Two by Two

And he called his twelve disciples together and began sending them out two by two, giving them authority to cast out evil spirits. Mark 6:7

Meditate. Read the scripture again. Short, but direct. Go.

 

Do you think the disciples were ready for this? They were going out into the hillsides, byways, towns, and villages to heal people—to cast out evil spirits. That might have been a scary situation. We have the advantage today of the Holy Spirit with us…but those disciples had seen Jesus perform miracles and cast out evil spirits. They were prepared. This is a similar passage to what we read in Matthew 10.

Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness. Here are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (also called Peter), then Andrew (Peter's brother), James (son of Zebedee), John (James's brother), Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew (the tax collector), James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus, Simon (the zealot), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him). Matthew 10:1-4

Mark doesn’t list the disciples by name—but then he is not one of them. He later went with Paul and Barnabus on Paul’s missionary journeys.

Two by Two
Go and serve the Lord.

Here, the disciples were sent out two by two by Jesus Himself. We don’t know just who traveled together, but all twelve of them are included in the list. Go–get rid of evil spirits. Jesus gives them more specific directions that we’ll look at tomorrow. With the instructions, Jesus gave them power and wisdom. They were an extension of Jesus’ power. They became His helpmates

What do we learn about Jesus in this passage today?

 

Prayer – Lord Jesus, You sent out Your disciples to get rid of evil spirits. Would You have us do that today? Are You planning to give us that same authority?

 

Verse of Salvation ~ But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:24

 

© 2026 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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