Excerpt from “The Holy One of God,” by Pastor Ward, available at amazon.com:

The holy one of God healed, He did not harm, those who rejected Him.

Injil Markus 6:7  And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;

They must not always be studying in the academy of Christ Jesus to merely obtain knowledge but they must be doing something with the knowledge which they have acquired.  They had received in order to give, learned that they might teach.  Although they were not yet as well trained and accomplished as they were to be, yet, according to their present capability, they must be set to work and make further improvements upon their ability afterwards.

The purpose of going in pairs may have been to bolster their credibility by having the testimony of more than one witness as well as providing mutual protection and encouragement.

They were empowered to shake the strongholds of Satan’s structures and set souls free and introduce them to the gospel of Jesus the long-awaited Messiah.  They did not amuse people with curious matters, but told them they must quit their sins and turn to God wholeheartedly.  Jesus may have even bestowed upon them special divine favor for this first solo flight of theirs.  Later they will have to learn to pray for that themselves.

6:8  And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:

6:9  But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.

6:10  And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.

6:11  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.

6:12  And they went out, and preached that men should repent.

6:13  And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

6:14  And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.

Herod feared John while he lived, and feared him even more when he was dead.  The murdered prophet haunted his guilty breast like a ghost therefore Herodias’ triumph was short.  It is better that sinners persecute ministers now for faithfulness, than curse them eternally for unfaithfulness.  It is possible that some may even be brought to Christ by our faithfulness.

A person who has a sin in his memory can never be sure when that ghost will suddenly reappear.  The most trivial of things can arouse the sleeping conscience.  The forgiven saint is sometimes reminded of his past, not by his conscience so much as by the enemy in an effort to lessen his effectiveness, but the follower of Christ Jesus can confidently claim the forgiveness provided by Him for confessed sins and tell the adversary, “You may know my past but I know your future and it is because of Christ Jesus, the Holy One of God,  that you’ve lost and I’ve already won the victory.”

The Holy One Called Isa