Message Information
- Key Scriptures: Luke 9:1-11, NASB
- Series: Luke (2025-2027), no. 25
- Date: Sunday, August 3, 2025 (Morning)
- Venue: Central Baptist Church — Lawton, Oklahoma
- Speaker: Jared Byrns
- Audio File: Open/Download
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Sent on Behalf of the King
It is not unusual for us to be sent on errands for other people. I was sent on one yesterday. Charla called me after I got into town and asked me to pick up birthday cupcakes for one of our children.
I asked where, and she said, “Walmart.” If you ever doubt my love for you, remember that I went to Walmart on a Saturday.
I will send her to pick up curbside orders at Atwoods. We do those things for each other.
If we are sitting at a restaurant, I may send one of the children to get me a refill because my knees are older than theirs. We send other people on errands.
We’re sent on errands. In the ancient world, it wasn’t unusual for kings to send people on errands. I read that Charlemagne, the famous Frankish ruler of the Middle Ages, sent envoys out two by two—a bureaucrat and a clergyman—to different parts of his empire.
They served as his eyes, ears, hands, and feet throughout the empire, ensuring that everything operated as it should. I read another story this week about Genghis Khan, the Mongol ruler, and about his interaction with the Khwarezmian Empire that he was friends with. How many of you have ever heard of the Khwarezmian Empire, or Khwarezm?
A few of you have. There’s a reason why the Khwarezmian Empire is not famous.
I had heard of it, but I knew little about it beyond this story. There’s a reason the Khwarezmian Empire is not really famous, and that’s because they were friends with Genghis Khan, and he would send his emissaries out as a king would, and in that day, emissaries were to be respected as representatives of the king. The way someone treated the emissary or ambassador was understood as the way he treated the king.
And so they were used to trading with each other, and they were on friendly terms. He was one of the few people that Genghis Khan was on friendly terms with, That changed when he sent emissaries to the sultan of Khwarezm, who treated them with contempt. Genghis Khan then invaded and destroyed the empire. That is one reason the empire largely disappeared from history: someone dishonored the Khan’s emissaries. An emissary went out on behalf of the ruler, carried out his commands, and spoke with his authority. Therefore, the emissary was to be treated as the ruler’s representative.
As we continue our study through Luke, we come to chapter 9. We’ve been studying piece by piece through the book of Luke, and we’re in Luke chapter 9 this morning, where Jesus acts as the King He is and sends emissaries on His behalf, and we’re going to look at the way He sent them out, what He sent them out to do, and what it means for us as well. Luke 9:1–11 records: and he called the 12 together and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.
And he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. And he said to them, take nothing for your journey, neither a staff nor a bag, nor bread, nor money, and do not even have two tunics a piece. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city.
And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them. Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. Now Herod the Tetrarch heard of all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again.
The other Gospels tell us that Herod even wondered whether John the Baptist, whom he had beheaded, had risen from the dead. But Herod ends up concluding verse 9. Herod said, I myself had John beheaded, but who is this man about whom I hear such things?
And he kept trying to see him. When the apostles returned, they gave an account to him of all that they had done, taking them with him. And he withdrew by himself to a city called Bethsaida.
But the crowds were aware of this and followed him and welcoming them. He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.
Called to Be on Mission
Luke, like the other Gospel writers, makes it clear that Jesus calls His followers to be on mission for Him. That is the purpose of this text, that he took these 12 who had been walking with him and began to send them out. It says in verse 2, he sent them out.
He called them to go and represent him throughout Galilee. This prepared the region for Jesus’ departure. The recent events in Luke had taken place in Galilee, in northern Israel.
This was Jesus’ home region. And this is where the people tend to be a little friendlier to Him than they are down south in Judea. Now, that doesn’t mean everybody there is excited about Jesus, but just in general, the crowds are friendlier to Jesus in Galilee.
Before long, however, He would leave and begin making His way south. He’s going to visit some Gentile areas. He’s going to go through Samaria.
He’s going to end up going into Judea where the people are still Jewish, but they’re much less friendly. Before leaving, He wanted people in the outlying villages to understand more clearly who He was and to be prepared for the gospel. And these 12 that we’re looking at, these are 12 disciples that he has called and set apart as apostles.
At that time, many people were following Jesus around. And we’ve talked about the difference between following Jesus and following Jesus around. These crowds followed Jesus around because they wanted to see what miracles he was going to perform.
They were there for the show. Within the crowd were twelve men whom Jesus had called into deeper commitment. They had become His disciples, and He had been preparing them to serve as apostles. Now, the 12 disciples were also the 12 apostles, but those words don’t mean the same thing.
A disciple is one who follows; an apostle is one who is sent out as an ambassador. So, he’s been preparing them for this, and now they’re finally ready, and so by sending them out, he’s ensuring that all the villages throughout Galilee are able to hear the news about him and his ministry. He’s also preparing at least 11 of these men for what they’re going to do after he has risen from the dead and ascended back to the Father.
Jesus does this throughout the Gospels. He takes some time in the beginning to prepare them for what’s going to come, but from here on out, he is sending them repeatedly. Their calling was to be sent and remain on mission.
When we get to the next chapter, Luke chapter 10, he sends even more disciples. These were not additional apostles but additional disciples, but he sends them out to represent him as well. He sends seventy or seventy-two, depending on the textual reading.
He sends them out to prepare people for his arrival all throughout Galilee, and we’ll see that in the next chapter. In John 20, 21, on the day of his resurrection, later that Sunday, when the disciples were gathered behind locked doors, except for Judas and Thomas. In that room Jesus tells his disciples that he’s giving them the Holy Spirit and he says he is sending them out just as the Father has sent him.
So again we’re told you’re going to be sent you’re going to be given a mission and you’re going to go on that mission. Then right before he ascends into heaven in Matthew 28 he commissions all of his followers to carry the gospel throughout the entire world. And that’s the mission for us today as his followers, that great commission, that he has called us to be on mission for him, telling people about who he is, telling people about what he has done, telling people about what he can do for them, and speaking with his authority.
That does not mean people must listen because we are better than they are. Our authority rests in the truth we proclaim. We take his words and we share what his word is, and his word is the authority. But he’s given us that opportunity to represent him.
That calling applies to us today. So as we look at this and we recognize that obviously these 12 people were called to be on mission for him, we need to recognize that even though their calling was a little bit different, they were in different circumstances, they had a different title than we do. Neither I nor any of you hold the apostolic office.
But we are sent, which is connected to the meaning of the word apostle. We have a different circumstance. We have a different title.
We have all these different things, but we serve the same master, and he has called us to be on mission for him. So as we look at their story, even though the instructions he gives them are for them, we can also learn some things that we apply to the calling that he’s given us as believers under the New Testament to go and make him known. And we can also do this with confidence.
Sent with Everything We Need
If the thought of being sent on mission seems frightening because you feel unprepared, remember that He has you covered. There are planners and non-planners, and they often marry each other. Charla is the planner.
We cannot leave the house without several days’ worth of provisions. I am not that way. But some of you, especially if you’re a planner, you’re thinking, I’m not prepared.
I don’t know all the answers. I don’t know this. I don’t know that.
Jesus has you covered. He sends us out with everything that we need. If he’s going to send you on a mission, he’s going to supply you with everything that you need.
Jesus does not say, “Go do this, figure it out, and handle it on your own.” He doesn’t do that to us.
He didn’t do that to them. Verses two through six here are all about what he was going to supply to them. And again, he supplies these things to us.
His Message
What do we need as we go out? First of all, we need his message. If our mission is to represent him, we need to know what that entails and what it is we’re supposed to tell people.
His message, it says in verse 2, he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. So they were sent out to spread a message, and that’s what they did. Verse 6 tells us they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere.
This was not yet the gospel in all the detail familiar to us today, but that does not make it a false gospel. Jesus would not send them out to teach a false gospel either. But the gospel, as we understand it on this side of things, looking back, the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the offer of salvation that we have through him.
That’s the gospel. What had not yet happened? The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They don’t know that.
Even when Jesus began to tell them plainly that He would die and rise three days later, they still did not understand. They still don’t get it because they are all in a panic when he’s crucified. They’re all in a panic when they start seeing him raised from the dead.
We likely would have struggled in the same way. They did not understand all of that, yet they were taking good news about Jesus to the villages. They don’t understand yet the death, burial, and resurrection.
So this is not all the details of the gospel. But what they’re doing is they’re preaching the coming of the Messiah and his kingdom. They’re taking what they do know about Jesus, and they’re proclaiming it, that the Messiah has come.
That forms the foundation of the gospel. Jesus was not just some guy. He was the Messiah.
He was God the Son who was sent by the Father to die and to be buried and to rise again. So they took this good news that the Messiah has come. God’s answer to our problem of sin had come.
The King is here, and we are called to repent and believe in him. And again, they’re missing some details that they would have later on, but this is sort of laying the groundwork for those who would hear. The people in the villages of Galilee, this would prepare them for later on when they hear the message that Jesus died and rose again.
That’s the proof to them that this is true, that he’s the Messiah and that he’s come. It’s also preparing the disciples because they have this foundation of now they’re used to going out and telling people about who Jesus is and why he’s come. And so when they get the full picture later on, they just take that and run with it.
This is preparing everybody with the message. And these healings that are mentioned over and over, they’re not incidental. They confirm the message and they showed what Jesus was about. So when these apostles came through and they’re preaching about Jesus and they’re healing people, that’s something that would have gotten people’s attention where they would say, this is real because these miracles don’t just happen.
The miracles confirmed that the message was real and also revealed what Jesus is like. It shows when they come on behalf of the king and they’re preaching his message and they’re calling people to respond and to repent, but they’re also healing the sick, it shows that he’s a compassionate king. He’s a king who came with our best interest at heart.
His Authority and Power
And so the Lord sends us out with everything we need. That includes his message. That includes his authority.
Verse 1 says he gave them authority over all the demons. And that word authority is just what it sounds like. It means it’s the right to speak or to govern on somebody else’s behalf.
Now, I don’t believe that you or I have any special authority over the demons beyond the name of Jesus and what the Word of God says. If demons are cast out, it is not because you or I possess the power, but because Jesus does. But you and I, when we speak what His Word says, we speak with His authority.
Hey, this is what God wants. This is what God doesn’t want. When someone asks, “Who are you to say that?” our answer is, “I am nobody; I am simply repeating what the King has said.”
Because that’s the world’s answer to the preaching of the gospel. Well, who are you to say, it’s not about me. I have no authority.
I’m nobody. I’m just telling you what the king said. So we have authority to speak what he commanded us.
When we step out and speak, it’s not based on our authority. It’s not based on how powerful or compelling we are at sharing the message. The authority is in what the king said, and he gave us, he gives us his power.
These two things are intertwined in verse one. He gave them not only the authority over all demons, but he gave them the power to heal diseases. So what he sent them out to do, they had the power to do.
Power and authority may sound alike, but they are different. You can have power and no authority. I could probably walk into somebody’s house and say, I live here now.
This is mine. I have that power, at least in the sense that I might attempt it. I have the power that I could walk in and say, this is my house now.
Do I have that authority? Absolutely not. Likewise, I may send one child to tell another what I have instructed.
That child has authority to deliver the message, but not necessarily the power to make the other child obey.
Much of the conflict in our home comes from one child trying to parent another when neither is the parent. Authority is the right to act; power is the ability to act.
His Provision
And when it comes to representing him, the good news is he’s given us both. And he promises his provision as well. Verse 3 explains that they were not to pack extra supplies, which would be frightening for planners.
Even me who is not a planner, there are certain things I don’t leave the house without. And he’s saying, no, no, no, your trust is not in those things you bring with you. You’re traveling light.
You’re not being burdened down by all these things. You go, you do what I’ve told you to do, and the Lord is going to provide for you. He says, I’ll provide.
When we get to verse three, he tells them, don’t take anything for your journey. Don’t take a staff. One of the other Gospels says they could take a staff.
I think what he’s telling them here is don’t collect staffs. He may have said two different things at two different times. Don’t take a bag.
Don’t take bread. Do not take extra shoes. In other words, don’t think I’ve got to provide everything I need in order to do the Lord’s work, because then you start trusting in yourself and your provision, and you get worried when I don’t have enough, “Now I cannot step out and obey.”
He says, go do what I’ve told you to do, and I’m going to provide what you need in order for you to do it. And he does that. When we’re obedient to him, he provides everything we need.
He does not necessarily provide everything we want, And that’s an important distinction. But he does provide everything we need. This is not limited to financial provision.
He’s talking about the provision for their daily lives. He’ll provide that for us too. If we’re walking in obedience to him, he’ll take care of our actual needs.
But this extends also to the things that we need in order to fulfill his work. There may be things God has called you to do as he calls you to be on mission for him that you say, I can’t do that. If He has called you to do it, He will equip you to obey.
I’ve told you before, I am an extreme introvert who grew up with a speech impediment. I am the last person on paper that I would have picked to be a pastor and preaching the word every Sunday. Some of you have seen this firsthand.
I can become tongue-tied even in a one-on-one conversation in my office. And yet God provides.
God provides the ability to stand up and share his word. I do not know how it works, but He provides what is needed. Whatever it is God is calling you to do, whatever the mission is he gives you, He is going to equip you with everything that you need to fulfill that.
His Guidance
Verses 4 and 5 also show that He gives guidance. Sometimes we step out in faith and we say, okay, I’m going to trust your provision.
I’m going to do what you told me to do. I’m going to serve you. How?
Something comes up, some scenario that we didn’t expect. How do I navigate this? He gave them some instructions starting out that we’re going to be specific to their situation.
But I think this teaches that he gives us his guidance regardless. He told them, you’re going to go and you’re going to find houses where the people are glad to have you there. And Matthew and Mark give more detail on this presentation.
He told them that as they traveled, they would find people willing to receive them. You stay with them, and I’m going to provide for you through them. But they were to remain there and do His work for as long as He kept them in that place.
And then you’re going to move on. You’re not going to have to figure out night by night, where am I staying, where am I going? They were to establish a base and minister in that area.
And then when it’s time to move on to the next place, you’ll do the same thing. And what happens if we come to some place where they’re not ready to receive us? What happens when someone is not ready to receive the message?
What happens if somebody is not ready to receive? What if they don’t want to hear it? What if I’m rejected?
Jesus gave instructions for that situation as well. As for those who do not receive you, go out from that city, shake the dust off of your feet as a testimony against them. He says, if they don’t want to hear, then you go on.
If they’re not interested in what I have to say. He tells us elsewhere it’s not you they rejected it’s me. But he said if they’re not interested in what I’ve sent you to share then you just move on.
And the whole shaking the dust off the feet I wondered about that because it just kind of feels like an aggressive move. It can sound like, “You do not want to hear me? Then I will shake the dust off.”
Apparently, when Jewish travelers returned from pagan territory, they sometimes shook the dust from their feet before reentering Israel. It symbolized leaving uncleanness behind and returning to the land consecrated to the Lord. When Jesus told the apostles to shake off the dust, He warned that Israelites who rejected the Messiah would be treated like the pagans they despised. This was a mark of God’s judgment.
And so the idea that somebody is going to reject what we have to share, it’s between them and the Lord. It’s not between them and us. It’s not something for us to take personally.
I say that as someone who struggles not to take rejection personally. And it’s something the Lord has to work on me in, work in me about. But when they were wondering, well, what do we do if people don’t want to hear?
He says, you move on and you leave it between them and the Lord. And so he gives us his guidance. How am I supposed to step out and do what he called me to do?
Jesus Is the Focus of the Mission
He’s going to give you everything you need, his message, his authority, his power, his provision, his guidance. And then we come to the responses. The responses recorded in the passage reinforce the focus of their mission.
They had gone out preaching, again, not the full message of the gospel that they later would preach, but the gospel as far as they understood it at this point, which is the idea that the Messiah, the king, was here. This was good news: God had sent the Messiah.
He is in the process of fulfilling his promises to Israel, and we need to be prepared to repent. We need to be prepared to seek the Lord’s salvation. Their message was about the coming of the king, just as ours is.
We just have the benefit of seeing what happened after this. So we can say the king has already come, and the king has already conquered. The King has already died and risen again. He conquered death, sin, and everything that separates us from God.
Even now, you can have the relationship with God He intended if you come through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. We have the ability to say this is what happened, but our message to the world is not about how to have a good life. Our message is not how to get what you want.
Our message is about a king who has come. And the fact that that message was about the king and is still about the king shows up in their responses. Herod is not at all bothered by the fact that these 12 men have gone out performing miracles.
He’s bothered by the stories about the man they’re all talking about. He was troubled by the question, “Who is Jesus?” That’s the question that they have to come to terms with.
Who is Jesus? in verses 7 through 9. And in verses 10 through 11, these apostles had gone out and done phenomenal miracles in the villages, and the people began to flock, not to see the apostles, but to see Jesus.
See, Jesus was the focus of their mission, and Jesus is the focus of our mission. Our job, as we’re sent out on mission for Him, is to make Him known, to help people who are estranged from God, to help people who are alienated from God, know Jesus Christ and the salvation that he’s provided. That’s our job as a church.
When we gather on Sundays, we lift Jesus up so that those who do not know Him may be introduced to Him, and believers may be prepared to go out and make Him known. That is our calling as the church in Lawton, Oklahoma:, to make Jesus the focus of our mission, to go and tell people about this King that we have who’s come. Even in the Lord’s Supper, Jesus is the focus of what we do.
The Message of Our King
Our message is not about how wonderful we are, and there’s some pretty wonderful people sitting in this room, but that’s not our message. I love this church, but our message is not about how wonderful Central Baptist Church is. Our message is that we serve a king who has conquered.
We serve a king who died for us and then conquered death so that we could be forgiven. And if you’ve never met that king before today, it is as simple as understanding that we’ve sinned against God. Sin is anything we think, say, do, or fail to do that displeases God.
And we’re all guilty. And our sin separates us from God. There is nothing we can do to erase the sin we have committed.
No amount of good works erases that. That sin had to be paid for and it had to be punished. And Jesus Christ, our King, came voluntarily.
No one took His life from Him; He laid it down willingly. Our King took responsibility for our sins, bore the punishment in our place, and made the full payment on our behalf and then rose again conquering death, conquering sin, conquering hell so that you and I could be forgiven.
All that is necessary is to recognize that your sin separates you from God, believe that Jesus Christ died to pay for it and rose again, and ask Him for forgiveness. You will have it.
