Jesus chose twelve disciples, he wanted them to “be with him” and help him in his work. The number of disciples he chose is also relevant; twelve is a special number for Jews. It represents the twelve sons of Jacob who then became the twelve tribes of Israel. They were the founders of the Jewish faith and the disciples were also to become the founders of a new people, that is Christianity. The Disciples were sent out in pairs, perhaps as a safety precaution but most probably for companionship. Jesus lay out three tasks for them: a) to cast out demons, b) to anoint the sick, c) to preach so the people would repent. As well as the tasks, Jesus also gave the disciples conditions they must follow on their journey. They were not allowed to take anything on their journey except a staff. They couldn’t take an extra tunic, bread, money or bag. If a family made them welcome, then they had to remain with that family until they left the area. However if they were not made welcome by a family, they were to shake the dust off their feet at the door, to show that they had no time for them, once they had turned their back on God. The conditions were made to ensure that the disciples paid complete attention to their mission and had no distractions. It may also aid the people to whom they are preaching by helping them to relate to the disciples better; therefore they would be more likely to listen to what they had to say.
These conditions demonstrate the severity of the cost of discipleship. Discipleship involves leaving self behind and putting things in your life in the right order, the correct order is firstly Jesus, then others and lastly yourself. He also explains to his disciples that they must “take up cross”, meaning be able to suffer possibly to the point of death. According to Glazier and Hellwig, “a disciple must be willing to suffer injustice rather than inflict it on others and to trust in God even in the face of suffering and death.” Jesus told his disciples to “come with me”. This only makes sense when we see what Jesus was teaching just before he said that. He had just told his disciples about his suffering and eventual death leading to his rising. By saying this, Jesus is telling his disciples that they too must suffer but like Jesus will also be rewarded with eternal life. Adshead has stated that, “There was no room for those who were concerned about getting on in the world and looking after themselves.”
For some people, the demand to give up all personal possessions proved to be too much. The best example of this is the Rich Young Man (Mk 10:17-31) who asked Jesus what he must do to enter the Kingdom of God. When Jesus instructed him to give up all his wealth, he couldn’t do it. Jesus then went on to explain how hard it was for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. On the other hand there is the opposite of this. The widow at the temple shows this (Mk12:41-44). She gave everything she had into the temple treasury. Although it may have been a small amount of money, it was a huge sacrifice to her, whereas the wealthier people gave large amounts but their sacrifice meant nothing to them as they were just giving from the extra money they had.
It is easy to make mistakes and the disciples were guilty of this. They demonstrated this is by arguing with each other over who was the greatest (Mk 9:30-37). This occurred just after Jesus explained to them that the Son of Man must suffer and die, they were obviously fighting over who was going to take Jesus’ place when this happened. James and John took this one step further, they asked Jesus if they could be granted the places at his right and left side in heaven This was just like asking to be guaranteed a place in heaven without working for it. This led into Jesus explain the relation between service and greatness, “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be greatest must be servant of all.” (Mk 11:43-44).
In conclusion, the first disciples had a lot to learn and also a lot to teach. “Disciples are chosen by Jesus and must be willing to suffer and die for their faith as well as to engage in the missionary enterprise.” (Glazier and Hellwig- Modern Catholic Encyclopaedia)