Luke 9:1-6
"Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere," Luke 9:1-6.
As Jesus and His disciples traveled through the nation of Israel, He continually taught them. Jesus would use everyday things for object lessons; such as the fowls and the lilies in Matthew 6:24-34. The disciples saw Christ show compassion on some, while calling out and condemning others. They saw Christ have compassion on those who needed compassion, and they saw Christ show no compassion on the false teachers and religious leaders. They also saw Christ do these things without a price tag. It will cost us to live for Christ, but we are not to charge others. As soon as you put a price tag on compassion, it is no longer compassion.
In Luke 9:1, Christ calls the twelve disciples together, He gives them the power and authority to cast out demons, and to heal the sick. How many of you would sign up for this power? The next question would be, why? Would you be looking to make a name for yourself; would you want people to oh and ah as you walked down the street; would you consider yourself a have while others were have nots; and would you use this power for filthy gain, for a profit? Pride is sneaky. Our flesh wants to be popular. It is real easy to cover our pride with the cloak of religion. Turn to Acts 8:1-25. Simon saw dollar signs and control over the people. He would make merchandise of the people, not have compassion on them. Simon would heal based on how much money the sick person was able to give. Aren't you thankful Peter called him out?
Christ gave the twelve disciples power, and then sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick (verse 2). "Preach" in Luke 9:2 means to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth (the gospel). Christ sent them with a specific message, the gospel. They have heard Christ teach, and they have been instructed on what to proclaim. They preached the same message Christ preached. "The Gospel, which gives an account of the kingdom of the Messiah; of his kingly office and power; of his church, which is his kingdom, and of the government of it, by the ministration of the word, and the administration of ordinances; of the kingdom of grace in the hearts of Christ's subjects, and the nature of it; and of the kingdom of glory, and what is the saints' meetness for it, and right unto it." John Gill. As the disciples would preach, they would be pointing all to Christ. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me," John 14:6. "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day," John 6:44.
The disciples would preach Christ, and to validate this message they would also be able to cast out demons and heal the sick. We see this through the book of Acts. The apostles were able to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons. This power validated what they preached. But today we have a more sure word of prophecy in the New Testament. We do not need, nor should we look to signs and wonders to validate what someone is saying, we simply need to compare what they are preaching and teaching with the Scriptures. I will go further and say if someone appears to have the power to work signs and miracles that they are a false prophet. The sign gifts were almost nonexistent by AD 70 (I Timothy 5:23; II Timothy 4:20). The healings that are seen today are fake.
"And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them," Luke 9:3-5. In these verses Christ is telling them to put into practice what He has been teaching them, and that is to live by faith; live depending on the Lord to provide. Neither should they be attached to the things of this world. If they are attached to the things of this world, if they are not depending on Christ to provide for them, then they leave themselves open to be influenced to preach a certain way for fear of offending those who can give them what they want. When in fact they should be preaching not to offend the One Who owns everything and is able to provide for them. Go with the message Christ has given them, go in the power Christ has given them, and follow the example Christ has given them; compassion with no cost. Preach the gospel out of obedience to the Father, and out of compassion for those who are perishing. Validate the message for the glory of the Son, and out of compassion for those who are sick and afflicted.
Follow Christ's example. "And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing; have compassion on us, and help us," Mark 9:22. To "have compassion" means to have the bowels yearn, i.e. (figuratively) feel sympathy, to pity: have (be moved with) compassion. "Help" means to aid or relieve:- help, succour. Here are more scripture references: Mark 5:19; 1:40-42; Matthew 9:35-38; Matthew 15:22-28; Luke 7:13, etc.
"And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere," Luke 9:6. Since no one has the power to work miracle today, how does this apply to us? We have the gospel to preach, to all. We do this out of obedience, and also out of compassion for those who are perishing. We go with Christ's message, and we go trusting Christ to save souls. It is wonderful knowing the Lord has saved you, and it is also wonderful knowing He has called all whom He saves to proclaim the Gospel. Lord help us to view the world as the mission field; as You have showed compassion to us, may we show compassion to others, for Your glory. Let us show compassion with no cost.
Are you saved according to the Scriptures? If so, praise Him and please Him. If not, I beg you to turn from your sins and trust Christ alone to save you. "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out," John 6:37.
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Soli Deo Gloria.
