Sent Out

After engaging in numerous conflicts in Galilee, Jesus will now appoint the twelve disciples
through whom He will carry forward His mission.
After another powerful moment of ministry, Jesus again withdraws to the sea. We are given a
summary statement about Jesus’ ministry (verses 7-12), and we learn that crowds from all kinds of
regions are flocking to the Lord, which anticipates the coming global commission Jesus gives to
His disciples after His resurrection (see Matt. 28). And though demons try to control Jesus by
naming Him, they remain powerless to stop or resist the Son of God. Twelve (a significant number due to God’s choosing of the twelve tribes of Israel) disciples are called then named apostles (which means “sent ones”) and given authority for two crucial tasks: to preach and cast out demons. In another nod to biblical history, this calling occurs on a mountain (God often revealed Himself on mountains throughout Scripture). The kingdom of God that has come in Jesus will now be extended through mere men, whose only claim to any kind of authority is in the fact that they’re with Jesus, and He graciously empowers them to witness for the kingdom and overthrow the devil’s strongholds.