When Jesus gathered his little band of disciples about him for spiritual instruction, they were frequently surprised by his unexpected answers to their questions. Often they were not a little discomfited by his commands, which, though lovingly given, were contrary to their accustomed modes of thought. This is not hard to understand when we realize that they reasoned from the standpoint of human experience, while Jesus spoke always with the direct inspiration of divine Mind.
A striking example of this appears in the ninth chapter of Luke's Gospel, which begins with the account of Jesus' commissioning his disciples to take their first journey of healing and preaching on which he did not accompany them. Hitherto they had shared the privilege of seeing their Master heal all types of physical ailments and restore the mentally deranged to sanity and normal living. Through his patient explanations Jesus had taught them that these healings were the direct result of his understanding of God's power as ever available and abundantly able to provide the way out of every emergency. He had instructed them that they too could draw upon this inexhaustible supply of divine, healing Love.
Now, that they might rely absolutely on God during this new experience, Jesus bade them take nothing material with them, "neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money." Doubtless this was a severe test for the disciples, but it was necessary for their spiritual growth. Like every follower of the Christ, they had to learn the lesson of dependence on God as Principle, rather than on person. The success of their mission, as related to Jesus on their return to him, proved that their confidence had received divine support. Little did they realize that this was but the preparation for greater demands on their obedience and resourcefulness!
