Memorize: Instruction given on discipleship
Key Verses: 3, 10, 17, 22, 23, 25, 33, 44, 48, 54, 62
Jesus gives the disciples power and authority and sends them out. This time they are sent without provisions to give them the opportunity to put their faith into action. Part of that culture was taking care of the visitor or traveler. For the first time they face the possibility of personal opposition because of the message they will bring. They will be on the front lines telling and demonstrating the power that is connected to the message. Lots of things could go wrong.
Even when Jesus wants to take his disciples away by themselves and provide them a period of refreshing, the crowds come and Jesus welcomes the crowd. This opens the door for Jesus to feed over 5000 people with five loaves and two fish. Jesus did not do this miracle to feed the 5000, but to show his disciples that He would provide for them. Just as they went out and spread the message and their needs were met, so Jesus will continue to meet the needs of His followers. It is thought that the twelve baskets of food left over show that all Israel will be able to share in Jesus.
Jesus often asks questions to get His disciples to think carefully about a subject. Often we just float through life without really doing much critical thinking, just like the disciples. Jesus calls us into a life of thinking and acting with depth and purpose. Jesus tries to help His disciples to recognize that his upcoming death was only the beginning. But they don’t really seem to understand. Gaining heaven costs everything here on earth, for Jesus and for us.
Three of the disciples get a glimpse of Jesus in His heavenly glory. They get a look beyond Jesus earthly human body to the Deity who always was and is. They want to camp out on the mountaintop, but a voice from the cloud told them to listen. Sometimes we just talk too much and forget to listen. This is especially true in prayer. Prayer is dialogue, not monologue. Listen. As Jesus lays out His coming death, they are arguing about which of them is the greatest. Jesus takes a little child and elevates him to the highest place in an attempt to get His disciples to listen and understand.
The cost of following Jesus is everything you are and have. We give up our desires and adopt His. We become open to His voice of direction and willing follow His whisper. We move in an opposite direction, and once going in that direction, we never turn back.
REVIEW: John
The Arnold Journey 