March 29, 2022 – Tuesday
Mark 6:12 NIV
12 They went out and preached that people should repent.
Comment.
Earlier Jesus had given His twelve disciples instructions as He sent them out. His instructions came about the following way, 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.
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.”
With the above in mind, it is somewhat surprising that They went out and preached that people should repent. The following verse tells us, They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. An incredible amount of attention is given to the subsequent verse that they drove out many demons and healed many sick people while almost ignoring what they preached, that people should repent.
We should not miss that the first thing they did was that They went out and preached that people should repent, and that is what first John the Baptist preached (1:4, John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.) and Jesus preached as well (1:15, The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!)
The focus on the twelve’s ability to drive out demons and heal the sick is understandable as it is in the realm of miraculous for our modern minds while anyone can preach that people should repent. However, it’s placement as the first thing they did, They went out and preached that people should repent, tells us the absolute importance of repenting. Why would this be so? Because repentance was an absolute necessity if one was to have the new life Jesus offered.
Thru the Bible commentary wrote that the disciples, preached a message of repentance, and the miracles authenticated their message. Matthew Poole’ Commentary is similar in that he writes, They executed both the trusts which Christ had reposed in them, preaching the gospel, and by miraculous operations confirming the doctrine which they brought to be from heaven. John Baptist, and Christ, and the twelve all preached the same doctrine, repent; that is, turn from your former sinful courses, which if men do not, Christ’s coming will profit them nothing.
All too often in churches today we seldom hear about sin and repentance, but as John the Baptist, Jesus Himself, and His disciples make clear, repentance is central to the good news that heaven, or the kingdom of God is near. How are we to embrace the grace granted by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross if we have no repentance. We cannot as Jesus warns in Matthew 7:22-23, Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Bottom line: Know repentance is key to the good news that the kingdom of God is near. The good news is intended to move us to repentance. Let it do so.
Prayer: Almighty God, Every single day Your kingdom grows nearer and nearer. Let the knowledge of this bring more and more people to repentance. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek