December 11 2010, 8:10 am | Danny Jones
One of the most amazing aspects of Jesus’ ministry was the way that he empowered ordinary men and women to engage in a call that was far greater than their ability to imagine, much less accomplish. Imagine, we can’t name one of the seventy-two sent out in Luke 10, yet he sent them with a huge task. After only months of limited interaction at best, he tells them, “go and proclaim the Kingdom and heal the sick.” And they just did it, convinced that it wasn’t a ridiculous expectation. And when they return, they are overjoyed that the experience was even more intense than they anticipated. “Even the demons obeyed us!” Imagine him doing this today? Most of us would look back with a blank stare and mutter questions of whether he was for real.
Part of the genius of Jesus’ equipping was empowerment with confidence, regardless of the person or their experience. I don’t think this was the first time he had entrusted these guys. It was part of his normal practice. As early as the feeding of the 5000 in Luke 9, he says to the disciples, “feed these people”. In that moment Jesus’ expectation was that they had what it took to take 5 loaves and 2 fish and feed 5000 people. With that expectation was communicated confidence that they could do it. Though they didn’t get it in that moment, they eventually began to understand that they had what it takes and they changed history.
Every follower of Jesus Christ has what it takes. They may not understand every detail of every aspect of theology and church history, but they have what it takes to accomplish the commission of Christ. The goal in the process of developing fully devoted followers of Jesus is to equip men and women with the confidence of knowing that with Christ, not only do they have what it takes, but that they are incredibly strategic to the accomplishment of the mission. Jesus understood that the Father’s will would never be accomplished by himself. He also understood the urgency of the moment. So he sent seventy-two unnamed Jesus freaks into the darkness. And they had what it took! He had equipped them in a short time, and a huge part of that equipping was empowerment with confidence. This was deep in the DNA that God has instilled into David. In Psalm 18:29 he writes, “In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.” These men and women are still around, just waiting to be called into the life that is worth living and dying for. This is equipping, empowerment, mobilization for a movement.