East Valley International Church views the digital world not as a distraction from faith, but as a new frontier for it—a wilderness where hearts still wander, searching for light. As the Spirit once hovered over the waters at creation, so He now moves through signals and screens, carrying grace through pixels and presence through code.

Our use of tools like Anthropic’s ClaudeAI, is not an escape from ministry but an expansion of it. Tradition must serve Jesus, never stand between Him and those longing for hope. Whether it’s a livestream, a message thread, or a prayer whispered into a phone at midnight, our goal is the same: that every digital doorway might open into divine encounter.

The gospel has never fit neatly into our expectations. Jesus broke boundaries, healed on forbidden days, and brought joy where emptiness had taken root. The same Spirit who spoke from burning bushes and called prophets from obscurity now speaks through technology, social platforms, and AI alike. The methods evolve, but the miracle remains unchanged—God is still seeking the heart that will listen.

This Sunday, Pastor Joey Sampaga led us through Luke 9:1-6—The Call To Go: Sent With Power & Purpose—a story of how Jesus sent fishermen, tax collectors, political zealots, and common laborers on a mission of redemption. Jesus chose them, trained them, and sent them out.

Approximate reading time: 20-30 minutes.

Download the PDF to print at home (15 pages): The Call To Go: Sent With Power & Purpose

[Click here] to read the full transcript of this sermon [Click again to close]

(Due to variable audio quality—including background noise, unclear speech, or recording issues—this transcription may contain errors or omissions not present in the original recording. For complete accuracy, please refer to the audio itself or consult with participants about any uncertainties in the text.)

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Good morning. How’s everyone doing? It’s nice to see all your smiling faces. Do me a favor, let’s sing Happy Birthday to Kuya Ed since he wasn’t 60? 62. Okay, good. All right, I just want to be calm. All right, so let’s also keep in mind to pray for Sister Bina, I think Cheryl’s sister who’s going into surgery today, right? She’s in the operating room now, so… Also pray for the Canedas as they travel. And pray for Puya Dani and Akinenda as they are recovering. And then also for Brother Aaron over there with his hand. I’m glad he’s here. So he can come back and play some guitar for us whenever he’s ready, of course. So keep them in prayer.

All right, so last week, Pastor David preached on the faith the woman who was bleeding for years, if you recall that, as well as for Jairus’ daughter. Jairus, who had a tremendous failure, knowing that his daughter is going to be healed. Today we’re going to be in Luke chapter 9, so if you have your Bibles, which I hope you do, get to Luke chapter 9. Let’s go ahead and open in prayer.

Lord God, help me, Father, to thank you for calling us not only to follow you, but to represent you. And Lord, as we open your word today, help us to understand what it means to be sent, to trust you, rely on you, and to share your message with the world around us. Lord, I also lift up Auntie Cheryl’s sister, Vina, to you. Lord, be with her. She’s going through her surgery. Lord, we also lift up the Kanedas as they travel, and Lord, we pray for Keodani and Nenna as they recover from what they’re recovering from, and of course for Brother Aaron that he blew his hand, but he’s able to use them as he’s supposed to.

Lord God, we also praise you for Kuya Ed’s birthday. Father, we ask that you teach us through your Spirit and give us courage to obey and to absorb your word today as it’s being preached. Lord, be with everyone. Give them a clear mind. Give them a clear conscience. And if there’s anything that’s on their minds right now that’s stressing them out or causing them anxiety, Lord, I ask that you just remove that from them as your word is being preached. And of course, Lord, as I’m preaching, use me as your vessel. Allow me to be filled with your spirit and for your spirit to speak through me. Father, we love you, we praise you, in Jesus’ name, amen.

All right, I want to set the scene here for this sermon. Now, up to this point in Luke, Jesus has done ministry pretty much all himself, right? So he’s preached the good news, he’s preached about himself, he healed the sick, he cast out demons, and even raised the dead. Now the disciples have been following, they’ve been learning, and they’ve been watching, and they’ve been experiencing Jesus’s miracles that he’s been performing.

Now in Luke chapter nine, the training shifts, right? So Jesus is about to send them out to do what he has been doing, but this time without him physically deciding them, right? So he’s gonna send them out two by two as we’re going to learn. And so the one who became the teacher, or who is the teacher, Jesus, he’s now sending out his disciples to go out and preach the good news. He gives them authority to cast out demons to heal the sick, to basically do what he has been doing.

So that’s where we start with Luke 9. Luke 9, verse one and two, and all, and he called the 12 together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. And he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. So this here is the turning point. Jesus isn’t just making believers, he’s making messengers. So whenever we’re learning things here, You don’t just become hearers, you become doers. You now become the messengers of Jesus. You don’t just become the learners, you now go out and be the messenger.

Mark’s gospel tells us in Mark 6-7 that Jesus sent them out two by two. Why two by two? For encouragement. Because ministry can be lonely. Right? For accountability. They could strengthen each other, they could encourage each other, they could exhort each other, they could pray for one another. And for credibility. In Jewish law, truth was confirmed by at least two witnesses, right?

So Matthew 10, which is another account, gives us a little more detail, which is a whole chapter of Jesus’ instructions. Matthew tells us who these 12 men were and what kind of hearts they had. You’ve got to think about it. They were Christians. They were ordinary people. They weren’t scholars. They weren’t teachers. They were tax collectors and sinners. Most of them weren’t spiritually mature. But Jesus chooses them anyway. He’s showing the work of God doesn’t depend on ability, but depends on availability. And I mentioned that earlier during our class. So it doesn’t depend on ability, but on availability. Are you available? It’s not about what you know. It’s not how much you know about the Bible. But it’s about what God has done in your life. Your witness. Your testimony.

That’s why it’s good to practice our testimony. And you want to practice that in different forms and different lengths. You want to have… Maybe the entire story of your testimony. And then you want to have a 30-minute one, or a 20-minute one, or a 10-minute one, or an elevator speech. Because it all depends on the situation.

But you don’t want to stop with your testimony. You also want to move, well, ultimately you want to get to the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ. You want to be able to share the gospel. A lot of people, or not a lot of people, but some people, they would share their testimony, and sometimes it goes so long that they don’t get the chance to share the gospel. The reason why God gave you your testimony is to share it, but ultimately to basically be the icebreaker to get into the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because it’s the gospel that saves, not your testimony. I mean, it’s good to hear about your testimony, but ultimately it’s the gospel that we want to get to.

All right. So in verses one and two, Jesus calls the 12 together and he gives them power and authority.

Now power means the ability to do something. In Greek it’s dunamis, dunamis. And then authority means the right to do it. In Greek it’s exousia, exousia. So they’re not going out in their own strength or their own cleverness or their own ability. They’re going out in Jesus’ name under his authority. And we too are given that authority to go out and share the gospel. In Matthew 10.1, it says, And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal every disease and every affliction. So in other words, Jesus gives them permission to act on his behalf. They’re his representative. They’re his ambassadors.

So their mission is simple, but it’s powerful. It’s to preach the kingdom of God, to go out and heal the sick, to cast out demons. That’s what God, or that’s what Jesus, gave them authority to do. So these three go hand in hand. The message shows people their need for salvation, and the miracles show them the compassion and the power of God.

So the kingdom message is this. God’s reign is here. So we’re going out two by two to say God’s reign is here. The king has come. Who’s the king? Jesus. So every Christian today is called to carry that same message.

Now, you probably, or we probably, aren’t given the authority to heal the sick or to cast out demons, but you carry the power of the gospel, which Jesus has given that authority to us to go out and share the gospel of Jesus Christ, to make disciples, right, to teach people God’s word. So the power to change hearts, families, and eternity. Because the gospel is the power, the only power to salvation. And it’s only the gospel that can transform, that can change hearts.

And what we’re to do is to share the gospel. And I mentioned this earlier, our, in the class that is, our mission is to go out and share the gospel with and then allow the saving to be done by God. So that takes a lot off of our back, doesn’t it? We’re not there to prove to people that our ability to speak and to convince people to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we don’t have to have that burden on us. The burden is on God. And really, it’s not a verdict for him, but he is the one who saves, not us. We can speak very little, we can speak a lot, but it’s going to be up to God to save. So you don’t have to worry about that.

Now look at the next part, verse 3.

And he said to them, take nothing for your journey, no staff, no pad, no bread, no money, and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there. And from there departs. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town, shake off the dust of your feet as a testimony against them.

So that’s a pretty unusual packing list, isn’t it? I’m sure, and I’m just going to guess, and I’m going to talk about them because they’re not here. I’m sure when Adelani packed, she probably packed two suitcases. Brothers Endy probably packed the bag. But what did God tell them to pack? Nothing. Practically nothing.

Basically, Jesus said, I want you just to go with whatever you have on right now. He’s teaching them to depend completely on him, on God. And when you’re sent out by God, your security is in your wallet, or your skill, or your connections, it’s in Him. You know, and I know that’s how the missionaries that, oh gosh, my memory is bad here, that Kuya Allen and Brother Zenji went out with. What’s the name of that? What is it? Mission School. It’s called Vision School. They went out there. I think they were given a little bit of money, but other than that, they said, okay, you guys just go out and drop them off in the town, and then they just leave. And they’re to go out and start speaking with people, to start sharing the gospel.

Not so much to proclaim it out loud. But it’s to go talk with people, and if there’s a family that decides to take them into the house, then they stay with them. And usually that family would provide for them with their meals, and sometimes they would ask them to stay the night. They didn’t bring much with them. They just trusted on the Lord. And that’s what the apostles did, and that’s how vision school, they modeled their mission trips based on this.

Now Mark chapter six, verse eight and nine adds, he charged them to make nothing, to take nothing for their journey except a staff. No bread, no bag, no money in their belts. But to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. Y’all know what a tunic is? What’s a tunic? It’s like a robe, it’s like a little jacket, right? A sweater.

And in Matthew chapter 10, verses 9 and 10, it says, So he’s basically saying, don’t go to churches. Don’t go ask your neighbors or your friends or your family for them to take care of you, to sponsor you. Just go out where I tell you to go. And that’s what they did.

All three accounts in Luke, Mark, and Matthew, they emphasize the same thing. What is that? To trust in God to provide. So they weren’t out to run from house to house looking for better accommodations or bigger meals or saying, ooh, these people over here are serving better meals. Let’s go over there. Or this person over here has a nicer house. Let’s stay there.

It’s whoever or whatever house you enter, stay there, is what he’s saying. Be content where God places you. Right? That’s a good lesson for all of us. Be faithful where God plants you before he moves you somewhere else.

Now, I know that, you know, when we go out on missions, and Brother David and Sister Kendra can attest to this, that, you know, they would maybe ask for sponsors to go out because that gives us a little bit, or that gives them a little bit more, you know, like support or, you know, they know that they’re going to be taken care of. And it definitely is God who takes care of them. But imagine just going out without any support and just saying, Lord, I trust you. Do you think he’d provide? I would say yes. Absolutely.

And so Jesus was also saying that when people rejected them, shake off the dust from your feet. As a testimony, just go. Go. In that culture, Jewish travelers should shake dust off their feet when leaving Gentile territory. Symbolizing separation from unbelief. So here Jesus applies that same math to any town who rejects the gospel.

You know, and we ought to do the same thing. When we’re sharing the gospel and all they’re doing is wanting to debate with you because they’re saying that they’re right, well, you don’t want to, you don’t need to continue on with sharing the gospel with them. It’s like throwing pearls to swine, right? They’re just going to trample all over the gospel. They’ll trample all over the pearl that you’re trying to give them.

So you want to only move to sharing the gospel when you see the conviction. And the more you start to do it, the more you start to recognize, oh, I’m taking this person through the Ten Commandments, and oh, I’m seeing that their face goes from smiling big to kind of just being sad about you know, or they’re being convicted by the Holy Spirit, you can see it in their face.

Then you continue to share the gospel. But if they continue wanting to always bring up a different subject, you know, when you’re talking about the gospel and all of a sudden they say, well, what about the Bible? Oh, what about the earth? Is it really 4,000 years old? Or what about this? Or what about that?

Well, you can just say, well, God bless you. And then just pray for them. You don’t have to pray with them. Pray for them. Let them go. Find someone else to share the gospel with, right? So it’s not about anger or judgment when they were dusting off their feet. It’s about responsibility. You’ve done your part. You’ve shared the gospel. You’ve planted the seed.

Now the decision is between them and God. Actually, it’s just on God. It’s His decision if He wants to save them or not. Hearts softened by the Holy Spirit to receive that, to receive God’s word? Are they going to respond in a manner where they’re going to receive the Lord Jesus as Lord and Savior? Are they going to repent from their sins? Or are they going to continue to live the life that they’re living in this world?

So when you share Christ with someone, you’re not responsible for how they respond. And I want you to remember that. You are not responsible for how they respond, only for being faithful to share the gospel. That simple.

Sometimes the hardest part of ministry is knowing when to move on. And Jesus reminds us, do your part, then trust God with the rest.

Oh, Pastor Joey, I don’t know how to share the gospel. Well, learn it. God made it so simple that a seven-year-old should be able to understand the gospel. What is the gospel world? John 3.16 is a good way to describe it in a nutshell. Christ died for sinners. And if they believe that Christ did die for sinners, then they will not perish but have eternal life. Really simple.

And you just go on a little bit more. When Jesus died on that cross, what happened? He took his body down, and then what? He buried him. And then after he was buried, on the third day, what happened? God raised him from the dead.

There were about 500 witnesses he saw of his resurrected body, and then he ascended into heaven and seated at the right hand of the Father, and now he will come. Eventually, he will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Now, that’s the simplicity of the gospel. And that’s how you share it. And when you share it in that manner, then you say, God, do your thing. They’re either going to accept it, or they’re going to reject it. And that’s not on you. Not on you.

Verse 6. And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everyone. So they went, no hesitation, well, probably no hesitation, no questions, no excuses, they just went. They simply obeyed. And they went, As they went, God worked through them.

Mark 6, 12, and 13 tells us what that looked like. It says, So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

So notice what they preached. They preached repentance. Repentance. Because at that time, Jesus didn’t go to the cross. He didn’t die. He wasn’t resurrected yet. Right? But it was still the gospel. It’s still the truth. It’s still the good news.

Same thing with John the Baptist. He was preaching repentance because Jesus had not died, buried. He wasn’t buried. He wasn’t raised yet. So they preached what they knew when Jesus had asked them to preach.

I’m kind of curious though, you know, with Judas being there, I wonder if he was out there preaching. If he was out there sharing the gospel with people. It makes me wonder. I’m going to guess he did. I’m going to guess he did.

And it doesn’t matter where the gospel comes from because God’s word never comes back void, right? He uses even the unbelievers to bring people to himself. That’s how merciful and graceful God is. He can use evil. He can use unbelievers. He can use bad situations, trials, and tribulations to bring people to himself. That’s why God is God.

So their message wasn’t, the apostles’ message wasn’t about feeling good or living better lives. It wasn’t if you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, your life is going to be better. Your wallets are going to be full, and your bank accounts are going to be a lot bigger. It’s not about that.

They didn’t preach about if you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, your health is going to be better, that your life is going to prosper. It’s not about that. Unfortunately, there are a bunch of false teachers out there preaching that, right? And guess what? That tickles the people’s ears.

And that brings them to that church or to that preacher because these false teachers are preaching what people want to hear. They don’t want to hear about repentance. Oh, I have to stop doing what I love to do? Like partying and having sex before marriage and all of this stuff that I like to do? I have to stop that now? Hmm.

Or they don’t like to hear, oh, we’re going to hell? We don’t put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ? Well, the Jesus that I know, the God that I know, will never send me to hell. Never sends people to hell. Really.

Right? These prosperity preachers, they only preach what people want to hear. That’s why they have full houses. You know, and I know one in Texas where that’s, it’s like a stadium or like an arena of 25,000 people every single Sunday. That’s a lot of people. Look at us. We’re like a board. Max. And I’m hoping we grow because of God’s word, not because of the prosperity preacher being up here at the pulpit.

I want us to grow because people want to hear the truth, not what they’re hoping to hear of wealth and good health.

So everywhere the apostles went, people were healed, demons were cast out, and lives were changed, all because these 12 ordinary men obeyed an extraordinary Satan. Right? Can God give us the power to heal people? I don’t know. I mean, he could. Let me take that back. I know he could, but does he still do? Well, they say some people believe that that type of authority that was given to the apostles weren’t given to us, or God ceased to give that authority to go out and heal people or to raise people from the dead or cast out demons. I don’t know for sure. There’s two camps to offer.

So we may not travel from town to town all the time, but every one of us is sent. We are sent. Every time you show kindness, you pray with someone, or share what Jesus has done in your life, you’re living out that same mission. Because ultimately, you will have that chance to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. And when we obey, God still works through us. Not because we’re powerful, but because he is.

We only have the authority that God has given us, and that’s a pretty big authority, isn’t it? That’s a big responsibility that he’s given to us, and we are blessed to have that. But do we take advantage of it? Do we actually do it? Do you do it? Do I do it? Right?

It’s easy for me to stand up here at the pulpit and preach to those who are coming in to hear God’s word. But would I go out in the street and get on a microphone and start preaching openly? That’s a little bit harder, isn’t it? Because here I’m not going to get much conflict. Much people debate it. And because this is a sermon, it’s only a one-way communication. It’s me to you. In Bible studies, yeah, we have a dialogue. But here, you can try and say something, and I might answer. But typically, a sermon is one way.

Now, just because it’s one way, you still have to hold the password down to make sure that I’m preaching truth. and not health, wealth, and prosperity.

So while we obey, God still works through us.

So this story isn’t just about the 12. God put this in the Bible for a reason. It’s to prescribe to us what he wants us to do. The same Jesus who sent them out then still sends us out today. He put this in the Bible for us to learn, to understand Jesus sent them out. And guess what? Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he gave us that command to go out and share the gospel.

Jesus left heaven. Well, think about this for a second. Jesus, he modeled this. He modeled what he was telling the disciples to do.

Jesus left heaven with no dad, no Bible, no money, no comfort, no wealth. He relied completely on the Father’s will. God sent him to this world as a humble human baby while at the same time, him still being fully God. Fully human, fully God.

And he was rejected by many, but remained faithful to the end.

We’re talking about Jesus, the God-man, who was rejected by many, who was ran out of town, and even in his own town, where he grew up in Nazareth, they wanted to throw him off the cliff, didn’t they? And then you have the religious leaders wanting to stone him to death. And eventually, they crucify him.

For a person who’s never sinned, they wanted to crucify him. For a person, all he did was heal people, cast out demons, resurrected people, showed love, spoke love. What did they want to do? They wanted to kill him. He was innocent. He was rejected by many, but remained faithful to the end, all the way to the cross. He was faithful. He did as his Father commanded. He did the will of the Father. And at that cross, he completed the ultimate mission, and that was to rescue humanity from sin and death. That was his ultimate mission, to rescue us from sin and death.

Not to come here and to take the Romans out, to wipe out Rome or the enemies of Israel. He didn’t come here to do that. He came here to rescue humanity from sin and death. We were all destined. It wasn’t until Jesus came and did what he did that those who would put their faith and trust in him would be saved.

And Jesus even came to die for those before he came, those in the Old Testament times, because they were promised the Messiah, and those who believed in that promised Messiah, or just a promise that God gave them, like Abraham, The faith that they had was faith in God.

And as long as you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in God, in what God did for us, you will be saved. You will repent from your sins on a daily basis and understand the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And dying on the cross for our sins, being buried, and a few days later, being raised from the dead. And then after his resurrection, he looked at his followers and he said this in John 20, verse 1. He says, As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. And that’s you and I as well.

Even though he was talking to his disciples.

What is a disciple? A follower of Christ. And if you are a follower of Christ, guess what? You too are a disciple.

Before he ascended, this is what he promised in Acts chapter 1 verse 8, he says, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses to the end of the earth.

Right? And when did we, when did you, when did I, when did all believers receive the power of the Holy Spirit? At the moment that you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

Because once you did that, He indwelled in you. And he’s giving you that now. To go out and to share the gospel.

Are people going to hate you for it? Are they going to debate you on it? Yes. Maybe not. But mostly yes, they will. But are you going to stand up for the truth?

Remember, Jesus says they’re going to hate you. Why? Because they hated him first. They hated him to the point that they killed him.

You know, when I mention that to some people, they say, well, that’s why I don’t follow Jesus, because I don’t want people to kill me.

Well, guess what? After this world, you’re going to suffer a death that’s never ending. And that’s going to hurt us a lot. So the mission continues for us.

School for the kids. And I heard some stories of some of our youth of sharing the gospel and questioning or sharing it with their classmates. And that’s why we teach them here, and that’s why the parents are, of course, The first line of defense is to teach their children the gospel of Jesus Christ, to raise them up in Christian values.

And then they come here to church, and then the Sunday school teachers will then teach. And then they come to sermons, to service, and then the pastor teaches them. But ultimately, it falls on the parents first to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So our mission continues. What God has given to us.

So we are his hands, his voice, and his witnesses in the world. Why? Because he’s given us the authority to do so. And I praise the Lord for that.

And please hear me when I say this. We need to be encouraged. We need to be emboldened to go out and share the gospel.

I’m not just talking to you, I’m talking to me as well.

Because after this lifetime, after this lifetime, we’re done.

Wherever we end up, your friends, your family members, your neighbors, your coworkers, your classmates, if they have not put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, they’re going to be in hell for eternity. And that’s the last thing we should ever want for anything.

And people can mock us all they want on this Bible thing. Jesus freaks.

Because they’ll understand at the end why you were so, why you were telling them that, earnestly telling them that.

Because if they’re in that line of being judged to go to what God is, Jesus is going to sentence them to in hell, and you’re in that line of receiving your rewards based off of your good works, and you guys happen to pass each other in the lines, you’re going to say, why didn’t you tell me? Ayanna, why weren’t you a little bit more forceful with me? Why didn’t you tell me that Jesus was real? Why didn’t you tell me at all? I thought you were my friend.

Because if you don’t tell them, I mean, it’s going to be a sad day for them. And I don’t know how we’re going to feel to know them.

In heaven, it’s full joy, right? I don’t know how we’re going to feel about them if God gave us that opportunity.

You know, but one of the things I do that’s very comforting is God… knows, and he’s in control. He’s sovereign. His providence is perfect. His timing is perfect. So even though we miss out on that opportunity, he’s probably given that opportunity to someone else to share the gospel with that person.

So I would encourage you, please, first of all, you, if you’re not right with God, if If you are still an enemy of God, an unbeliever of Jesus Christ, or you’re just kind of on the fence, still trying to decide, I would encourage you to make that decision today.

Ask God to save you, because only He can save you. You can’t save yourself by doing all the good works you think you can do. You can’t do enough to earn your way to God. You can’t afford it.

All right? So please put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And once you have, of course, thank God, give him the glory, and start sharing the gospel.

And those who come to God based off of you sharing the gospel, guess what? You’re going to be rewarded for that in heaven.

And those rewards ultimately are crowns that we’re going to throw at the feet of Jesus. So we have nothing to boast about. other than the resurrection, the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That’s what we have to do. Amen.

Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you that you still call and send ordinary people like us. Lord God, give us courage to step out in faith. to depend on you for everything we need, and to share your good news wherever we go, whether it’s at work, whether it’s at school, whether it’s in the neighborhoods, wherever it is, Lord, be with us, send us, empower us, embolden us, give us the words and the wisdom, and Lord, we leave the rest to you.

And Father, may your power and authority shine Through our words and actions. So others may know. Your son. And what he did for us. Father we thank you. I pray for those who are here. I pray that you bless them. And that you protect them. And that you give them those opportunities. To share the gospel of Jesus with them. Father we thank you.

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Comprehensive Bible Study and Sermon on Luke 9:1-6

INTRODUCTION

Imagine you’ve spent months following Jesus—watching Him heal the sick, cast out demons, calm storms, feed thousands, and teach with unmatched authority. You’ve witnessed power beyond anything you could imagine. You’ve seen the impossible become possible. You’ve watched the Son of God at work.

And then one day, He turns to you and says, “Now it’s your turn. Go and do what you’ve seen Me do.”

That’s exactly what happened in Luke 9:1-6. After training His disciples through observation and participation, Jesus sent them out on their first independent mission. He gave them power, authority, and instructions—then sent them out to do kingdom work.

This wasn’t just a historical moment for the twelve first-century disciples. This passage reveals the pattern for Christian mission that continues today. Every believer is called, empowered, and sent by Jesus to participate in His kingdom work. We’re not spectators watching Jesus work—we’re sent ones, commissioned with power and purpose to extend His ministry to the world.

In this passage, we discover:

• What Jesus gives us (power and authority)
• What Jesus sends us to do (preach and heal)
• How Jesus wants us to go (in radical dependence)
• What happens when we obey (the gospel advances)

This is the call to go—not someday, not when we’re ready, not when we feel capable, but now, sent by Jesus with everything we need to fulfill His mission.

Let’s walk through this transformative passage and discover what it means to be sent with power and purpose.

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PART ONE: THE CALLING OF THE TWELVE (Luke 9:1a)

The Setting: After the Training

Verse 1a: “And he called the twelve together…”

This moment didn’t happen in a vacuum. It came after intensive training. Let’s review what the disciples had witnessed by this point in Luke’s Gospel:

What They Had Seen Jesus Do:

Miracles of healing:

• Cleansing a leper (Luke 5:12-14)
• Healing a paralytic (Luke 5:17-26)
• Restoring a man’s withered hand (Luke 6:6-11)
• Healing the centurion’s servant (Luke 7:1-10)
• Raising the widow’s son from the dead (Luke 7:11-17)
• Healing many sick and demon-possessed (Luke 4:40-41)

Miracles over nature:

• Calming the storm (Luke 8:22-25)
• The miraculous catch of fish (Luke 5:1-11)

Miracles of deliverance:

• Casting out demons in the synagogue (Luke 4:31-37)
• Delivering the Gerasene demoniac (Luke 8:26-39)
• Healing the woman with the flow of blood (Luke 8:43-48)
• Raising Jairus’s daughter (Luke 8:40-56)

Powerful teaching:

• The Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:17-49)
• Parables about the kingdom (Luke 8:1-18)
• Teachings on prayer, faith, and discipleship

The disciples hadn’t just heard about Jesus’s power—they had witnessed it repeatedly. They had been with Him in the crowds, in homes, on boats, in synagogues. They had watched Him work, listened to Him teach, observed His methods, and experienced His authority firsthand.

They had been apprentices. Now it was time to become practitioners.

The Twelve: Called and Gathered

“He called the twelve together” – This phrase is significant in several ways.

Who Were the Twelve?

Luke 6:13-16 lists them:

• Simon Peter – fisherman, impulsive, natural leader
• Andrew – Peter’s brother, brought people to Jesus
• James – son of Zebedee, part of inner circle
• John – James’s brother, “beloved disciple”
• Philip – thoughtful, analytical
• Bartholomew (Nathanael) • skeptic turned believer
• Matthew – former tax collector, Gospel writer
• Thomas – doubter who needed evidence
• James – son of Alphaeus, less prominent
• Simon the Zealot – former political revolutionary
• Judas son of James (also called Thaddaeus)
• Judas Iscariot – the betrayer

These were fishermen, tax collectors, political zealots, and common laborers. Yet Jesus chose them, trained them, and now was sending them out.

The Significance of Being Called

Before we examine what Jesus gave them and sent them to do, we must understand the significance of being called by Jesus.

The call is primary:

• Not our decision to volunteer
• Not our choice to pursue ministry
• But Jesus’s sovereign selection
• His initiative, His choice, His call

Mark 3:14 records the earlier moment when Jesus appointed the twelve: “And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach.”

Notice the order:

1. First: Be with Him (relationship, training, observation)
2. Then: Be sent out (mission, ministry, multiplication)

You can’t be sent effectively until you’ve been with Jesus.

Many try to reverse this—jumping into ministry without spending time with Jesus. But Jesus’s pattern is clear:

• Intimacy precedes impact
• Relationship precedes mission
• Being precedes doing
• With Him, then for Him

The disciples had been with Jesus. They had observed, learned, absorbed. Now they were ready to be sent.

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PART TWO: THE EMPOWERMENT • POWER AND AUTHORITY (Luke 9:1b)

The Gift: Power and Authority

Verse 1b: “…and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases.”

Jesus didn’t just give them instructions and send them out unprepared. He empowered them. He equipped them with supernatural resources for supernatural work.

Notice the two words Luke uses: power and authority. These aren’t synonyms—they’re complementary concepts that together reveal what Jesus gave His disciples.

Understanding “Power” (Dynamis)

The Greek word: dynamis (from which we get “dynamite,” “dynamic,” “dynamo”)

Meaning:

• Miraculous power
• Supernatural ability
• Divine energy
• Effective force
• Actual capability to accomplish

Power is the ability to do something. It’s the energy, the force, the capability to act. It’s having the resources to accomplish the task.

Think of it like electricity—raw power, energy flowing, capability to work.

What this meant for the disciples:

• They received actual supernatural ability
• Not just authority on paper, but real power to act
• Divine energy flowing through them
• Capability they didn’t naturally possess
• Resources beyond their own strength

Acts 1:8 echoes this: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses…”

Power is what enables ministry to happen. Without it, we’re just religious people going through motions. With it, we’re conduits of divine energy accomplishing supernatural works.

Understanding “Authority” (Exousia)

The Greek word: exousia

Meaning:

• Delegated authority
• Official right to act
• Jurisdiction
• Authorization
• Legal permission and backing

Authority is the right to do something. It’s the legal permission, the official sanction, the delegated authorization to act on behalf of another.

Think of it like a police officer’s badge—authority to act in the name of the law, backed by the full power of the state.

Matthew 28:18-20 connects authority to mission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples…”

Authority is what gives legitimacy to ministry. Without it, we’re unauthorized pretenders. With it, we’re official ambassadors backed by the King of kings.

Power AND Authority Together

Jesus gave both because both are necessary:

Authority without power:

• You have permission but no ability
• Official title but no effectiveness
• Right to act but no energy to accomplish
• Like a police officer with a badge but no training or weapons

Power without authority:

• You have the ability but no permission
• Energy but no legal right
• Capability but no backing
• Like a vigilante—power to act but no official sanction

Power AND authority together:

• Permission plus ability
• Right plus capability
• Authorization plus energy
• Official backing plus supernatural effectiveness

Over What: Demons and Diseases

Jesus specified the scope of the power and authority He gave:

“Over All Demons”

Comprehensive spiritual authority:

• Not some demons, but ALL demons
• Complete jurisdiction in the spiritual realm
• Authority over Satan’s kingdom
• Power to cast out evil spirits

Why demons?

Demons represent Satan’s oppressive work:

• Bondage and torment
• Spiritual darkness
• Opposition to God’s kingdom
• Destruction of human life

The disciples’ authority over demons is demonstrated:

• Satan’s kingdom is being invaded
• God’s kingdom advancing
• Evil being defeated
• Captives being freed

This was spiritual warfare – the battle between God’s kingdom and Satan’s. The disciples weren’t just healing diseases; they were liberating prisoners of war.

Luke 10:17-19 records when the disciples returned: “The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!’ And he said to them, ‘…Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.'”

Jesus’s authority extended through them to defeat Satan’s forces.

This was redemptive ministry – pushing back the effects of the Fall, demonstrating what the kingdom of God looks like when it invades a broken world.

Matthew 10:1 adds: “And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.”

The scope was comprehensive—every disease, every affliction. Nothing was too hard, too chronic, too impossible.

The Source: From Jesus, Not Themselves

Critical point: Jesus gave them this power and authority.

This wasn’t:

• Something they generated themselves
• Natural ability they developed
• Power they earned or deserved
• Their own righteousness or holiness

This was delegated, transferred, imparted authority and power from Jesus to them.

John 15:5 – “Apart from me you can do nothing.”

Every miracle they would perform, every demon they would cast out, every person they would heal—it would all be Jesus’s power flowing through them, Jesus’s authority backing their words, Jesus’s work accomplished through His representatives.

They were conduits, not sources. Channels, not generators. Ambassadors, not independent agents.

This is crucial for all Christian ministry: We don’t work in our own power or authority. We work in His. We don’t act independently; we act as His representatives. We don’t rely on our own capabilities; we depend on His empowerment.

2 Corinthians 3:5 – “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.”

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PART THREE: THE COMMISSION – SENT TO PREACH AND HEAL (Luke 9:2)

The Mission Statement

Verse 2: “And he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.”

After empowering them, Jesus sent them with clear instructions about their mission. Notice two primary activities: proclaim and heal.

“Sent Them Out”

The verb “sent” (apostellō) is where we get “apostle” – literally “sent one.”

To be sent means:

• You go with authority from the sender
• You represent the one who sends you
• You carry their message and mission
• You act on their behalf
• You’re accountable to them

John 20:21 – “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.‘”

The pattern of sending continues: Father sends Son, Son sends disciples, disciples send others. The mission multiplies through sending.

“Out” is significant – they must leave where they are comfortable and go where the need is. Mission requires movement, risk, leaving security, going to new places and people.

This was the same message Jesus preached:

Luke 4:43 – “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.”

Mark 1:15 – “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

The disciples’ message was Jesus’s message. They weren’t creating their own teaching; they were heralds announcing what Jesus had proclaimed.

Proclamation involves:

• Speaking God’s word clearly
• Announcing truth publicly
• Calling for response (repentance and faith)
• Declaring what God has done in Christ
• Inviting people into the kingdom

This is evangelism – telling the good news that God’s kingdom has come in Jesus and calling people to enter it through repentance and faith.

Romans 10:14-15 – “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”

The proclamation requires sent ones. People can’t believe it until they hear. They can’t hear until someone tells them. And they can’t tell until they’re sent.

The disciples were sent to tell.

Mark 6:12-13 – So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

A modern interpretation of Mark 6:12-13 for Christian disciples highlights key themes of mission, faith, and reliance on Jesus’ authority:

Healing wasn’t separate from proclamation—it reinforced it. The message was “the kingdom is here,” and the healings proved it. Words declared it; works demonstrated it.

Isaiah 35:5-6 prophesied about the Messiah’s kingdom: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.”

When Jesus and His disciples healed, they were fulfilling these kingdom prophecies. The miracles said, “This is that! The kingdom Isaiah predicted is here!”

Word and Deed Together

Notice Jesus sent them to proclaim AND heal – not one or the other, but both.

The pattern throughout Scripture:

• Jesus preached and healed (Luke 4:18-19)
• The church proclaimed and served (Acts 6:1-7)
• Paul taught and performed miracles (Acts 19:11-12)
• James insisted faith works (James 2:14-17)

Word without deed:

• All talk, no action
• Proclamation without demonstration
• Truth without love
• Orthodoxy without compassion
• Knowledge without application

Deed without word:

• Social work without spiritual truth
• Action without explanation
• Compassion without conversion
• Meeting physical needs while ignoring spiritual needs
• Humanitarian work without gospel proclamation

Word AND deed together:

• Holistic ministry
• Proclamation plus demonstration
• Truth with love
• Orthodoxy plus compassion
• Gospel in word and action

1 John 3:18 – “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

The mission Jesus gave requires both proclamation and demonstration, word and deed, telling and showing.

The Focus: The Kingdom, Not Themselves

Notice what they proclaimed: “the kingdom of God” – not themselves, not their own ideas, not their personal testimonies alone.

The message was theocentric (God-centered), not anthropocentric (man-centered):

• About God’s reign, not human achievement
• About God’s salvation, not human potential
• About God’s kingdom, not human kingdoms
• About God’s glory, not human success

2 Corinthians 4:5 – “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”

True Christian mission always points away from ourselves to Jesus and His kingdom. We decrease; He increases. We’re messengers, not the message. Heralds, not heroes.

According to modern biblical apologists, Christians today generally do not share the same unique apostolic power that Jesus gave to His original disciples. The office of apostle, as described in the New Testament, was a unique and foundational role appointed directly by Jesus to eyewitnesses of His resurrection. These apostles were granted special supernatural abilities—such as performing miracles, raising the dead, and authoritative teaching—to establish the early church.

Key points from contemporary apologists include:

• The qualifications for apostleship included personally witnessing Jesus’ resurrection and being personally commissioned by Him. No living person today can meet these criteria.

• The apostles’ unique powers served to validate the gospel message during the church’s foundational period and are not passed automatically to all Christians.

• While Christians today share spiritual authority through their union with Christ and are empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the Great Commission, this authority is distinct from the apostolic office and does not include the full range of miraculous powers possessed by the original apostles.

• Some movements claim to restore apostolic authority, but mainstream biblical scholarship and apologetics warn these claims often deviate from scripture, calling for discernment and testing against biblical qualifications.

In summary, Christians are empowered to serve, witness, and minister with spiritual authority derived from Christ, but the unique apostolic office and miraculous powers given to the original twelve and Paul are viewed as irreplaceable and not fully transferable to all believers today.

Sources:

• Are There Modern-Day Apostles? • Apologetics Press https://apologeticspress.org/

• Is God restoring the offices of apostle and prophet in the church today? https://www.gotquestions.org/

Mormons (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) claim apostolic succession through a restorationist theology centered on their founder, Joseph Smith. They believe that after the death of the original apostles, the priesthood authority and apostolic power were lost in what they call the Great Apostasy. According to LDS teaching, this authority was restored in 1829 when the resurrected apostles Peter, James, and John appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and conferred upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood, which includes the keys of apostolic authority.

This restoration is viewed as necessary because they believe all original apostolic authority was lost from the earth until Joseph Smith received it directly from heavenly messengers. The Church teaches that apostles today are ordained within this restored priesthood by laying on of hands, sustained by the Church membership, and part of the quorum of the Twelve Apostles, which continues the original apostolic role. They see their apostles as witnesses of Christ and leaders with authority over the global Church, continuing the mission and leadership of the first-century apostles in a restored form.

LDS theology holds that apostleship is a living office with ongoing authority, divine revelation, and responsibility for witnessing Christ, unlike traditional Christian views that regard the apostolic office as unique and non-transferable after the original twelve and Paul.

In summary, Mormon apostolic succession is claimed based on a restorationist event in 1829 through divine ordination by resurrected original apostles to Joseph Smith, enabling a continued lineage of apostles in their Church today. This is distinct from historic apostolic succession claims in traditional Christian churches.

• True Apostles v False Apostles of Mormonism – The Village Smithy https://davemallinak.com/2024/

The differences between Catholic and LDS apostolic succession hinge on theology, historical understanding, and the nature of authority transfer:

1. Historical Continuity vs. Restorationist View  

• Catholics erroneously believe in an unbroken historical succession of authority passed through bishops from the apostles, particularly Peter, who is seen as the first pope. This succession is maintained through the laying on of hands and ordination in a continuous line, preserving doctrinal and sacramental authority through the ages.  

• LDS are also in error, believing that after the original apostles died, the priesthood authority was lost in a Great Apostasy, meaning there was a break in the line of apostolic authority. They hold that this authority was restored in 1829 by heavenly messengers conferring it anew to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, thus restoring apostolic succession from that point forward.

2. Nature of Authority  

• Catholics see apostolic succession as a guarantee of valid priesthood authority to teach, govern, and administer sacraments, which includes a hierarchical structure culminating in the papacy based on Peter’s primacy. The succession is both spiritual and institutional, aiming at preserving one true church and faith.  

• LDS emphasize direct divine conferral of priesthood keys and authority through revelation as essential. Apostolic authority includes the power to lead the restored church, receive new revelation, and direct church government through the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

3. Role of Peter and the Papacy  

• Catholics teach that Peter holds a unique primacy and his authority continues in the pope, who is the visible head of the universal church. This role allegedly unifies the church’s apostolic succession and teaching authority.  

• LDS recognize Peter’s primacy among the first apostles but assert that the keys of priesthood authority were lost after the apostolic era, not preserved through bishops or a continuous line of leaders. Their leadership model focuses on prophetic restoration rather than papal succession.

4. Sacramental Implications  

• For Catholics, apostolic succession is essential for the valid administration of most sacraments, including ordination.  

• For LDS, priesthood authority restored through angelic visitations authorizes them for their ordinances and church governance, separate from Catholic sacramental theology.

In summary, Catholic apostolic succession is based on an unbroken historical and institutional transmission from the original apostles (especially Peter) through bishops and the pope, ensuring doctrinal and sacramental continuity. LDS apostolic succession is understood as a restoration after a period of apostasy, starting with divine conferral of authority in the 19th century, emphasizing ongoing revelation and a restored church organization.

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PART FOUR: THE INSTRUCTIONS • RADICAL DEPENDENCE (Luke 9:3-5)

The Shocking Command: Take Nothing

Verse 3: “And he said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.'”

After empowering them and commissioning them, Jesus gave specific instructions about how to go. And these instructions are shocking—they’re commanded to go with almost nothing.

What They Were Forbidden to Take:

• No staff

• Nor bag

• Nor bread

• Nor money

• Do not have two tunics

Why Such Radical Instructions?

Several reasons for these instructions:

1. To Develop Faith

Going without resources forces reliance on God. When you have plenty, it’s easy to trust yourself. When you have nothing, you must trust God.

Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

These instructions made trusting God necessary, not optional.

2. To Demonstrate God’s Faithfulness

When God provides despite lack of resources, it proves His faithfulness. The disciples would experience God meeting their needs, strengthening their faith.

Philippians 4:19 – “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

They would learn this experientially, not just theoretically.

3. To Show Kingdom Values

The kingdom operates differently than the world:

• The world trusts possessions; the kingdom trusts God
• The world accumulates; the kingdom travels light
• The world seeks security; the kingdom risks in faith
• The world depends on self; the kingdom depends on God

Matthew 6:31-33 – “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

The disciples’ journey demonstrated kingdom priorities in action.

4. To Maintain Focus

Possessions distract. Preparations consume energy. Planning takes time. By stripping away all extras, Jesus kept them focused on the mission—proclaim and heal, nothing else matters.

Luke 9:62 – “Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'”

Move forward, don’t look back, stay focused, keep going.

5. To Increase Urgency

This wasn’t a long-term missionary journey with months of preparation. This was urgent: “Go now, immediately, don’t delay gathering supplies.”

The kingdom message is urgent. People are dying, lost, in darkness. There’s no time to waste on preparations. Go with what you have—which is Jesus’s power and authority, and that’s enough.

6. To Create Dependence on Hospitality

By having nothing, they would need to depend on those they ministered to. This created connection, community, and tested receptivity.

The Principle for All Times

While these specific instructions were for this particular mission, the principle applies to all Christian mission:

Go in radical dependence on God, not self-sufficiency.

The application varies by context, but the principle remains: Christian mission requires faith that risks, trusts God’s provision, and stays focused on the task without distraction from accumulation or security.

Modern theologians reconcile Luke 9:3, where Jesus instructs His disciples to take no money or provisions, with the practice of supported missionaries today by understanding the historical and theological context:

• The command to take nothing was a way to teach radical dependence on God and to avoid any appearance of mercenary motives while on a short-term mission. It emphasized faith in God’s provision and the hospitality of those they ministered to.

• However, theologians note that Jesus Himself was supported by faithful followers during His ministry (Luke 8:3), setting a precedent for support in ministry.

• The apostle Paul openly taught and expected financial support for those who preach the gospel, affirming that missionaries have a right to earn a living through their work (1 Corinthians 9:7-14; Luke 10:7).

• The early church practiced financial partnership with missionaries as a biblical mandate (3 John 5-8; Titus 3:13), which encourages believers to support them to serve effectively.

• The broader principle is that while missionaries are called to trust God and live simply, receiving financial support to sustain their ministry is biblically validated and practically necessary in most cases today.

Thus, theologians view Jesus’ instruction not as a strict rule against financial support but as a lesson in trust, humility, and mission focus, while affirming biblical grounds for supporting missionaries through partnerships and the church’s provision. This allows missionaries to dedicate themselves fully to their calling without undue hardship, embodying Jesus’ mission in contemporary contexts.

Instructions About Housing

Verse 4: “And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.”

Stay Where You’re Welcomed

Jesus gave simple instructions about lodging:

“Whatever house you enter” – Accept hospitality offered “Stay there” – Remain in that first house “From there depart” – When you leave town, leave from there

Why These Instructions?

Accept Hospitality Graciously

Don’t be picky or demanding. If someone opens their home, accept gratefully. Don’t look for better accommodations.

1 Corinthians 9:14 – “The Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.”

Those who benefit from gospel ministry should support gospel workers. Accepting hospitality allowed this principle to function.

Instructions About Rejection

Verse 5: “And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

When People Reject the Message

Not everyone would welcome them or receive their message. Jesus prepared them for rejection and gave instructions for how to respond.

“Do not receive you” means:

• Refusing to listen to the message
• Rejecting the gospel
• Closing their homes and hearts
• Opposition or hostility

When this happened, Jesus said:

“Shake off the dust from your feet”

This was a symbolic action Jews performed when leaving Gentile territory—shaking off “contaminated” dust before re-entering Jewish land. By telling disciples to do this in Jewish towns that rejected the gospel, Jesus was saying:

“Treat them like pagans—you offered them the kingdom, they refused, now move on.”

Acts 18:6 – When Jews opposed Paul’s message, “he shook out his garments and said to them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent.'”

Ezekiel 3:18-19 – “If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning…I will require his blood at your hand. But if you warn the wicked…you will have delivered your soul.”

Matthew 10:14 – “And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.”

Time is short. People are dying. Don’t get stuck arguing with hardened rejecters. Move on to those who will listen.

Luke 10:16 – “The one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

Rejecting the messenger is rejecting Jesus, which is rejecting the Father.

Balance: Persistence and Moving On

The key: Faithful proclamation to all, but strategic focus on those who respond.

Modern missionaries are not necessarily required to reject financial support despite Jesus’ instruction in Luke 9:3-5 to take no money or extra supplies. The key principle behind Jesus’ command was to teach radical dependence on God and trusting in His provision during their mission. However, interpretations and Christian practice recognize that the specific historical context of Jesus sending out the twelve with no resources is nuanced and does not mean that missionaries must refuse all financial help today.

Many biblical and theological perspectives affirm that:

• Jesus himself and his disciples were supported by faithful followers who provided for their needs (Luke 8:3).

• The apostle Paul taught and practiced the principle that those who preach the gospel deserve to receive financial support (1 Corinthians 9:14; Luke 10:7).

• The church is biblically called to support missionaries and ministers financially as part of the body of Christ working together (1 Timothy 5:17-18; Deuteronomy 25:4).

• Modern missionaries often raise financial support to cover living and ministry expenses, which enables them to focus on their calling without undue hardship.

• The principle of trusting God’s provision remains essential, but this can be through networks of financial partnership, not necessarily traveling without any resources.

It is generally considered acceptable and scripturally supported for missionaries to receive financial assistance to sustain their mission work, as long as their dependency is ultimately on God, not on money as an idol. Jesus’ instruction calls for faith and simplicity in mission but not necessarily prohibiting all forms of financial support today. A generous financial partnership is a way for the broader church to participate in God’s mission.

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PART FIVE: THE OBEDIENCE AND RESULTS (Luke 9:6)

They Went

Verse 6: “And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.”

After receiving power, commission, and instructions, the disciples obeyed. This simple statement is profound.

“They Departed”

They actually went.

James 1:22 – “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

The disciples were doers. They heard Jesus’s command and did it.

Romans 1:16 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”

The disciples weren’t ashamed. They preached boldly.

“And Healing Everywhere”

They demonstrated the kingdom – word backed by deed.

They were simply obedient conduits of Jesus’s work.

The Pattern for All Missions

This verse establishes the pattern for Christian mission throughout history:

1. Be sent by Jesus 

2. Go where sent 

3. Proclaim the gospel 

4. Demonstrate kingdom reality 

5. Do it everywhere 

6. Depend on His power

This pattern has repeated itself for 2,000 years:

• The apostles did it (Acts)
• The early church did it (throughout history)
• Missionaries do it (around the world)
• Local churches do it (in communities)
• Individual believers do it (in daily life)

The same Jesus who sent the twelve sends us. The same power He gave them is available to us. The same mission He commissioned them with is ours today.

John 20:21 – Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus continues to send believers on His mission today, just as He sent His first disciples. His mission, rooted in love and redemption, calls each of us to be His messengers—bringing good news to the poor, healing the brokenhearted, and proclaiming liberty to those in bondage. Though He finished the work of redemption on the cross, Jesus entrusted us with the ongoing task of sharing His message of hope and transformation throughout the world.

As modern-day disciples, we may not carry staffs or travel light as the original apostles did, but the call remains the same: to trust God’s provision, rely on His Spirit, and faithfully serve where He sends us. Our mission is incarnational and transformational—we meet people’s needs and share Kingdom truth that changes hearts and lives. Like the first disciples, we are empowered not by our own strength, but by the authority and love of Jesus. He sends us today to be His hands, His feet, and His voice in a hurting world, inviting us to partner with Him as His ongoing ambassadors of grace and truth.

May we respond with willing hearts, prepared to follow wherever He leads, living as faithful witnesses of His redeeming love and Kingdom power.