Bible Pickers: Sending Out the Twelve, 5/17/15

Sermon 5-17-15 bible pickers.  Jesus sends out the 12

10 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. ² These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. ⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. ⁶ Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. ⁷ As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,^[a]drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. ⁹ “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— ¹⁰ no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. ¹¹ Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. ¹² As you enter the home, give it your greeting. ¹³ If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. ¹⁶ “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. ¹⁸ On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, ²⁰ for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

The series

The calculator from 1969

Today the disciples are sent - mk 6 luke 6, 10, 22

By themselves, with nothing

Another time 70 go 2x2

At the last supper - with stuff, prepared

We are sent

Without the notion of being sent, we are done.

What do we think about being sent out

What did the early 12 think of it?

They had a message that changed the world…

Do we feel that way?

All joy comes from investing in others

Freely you have received, freely give

The church I grew up in did not go.  It sat.  and stood.

And sat and stood.

Children go where I sent thee how shall I send thee

We sang about going, but nobody went

If we are not going, our Christianity is turned in upon itself

Who are you on the journey with ?

Life is short and I want you to love everyone,

But you need to manage carefully the kind of people you allow close to you.

In several of the sent passages, they go out 2x2. 

Who are you living the Christian life with?

Story of the 2 monks and the smelly woman

So we are going to go with and for Jesus

What are you taking on the road?

What are you taking on the road?

No awareness of others

Heavy Christianity

Hubert neth….. people are tired of being told that they are going to hell.

Relevant and normal….

Panel with seminary students..

Imagine Jesus walking out for the sermon on the mount

Rockhurst….. We will listen

Some asked what they were selling

Some talked.  We need to be heard

In the nooma video dust, rob bell talks about the educational process of jewish boys.

Each kid would go thru school to age 10

Learning the torah.  Memorized

At 10 most learned the family trade- fishing, carpentry, inn keeping, etc.

The best kept going went on and studied more

Memorized the rest of Hebrew scriptures- genesis to Malachi

By the end of this, many would join family business

If they went on, they went to a rabbi and asks to join the rabbis troupe.

They all interpreted the torah differently

Their interpretation was called their yoke

Jesus said, my yoke is easy, and my burden is light

The rabbi was the most respected man in the community

You want to learn the rabbi’s ways you wanted to be like him

The rabbi would grill you

Does this person have what it takes

Not everyone gets in

You don’t have what it takes to be one of m y disciples

If the rabbi thinks he has it, then the rabbi would say come follow me

At age 15 you were following the rabbi

To learn what he is

To follow his ways

Following the rabbi

May you be covered with the dust of your rabbi?

At age 30 Jesus says to them, come follow me

He is asking them to be his disciples…..

They weren’t the best of the best

‘they didn’t make the cut

They dropped their nets…… odd

They were the most respected people in the culture

When he says come follow me

He is saying, I think you can do what I do

I think you can be like me

James and john are fishing with their dad

They did not make the cut

He chooses them because his movement is for everyone

Its for the peasants and the scholars

They are the b team, but they change the course of human history

What this means for us…… you may not be the A team, you may be broken, scarred, battered, a tax collector, a sinner, Jesus chooses you.

He asks you to join him in this life journey of sharing his love.

The kingdom has come.

“May you be covered in the dust of your rabbi”