Breaking the Word

 Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest." Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, "Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. (Mt 9:35-10:1,5-8)

Jesus went around the towns and villages proclaiming the kingdom. He was also curing the disease and illness. He was revealing and making present the kingdom in word and deeds. Why did he go around? Surely he was doing the same in the synagogues. Probably very few people were going to the synagogue or synagogue was open only for a limited time or it had its own timetable. Jesus did not want to be limited by time and space. He wanted the kingdom work to be done always and at anyplace and for everybody. Streets and roads were the only places which had not restriction of any sort. They (roads and streets and open spaces) were open at all times and for everyone.

Jesus did not want to hold on to the authority to himself: the authority to heal and to cast out demons and the authority to proclaim the gospel. Since the ministry was limitless (not limited by space and time and persons) and the demand was great (there were more people needing the assistance) he appointed twelve of his followers to continue or join in with him to do the same mission. Hence he shared his authority with them. The mission was important for him and all the other rules and restrictions were secondary. Probably this is what the mission priority means.

  He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents (with their hands), and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.  (Mk 16:15-20)

The commission of the Risen Christ to his disciple is: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel”. Proclamation of the Christ event was the topmost priority of the early church and they were faithful to this mission. The great missionary among the gentiles (Paul) was also compelled to do the same: “If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!” (1 Cor 9: 16). This was the compelling commission felt by every great missionary after Paul.

And the gospel which Paul proclaimed and every missionary continued to proclaim after Paul is: “Now I am reminding you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures” (1 Cor 15: 1-4).

This proclamation is accompanied by signs and wonders. The signs and wonders are: doing good to the people and removal of evil. Those who proclaim the gospel will be accompanied by the presence of God and they will not be overpowered by evil. Evil will have no victory over them. Doing good and overcoming evil are the miracles. It is in this that the presence of God is felt till the end of time.