The Mission of Twelve (AQA GCSE Religious Studies A): Revision Note

Jesus called the disciples to him and gave them their mission

• They were to share Jesus’s message and preach the good news to anyone who would listen

Jesus gave them the authority and power to heal the sick and cast out evil spirits

Jesus told them what to take and what to wear

He gave instructions to travel light and rely on the kindness of those who took them in:

• They were to stay in the first house that welcomed them until they left that town 

• This meant that they would have to learn to depend on God for everything that they needed

Jesus anticipated that the disciples would face rejection and criticism. He instructed them to shake the dust from their feet as they left if they faced rejection in a town:

• Jews would have routinely done this when leaving a Gentile area to prevent foreign dust from contaminating Jewish land

• A Jew doing this action to a fellow Jew would show how serious it was to have rejected God

The disciples did as Jesus asked, sharing his mission

They went out in pairs to perform this work:

• For protection

• For company

• So that there would always be a witness to events, which was required according to Jewish tradition

• So that there were witnesses to any amazing events that may have led others to believe

The disciples proclaimed that all should repent

• This means that they told people to give up sin and change their ways

They drove out demons

• This means that they drove out evil spirits as Jesus had done

They anointed with oil and healed the sick

• This has led to the Christian tradition of anointing sick people with oil, which is one of the sacraments of the Catholic Church

Mission work in the Christian Church is similar in many ways today to the mission of the disciples

Some Christians travel the world to preach the gospel, teach, heal and work on development projects:

• Like the disciples, Christians doing this type of mission work today aim to help people practically as well as preach the gospel message

  • The work of organisations such as Christian Aid and CAFOD is evidence of this type of mission

• People who carry out missionary work today may face great hardship and put themselves at great risk

• Like the disciples, they have to trust in God and rely on the goodness of people for their mission to succeed

Other Christians interpret mission work differently

• They may not go out in the way the original disciples did, but they may dedicate themselves to a religious life by becoming a monk, nun or priest

Many Christians regard their everyday life as a mission, trying to spread the good news by living a good life and worshipping God. They may donate money to charity or spend time doing voluntary work to improve other people’s wellbeing, for example, by visiting the sick or helping in food banks