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The 70 disciples returned, joyfully reporting to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons submit to us when we use your name!”
He said, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy. You can walk on snakes and scorpions and nothing will ever harm you. However, don’t celebrate about the fact that spirits submit to you. The important thing is that your names are known in heaven.”
LK 10:17-20
Jesus gave the message of the Kingdom to the crowds only in parables, as they were able to hear. This fulfilled the prophecy which said “I will open my mouth in parables; I will declare things kept hidden from the beginning of the world.” However, he privately explained what he had said to his disciples.
MT 13:34-35, MK 4:33-34
Jesus and his disciples were walking through the grain fields one Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began picking the heads off the grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating. When the Pharisees saw them doing this, they said “Why are you doing what is it illegal on the Sabbath?”
Jesus answered them, “Didn’t you read what David and his companions did when they were hungry – how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and took and ate the sacred bread, which only the priests were allowed to eat, and also gave some to his companions to eat?”
MT 12:1-4, MK 2:23-26, LK 6:1-4
“Or didn’t you read in the Law that the Temple priests violate the Sabbath and are not guilty of breaking the Law? I tell you that something greater than the Temple is here! If you knew what the phrase ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’ means then you would not have condemned innocent people.”
MT 12:5-7
“The Sabbath was created for man, not the other way around.”
MK 2:27
“Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
MT 12:8, MK 2:28, LK 6:5
Jesus was traveling in a circuit among the villages so he could teach in their synagogues, share the good news of the kingdom of heaven, and heal everyone who was sick in any way. He felt compassion when he saw the crowds because they were exhausted and lost, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his closest followers, “The harvest is heavy, but the laborers are light. Therefore, pray to our abundant God to provide more workers.”
MT 9:35-38, LK 10:2
Then Jesus went away by himself to a mountaintop to spend all night in prayer to God. When the first rays of dawn arrived, he called those he had chosen to him and they came. He also appointed 12 apostles. They were to be with him, to go out to preach, and to heal diseases and drive out demons.
Their names were Simon, (who Jesus renamed Peter); his brother Andrew; James and John – the sons of Zebedee; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus; Simon the Cananaean – also known as the Zealot; Thaddeus – also called Jude; and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
MT 10:1-4, MK 3:13-19, LK 6:12-16
Jesus wanted the disciples to only go to fellow Israelites. He instructed them not to go to other nations, especially any associated with Samaria.
MT 10:5-6
He told them “Announce that the kingdom of heaven is near.” Sending them out in pairs, he instructed them to “Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, and cast out demons. Bring nothing for your journey; not a walking stick, a travel bag, food, money, or even extra clothing. Stay in the first house that welcomes you during the entire time you are in that town, eating and drinking what is offered to you, because a worker deserves his pay.”
When entering a house they were to “Say ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, then your blessing will stay with those who live in that house. Otherwise, your blessing will return to you. If the town does not welcome you and your words, then you are to shake the dust off your feet as you leave. When judgment day comes it will be easier on Sodom and Gomorrah that it will be for any town that did not show hospitality to you.”
The disciples went and did as he said, spreading the good news, preaching, and healing everywhere they went.
MT 10:7-15, MK 6:6b-13, LK 9:1-6, LK 10:1, 4-12
Jesus said “I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Because of that, be as clever as snakes and as peaceful as doves.”
MT 10:16, LK 10:3
In the boat one evening, Jesus told his disciples “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.”
Shortly afterwards, a dangerous storm came up. The storm was so violent that the disciples were afraid that the boat was going to be swamped by the waves and they were going to drown. They went to get Jesus and found him sleeping on the cushions in the back of the boat. His disciples woke him saying “Master we’re going to die!”
He said to them “Why do you have so little faith?”
Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves saying “Silence! Be still!”
Everything suddenly went calm. His disciples were amazed and asked each other “Who is this that even the winds and the waves obey him?”
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MT 8:23-27. MK 4:35-41. LK 8:22-26
Imagine the early disciples on the first Good Friday. It certainly wasn’t good in their eyes. Their leader has just been killed, by the state.
This wasn’t a drive by. This wasn’t a domestic dispute. This wasn’t an accident. The authorities put him on trial and then the crowd decided that Jesus was going to die. They freed a murderer instead.
They knew they were upsetting the status quo with their little group but they didn’t know it would lead to Jesus being crucified.
They’ve been up all night with him. They were keeping watch while he prayed. Well, they weren’t really doing a great job of it. He kept finding them asleep. They were sleeping in bits and pieces, outside, on the ground. It wasn’t a restful night. He’d told them what was going to happen but they didn’t really get the severity of it. They certainly didn’t think it would end like it did.
The soldiers came, with Judas. Here’s someone they know. It will all work out OK, they are sure of that. Nope. There’s a fight. A soldier’s ear gets cut off. Jesus gets taken away. Nothing makes sense anymore.
And then this. No last minute reprieve. He’s dead.
Crucifixion is a terrible way to die. It is humiliating. It is long and slow. You suffocate to death, nearly naked, in front of everybody. Meanwhile you are in agony because of the nails that are holding you onto the cross. No anesthesia. No mercy. It is a cruel death – one designed to send a message. Don’t challenge the system or you’ll meet the same fate.
Everything has turned upside down for them. Nothing makes sense. Everyone and everything appears to be against them, and the person they would ask for advice is dead.
They are wondering if they are next.
Where is the person who stilled the raging sea? Where is the person who healed all those people? They are needing healing themselves right about now. There is a raging storm in their hearts, and there is nobody there to say “Be still!”
Let us sit in this moment.
Scattered. Lost. Abandoned. All hope is lost.
Don’t run away from this feeling. You have to live thorough it.
We are those disciples.
We are wondering where is God now. We think God has forsaken us.
We don’t see a happy ending to this story.
Sit with this feeling. Don’t rush ahead to the end of the story. Don’t rush ahead to Easter. You know how this ends. They didn’t. Be those disciples. Feel this loss. Feel all hope draining out of you. Feel the exhaustion and the fear.
And know that God is still with you, even in this moment, even in this agony.
Matthew 4:1-11
1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. 2 After He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, He was hungry. 3 Then the tempter approached Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 But He answered, “It is written:
Man must not live on bread alone
but on every word that comes
from the mouth of God.”
5 Then the Devil took Him to the holy city, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
He will give His angels orders concerning you,
and they will support you with their hands
so that you will not strike
your foot against a stone.”
7 Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.”
8 Again, the Devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 And he said to Him, “I will give You all these things if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written:
Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only Him.”
11 Then the Devil left Him, and immediately angels came and began to serve Him.
Mark 1:14-20
14 After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the good news of God:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news!”
16 As He was passing along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen.
17 “Follow Me,” Jesus told them, “and I will make you fish for people!” 18 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 19 Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in their boat mending their nets. 20 Immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him.
John 1:43-51
43 The next day He decided to leave for Galilee. Jesus found Philip and told him, “Follow Me!”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law (and so did the prophets): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!”
46 “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him.
“Come and see,” Philip answered.
47 Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him and said about him, “Here is a true Israelite; no deceit is in him.”
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
“Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered.
49 “Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus responded to him, “Do you believe only because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” 51 Then He said, “I assure you: You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Luke 4:16-30
16 He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place where it was written:
18 The Spirit of the Lord is on Me,
because He has anointed Me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent Me
to proclaim freedom to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
20 He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”
22 They were all speaking well of Him and were amazed by the gracious words that came from His mouth, yet they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
23 Then He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Doctor, heal yourself. So all we’ve heard that took place in Capernaum, do here in Your hometown also.’”
24 He also said, “I assure you: No prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 But I say to you, there were certainly many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months while a great famine came over all the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them—but to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27 And in the prophet Elisha’s time, there were many in Israel who had serious skin diseases, yet not one of them was healed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was enraged. 29 They got up, drove Him out of town, and brought Him to the edge of the hill that their town was built on, intending to hurl Him over the cliff. 30 But He passed right through the crowd and went on His way.
Luke 4:31-41
31 Then He went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath.32 They were astonished at His teaching because His message had authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man with an unclean demonic spirit who cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Leave us alone! What do You have to do with us, Jesus—Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
35 But Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet and come out of him!”
And throwing him down before them, the demon came out of him without hurting him at all.36 Amazement came over them all, and they kept saying to one another, “What is this message? For He commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!” 37 And news about Him began to go out to every place in the vicinity.
38 After He left the synagogue, He entered Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him about her. 39 So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and began to serve them.
40 When the sun was setting, all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to Him. As He laid His hands on each one of them, He would heal them. 41 Also, demons were coming out of many, shouting and saying, “You are the Son of God!” But He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew He was the Messiah.
Mark 1:35-45
35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. And He was praying there. 36 Simon and his companions went searching for Him.37 They found Him and said, “Everyone’s looking for You!”
38 And He said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come.” 39 So He went into all of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
40 Then a man with a serious skin disease came to Him and, on his knees, begged Him: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched him. “I am willing,” He told him. “Be made clean.” 42 Immediately the disease left him, and he was healed. 43 Then He sternly warned him and sent him away at once, 44 telling him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Yet he went out and began to proclaim it widely and to spread the news, with the result that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But He was out in deserted places, and they would come to Him from everywhere.
(All translations of the Bible are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, and copied from the Bible Gateway website.)
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