Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. (Mark 6:1-6; Matthew 13:53-58)
How many of us can relate with Jesus in the above scripture? Sometimes the people we think would support us and encourage us are the very people who doubt us and bring us down. Jesus is back in Nazareth, His hometown, for the second time since He began His ministry, and the people are no more moved by all He's done since the last time He was there. (see THE GOSPEL: Rejected By His Own) They still believed He was the carpenter's [Joseph] son, not the Son of God, as He had proclaimed since He was a child. So they were offended at Him. Just as God had spoken by the Prophet Isaiah, Thus says the Lord, The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, To Him whom man despises, To Him whom the nation abhors,... (Isaiah 49:7) But Jesus teaches a very valuable lesson, that each of us needs to learn. When people don't support us, whomever they are, and we know that we are doing God's Will, according to God's Word, leave them alone and move on! We can't stop doing what God has called us to do because of naysayers. If God has called us to be "laborers" then it's because there is a "harvest", and He will lead us where we are to go and to whom we are to help.
As we concluded in our previous study, Jesus told His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are
few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into
His harvest.” (Matthew 9:35-38; see THE GOSPEL: Pray for Mercy, through Faith) Jesus is going to put the disciples to work: And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him [and began to send them out two by two*], He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. (Matthew 10:1, 5-10; Mark 6:7-9*; Luke 9:1-3)
Jesus promised that all of us who believe in Him would be empowered by His Holy Spirit, “Most
assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do
also; and greater works than these he will do,... (John 14:12) and the disciples are proof of that. Jesus is instructing them to go to their bretheren, the children of Isreal and say the exact same message and do the exact same things He had done. But He also instructs them not to make any preparation for their physical needs. Freely you have received, freely give. Jesus is making sure the disciples are very careful in how they represent God, Himself, and the Kingdom of Heaven. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,... (Ephesians 2:8) And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
Jesus also says something else that many of us need to grab a hold of, that ...a worker is worthy of his food. God explains this through the Apostle Paul very clearly: But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly... For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. (II Thessalonians 3:6-10) Salvation is a free gift from God, To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins. (Acts 10:43) And we are to be willing workers for the Lord, ...whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43-45)
“Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city! (Matthew 10:11-15; Mark 6:10-12; Luke 9:4-6) The use of the word "worthy" means to stay at the home of someone who is respected, without a bad reputation among the people. In other words, be careful of the company you keep. But with that, if they or anyone else refused to believe the Word of God as the disciples explained it, the disciples were not to argue or try to prove the Truth. They were simply to leave in peace and shake off the dust from your feet. And we are to do the same: tell the Truth, and move on. (see THE GOSPEL: Parables of Light & Growth) And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. (Mark 6:13)
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