessing to those who would receive them and their message; a judgment to those who would reject. The latter was as severe as the former was good. They were to shake the very dust off their feet, that not even that much of the doomed place should cleave to them: and Jesus said that the very cesspool of vice, Sodom and Gomorrah, should fare more tolerably in the day of judgment than these seemingly much better cities who had the opportunity of light and refused it. The gospel also is to some a savor of life unto life, and to others a savor of death unto death. (2 Cor. 2:16).

JOHN THE BAPTIST'S DEATH.

      Omitted from the regular printed lesson are verses 14-29, which relate the martyrdom of John the Baptist at the hands of Herod. Herod claimed to be, and was, a ruler in Israel, though under Roman suzerainty. John, performing the office of a prophet in Israel, was obligated to rebuke the sins of the people, especially of the civil and ecclesiastical rulers. This he did faithfully and fearlessly; and thus he sealed the integrity of the testimony he had borne to Jesus with his blood. In the story recorded by Mark, the implacable hatred of Herodias (Herod's unlawful wife) and the strange and weak double-mindedness of Herod are revealed. Herod knew that John was a righteous and holy man, and he feared him; sent for him often, heard him gladly, and was much perplexed--what a mixture of emotions! Here was a man who perceived the excellence of righteousness but was too weak to side with it; who would have liked to do right, but was the slave of his own passions and surroundings; who enjoyed the good preaching, but was perplexed and torn up in his own mind over it, without being at all able to make up his mind to follow the right--nor yet to determine absolutely upon the wrong as all such men do, he finally landed on the wrong side. In the midst of a drunken, sensual company, actuated by a false sense of honor, Herod gave orders for the execution of John the Baptist, though he was, of course, quite sorry to have to do it. The wicked deed haunted him, as verses 14-16 show. [117]

Source: Third Lord's Day Lesson of March. Lesson 11. March 17, 1918. Jesus Sending Forth the Twelve (Mark