He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff

 

 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

 

- Mark 6:1–13 

 

Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.  And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When hears about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."  While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?"  As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.  Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.  But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said to that something should be given her to eat.  

 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.   But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  My study bible comments here that the double response of being both astonished and offended is a frequent occurrence with those who encounter Christ (Luke 11:14-16, John 9:16).  Christ's rejection in his own country is a foreshadowing of His rejection by the entire nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  Jesus' brothers are either stepchildren of Mary by a previous marriage of Joseph, or extended family -- as it was common to call cousins "brother" and remains so today in the Middle and Near East.  Jesus' saying regarding a prophet's lack of honor in his own country appears in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57, Luke 4:24, John 4:44).

Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  My study bible says that Jesus could do no mighty work there, not because He lacked power, but because of the unbelief of all but a few in Nazareth.  My study bible comments that while grace is always offered to all, only those who receive it in faith obtain its benefits.  For more on the connection between faith and healing, see yesterday's  commentary.  Note here that even Jesus marveled because of their unbelief.

 

 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.    Jesus has already chosen the twelve, and here they are sent out on their first apostolic mission.  They are to take nothing for the journey except a staff; that is, there is no special preparation but a walking stick.  Let us note metaphorically that Greek word for "staff" can also indicate a scepter, a be a sign of authority.  But clearly, the emphasis is on moving from place to place with no fixed abode.  Jesus gave them power over unclean spirits, a clear sign of authority and an extension of His own - so not personally that of the apostles themselves.  They are "traveling light" so to speak, with an emphasis on humility but also that they are sojourners on a mission, with one aim in mind.  They are to stay wherever they are first welcome, not to "trade up" for better lodgings.  They are to shake off the dust under their feet as testimony against those who will not receive nor hear them. 

 

And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.  My study bible comments that to anoint the sick with oil hasn't only medicinal value but also sacramental value as well.  It says that as God's healing power is bestowed through creation (Mark 5:27; Numbers 21:8-9, 2 Kings 13:21; John 9:6-7; Acts 5:15, 19:11-12), so oil also is a vehicle of God's mercy and healing in the Church (James 5:14).  

It's interesting to ponder the detail that the apostles -- being sent out on their first mission -- are told to take nothing for their journey except a staff.  As we said above, a staff is a walking stick.  This is a tool meant for use as one who walks on long journeys, it helps with the long going and the varied terrain one will encounter.  It suggests that the primary experience of this journey is simply that:  to be a journey.  The other details Christ gives -- that they are not to be taking on a great deal of baggage and extras for preparation with them -- indicates the same.  They will not stay in one place for a long time.  The conditions they encounter will keep them moving, not rooted in one place or another.  In some sense, they take on the mission of the Sower.  They will be planting seeds where they go, but not staying to watch them take root and grow nor to nurture and water them.  They will be carrying on the mission of the One who has sent them.  Much later on, in the development of the Church, some of the earliest apostles, including among the Seventy, will themselves become bishops, and thereby working to plant and grow churches in various locations.  But for this first journey, there is a different mission, and it frames the whole of our lives in the world in that it sets down for us priorities and meanings as to the reality of the Church in the world.  We are here temporarily; we will all someday face death.  But our journey through life and its meaning and quality really depend on one thing, and that is our dependency upon God, and the faith that can challenge us to spread seeds, to reach out to the world in testimony, to follow Christ.  Our "mission" does not consist in our accumulation of wealth and other things we possess; it is about framing our lives as a journey for a time, and within which we are offered a choice to carry the living Church into the world.  That is the framework given to us by this first commission of Christ, in which He shares His own power with the apostles so that they may carry that power within them and among them --  on their shoulders, so to speak, into the world.  This is what is given the primary emphasis.  Let us keep in mind, also, that this word in Greek for "staff" also can indicate a scepter (see, for example, Hebrews 1:8), as in an image of authoritative power.  In addition, it brings up and echoes the images and uses of staffs in the Old Testament, most notably the staff of Moses which was turned into a saving instrument of power for the Jews when they were bitten by serpents (Numbers 21:4-9).  In turn, this image of the staff of Moses was referred to by Jesus when He gave a prophecy that He would be lifted up on the Cross, thus teaching us that the image in the Old Testament was a prefiguring of Christ's power of the Cross, and also fulfilled in the Cross as instrument of salvation for the world (John 3:14-16).  In a similar sense, we might view these staffs of the apostles going out upon their first mission as those instruments whereby Christ's power is going out into the world, sent by Him but carried and distributed by those with whom He has chosen to share that power.   Of note in this context is also the response Christ has taught the disciples when they encounter those who neither will receive them nor hear them:  to shake the dust from under their feet as a testimony.  And this calls upon other associations with this word for "staff," namely that this same word is also commonly translated as "rod."  In varied contexts, a rod refers to a rule, and also to justice (Psalm 2:9; Revelation 2:27, 12:5, 19:15).  The image of righteousness or justice in their staffs plays out in the testimony against those who refuse to hear; in that testimony is also another function of the power Christ has distributed to them.   They are simply to shake the dust from their feet and use their staffs to walk on to another place and continue with their mission.  But that power also works in response to the refusal, and to the testimony of the apostles.  This power works in the same way that the image of the serpent is turned against the serpents, and the power of the Cross (the instrument of death) is used to trample down death as the last enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26).  The remarkable meanings of Scripture come to us in these varied ways, and yet they tell us of the power of Christ.  Possibly one of the more remarkable images dealing with a staff or rod is the story of the flowering of the rod of Aaron into blossoms and the fruit of ripe almonds (Numbers 17).  In this image we may see the whole of the Old and New Testaments, as God's power is allied with the elements of the world and working through the faith of human beings.  Let us consider how we are to walk through this world, traveling "light" except for the faith we place in the One who calls us on our journey.  On whose staff will you lean, in whose word will you trust?  With what "life" is your life endowed to give meaning, to flower and blossom, to bear fruit, and to guide your way?