He gave them authority over unclean spirits
Fri, 30 June, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.
1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Jesus calls his disciples and commissions the twelve to have power over unclean spirits and to heal. He then sends them out to proclaim the kingdom of God.
What do we learn from this?
Jesus gives the twelve a special dispensation of His power to validate the message they bring to the people. The purpose of these miraculous powers was not to amaze people, or to call attention to the disciples themselves. Rather the point is to prove the messangers are truly sent by God, and people should pay attention to the message they bring.
It is easy to lose sight of the true purpose of these miracles. People focus on the unusual manifestations of God’s power, and desire to see the same things in our day. But if our desire is to see miracles rather than to hear the word of God, then we have missed the whole point. We have the full scriptures, and we know their authority. We don’t need any more miracles to validate God’s word, for it has already been proved to be authoritative.
Where is Christ in this passage?
Here we see Jesus Christ using His disciples to bring the word to the people of that day. Today it is our responsibility to bring the word to those around us, for He still works through His followers to carry the message of salvation in Jesus Christ to the lost world.
