Chapter # 6 Paragraph # 2 Study # 3
October 12, 2021
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
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Thesis: Jesus' instructions to The Twelve were intended to lay a foundation for the beginning of The Church.
Introduction: In our last study we attempted to show how every word of inspired Scripture must be correctly defined so that "faith" is possible. It should go without saying that we cannot "believe" what we do not understand, and that if what we understand is incorrect, the "faith" that it genders will lead us astray. It should also go without saying that the pursuit of a correct understanding must be according to literary design and not "systematic theology" that simply pulls verses from here and there to justify its conclusions.
There is a place for 'systematic theology". It is what enables us to see the Larger Picture. But, for that picture to be legitimate, it must arise out of the text, not spread, like icing on a cake, over the text. It is to be granted that "systematic theology" is where we all, mistakenly, begin; but it must also be granted that we are supposed to begin with a serious exposure to the individual text/context so that what we have "always thought" can be corrected by the God of the Text.
This evening we are going to look into two further instructions that Jesus gave to The Twelve as He began to send them forth as legitimate representatives of His Word/words. Those instructions concern His insistence that when the pair of His representatives are offered hospitality in a house, they are to receive that hospitality and not move from house to house while in the same village/town, and that when their message is not received in the village/town they are to give the people of that village/town a visible "witness" as they leave. Our question is this: what is the significance of these two requirements given by Jesus?
- I. The First Requirement.
- A. Is rooted in Jesus' "saying" to The Twelve.
- 1. This is not mere "advice" or "counsel on possible actions" to be taken: it is "authoritative demand" rooted in the power of Jesus' words (by which He created heaven and earth): it is elegen ... on-going, repetitive, instruction [Imperfect Tense, Indicative Mood ] to be understood as a repeated instruction.
- 2. This "root" has at least two elements.
- a. First, Jesus' intention in terms of "impact/result" as seen.
- 1) First, from the next paragraph (a sufficiently large impact to get the attention of the king).
- 2) Second, from the later record wherein a serious matter, called "the leaven of Herod", is addressed without any explanation of its meaning except this paragraph in chapter six.
- 3) Third, from the even later record beyond the Gospel of Mark wherein thousands are brought into The Church in a matter of days/weeks.
- b. Second, the "point" of this entire paragraph in its place in Mark's record: to begin to establish the "faith" of The Twelve in His willingness/ability to provide for everything that they need to fulfill His commission to them.
- 1) If they are to "go" without provisions for anticipated needs, the automatic assumption is that Jesus will use His authority and influence over their circumstances to make sure their future needs are met.
- 2) If Jesus is committing to being their "Provider", they must accept the provisions He gives.
- B. Consists of His repeated insistence that they accept the hospitality that He provides by moving upon the hearts and minds of those who will offer them that hospitality.
- 1. "Where if..." is a Greek phrase that brings "place and chance" under Jesus' dominion.
- 2. "...you should enter into a house..." (intensified Aorist Subjunctive indicating both a "chance event" in their experience and an "entrance" with the intention of hospitality).
- a. Jesus indirectly insisted that The Twelve be on the lookout for His provision because He disallowed them to make provision for themselves.
- b. Thus, those who offer them hospitality are to be seen as those whom Jesus intended to use as His agents of provision.
- 3. "...there remain until you should depart from there...".
- a. The "there" is not the same: the first "there" is the house of hospitality" and the second "there" is the village/town from which they depart to continue to their next assigned village/town.
- b. The instruction means that the people in the house of the hospitality of the Lord are going to be given a larger exposure to "the message" than those in the marketplace, or wherever the message is proclaimed during the days of their stay.
- c. Thus, those who offered the hospitality will have a greater opportunity to understand the details of the message ... to accept it or reject it.
- d. This "remaining" is what provides the ripple effect to accomplish the larger purposes of Jesus (this is the foundation of the conversions of thousands in mere days at the beginning of the Church on the Day of Pentecost recorded in Acts).
- II. The Second Requirement.
- A. Is also rooted in Jesus' repeated instructions.
- B. Is also given in light of a certain "possibility" and a firm future reality.
- 1. The "possibility" is that the "place" (village/town) will not "embrace" the message.
- a. This "embracing" is only mentioned by Mark in this text and two later, related, texts where "embracing" leads to eternal results (9:37 and 10:15).
- b. The possibility that the village/town will not "embrace" is Jesus' focus.
- c. This possibility will lead to a future reality: final judgment (as Luke records it in 10:8-12).
- 2. This "possibility" is marked by the awesomeness of what happens when the "words of Jesus" in respect to "repentance" are rejected: eternal judgment.
- C. Consists of a very public demonstration by The Twelve of the destiny of those who have rejected their message.
- 1. The implication of the "public demonstration" is that the message has generated a sufficiently strong antagonism that the people are "on hand" to receive the final "message".
- 2. The final message is that the messengers publicly wipe the dirt off of the bottom of their sandals in the view of the antagonized.
- a. This action (attested by both Jesus' instruction and Paul's actual practice in Acts 13:51) was a known action in the culture of the day indicating the finality of the consequences of "rejection" because of "rejection": I have nothing more to do with you.
- b. This created a "cloud" over the rejectors that they would not be able to easily dismiss so that, perhaps, they might be brought to the repentance that they initially rejected (as illustrated by the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 21:29).
