Mark 6:6b - April 13, 2010

Mark 6:6b- “Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.” NIV

Mark 6:6 and the verses that follow present a powerful image of the emotional resilience of Christ. In the preceding verses Jesus concludes His time of ministry in His hometown with amazement at the people’s lack of faith. He has been hindered from performing many significant miracles during His time there because of this unbelief and the people have essentially rejected Him because they are familiar with Him. For many people this kind of negative reception at home would wound their sense of who they are. Their faith would be bruised and for a season they would move slowly and seek to recover their confidence so that they could move on. Not Jesus!

Verse 6 tells us that Jesus leaves this difficult encounter and immediately presses into a major season of enlarging His ministry. He responds to this negative reaction at home by going from city to city touching many people. He is not limping, He is sprinting! Not only does He increase His exposure in the region by touching many cities, He also increases the role of His team of leaders and commissions them to go forth as advance teams into the regions that He will soon visit to prepare the atmosphere for His ministry. This passage is such a powerful glimpse of Jesus the leader! He is not discouraged but instead it feels almost as if He is confronting this negative wave that has tried to suppress Him by applying an aggressive counterattack to strengthen His momentum!

Jesus initiates a new strategy of empowerment by establishing teams of two and sending them out with a master plan of expansion. This is a picture of bold confidence in what God has called Him to do and who He is as a person and a leader. He is sure of His calling and does not allow the reaction of one town to become the measuring rod of His ministry. So many of us will allow one bad experience to define us! This should never be! The calling of God is what dictates our sense of identity in regard to ministry. This is not to say that who we are revolves around our function, that is a separate topic but many people abandon their role of service to God because of one or two negative experiences rather than clinging to the clear word that God speaks to us. Joseph was tested by rejection before He was promoted to the place he had been called to. Moses was tested by failure as he sought to accomplish the will of God in His own strength. David was persecuted because of his successes and was forced to withdraw into hiding but it was only for a season. Jesus demonstrates a firm commitment to the calling that He has received and sets a powerful example for us of resisting the temptation to judge ourselves by human response rather than the measure of our obedience to God!

Don’t give up when you are faced with resistance. Go up! Reach to God and ask for the wisdom and strategy of heaven. When the Israelites were faced with failure in battle they sought God for the reason for their failure and what the clear path to victory was! Consistently God provided for them revelation that showed them why they had not received His blessing in battle and He was faithful to impart a plan of action that would usher in the triumph that they expected as they fought in His name. There is strategy waiting for you in God’s presence today. There is strength of heart waiting for you there as well. Strength that will carry you through the seasons of struggle as you hold firmly to the calling of God that He has placed upon you!