Twelve Disciples Walking Out Two by TwoBible World
9:2Luke 9:2
And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
He sent the twelve on their first mission as evangelists to proclaim that the kingdom of God had come near and could be entered by all who received the message. Preaching the kingdom and healing the sick were given as one connected, blended work that must not be separated into two works. With the commission they received authority and power in His name to cure diseases and to cast out devils and evil spirits. The gospel thus joined deliverance from sin with restoration of the body, so that healing in His name testified to His power to heal the soul. Care for physical suffering was to prepare hearts to receive spiritual truth, and the same twofold command still rests on ministers and workers to unite teaching with prayer and healing in the footsteps of the divine Healer.
Sending of the Twelve
Luke 9:2 records the sending of the first evangelists on their first mission, when Jesus sent the twelve to proclaim God's kingdom. Before being sent they had lived as members of His family, accompanying Him on foot through Galilee, sharing His toils and hardships, listening to His discourses, walking and talking with the Son of God, and learning from His daily instruction and life example how to work for the elevation of humanity. They had already ministered with Him to vast multitudes by arranging the people, bringing the afflicted to Him, promoting the comfort of all, watching for interested hearers, explaining the Scriptures, and teaching what they had learned, gaining rich experience every day. Yet they still needed much instruction, with great patience and tenderness, and He sent them forth as His representatives to gain experience in laboring alone while He was still personally with them to point out their errors and counsel and correct them. His setting of truths of Scripture in contrast with tradition against the perplexing teaching of priests and Pharisees had strengthened their confidence in God's word and in great measure freed them from fear of the rabbis and bondage to tradition, so that when separated from Him every look and tone and word would come back to them in conflict with enemies of the gospel.
They were sent out two by two rather than having one worker carry the work alone. Christ later sent the seventy in the same manner and gave them the same first directions He had given the twelve. That mission of the twelve, followed by the sending of the seventy to preach the kingdom and the gospel of truth, shows the work carried forward by placing others in responsibility and sending them to places where He would come afterward. Their sending into towns and villages was part of the gospel harvest, entering into labor begun by others and gathering its fruit. The harvest was ready and needed laborers, and those who reap gather fruit for eternal life and share joy with those who sowed before them.
The proclamation that God's kingdom had come near meant that the time of visitation had come. All who received the message and its Messenger could enter the kingdom, and the disciples under His direction were to present God's truth so people would take hold of the blessings within their reach. The commission sent workers throughout Judea without distinction between neighbor and enemy as part of the mission to save the world and free it from sin. By sharing what Jesus had made known to them and passing the good news of salvation to others, they were trained for individual service that would grow in reach until it extended to the whole world. That same commission teaches that service for Christ is the duty of every church member, with the whole life and its influence devoted to His work and love for one another marking His disciples.
The commission included Judas, who as one of the twelve was entrusted with evangelistic work and given power to heal the sick and cast out devils. He witnessed and personally experienced Christ's power, but holding the ministry did not mean he had fully surrendered himself to Christ, for Christ chose him and did not reject him for imperfection though he was not perfect. Commission and power did not by themselves make him a Christian, since becoming sons and daughters of God comes by doing the Word through daily conversion into an instrument sanctified and polished for the Master's use. Because he failed to be converted daily he remained subject to temptation, and his hereditary and natural tendencies were used to dishonor Christ and imperil his own soul. His case shows that mere registration of names in church books never makes Christians, and that knowledge of the truth without sanctification works out wrong characters, causes some to depart from the faith, does more harm because of that knowledge, and leads to confederacy with apostates and betrayal of sacred trusts.
Preaching Joined With Healing
Luke 9:2 sets forth one connected, blended work in which proclaiming and teaching the kingdom of God and healing the sick belong together and must not be separated into two works. Preaching, teaching, and healing are joined parts of one gospel mission, and medical missionary work is not to be separated from gospel ministry, for this united ministry is the work given to God's people to do now in fulfillment of the Scriptures. As they proclaimed the kingdom, the twelve were given authority and power in Jesus' name to cure diseases and to heal the sick. That power included casting out devils and evil spirits, exercised as they proclaimed the kingdom in His name.
The gospel so joined brings both spiritual life and bodily restoration, linking deliverance from sin with healing from disease. Healing done in Jesus' name testified to His power to heal the soul. Christ came as healer of both bodies and souls, and obedience to the laws of God's kingdom brings health and prosperity. Care for physical suffering was to prepare people to receive spiritual truth, and substantial time and labor were given to healing the afflicted.
The same twofold command to proclaim saving truth and to restore the sick, given with power to cure diseases, rests on ministers now to walk in the footsteps of the divine Healer who came to save lives. Prayer for the afflicted is to be united to teaching, with healing accompanying evangelical work, especially in large cities under the Holy Spirit. Done in close connection and cooperation with Christ, with a sense of the sacredness of His work, and with prayer that the Lord God of Israel will take afflicted cases under His oversight, this united ministry gives convincing power to the message and marks words and deeds with sacredness and evident heavenly inspiration. The united work continues through medical missionary service, including sanitariums, where people may learn of healing through Christ and receive care for both body and soul.
Institutions are to care for the sick through God-fearing physicians, nurses and workers, teaching healthful living and self-restraint, and providing wise care and wholesome food. Sanitariums can reach people from every class and open doors for the gospel, while the great Physician works with human effort to restore health of both body and soul. The verse commissions medical workers to join proclamation of God's reign with restoration of the sick, following Christ as the greatest physician ever on this sin-cursed earth. Power for this work comes from coming to the omnipotent reigning Lord, who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and thereby fits workers to be a blessing in restoring both spiritual and physical health to those who need healing. This work is carried forward by trained gospel workers who teach the truth, pray for the sick, and, when needed, treat them with natural remedies while depending on God, and teaching and healing together bring people to faith.
Preaching and healing are two influences that must not be separated, and God's commandment-keeping people must be one in carrying them forward together as one. They are not to absorb too much time and means by carrying the work too earnestly in one direction alone.
He sent the twelve on their first mission as evangelists to proclaim that the kingdom of God had come near and could be entered by all who received the message. Preaching the kingdom and healing the sick were given as one connected, blended work that must not be separated into two works. With the commission they received authority and power in His name to cure diseases and to cast out devils and evil spirits. The gospel thus joined deliverance from sin with restoration of the body, so that healing in His name testified to His power to heal the soul. Care for physical suffering was to prepare hearts to receive spiritual truth, and the same twofold command still rests on ministers and workers to unite teaching with prayer and healing in the footsteps of the divine Healer.
Sending of the Twelve
Luke 9:2 records the sending of the first evangelists on their first mission, when Jesus sent the twelve to proclaim God's kingdom. Before being sent they had lived as members of His family, accompanying Him on foot through Galilee, sharing His toils and hardships, listening to His discourses, walking and talking with the Son of God, and learning from His daily instruction and life example how to work for the elevation of humanity. They had already ministered with Him to vast multitudes by arranging the people, bringing the afflicted to Him, promoting the comfort of all, watching for interested hearers, explaining the Scriptures, and teaching what they had learned, gaining rich experience every day. Yet they still needed much instruction, with great patience and tenderness, and He sent them forth as His representatives to gain experience in laboring alone while He was still personally with them to point out their errors and counsel and correct them. His setting of truths of Scripture in contrast with tradition against the perplexing teaching of priests and Pharisees had strengthened their confidence in God's word and in great measure freed them from fear of the rabbis and bondage to tradition, so that when separated from Him every look and tone and word would come back to them in conflict with enemies of the gospel.
They were sent out two by two rather than having one worker carry the work alone. Christ later sent the seventy in the same manner and gave them the same first directions He had given the twelve. That mission of the twelve, followed by the sending of the seventy to preach the kingdom and the gospel of truth, shows the work carried forward by placing others in responsibility and sending them to places where He would come afterward. Their sending into towns and villages was part of the gospel harvest, entering into labor begun by others and gathering its fruit. The harvest was ready and needed laborers, and those who reap gather fruit for eternal life and share joy with those who sowed before them.
The proclamation that God's kingdom had come near meant that the time of visitation had come. All who received the message and its Messenger could enter the kingdom, and the disciples under His direction were to present God's truth so people would take hold of the blessings within their reach. The commission sent workers throughout Judea without distinction between neighbor and enemy as part of the mission to save the world and free it from sin. By sharing what Jesus had made known to them and passing the good news of salvation to others, they were trained for individual service that would grow in reach until it extended to the whole world. That same commission teaches that service for Christ is the duty of every church member, with the whole life and its influence devoted to His work and love for one another marking His disciples.
The commission included Judas, who as one of the twelve was entrusted with evangelistic work and given power to heal the sick and cast out devils. He witnessed and personally experienced Christ's power, but holding the ministry did not mean he had fully surrendered himself to Christ, for Christ chose him and did not reject him for imperfection though he was not perfect. Commission and power did not by themselves make him a Christian, since becoming sons and daughters of God comes by doing the Word through daily conversion into an instrument sanctified and polished for the Master's use. Because he failed to be converted daily he remained subject to temptation, and his hereditary and natural tendencies were used to dishonor Christ and imperil his own soul. His case shows that mere registration of names in church books never makes Christians, and that knowledge of the truth without sanctification works out wrong characters, causes some to depart from the faith, does more harm because of that knowledge, and leads to confederacy with apostates and betrayal of sacred trusts.
Preaching Joined With Healing
Luke 9:2 sets forth one connected, blended work in which proclaiming and teaching the kingdom of God and healing the sick belong together and must not be separated into two works. Preaching, teaching, and healing are joined parts of one gospel mission, and medical missionary work is not to be separated from gospel ministry, for this united ministry is the work given to God's people to do now in fulfillment of the Scriptures. As they proclaimed the kingdom, the twelve were given authority and power in Jesus' name to cure diseases and to heal the sick. That power included casting out devils and evil spirits, exercised as they proclaimed the kingdom in His name.
The gospel so joined brings both spiritual life and bodily restoration, linking deliverance from sin with healing from disease. Healing done in Jesus' name testified to His power to heal the soul. Christ came as healer of both bodies and souls, and obedience to the laws of God's kingdom brings health and prosperity. Care for physical suffering was to prepare people to receive spiritual truth, and substantial time and labor were given to healing the afflicted.
The same twofold command to proclaim saving truth and to restore the sick, given with power to cure diseases, rests on ministers now to walk in the footsteps of the divine Healer who came to save lives. Prayer for the afflicted is to be united to teaching, with healing accompanying evangelical work, especially in large cities under the Holy Spirit. Done in close connection and cooperation with Christ, with a sense of the sacredness of His work, and with prayer that the Lord God of Israel will take afflicted cases under His oversight, this united ministry gives convincing power to the message and marks words and deeds with sacredness and evident heavenly inspiration. The united work continues through medical missionary service, including sanitariums, where people may learn of healing through Christ and receive care for both body and soul.
Institutions are to care for the sick through God-fearing physicians, nurses and workers, teaching healthful living and self-restraint, and providing wise care and wholesome food. Sanitariums can reach people from every class and open doors for the gospel, while the great Physician works with human effort to restore health of both body and soul. The verse commissions medical workers to join proclamation of God's reign with restoration of the sick, following Christ as the greatest physician ever on this sin-cursed earth. Power for this work comes from coming to the omnipotent reigning Lord, who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and thereby fits workers to be a blessing in restoring both spiritual and physical health to those who need healing. This work is carried forward by trained gospel workers who teach the truth, pray for the sick, and, when needed, treat them with natural remedies while depending on God, and teaching and healing together bring people to faith.
Preaching and healing are two influences that must not be separated, and God's commandment-keeping people must be one in carrying them forward together as one. They are not to absorb too much time and means by carrying the work too earnestly in one direction alone.