Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
In this section of the disciples send-out, Jesus gives them very detailed instructions to follow in a few general categories:
- What to pack,
- How to find a place to stay, and
- How to treat your host.
He basically is sending them out with nothing. No food, no clothes, no money, and no staff (used for walking but also for protection at times). He is sending them out fully dependent on God. They are, by this world’s standards, destitute.
One time I planned a vacation to Washington DC, and I spent months planning out every visit and every detail. I had to call ahead and coordinate through the Idaho representatives offices for visits and schedule appointments. I cannot imagine leaving for this week-long trip with no money, no clothes, and no prearranged lodging or people to work with.
It is clear, Jesus is going to see if they obeyed and followed his instructions. He is testing their faith. How obedient am I in the little things that God (sometimes through the Bible) commands me to do? Do I pick and choose the commandants I like, the ones that feel good to me, the ones that play to my strengths or self-assessed “needs”?
Lord, help me to seek perfection in following you. To trust you enough to walk into the unknown, following you without anything to my name or a lifeline to hold onto. You are enough and you are sufficient for all that I need.
