In the previous posting we saw how Jesus was teaching His disciples how to conduct the ministry to which they have been called and which they would continue after His passing.  Jesus declared that He had come to earth to FINISH THE FATHER’S WORK (Jn. 4:34; 5:36).  Reaping the crop an important part of the effort and constitutes most of the work.    Most of the work was yet to be done for He told the apostles to ask the Father to send out more laborers, for the harvest was plenteous but the laborers were few (Mat. 9:38).  Jesus would finish God’s Work through the 12 apostles and those who would take up the mantle of ministry after their passing.  God’s work would continue generation after generation until Christ’s return at the end of the age.  At that point the harvest of the “firstfruits” would be completed with the first resurrection.  However, the harvest would continue through the following millennium.  Read all series concerning the resurrections.  Key word–Resurrections.

God’s work is still being done by His apostles.  Nothing has changed.  The work is still great and the laborers are still few.  But thanks to television and the internet, His apostles are able to reach the masses throughout the world.  The problem is that Satan’s messengers outnumber the Lord’s ministers hundreds of thousands to one.

Knowing that His time on earth was short, Jesus worked night and day to teach the disciples what He expected of them.  Today, thanks to the printing press, He continues to teach His apostles through His printed Word.  They in turn teach their followers using that same Word.  Jesus was a “show and tell” type of teacher.  He taught God’s Word then demonstrated His teaching with real-life acts.  He then had the disciples to record what He had done.  Let us return to that Word.

“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people” (Mat. 9:35).  He was teaching, showing, demonstrating and manifesting what He wanted His apostles to do–AT THAT TIME.  For example, when a multitude of people followed Him and them out into the desert the disciples told Him that they needed to return to their villages to buy food.  He said, “They do not need to leave; YOU FEED THEM.”  And He meant it.  When their excuse was the lack of food, He showed them what to do by multiplying the food so that five loaves of bread and two fish fed 5000 men, along with women and children.  Lesson taught, but not learned.

Later, He sent them across the sea of Galilee in a ship while He stayed behind (Mat. 14:22).  The story unfolds in verses 23-33.  Here we find Jesus walking across the sea intending to pass by the disciples who were battling the storm that had developed.  However, they saw Him and were terrified, believing Him to be a spirit.  He spoke to them, telling them not to worry.  Peter, recognizing His voice, ask to join Him on the water.  Hearing Peter’s words of faith, Jesus bid him to “come.”  Peter then left the ship and walked on water for a considerable distance before losing his faith and going under.  Jesus said to this water-walker: “O you of LITTLE FAITH, why did you doubt?”  Little faith???  He had in fact WALKED ON WATER for a considerable distance.  To anyone else, that required great faith.  But not to Jesus, Who had intended to walk across the sea to the other side (Mk. 6:48).  By His reaction to Peter’s failure, we can gauge how much faith Jesus expected of all disciples/apostles.  By that time the 12 were to have water-walking, preaching, food-multiplying, healing, tree-killing, delivering faith.  Lesson taught, but not learned.

Later (Mat. 15:30-38) the disciples told Him that the multitude that had followed them out into the wilderness had nothing to eat.  All that was available were seven loaves and a few small fish.  I did not occur to the disciples that JESUS EXPECTED THEM TO MULTIPLY THE FOOD AND FEED THE MULTITUDE.  Jesus had to do it Himself–again.

Later (Mat. 16:5–8) Jesus and the disciples had just crossed the sea when the disciples realized that they had forgotten to bring food with them.  They were discussing the situation among themselves when Jesus asked them why they were concerned that they had forgotten to bring food.  After chastising them for having so little faith, He asked why they didn’t understand what He was teaching them?  He asked them if they had hardened their hearts, blinded their eyes and stopped up their ears?  Did they not remember what they had seen and heard?  He then reminded them about the times He had multiplied food for the masses.  “How is it that you do not understand?” He asked.  Why did they not understand that He expected them to create food if necessary.  He would not be with them much longer, so He expected them to already be doing what they would have to do themselves later on.  Lesson taught.

Later (Mk. 9:16-29) Jesus saw some men talking and asked them what was going on.  One of them said that he had brought his son to His disciples for them to cast out the demon that was afflicting him.  Jesus cast out the demon and the boy was healed.  Note that the boy’s father expected the disciples to do whatever Jesus could do.  And his assumption was right.  Later, the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast out the demon.  Jesus replied that some kind of demons were especially powerful.  To cast them out required faith that only prayer and fasting could produce.  The disciples had not been praying and fasting enough.  Lesson taught.

Later (Mk. 11:12-26) Jesus and the disciples were walking to Jerusalem when they spotted a fig tree in the distance.  Expecting to find some ripe figs on the tree, they approached it, only to find it bare of fruit.  Jesus cursed the tree and declared that no one would eat fruit from it again.  The next day the tree was dead from the roots upward.  When the disciples marveled at what Jesus had done, He taught them the same lesson He had been teaching them all along.  He said to them concerning the incredible miracle, “Have faith in God.”  He then taught them how to have their prayers answered and to receive the same power He had received from God.  Lesson taught.

The Book of Acts reveals that the disciples (followers), having become apostles (“sent ones”), eventually learned the lessons Jesus had taught them.  Perhaps the ultimate statement defining what was expected of them is found in John 20:21 where we find Jesus saying to them: “AS MY FATHER HAS SENT ME, EVEN SO, I SEND YOU.”  We find that during their ministries they raised the dead, cast out demons, healed the sick, knew the unknowable.  One was even spiritually transported from one place to another.  The Apostle Paul delivered one sinning church man to Satan “for the destruction of his flesh” in hopes that, before his death, he might return to Christ” (1 Cor. 5:5).  Such was the power of the original apostles.  Such is the power, and moreso, of modern day apostles who learn the lessons Jesus taught, embrace them and apply them while fulfilling their ministries.

THE APOSTLES EVENTUALLY LEARNED THAT JESUS MEANT WHAT HE SAID IN JOHN 14:12.  HE STILL MEANS IT AND IT TODAY.  GOD CREATED ALL MEN TO WALK IN HOLINESS.  HE CREATED SOME MEN TO LEAD OTHERS IN THAT WALK BY SPEAKING HIS WORDS AND DOING HIS MIRACLES AS DID JESUS CHRIST WHO PROMISED THAT TRUE BELIEVERS WOULD DO EVEN GREATER MIRACLES.  L.J.