GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 6:13
The Results of Obedience
A unique relationship developed between General Ulysses S. Grant and General William Tecumseh Sherman during the United States Civil War. Grant came to trust Sherman to follow orders, even when they were geographically separated. Grant knew that Sherman would accomplish his task as long as he was alive. That bond of trust and obedience was a major factor in the Union Army’s ultimate victory.
After commissioning his twelve disciples, Jesus sent them out to proclaim his message and call for their audiences to change their minds about the coming Messiah. “And they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed many sick people with oil, and healed them.” (Mark 6:12-13) The emphasis in these two sentences is on the preaching work of the disciples, and the second sentence describes the results of that obedience. They took the Father’s message and the Father’s mercy. They not only called upon their audiences to change their minds, to repent—but they also brought help and healing. From the beginning, Jesus’ ministry aimed to bring health to the body and soul; it has always aimed not only at soul-salvation, but at whole-salvation.
In their ministry, the evangelists anointed their audiences with oil, which was employed widely for medicinal purposes (James 5:14). The great Greek doctor Galen (c. 129 A.D. to 216 A.D.) said, “Oil is the best of all instruments for healing diseased bodies.” In the hands of these evangelists, an old cure acquired a new virtue. Healing wasn’t in the oil; it was in the Messiah to whom the oil pointed. This was likely an important part of the change of mind the evangelists proclaimed.
So, in obedience to Jesus’ command, the evangelists brought to mankind the message and mercy of the Father, and that remains the task of obedient messengers today and every day.
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