How are you at identifying a problem? Jesus and His disciples both encountered the same problem, but their responses were very different. Jesus wanted to rest with His disciples, but upon landing in what they thought was a solitary place, Jesus was confronted with the crowds. Jesus saw them, and saw that they were in need of guidance, so He taught them.

We talked yesterday about the danger of wanting our ears tickled, but keeping our heart unchanged. The problem is, when entertainment is the goal, overtime our hearts are changed by what entertains us the most. When we are enslaved to entertainment, anything is acceptable if it entertains us; anything becomes excusable as “just entertainment.”

Today we live in a culture enslaved to entertainment. Be very careful that you do not just enjoy being entertained by a good teaching or worship music as that can prevent the Word of God from entering into your life and changing you. Living a faith filled life that contains both action and relationship with your Heavenly Father is our calling, not simply being entertained and going about life as usual.

What can we learn from this passage? Here are some takeaways:

1. Two by two - the disciples went out in a way that protected their witness and held them accountable. 

2. Take nothing extra - they were to trust in God’s provision for them.

3. Don’t take an extra cloak…

Don’t miss the huge undercutting taking place here. When the people asked, “Isn’t this Mary’s son?” (Mark 6:3), they were implying something. No one in this time was referred to as the son of their mother. The fact that they did not say “the son of Joseph" means they were reminding everyone about the questions surrounding the legitimacy of Jesus’ birth; I also don’t think they were just being rude. Jesus spoke with authority; there was no way to debate the truth He shared, and people were amazed. So, since they couldn’t kill the message, they went after the messenger. They introduced doubt in who Jesus was.