“Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions: “Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep. Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!” Matthew 10:5-8 NLT
This seems to be Jesus’ leadership development plan. We want more training, more time. Jesus wants us to have more faith.
Faith is more for than just things we’ve hoped for, it’s on the job training, it’s experience in action. It’s doing, not just thinking. It’s Ignatius Loyola’s mantra to “live with one foot raised.” It’s Home Depot’s slogan, “How doers get more done.” One person writes, “John’s Gospel never uses the noun (“faith, belief”) πίστις (pistis), but only the verb (“to believe; to trust”). πιστεύω (pisteuō). Faith in the gospel of John is a verb, not a noun.”
Here in Matthew, when Jesus said, “go,” no one misunderstands or confuses the word “go” with anything like, “think about going,” or “plan on going,” or “eventually, you should go.” That’s hilarious- go means go!
In Season 3 of the series, “The Chosen,” Dallas Jenkins has this scene in Episode 2, “two by two.” The episode captures the reality of this moment we read here. The disciples are all in shock, dumbfounded! Jesus gives the itinerary ToDo list, saying, “this is what you will be DOING.” Heal the sick. Raise the dead. Cure those with skin diseases. And….dramatic drumroll please, CAST OUT DEMONS. Everyone has questions. In The Chosen episode, he answers them. However, here in the text he does not answer them. Matthew just dutifully writes, “Jesus sent out.”
I remind myself, Jesus fully intended his followers to completely emulate everything he did himself through the power of the Holy Spirit. I know, we are all a little rusty at some of these commands, er… opportunities. Heal. Raise, Cast out. Whew. I need more training? For what? I need more time? Why? Oh, because in my mind, in my experience, I AM THE ONE EMPOWERING these commands. That is completely ridiculous. I can’t heal, raise or cast out anything. However, Matthew told me in 10:1, “Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness.” Of course I knew you and I would gravitate towards the excuse clause, “called his twelve disciples.” I am not, you are not, in the original twelve apostles group, so none of this applies to us, right? Sure, I can rest thinking that’s my out. But if I believe that as an excuse, it means all those other cool promises are only for the people Jesus originally spoke to back in ancient days. Even the blessings? Promises? Yeah, you’d have to scratch those as well.
When Jesus also said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father” John 14:12. He didn’t mean, really mean, anyone, right? Wrong. He did mean anyone who believes. Anyone who is a follower of Jesus. They have the authority of Christ, under the direction of the Holy Spirit to do the works of God here, now, on this planet. How much of the Holy Spirit do I need to be obedient? It’s not about quantity or quality of God’s presence in me. It’s about this verb, believe (pisteuō) like John wrote. It’s about the faith verb, not about faith noun! It’s about more doing, less waiting. Experience is an excellent instructor of faith. Let’s just believe and do.
Prayer
Dad,
This idea of DOING faith, verses just having faith, haunts me and excites me. I think big thoughts and sometimes even talk big faith, ah, but doing it… No wonder you sent them off in twos. I’ve been with friends when either their faith or mine is boosted when we have done things together. Alone, in doing faith, is no fun! However, if I can’t find a faith buddy, I so want to just do it on my own sometimes. I have got to quick thinking an pd writing about this and just DO IT. Help me. Thanks for your encouragement and patience.