the twelve's first mission

Good morning friends,
Jesus has been traveling with his disciples for some time now. Today he sends the inner circle, the twelve out on their own to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal people who were physically or spiritually sick. He sends them out with only the clothes on their back and instructs them to stay with whoever will take them in. We can think of this as their internship. It's an opportunity for them to take on the ministry that will be entrusted to them after Jesus returns to heaven. The goal is to teach them to trust God to provide and care for them and to gain confidence for their ministry.

The other piece of this passage is King Herod's reaction to the amazing things he hears about Jesus. In some of the other Gospels we hear the story of how John was beheaded by Herod. That story isn't in Luke; before this Luke only tells us that Herod put John in prison. It seems that people had different guesses about who Jesus was: a prophet, even Elijah, but there wasn't a consensus. We know that Jesus was a prophet, but much more than that. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and our savior.

God bless,
Sam

Luke 9:1-10
Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic. 4Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there. 5Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 6They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

7Now Herod the ruler heard about all that had taken place, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, 8by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the ancient prophets had arisen. 9Herod said, “John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he tried to see him.10On their return the apostles told Jesus all they had done. He took them with him and withdrew privately to a city called Bethsaida.