He went around to the villages in the vicinity teaching. 7 He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. 8 He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. 9 They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. 10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. 11 Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” 12 So they went off and preached repentance. 13 They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
After being rejected in Nazareth, Jesus continues His work by teaching throughout the villages nearby. Mark then shows something important: Jesus shares his mission with the Twelve. This continues his ministry through them. He sends them to go where he has been going, and to do what his message requires: to call people to repentance, to confront unclean spirits, and to bring healing to the sick.
Jesus sends them in pairs so they can support each other in the work and face rejection together. It also fits the biblical pattern that important testimony is confirmed by more than one witness (see Deut. 19:15). In other words, they are not lone voices. They go as a pair that can speak and act together.
But the key detail is not the pairing. It is what Jesus gives them: “authority over unclean spirits.” They are sent with a share in Jesus’ own authority. That is why their mission includes both preaching and real confrontations with evil. Mark is clear that the power is not theirs by nature. It is given by Jesus.
Jesus then tells them to take almost nothing—no food, no sack, no money—so they can travel without delay, rely on God to provide what they need, and preach repentance without seeming to seek comfort or gain. They may carry a walking stick and wear sandals, but they are not to take a second tunic.
A walking stick was a simple travel aid for long walks on rough roads, used for balance and basic protection. A tunic was the common everyday garment worn next to the body, like a long shirt. By telling them not to take a second tunic, Jesus is telling them not to pack extra clothing for comfort or security.
Jesus tells them to stay in one house until they leave the place. They are not to move around looking for better comfort. That avoids the appearance that they are looking for better treatment. Their focus is the word they preach and the people they serve.
Mark also prepares the reader for mixed reception. Some places will welcome them and listen. Other places will not. In those places, Jesus tells them to leave and “shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” It is a public sign that the message was offered and refused. The message was offered, but it was rejected. The disciples are then to move on rather than argue endlessly or force acceptance.
Mark tells us, “So they went off and preached repentance.” In Mark, repentance is not merely regret. It is a turning of life back toward God. This preaching matches the core of Jesus’ own proclamation earlier in the Gospel (Mk. 1:14-15). The Twelve are not inventing a new message. They are carrying forward what Jesus has already announced.
Mark then adds what they did alongside their preaching. They “drove out many demons.” Again, this shows that their mission involves conflict with forces that oppress and distort human life. And they “anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.” In the ancient world, oil was commonly used as a remedy, and Mark includes it here as part of the disciples’ healing ministry. The oil itself is not treated as the cause of the cure. Mark presents the healings as works God is doing through the authority Jesus gave them.
In this passage, Mark shows the pattern the Church will follow. Christ sends real witnesses to preach repentance, rely on God rather than possessions, face both welcome and rejection, and act with his authority against evil and for healing. The Twelve are still learning, but Jesus trains them by sending them.
Lord Jesus, give me a heart that is ready to obey, free from false security, and willing to receive Your work. Teach me to trust Your authority more than what I can provide for myself. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), Mark 6:6b-13.
- Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark, commentary on Mark 6:7-13 (p. 75).
- The Navarre Bible: St. Mark, commentary on Mark 6:7-13 (pp. 182-183).
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, commentary on Mark 6:6b-13 (pp. 991-992).
- The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, commentary on Mark 6:6b-13 (p. 609, para. 40).
- The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century, commentary on Mark 6:6b-13 (p. 1256).
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