Luke 9:1-2

"And he [Jesus] called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal."

Luke records for us a recalling of the time when Jesus empowers the twelve disciples, giving them authority over demons and the ability to heal diseases, while sending them out to proclaim the kingdom of God. It’s a strong call to action. And hopefully we'll discover from this that discipleship isn’t passive; it’s about being equipped and sent out with purpose.

Jesus's equipping of them seems to be direct and supernatural. This doesn't seem to be some sort of long training process or seminary type of education. It's a divine gift of calling and sending. The word in Greek used for it is dynamis, which, as you might imagine implies strength and dynamic miraculous power. But maybe even more importantly he gives them authority to do these things. Which implies there's a necessity for that. The Greek word used is exousia, which delegates his own divine power to these men. He's giving them leave and liberty to wield that power. Divine authoritative power over the demonic influencers he knows they will encounter.

This isn't a circus event; it's not a spectacle or sideshow. This isn't an exorcism exhibition. They are given a specific purpose, to proclaim the kingdom of God. This seems to have more to do with teaching them to live a mission lifestyle, it's a way of being in Christ.

This is as it should be in my opinion. This is the business of the church. We should be about meeting the needs, the spiritual needs, of the people whom God is trying to reach with the gospel. And this is not to say that we are on a social gospel mission. At the end of the day healing, and providing, for the needs of the people is incidental to the primary mission of preaching and teaching the kingdom of God. We are advocates for Jesus Christ first and foremost. This sending and all that it entails is on-the-job-training for that kingdom purpose. We learn by doing. The power and authority that Jesus gives them backs up the advocacy they are giving for the kingdom of God. The caution that we should be aware of is that it's in our human nature to make more of the power and authority than was ever intended. We should be aware that we can easily slip into idolatry if we aren't cognizant of this trend within our own human nature. We never want to exchange our primary motivation for a social gospel work, because it will inevitably lead to idolatry. The power and authority are tools used to support the mission, not the main attraction. It's like Jesus gave the disciples a megaphone to preach the good news and the danger is that many will begin worshiping the megaphone and forget about the one who sent them.

And almost as if to laser point that exact thing what happens next bears this out.

Luke 9:7-9

Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. Herod said, "John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?" And he sought to see him.

Herod catches wind of the great happenings. He heard about the various deeds Jesus had been performing. The miracles, the buzz, the curiosity. The who and the what and the power involved. It's like he's interested in chasing after the next big show now that John the Baptist is gone. There doesn't seem to be any desire in him to know the message. He's just interested in the sideshow.

Meanwhile, after a little time the disciples return from their mission trip. And Jesus takes them on a journey into a more remote and quiet retreat area, to a town called Bethsaida. Jesus hits the pause button and sets up a time to review all they've learned and experienced. A kind of debriefing. But it doesn't last for long.

Luke 9:11

When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing.

The people heard about all that had happened, and they followed them around, trying to draw nearer and closer to them. And as they went along traveling and trying to get ahead of them, they picked up more people along the way and before you know it, they had a huge crowd.

And Jesus doesn't turn them away, but instead he teaches them about the kingdom of God. About a kingdom of light and love. He cured their illnesses while they were there and fed their spirits with the gospel truth.

Jesus welcomes them and their intrusive throngs. That word "welcomed", in Greek it's prosdechomai, which carries this sense of receiving them gladly, like He’s open to their pursuit no matter how uninvited. He’s showing them what God’s reign looks like, not just telling them.

I recognize this mission posture. It's not unlike our Kairos Prison Ministry. We come together as a team of Christian people from all sorts of faith backgrounds. From many different church communities. And we come together on what we call "common ground". That common ground is advocacy for the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Not for any one church doctrine or established tradition. Not for personalities, and influencers. Not for a social gospel; the prosperity gospel, the liberation gospel, the Good-People Gospel, the Self-Esteem Gospel, the Individualism Gospel, the Optional-Jesus Gospel, the Faith-And Works Gospel, and the Cheap Grace gospel. Not any of these other gospels.

We come on common ground teaching and preaching the good news about Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, and all his glory revealed to humanity through the trinity. We teach about his forgiveness of sin and restoration. We call this freedom and friendship with God.

I call it "raw" evangelism, stripped of all the extra baggage. It's like what we see in Luke 9. We don't let the crowds get lost in the fascination and sideshow. We don't get sidetracked by extraordinary ideas. We call this staying within the riverbanks. And we bring this raw gospel to a captive crowd that exists in a very dark place. And this direct and focused messaging prevents the muddying of the waters with points of style and doctrinal disputes.

This focused approach is necessary in that environment where the darkness, or absence of light, is both literal and spiritual. It's unvarnished truth that cuts through the noise. And this is most notably seen while we're there in the prison gymnasium. Where the acoustics are horrible, sound bouncing off of concrete walls echoing every little sharp noise. Every rattling of the prison door keys on the belt of the corrections officer. Every click and scratch from the corrections officers walkie-talkie. Every hum and buzz and blast of air from the HVAC systems every noise echoing, cutting through the deep and insightful conversations we're having about Jesus Christ following the wonderful testimonies and talks given by the team. Noise is palatable in that place. Even a whisper can interrupt the message. It's quiet chaos.

The darkness is thick, and the noise is relentless. It's church and something completely different. The environment itself is the challenge. It's truly like preaching at the gates of hell sometimes. And yet it's beautiful. Because the message resonates through it all. Even when the guards begin shouting and blowing their whistles and screaming at the men to line up against the walls for count, even then the message resonates. Because we planned for that. We assembled all the prayer warriors' prayers and listed them and their names on a colorful paper link chain. Each link of that paper chain has a name of a prayer warrior on it and the date and time that they are praying for that weekend event. And that chain is hanging on the walls of the gymnasium. And as the men are lined up there to be counted as they often are throughout the entire day. They can turn and see that chain and see those names of those prayer warriors praying for them, and they can know they are loved by God in that moment and not just another number being called out by the corrections officers. Turning a grim routine into a moment of grace.

In the Kairos prison ministry, we have planned for the noise, and the chaos, and the corrections officers, and the dissension, and the rival gangs, and the rival religions, and all the other distractions that the enemy sends our way. We've thought about them, we've taught about them, and we've planned for them. The darkness and chaos will not win because we've got it covered in prayer.

In a place where everything tries to strip away identity, we give them something tangible to hold onto. We give them physical proof that they are being seen and heard. We call this agape love. Sacrificial love strung up right there on a gymnasium wall. That's raw intentional evangelism. That chain isn't just a reminder, or a decoration, it's a lifeline.

It's not a miracle of casting out demons or curing disease, but it's a sign of God's grace just the same. Showing the men, they're not forsaken, it amplifies the unvarnished truth. And assures them that forgiveness and restoration has come into that place. It's offered freely and without baggage. The Kairos agape is more than paper chains and letters and cookies, it's more than just the sum of its parts, it's a tether to hope and joy in Christ. It's an anchor to the reality of God's love in a place that tries to strip it away.

And isn't that what Jesus was intending when he sent the disciples out that day?

Food for thought.