Miracle Workers

What was the mission of the apostles?

Jesus departed with his disciples to the lake, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he sternly ordered them not to make him known. He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. - Mark 3:7-19

The word "apostle" comes from the Greek and it roughly means messenger, or someone who is sent out. 

Mark tells us the twelve were sent out to proclaim the message and cast out demons.

Paul called himself an apostle because he had an encounter with Jesus who sent him out to proclaim the truth about him.

So who are the apostles today?  And if any are called to be apostles, do they have the power to cast out demons and make people well?

That would be great wouldn't it?

Jesus told his apostles that it was a matter of faith.  When they returned with the news that they could not cast out demons, he rebuked them for having too little faith.  So, maybe all who are called to be messengers just need a little faith to be able to work miracles.

The thing is, it make take two to make miracles.

When Jesus cured the sick, he told them it was their faith that had cured them, so faith may need to be something both have, for the miracle to take place.

This may be why most who believe can accomplish little when it comes to casting out demons.  The one with the demon needs to believe as well.

If you think about it, that makes sense. 

That's why they had to be messengers, telling the good news of Jesus.  They have to instill faith in those they seek to help.

So, the challenge for all of us messengers is to be like the apostles, called to change the minds and hearts of those we encounter who need healing. 

Then, once they believe, the miracles can happen.

Now, if we don't believe that, then the outcome is just as we expect. 

More to come...