In Galilee—Mission of the Twelve
Mission of the Twelve. Instructions.
(The Gospel History, Section 59)
And Jesus went round about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of disease and all manner of sickness. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were distressed and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth labourers into his harvest. And he called unto him his twelve disciples, and began to send them forth by two and two; and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits, to cast them out; and to heal all manner of disease and all manner of sickness.
Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphæus, and Thaddæus; Simon the Cananæan, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
In Galilee—Mission of the Twelve
(The Saviour of the World, Vol III Book IV Poem XXXIV)
Now, all the cities Jesus went about
Teaching in synagogues; to poor, unlearned,
Preaching words of their life; did any ail,
He healed,—in village, city, open waste!
Multitudes, souls distressed, cried out on Him,
Revealed that hunger no man had supplied—
For word of God to strengthen. Scattered sheep,
That went unshepherded till Jesus came!
The Christ, perceiving how the people fed
On milk of the Word like babe at mother’s breast,
Went out to them as mother to her young
In wistful pity, would upgather these,
His babes distressed and scattered, wanting milk!
The mother who hath sons, babes of her womb,
Distressed and scattered on a foreign shore
Where no man pities, gives them bread to eat,
Some measure hath she of the heart of Christ
Beholding how His children go unfed,
Unguided in a land where, for His sake,
None comforts them with love nor feeds with grace!
Ah, Christ, give us compassion, that we go
To teach Thy scattered folk the thing we know!
Were those at hand the Lord would send with bread
Hither and thither where the hungry be:
Nay, they themselves a harvest ripe to cut,
Plenteous and bountiful—that multitude
Hung famished on His word! Then turned He round
To His disciples: Have ye understood
How all the poor stand ready to your hand,
A golden harvest to be gathered in?
Say ye, they know not letters, have small need
Of that which feeds man’s spirit? Nay, I say,
Each hath been sown of God, and reared, and waits
That word shall as a sickle cut his heart
And lay him ready to be garnered in
To th’ Kingdom he was made for. Pray ye, then,
The Lord of the harvest labourers to send
East, West, and North and South, lest this good grain
For want of harvesting rot on the ground:
Plenteous the harvest, but the labourers few!
Then called He forth the Twelve, the Chosen Men,
Should speed His message to remotest shore:
And two by two He sent them, lest their heart
Should fail them in an alien world alone.
With rich endowment sent He these abroad—
Graced with authority, His proper part,
To cast out devils, all diseased to heal,
And preach to men, The Kingdom of God is come!
The message still is ours to spread abroad:
Creative Energy, His attribute,
But lent He for those early days of the Church,
The Bridegroom yet at hand, or scarce withdrawn!
We know the Twelve, can name the blessed names
Of them went with the Lord, the Gospel learnt
At the very lips of Christ: thus charged He them:—
St. Matthew ix. 35-38; x. 1-4.
St. Mark vi. 6, 7.
St. Luke ix. 1.