Mark 6:7

Mark 6:7 says. And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; Jesus called the twelve disciples to Him, and sent them out in pairs.  This means that someone was paired with Judas.  So, I guess the question would be if he started out truly following Jesus and then decided He wasn't doing what he expected, or was he acting all along?  We can never know if a person is sincerely following Jesus if they seem to do everything a Christian should do, and it is not our job to judge anyone else anyway.  Verse eight adds, And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:  Jesus gave the disciples specific instructions, which basically said don't carry anything with them for the journey but a staff.  They were to take no money or food.  The question now is how many of us would go under these conditions?  They had to strictly rely on God to provide for them through the generosity of those that they met.  Verse nine continues, But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.  They were even to go in sandals but without an extra coat.  This was indeed to be living simply and was far from private jets and thousand-dollar hotel rooms.  Verse ten states, And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.  They were told to stay with whoever offered them lodging as long as they remained in that place.  This required continual generosity on the part of the host and a willingness to accept help on the part of the disciples.  To borrow a phrase Bro. Scott Gothard used Sunday, "There could know no shame in their game."  We are sometimes too proud to rely on the help of others even when we are doing what God calls us to do.  Verse eleven adds, And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.  The disciples were also told if the people wouldn't receive them, to leave and shake the dust off their feet when they left.  Like the disciples, we cannot force anyone to listen to us as we share the gospel, so sometimes all we can do is leave.  Of course, as Jesus said then, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah would be better off on judgment day than these people were.  The people in these cities had refused to listen to the gospel of Christ when it was presented to them.  Verse twelve says, And they went out, and preached that men should repent. Verse thirteen adds, And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.  The disciples did as Jesus directed them to do, calling for people to repent, casting out devils and healing people.  As Christians, Jesus still sends us out today to share the gospel with those that we meet.  If we go by faith, we can be just as effective as the disciples were.