Wednesday 28th May
Read Luke 9:3-6
“He told them: ‘Take nothing for the journey – no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5 If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’ 6 So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.” (NIVUK)
Calvin warns us not to take these instructions as a blueprint for all mission. As the first mission journey only one thing is needed – obedience. God will provide for the needs of His people.
There are perhaps two conclusions to draw. First, there is nothing humanly needed to prepare. Sitting down and planning out how to follow Jesus’ instructions, making a list, preparing a backpack, setting up a savings account, all of this is unnecessary. The priority is obeying Jesus, telling others the good news and providing healing.
Secondly, there is nothing the disciples can claim credit for. By contributing nothing, any success that follows is because God is building His kingdom. The temptation to take credit lies deep within every human heart. We long to justify our existence in some way, point to something and say that we did that. They were instructed to take nothing.
Whilst we are invited to contribute our efforts, and even our lives, the first mission blueprint seeks to make it clear where the true credit lies.
