Mark 6:10-12 10And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, remain there until whenever you leave from there. 11And whatever place does not welcome you and they will not listen to you, when you leave from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony to them.” 12And after they went out, they preached that people should repent, 13and they cast out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and they healed them.
The next directions Jesus gives his disciples in these verses are strategies for testifying to people. Because they were going out with only the clothes on their back and a walking stick, they would need to rely on the kindness of those they met on the journey. Hospitality was a sacred duty in the ancient world. The social expectation was that people should welcome strangers and even go out of their way to care for them. The disciples could build their mission on this social expectation. Luke 10:6 gives similar directions but adds the idea of looking for a “man of peace” who is shows hospitality and welcomes the bearers of good news.
Not everyone or everywhere will be hospitable, however. In anticipation of the rejection the disciples would face, Jesus gives a warning in verse 11 about what they should do in that situation. Shaking the dust off of one’s feet was a gesture used by pious Jews of that time when they returned to Israel from Gentile territories to show that they separated themselves from the defilement of the Gentiles. It was a visible gesture showing that fellowship and relationship were rejected. In the case of the disciples, the gesture was a form of judgment for rejecting the messengers of the Messiah.
Verse 12 gives the topic of the disciples’ peaching. The disciples preached the message they had heard and received in their own lives. Their message was to echo the one Jesus spoke. It was an extension of the message began with John the Baptist: Repent (metanoōsin). This important biblical word basically means to acknowledge one’s sins, confess them, reject the old way of life, and turn one’s focus to God and his call to holiness. Salvation includes repentance. One cannot stay in the old life of sin and enter God’s kingdom. God’s love accepts and transforms but also calls people to change their ways. Repentance has always been a difficult message to speak and to receive. The disciples should not have expected everyone to accept their preaching.
Verse 13 shows the other part of the power of God’s kingdom. Jesus gave his disciples the authority and power to do cast out demons and health the sick like he had been doing. There is an important link between the call to repentance and experiencing freedom from demons and healing from diseases. The message itself had power. Just like for Jesus, at times disciples must take the step of intervention for those who are bound by sin, evil, and illness. the disciples’ authority over evil spirits and preaching about repentance and healing of people. Their mission was to model Jesus. Ancient people believed oil was a cure all. Anointing someone with oil was a symbolic act of faith.
The message of repentance has not been welcome at any time in history. To repent can be painful because it requires us to acknowledge that our ways are wrong and we need a complete reversal of life. It disturbs our way of life. Repenting opens us to experience the healing power of the gospel. The type of healing Jesus did always transformed people. He did not heal people just so they were comfortable, though he had compassion for them. Those who experienced his healing had an object for their faith. Healing opened the gate to the kingdom of God.
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