The Gospel

Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.                                                                                                                                                      Luke 9:1-2

In the book of Luke, chapter 9, Jesus sent out his disciples to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He gave them power to “take authority over demons and to heal the sick”. In other words, they were to improve the lives of people around them and to alleviate suffering. That was “preaching the gospel”. At that time in the ministry, the disciples did not know that Jesus was to suffer a terrible death on a cross. They were simply instructed to let people know that the Kingdom of God was here. Jesus was present on earth to give a message of hope, healing, and forgiveness.

I am guessing that when they went out, they did not have the clear picture of the coming death of Jesus. They were told to let people know the good news of God’s love for them- his healing and his delivering power.

Often, we are asked to act in loving ways toward others in order to live the gospel out to people who do not understand it. Indeed, maybe we do not really understand the message we are delivering. We are just called to be obedient to let people know that God loves them and wants them to live healthy lives- healthy in all ways.  We do not always need to understand the full picture. We are just called to be witnesses of God’s love on earth.

Prayer: Lord, help us to just deliver your message simply, Amen