1. Mark 6:7–11 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Were the instructions given to the Twelve only applicable to them, or is it universally applicable to all Christ’s followers ever since?

Mark 6:7–11 (ESV)

7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.

On the one hand Jesus’ instructions were meant for the disciples’ specific mission. At that stage, they were sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6) and that was restricted to Galilee. Later, after Christ’s resurrection, they would receive the general command to go to all nations (Matthew 28:19–20). Some specific instructions about their travel arrangements and lodging (Mark 6:8–10) were not rules set in stone for their missionary journeys afterwards or for the church in general.

On the other hand, we find in these instructions the seeds for all the subsequent missions—not only of the Twelve, but all believers of the New Testament church. This mission was practical and preparatory for all the future missions of the disciples.1

Mark’s readers should differentiate between the specific, temporal instructions that were applicable only to that specific mission and the general guidelines that can be drawn from it, that are applicable to all Christian missions henceforth.