“As you go...”

“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.”

Matthew 10:8

 

 

If the church had a “To-Do” list perhaps it would look like Matthew 10:8

Certainly it would make for a very interesting 2016, wouldn’t you say?

In the previous verses Jesus was sending out the twelve.

In verse 7 he tells them:

“As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’”

If we are to see the fulfillment of that verse there is one little thing that caught my eye that is, I believe, a key.

Jesus didn’t say ‘When they come...’

He did say “As you go...”

I am not saying we can never expect visitors to come to the building we worship in and join us.

As a matter off act if we are raising the dead I think we can expect that number to increase.

But Jesus didn’t ever rent a hall and advertise a meeting.

He never said “Come see me and hear what I have to say.”

He did the works of the Father and that drew the crowds.

But it drew them to wherever Jesus went.

You see, He went about doing good.

We call Israel and that region the Holy Land.

Can you imagine the shrine our religion would create if Jesus had fixed Himself in one spot and never moved from there.

We are right to worship Him and not to worship a spot.

We are right to go and bring Him to those who will never darken the doors where we gather.

“As you go...”