8th Sunday after Pentecost
August 3, 2003
Mark 6:6b-13, 30
6:6bThen he went about among the villages teaching. 7He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 99 but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." 12So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. . . . 30The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. (NRS).
Jesus' Authority Extended.
Today's Gospel lesson has to do with authority. Jesus gives his authority to the twelve apostles and sends them out. This is important because we know about Jesus second hand, through the words and writings of these same apostles. We need to know that they spoke Jesus' word and acted with Jesus' authority. Therefore, God would have us understand that Jesus gave his authority to his disciples so that we might believe the Gospel.
A man named Frank Koch relates an experience from his naval service that will help us grasp the importance or this lesson. "Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on manoeuvres in heavy weather for several days. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog . . .
Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, 'Light, bearing on the starboard bow.'
'Is it steady or moving astern?' the captain called out.
The lookout replied, 'Steady, Captain,' which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.
The captain then called to the signalman, 'Signal that ship: "We are on a collision course, advise you change course twenty degrees."'
Back came the signal, 'Advisable for you to change course twenty degrees.'
The captain said, 'Send: "I'm a captain, change course twenty degrees."'
'I'm a seaman second-class,' came the reply. 'You had better change course twenty degrees.'
By that time the captain was furious. He spat out, 'Send: "I'm a battleship. Change course twenty degrees."'
Back came the flashing light, 'I'm a lighthouse.'
We changed course. 1
The captain had a lot of authority. He was the commander of a battleship, a huge and powerful ship. But the lowly seaman second-class had been given an even greater authority. He was in charge of the lighthouse. If there was a collision, the lighthouse would not suffer; but the battleship might rip apart on the rocks and sink! Therefore the battleship and it's higher ranking captain had to change course and give way to a lowly seaman.
Jesus' disciples were pretty ordinary guys, mostly blue-collar workers, self-employed craftsmen. They didn't have any reason or authority of their own to go out and tell people, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." But Jesus did. And just as someone had put the seaman in charge of the lighthouse, Jesus gave his authority to his disciples and sent them out on a mission.
He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. In Mark's view, it was an important detail that Jesus gave the disciples authority over unclean spirits, i.e., demons. This is the second time that he has mentioned this detail. For earlier, when Jesus chose the 12, Mark says, And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons, 3:14-15. This authority over demons was to be their lighthouse.
Up till now, the power to cast out demons has been the special authority of Jesus. Now he gives it to the 12. Later he gives the same authority to 72 other disciples he sends out. After that, there are only three other people mentioned who specifically have this authority: one is an unnamed exorcist casting out demons in Jesus' name, Mark 9:38; the second is the evangelist Philip, Acts 8:4ff; and the third is the Apostle Paul, Acts 16:18. If others had this authority, we don't know. Outside the Gospels, exorcism is hardly mentioned. Paul, for example, doesn't mention it in his letters, not even among the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12.
The point therefore, would seem to be that the authority to cast out demons was a special sign of authority. Few had it. Jesus had many encounters with demons. He subdued all of them with a command. This was a proof that, in Jesus, the kingdom of God had come. The ancient enemy, the devil, was defeated. This unusual authority then set apart the apostles. Like the seaman in charge of the lighthouse, it wasn't rank or social standing that counted, it was the lighthouse-in this case, Jesus' delegated authority over demons. The ability to cast out demons was one of their credentials. These apostles had something important to say to which others needed to pay attention. In the same way, Paul pointed to his credentials when some criticized him. The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, signs and wonders and mighty works. 2 Corinthians 12:12.
He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. Jesus wanted both his apostles and us to understand that this was his power at work. Therefore, he sent them out with nothing but his authority and commission. They had no fancy equipment or special scientific knowledge. They had only their time with Jesus, only the experience of seeing his authority at work healing people, controlling the forces of nature, raising the dead and casting out demons. Only in his name, as his agents, with his authority could they now go cast out demons. Paul summed up the lesson when he spoke of his ministry to the Corinthians. But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7.
Having Jesus' authority, their mission was serious. He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." They could expect many people to welcome them and their message. They could expect hospitality as Jesus' apostles. However, there would also be opposition and rejection as Jesus just experienced in Nazareth. In that case they were not to worry; they were not to soften their message so that others would accept it; they were not to shrug their shoulders and say, "That's their personal choice." No, they were to shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them. This is an act that says, "You are rejecting God's call to repentance. You will suffer the consequences. Your blood is on your own head."
So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. . . . The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. Jesus' authority was efficacious. They went and preached, cast out demons and healed. They weren't just some charlatans who showed up in town and tried to trick the people. These signs confirmed the authority they had received from Jesus. They spoke and acted in Jesus' name. Therefore, the call to repentance was from Jesus. Those who rejected the message rejected Jesus, the one who sent the apostles. Nothing was or is more serious.
Now Jesus gave the apostles his authority so that we might repent and believe the Gospel. We know about Jesus through their word. In other words, the apostles didn't go on a little preaching tour and then that was it. That was early training for what they did the rest of their life.
The captain of the battleship initially thought he was facing another ship and a person of lower rank than himself. He thought he could give orders. But when he found out that this was a lighthouse rather than a ship, he had to bow to a higher authority and take orders. He had to change his course. However, the message sent out to him was not a challenge to his authority and his ship. It was a message of salvation. The lighthouse warned of land that would sink the ship and kill the sailors aboard. You can think of Peggy's Cove and imagine what it would be like for a ship to hit those rocks.
In the same way, Jesus sends out his warning message: Repent and believe the Gospel. It's not so much a challenge to us as it is a sober warning of disaster ahead that we can avoid only by changing our course, i.e., by repentance and faith in Jesus. We might say that the battleship captain needed proof that he was the one who needed to change course. He got it when the seaman told him that he was facing a lighthouse. We too probably want some proof that it is we who must change course to avoid disaster. That proof was Jesus' authority to do miracles like casting out demons extended to his disciples, ordinary seamen. In his name, they too did extraordinary miracles and, as Luke says, turned the world upside down. Jesus gave his authority to his disciples that we might believe the Gospel.
The warning call to repent and believe the Gospel continues. Now is the time that we can change course and avoid disaster. The problem is that we're like the battleship captain. We would rather challenge Jesus' authority with our own. We would rather point out our accomplishments and our human rights as we sail headlong into certain disaster. It's not that Jesus wants to humiliate us, it's just that the truth hurts. And the truth is, that without him, we will suffer God's judgment. We will hit the rocks and pay the price for our rebellion against God. We will die in our sin. But that's not necessary! Jesus is the lighthouse. His word warns us of the danger and tells us how to change course. He tells us to turn from our own ways, to repent, and to trust in him.
Our current national debate over same-sex marriage is a good example of this struggle. Some people are issuing a challenge to the country in the form of their personal rights. Others shout back with the warning that this is against God's design. If we don't change course, we will suffer disaster. The latter are right! If we insist on our own way, we are going to hit the rocks and drown like the people of Noah's day. Yet God has put a lighthouse out to warn us: his word. We can have confidence in that word. We can change course before it's too late and avoid the rocks.
Jesus gave his authority to his disciples that we might believe the Gospel. That authority continues through the ministry of Jesus' church. Just as Jesus sent out the apostles, he created the Church. I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it, he said (Mt 16:18). That church, Paul says, is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone (Eph 2:20). Yet, even though, in his church, Jesus works through people like the disciples and you and me, the authority and power are still his. If your Baptism removes your sin and makes you a member of God's kingdom, it's not because I say so or Luther said so. It's because Jesus said so. We can trust that and change our course appropriately. If the Ten Commandments are the best principles by which to live, again, it's not because Moses or any philosopher said so. It's because God said so. And so it is for the whole of God's word. It may be given to us in the form of a book, but it is still the truth that saves us.
The battleship captain received his warning from a seaman flashing a light. Nevertheless, it saved his ship! Jesus warns us through his apostles to whom he extended his authority. It is Jesus' warning, Jesus' word, Jesus' authority. Trust it and change your course.