Part 10 – The Good News about Jesus
By Rev. Dr. Brent Russett – Asbury Free Methodist –
July 20, 2025 – Mark 6:7-13, 31-3
This summer we have been working our way through the first part of the gospel of Mark. We have been looking at the actions of Jesus that show us who he is. You may have noticed that a theme is reiterated a number of times by Mark. The theme is the authority of Jesus or the lordship of Jesus.
Mark understands that it is important for Jesus followers to know who Jesus is. When you are going through hard times, you want to know that Jesus is Lord of the storm. When you are feeling the weight of your sin you want to know that Jesus has the authority to forgive sin. In Mark we have seen Jesus taught with authority. He had the authority to cast out demons. Constantly, the people around him were asking who is this man? He speaks in the winds, and the waves obey him.
I remind you of the authority that Jesus has because when we get to today’s passage, Jesus gives some of his authority to his disciples.
Mark 6:7 (NIV)
7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.
Let me give you some of the background of this passage so that you can understand a little of what is going on. He sent the disciples out two by two. The reason for this is that the Jewish law stated that when a testimony is given by one person, it may be disregarded, but if it’s given by two people, then it has the likelihood of being true.
These disciples are going to tell people about Jesus and what he has done. Can you imagine talking to a group of people and you say, “We were rowing across the Sea of Galilee and a storm came up. Jesus was asleep in the boat. We feared for our lives. We thought the boat was going to sink. So we woke Jesus up and said, ‘Don’t you care that we’re about to die?’ Jesus woke up, looked around at the storm, and then said Peace be still. Immediately, the storm stopped. The waves stopped. We were out of danger. Jesus’ words stop the storm.”
The people that you are telling the story to are likely to say, “Yeah, right.” But if there were two of you who witnessed the same event, they would be more likely to be believed.”
The same holds true today. If I hear of how Jesus changed one person’s life, I think to myself, “That is interesting.” But if I hear another person and another person and another person say the same thing, then I start to think – there just might be something to this Jesus thing.
That is why, from time to time in our church, we will have testimonies. It is important that many of us talk about the transforming power of Jesus in our lives. It allows people who normally would not give a second thought to Jesus to consider him.
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Verse 7 says, “He began to send them out two by two.” It seems like he did not send all six groups out at the same time. I wonder if he had a word with each pair. This would not be the last time that Jesus sent his disciples out. This would be something that would be a feature in Jesus’ ministry.
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Verse 7 goes on to say that he “gave them authority over impure or unclean spirits.” Some versions would translate that “demonic spirits.” Up until this time, it was only Jesus who was dealing with the demonic. The disciples witnessed Jesus delivering people over and over again. However, they had never been involved in that process. But here, Jesus gives them the authority to deliver people from the demonic.
Can you imagine the first time the disciples went to do this on their own? They go into this town, and they see this man who is acting strange. They have seen Jesus deliver these kinds of people.
I can just imagine one disciple turning to the other and saying – “You’ve got this right?” The other disciples said, “No, I think I’ll let you take this one.” But Jesus had given them authority to deliver people from impure spirits. They eventually walked into that authority and saw all kinds of miracles.
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I know that there are many who are skeptical about demonic spirits in our age. Some think that we are too rational for that. But the reality is that most of us will experience spiritual warfare regularly. Many of us are just oblivious to it.
I don’t have time to go into a lot on spiritual warfare. Satan’s strategy in North America is to hide himself so that people don’t believe in him. If you were to go to other parts of the world, you would find that the manifestation of the demonic is not all that unusual.
Here it is much more subtle. When people do things that give unclean spirits of license to work in their lives – things like fortune tellers, psychic fairs, pornography, undealt with anger, or other forms of disobedience – things like these give unclean spirits the right to work in our lives.
There is a spiritual gift called discernment that helps us to figure out what is going on in regards to this. But when we are being significantly influenced by the demonic, there are a number of signs. There is a lot of confusion, especially over spiritual matters. It seems like unclean spirits put a weight on people’s wills so that it is hard to choose to do what is good and right. Often there is heightened irrational fear. There is a sense of guilt in combination even when you have confessed your sins. There is often a spiritual restlessness, especially in the presence of God. Sometimes it will even manifest physically.
I have watched Jesus set people free, and it is amazing the difference that deliverance can make.
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Back to our scripture. What does it mean, “he gave them authority?” Obviously, when we’re talking about unclean spirits or the demonic, we are talking about authority in the spiritual realm. Having authority means you have the right and the power to command something. Jesus is saying to his disciples, I am giving you the right and the power to deliver people from the demonic.
The question is, is that authority something that was just given to the disciples, or is it something that we as Jesus’ disciples in the 21st century also have?
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One of the last words that Jesus spoke to the disciples is found in Matthew 28.
Matthew 28:18–19 (NIV)
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Jesus has been given all authority and under his authorities the disciples are to make disciples who will make disciples. Part of being a disciple is to have the authority under Jesus to deal with spiritual warfare.
Paul, praying for the church, says this,
Ephesians 1:18–23 (NIV)
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Paul is praying that the Ephesians would know Jesus’ resurrection power. About how Jesus is over all earthly and spiritual rule and authority and power and dominion, some of that is referring to the demonic. All those things are placed under his feet. Jesus is the head or the authority of the church. Because of our connection with Jesus, those things are under our authority as well.
To make sure that we get this, Paul goes on to say,
Ephesians 2:4–6 (NIV)
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
When you were saved, when you experienced God’s grace, part of what happened is that God raised us up and seated us with Christ in the heavenly realms. Christ is above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and we are seated with him. That is a long explanation of a short question. Do we have the authority that Jesus was giving his disciples? The answer is yes.
It is not our own authority. We use Jesus’ authority. That’s why we pray in Jesus’ name. When we do that, we are invoking his authority, not our own. Because of your connection with Christ and because you are a disciple of Christ, you have the authority of Christ.
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You heard what happened when the disciples went out with Jesus’ authority.
Mark 6:12–13 (NIV)
12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
They did what Jesus gave them the authority to do. They drove out many demons and healed many sick people.
But I find it really interesting that a little later on in Mark we’re told another Jesus story. Jesus took Peter James and John up to the top of a mountain. There those 3 disciples had this amazing experience. Jesus was transformed before them. They saw Moses and Elijah. They had this mountaintop experience.
When they came down from the mountain, they found a large crowd surrounding the other disciples. The teachers of the law were arguing with those disciples. So, Jesus asked,
Mark 9:16–18 (NIV)
16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.
17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
The disciples have been sent out two by two and experienced so many miraculous things. At their command, demons had fled. But they get to this particular unclean spirit, and they could do nothing with it. Jesus talks a little bit about faith and then talks to the father. The father tells a little about his son.
Mark 9:22–24 (NIV)
22 “It (the demon) has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
Jesus then commands the demon to come out, and he does. Jesus was able to do what the disciples couldn’t. After the people had left-
Mark 9:28–29 (NIV)
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”
You might note that Jesus did not pray when he was casting out the demon. Jesus was saying that there is a closeness to God that you must have in order to deal with this kind of spirit.
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Back to our story in Mark chapter 6. Jesus gives to the disciples authority. We have that same authority because of our connection with Jesus. Does that mean that we can do everything that Jesus did? No. Sometimes we are lacking faith and or prayer, prayer-the strong connection with God that we need for certain situations. But as a general rule, you have much more authority than you think you have.
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Jesus sent his disciples out two by two. Here were his instructions.
Mark 6:8–11 (NIV)
8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
I love these instructions. I follow a guy on Instagram named Blake Robert. He landed in Toronto with no money. But he has a guitar and a portable sound system. He is busking on the streets of Toronto this summer. He plans to earn enough money singing on the streets to be able to make his way home to Texas at the end of the summer. He has only posted day five, so we will see where this adventure ends up.
Jesus tells his disciples, “Take nothing.” Deliver people from unclean spirits. Talk to them about me if they listen to you, great. If they don’t, then shake the dust off your feet and go on to the next town.
Many have wondered if this applies to us. It seems like Paul went prepared for his missionary trips. So, what is up with Jesus’ instruction here?
I believe that Jesus wanted his disciples to know that he could not only give them authority in the spiritual realm but also provide for their needs in the physical realm. They needed to know that God would provide what they needed.
In fact, there is this curious passage in Luke 22
Luke 22:35–37 (NIV)
35 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”
“Nothing,” they answered.
36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. 37 It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”
Jesus changes his instructions. In Mark he tells him to go with no purse, no change of clothes, not even a walking stick. Now he tells him to take a purse and a bag and extra clothes if you have them.
This is really important to get. Just because you have the instructions from Jesus to do a particular ministry in a particular way does not mean that when you go to do that same ministry at a different time, you should do it in the same way.
That is true of programs in the church. Sometimes a ministry starts because God gave someone a vision for that particular ministry. But we should always check with God to see if he wants us to do the same thing in the same way.
I am really thankful for this church. Whenever I have suggested something, I can’t remember anybody ever saying to me – we have always done it this way.
Jesus sent his disciples out with no purse and no extra change of clothes for one portion of their ministry. He sent him out another time and told them to take a purse and an extra change of clothes.
The good news of Jesus never changes. But how we deliver the good news of Jesus can change and, in some instances, must change. We don’t change for change’s sake. But we need to listen to Jesus. Sometimes our instruction for ministry will change.
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Mark 6:12–13 (NIV)
12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
Jesus went around preaching Repent and believe the good news of the Kingdom of God is at hand. The disciples still hadn’t figured out the Kingdom of God part, so they simply went around preaching repentance.
We never see Jesus anointing anyone with oil in order to heal them. Olive oil was seen to be a medicine of the day. The disciples anointed many sick people with oil, and they were healed. When they talk to Jesus about what they had done, he does not rebuke them for this. They needed a prop for their faith. Jesus did not.
Mark 6:30 tells us that after the mission trip was over,
Mark 6:30 (NIV)
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.
Jesus was the ideal mentor. He showed them how to do ministry and they watched. He released them into ministry in pairs to support one another. He gathered them together to brief them. Then they would do more ministry together. Jesus would send them out again along with others. Jesus was a great mentor.
So let me put this all together for you. Jesus’ disciples had been following him for some time now. They had watched him preach and heal and deliver others from impure spirits.
But now Jesus comes to them and says, “You have been sitting on the bench; it’s time for you to get into the game.” I give you the authority to do what you have seen me do.”
It is good and right to spend time with Jesus and to learn from Jesus. It is wonderful to sit at his feet and hear him teach. It is good and right to be part of Bible studies and small groups. But there comes a time when Jesus says it is time to get off the bench and get into the game.
You will notice from our story that it was Jesus who commissioned the disciples. The disciples did not say, “I have seen Jesus do this. I am just gonna go out on my own and do this.” No, it was Jesus who commissioned them.
If you are not involved in any kind of ministry, listen for the voice of Jesus. There will be a time when he says it’s time for you to get off the bench. It’s time for you to teach what I have taught you. It is time for you to go in my authority.
When you get that sense, ask the “how” question. How do you want me to do that? He gave the disciples specific instructions. At another time in another place, he sent them out with different instructions? But here is what I am convinced of: when the people of God are listening to the voice of God, there will be a time when He says, “It’s time to go minister in my name”.
I encourage you: listen to the voice of God.