- 7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them authority over unclean spirits; 8 And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: 9 But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. 10 And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.
- 11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. 12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent. 13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
- Compare: Matthew 10:5-15; Luke 9:1-6
Jesus Sends Out His Apostles
Thus far, Jesus’ twelve apostles have been following him from place to place, witnessing the miracles he performed and learning about his teachings. This included not only the teachings he has made openly to the crowds, but also secret teachings delivered only to them as we saw in chapter 4 of Mark. Now, however, Jesus is telling them that they will have to go out to teach on their own and work their own miracles.
This is the third “calling” of the apostles — the first occurred in chapter 1 and the second in chapter 3. Each time the narrative is heightened and intensified. Like Jesus they are to give up their families and lead itinerant lifestyles, traveling from place to place to preach the message of the Kingdom of God and work wonders in Jesus’ name.
The apostles are described as being given authority over unclean spirits. Some older translations use the word "power" instead, but power makes less sense than authority. We can imagine someone having power over a spirit and thus having the ability to make the spirit leave. Authority, however, implies both power and the justification for exorcising it.
Thus, the apostles were given not simply the raw ability to force spirits to leave, but also a certain status which meant that they were justified in so acting — a status which, presumably, the unclean spirits were expected to acknowledge. This, I think, is supposed to point to Jesus’ divine status, marking him as something more than merely a healer or miracle worker who wouldn’t necessarily have authority over spirits, much less the ability to pass that authority on.
» Continue: Modern Christians vs Jesus' Apostles
