Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible recap.

Not long ago, Jesus chose 12 of his many disciples to be in his inner circle. Eventually,

Scripture starts referring to these 12 as apostles and distinguishes them from the

other disciples. Depending on who you ask, you'll get a different answer for whether

the title Apostle is something we can use today and if so, what that might look like.

We'll link to a short article about that if you want to read more.

Strictly speaking, the word disciple means a learner and the word Apostle refers to a messenger

who is sent out. Today, we see Jesus sending out 12 of his disciples as apostles. Before he sends

them out, he gives them authority over things he knows they're going to encounter, demons,

disease, and affliction. Obviously, you can't give something you don't have, so it's noteworthy

that Jesus has already exercised this authority in front of them multiple times. Because they've

seen him cast out demons and healed a sick, they know firsthand that he has this authority to give

to them. He's not just making it up so they can feel good about themselves. He gives them a few

specific instructions as they set out. Instruction number one, he gives them directions. He tells them to

only go to the Jews, not the Gentiles or even the Samaritan, to her half Gentile, half Jewish.

This seems contradictory to what Jesus has been doing himself, doesn't it? Here's why it isn't.

God's plan has always involved getting the message to the Jews first, then to the Gentiles.

For Jesus, in particular, he does this as well. He did approximately 90% of his miracles in the

Jewish town of Kaepernum. But he has a specific timeline and a specific mission to fulfill before

his death. And the more he speaks among the Jews as the Messiah, the more they'll recognize him as a

threat to what they're doing and try to eliminate him. His followers, however, can go around healing

and helping people without being in the same kind of danger. Instruction number two, he gives them

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