The Mission of the Twelve in Mark 6:6b-13 and its Relevance Today
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Date
2001-02-07
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Tangaza University College
Abstract
The missionary activity of the Church has its foundation in the mission of
Jesus Christ. Jesus was sent by the Father to redeem the human race and to
restore the whole of creation to its Creator. Upon his coming here on the earth,
Jesus began his mission by preaching on the kingdom of God, calling people to
repent and believe the gospel (Cf. Mk.1:14-15). In order to fulfill this divine plan of
God he further initiated the first apostolic missionary activity during his public
ministry in Palestine. He shared his divine mission with his twelve apostles
[disciples] that he had called to be with him. Since then, this mission of Jesus has
been growing and spreading to all parts of the world for the last two thousand
years. Today as we begin the third millennium, Christian missionaries continue
this same mission of Jesus. It is this mission that our thesis entitled, "The mission
of the twelve in Mark 6:6b-13 and its relevance today" seeks to discuss in depth.
The purpose of our thesis is to show how much Christian missionaries can
learn from the first mission of the twelve apostles of Jesus as recorded in Mark's
gospel. Specifically by reflecting on the instructions of Jesus to the disciples,
Christian missionaries of our time are presented with a real treasure from which
they can get insights to guide them on how to present the message of Jesus
Christ in our modern world that is becoming more materialistic and individualistic.
Besides, the thesis will highlight some of the essential aspects that are relevant
to all Christians who seeks to increase their knowledge regarding the genesis of
the missionary activity in the Church. In order to present these, the thesis will be divided into three chapters.
The first Chapter presents the principal text of our study that is, Mark 6:6b-13
with reference to its context in the newly founded Marcan Christian community.
The second chapter presents an exegetical study of the unit on the mission of the
twelve as recorded in Mark's gospel. The third chapter gives some relevant
suggestions regarding the application of the mission of the twelve in the light of
the third millennium Christian missionaries. The main hypothesis of the entire
thesis is that the mission of the twelve in Mark 6:6b-13 can educate all Christian
missionaries of the third millennium, regardless of their sociopolitical, cultural or
ethnic background, to be faithful ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a
call to renew the spirit of missionary enthusiasm by emulating the first mission of
the twelve apostles as a model for action towards becoming authentic
ambassadors of Christ to the people they are sent to minister to in their mission
territories.
According to the nature of the thesis, the methodology adopted in
presenting the material will be exegetical and descriptive.
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Keywords
Mission, Twelve, Mark 6:6b-13, gospel, Marcan Christian Community, Christian missionaries