Mark 6:7 “Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.”

Nothing stops us from opening our mouths and sharing our faith so much as a simple lack of courage. Jesus, however, wants to supply everything our hearts need to speak up. Why should these twelve men believe they had any business talking to other people as God’s spokesmen? Isn’t it because they were sent out by Jesus, God’s own Son? They had been commissioned for this work by God himself. They had every reason to believe Jesus was backing them all the way.

You and I have not been sent in exactly the same way these men were. Most who are reading this have not been called to the full time preaching ministry like they were. We haven’t been given the same leadership role in God’s Church. Jesus didn’t come to us directly and tell us to go and preach.

That doesn’t mean Jesus won’t back us up just the same. Jesus called you to faith. He led you to the light of the gospel. You did not see him with your physical eyes, but you saw him in his word through eyes of faith. Now you are the kind of people he is describing when he says, “You are the salt of the earth…. You are the light of the world…. Let your light shine before men” (Mat 5:13-16). You are the “royal priesthood,” the “holy nation,” the “people belonging to God” that the Apostle Peter describes in his first letter, “that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). If you believe in Jesus as your Savior, then you have been deputized. You have official standing as one of his ambassadors. He is standing behind your words and commissioning you to go and speak.

Have you ever noticed that policemen have a certain air of command and confidence about them? When the officer comes up to my car window and asks to see my license, I am the one who is nervous and unsure. He is brimming with authority and confidence. Why? He is wearing the badge. He doesn’t represent himself. The whole legal system stands behind him. He has been commissioned by a higher authority. He speaks for a higher power.

Jesus has given you a badge, so to speak, the badge of faith you wear inside your heart. You have been commissioned by a higher authority. You speak for a higher power. You have every reason to speak with courage and confidence, because you have Jesus on your side, and you are speaking for him.

For the disciples, that authority was demonstrated in a dramatic way. Jesus gave them authority over evil spirits. No doubt that was a powerful confidence booster. In the past they had seen these same spirits force human beings to live like wild animals, to perform superhuman feats of strength, to throw themselves into the fire or cut themselves on rocks and stones. Now the spirits had to do what the disciples said. How could their hearts help but take courage as they traveled and preached their message?

Does that mean that we are missing something? Does our witness have less authority? I have never seen a demon driven out, though I’m sure it must be an impressive sight. But I have sat in a room where people didn’t really know Jesus and watched the gospel lead them to profess their faith in him. I have seen that word soften the hearts of skeptics and open them up to God’s love for them. I have watched the word grow people up in their faith and love through years of exposure. The Apostle Paul says that the Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. The gospel you and I speak is still powerfully changing hearts and lifting them from hell to heaven. That is a great encouragement for our hearts, the essential part of what we need to be Jesus’ witnesses.

Luke 23:8-9 “When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.”

Sometimes, we like to be the center of attention. Generally speaking, we don’t like to be ignored. We want people to value us enough to listen, and to share with us what is important to them.

At other times, we don’t want people to look at us at all. When my son used to do something cute, and we looked at him and smiled, he became embarrassed: “Don’t look at me, daddy.” In public, we know that it is impolite to stare. When we catch someone staring at us, we immediately suspect that there is something odd about our appearance. Do I have food hanging from my chin? Is there something in my hair?

It makes a difference why we are getting the attention. It did to Jesus, too. That is why he did not respond to the kind of attention King Herod was giving him.

Herod had wanted to see him for a long time. To say that Herod was “greatly pleased” is a rather mild way of translating his reaction to finally meeting Jesus. Herod was overjoyed. He wanted to celebrate the opportunity in front of him. What a wonderful thing, it might seem, the lone bright spot in this darkest day in Jesus’ life.

Can we imagine that a desire to see Jesus would ever be anything but good? Though our Savior wants to be known to all people and be their source of joy, Herod reveals the human heart is so twisted that, yes, even the desire to see and know Jesus can be evidence of evil, and not good.

What did Herod want from Jesus? “From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle.” Here is Jesus, the Son of God, Creator of the Universe, Redeemer of the World, standing in front of Herod at last, and what is Herod thinking? “Hey, I’ve got Harry Houdini here.” He wanted to see a miracle, not because he was coming to Jesus in desperate need of his mercy. Not even because he was looking for a sign to bolster his faith. Herod wanted nothing more than a magic trick, something to entertain him, a pleasant diversion from the pressures of palace life.

Herod’s reasons for seeking Jesus still appeal to some today. God still can and does work miracles in the lives of his people. But recognize the danger when people make them the center of attention in Christian life and worship. Jesus easily becomes a sideshow. In our own more sober circles, we may ask ourselves why we value our worship time. Do we recognize it as the source of our spiritual life? Or do we desire to be entertained for a little while–whether at church, or in our reading, or in the music we listen to. Humor in our lives is good, but is Jesus an appropriate subject of our jokes? Or is that a vain misuse of his name? Do we have irreverent reasons for the time we seek with him?

Jesus’ answer to Herod’s irreverence is powerful. “Jesus gave him no answer.” Jesus would not perform for the king. How easy it would have been for Jesus to do just one quick trick and put an end to the humiliation. Maybe he could have even so endeared himself to Herod that he could have been set free!

But for us, Jesus’ silence is golden. Jesus displays his perfect love, even for Herod, by not giving in to his childish desires. He will not reinforce this kooky king in his sin, but he treats him with silent respect, even when that respect was not returned.

And here’s the point that Jesus is making to us: Not that he is someone we should pity for being made a sideshow, but that he is someone we revere, and love, and trust, because he has no other reason to put up with this than that it was necessary to save us from our sins. This is another stop on his trip to the cross. It is his love for us that keeps him silent and makes him willing to endure these blasphemies. He let them treat him like someone with absolutely no value, so that he could share his priceless value with us, and so that God might consider us his most dear and precious possessions.

In suffering such irreverence and dishonor, Jesus pays us the highest respect and the greatest honor, because he is revealing just how much you and I are worth to him.