The Mission of the Twelve

In the previous chapter, there are a whole lot of significant things mentioned:

• Women Accompany Jesus,
• The Parable of the Sower,
• Purpose of Parables,
• Parable of the Lamp under a Jar,
• Jesus’ true family,
• Jesus calming the storm,
• Jesus driving away the Legion-Demoniac of Gerasene,
• Restoring to life of a Synagogue officials daughter and
• Finally but importantly healing of the woman with the 12 year haemorrhage.

If you read the above list carefully, it is the Good News in a nutshell, and the icing being the healing of the woman with the 12 year haemorrhage, since it points to taking away the unclean status of Israel. Israel in a way was unclean and therefore unfit to come in God’s Presence. This is so conveyed by the angel Gabriel to Daniel, when he informs him that the physical exile of his people will end, but their spiritual exile will continue…, implying uncleanliness. This time of spiritual exile will end, the angel says, with the coming of the Messiah. Therefore during Jesus’ time all the Jews were expectantly waiting for the Messiah.

John the Baptist was a little confused, because he was a prophet in the old style and therefore he understood things in a little old mentality. He saw Jesus speaking things in a fresh new way; which even he found challenging. Therefore he sent his disciples to Jesus to confirm His Messiahship. And Jesus understanding John’s confusion gave a simple way for him to understand who Jesus way.
Luke 7:22-23

• And he answered them,
• “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard:
• the blind receive their sight,
• the lame walk,
• lepers are cleansed,
• and the deaf hear,
• the dead are raised up,
• the poor have good news preached to them.
• And blessed is he who takes no offense at me.”

This is what Jesus is tasking (in today’s Gospel) those he appoints as his Apostles to do – bear witness to what is happening around them. That if the listener pays heed to their words, pause a little and reflect, will be reminded of what Isaiah spoke of regarding the Messiah and His work, and they too would believe.

We as Christians are all like the Apostles [=(meaning) those sent], sent to bear witness to Jesus. But of what are we witnesses? Pause and reflect and you will understand the problem here. We have seen no sign and wonders around us, we do not know much about what the Bible says, our faith is a hand me down faith, heresy, and confused like John the Baptist, or worse. What I am trying to say here is that we are preaching things that even we do not understand and know. We are not convicted about Jesus and His Truth, because we have no relationship with Him. Therefore we have become insecure, and we holding on to the faith of our forefathers, preaching and teaching it, not knowing what it is nor who it is.

I will say to be a witness, one needs to experience things for the self. Let’s take the example of the Computer. There was a time when people did not know anything much of the computer, much less have one, yet they read much about them, and then spun yarns what computers could do. Today everyone in general has an experience of a computer, understand its limitations and what and knowing first-hand how one can do much with them. That is the same with Christ and Christianity. We should not seek to be witnesses in the sense of being vocal of what Christ did and does. We rather should actively seek to enrich ourselves by being engaged in a relationship with Jesus. And that is the time genuine witness overflows, because people will see your relationship with Jesus in your words and deeds,  and our witness will fill our houses, the sidewalk and the city. Because that is what the Apostles did, they spoke were the witness of their relationship with their Master, and the things that happened around them as a result.

If there is no relationship with Jesus; it is just the blind leading the blind.

Come Lord Holy Spirit, open our eyes, help us see, gift us humility help us realise the truth and the courage to accept it.