He sent them out with nothing, but with everything they needed. They were to be totally dependent on others, but were empowered against all demons and diseases .

Read Luke 9:1-10

Now He called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and the power to heal diseases. And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. Luke 9:1-2

I’ve always wondered about the point of this exercise. Was it “on the job” training? A sort of discipling “boot camp?” Was it to cover more ground? Divide and conquer? Flood the zone? All of the above, I imagine. But I’ve learned there’s always more to it.

In Luke 8:1, Jesus was doing the same thing he was asking them to do now.

Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him.

He’d modeled what they were to do. Now it was their turn. They went “everywhere” and were successful, to the point that King Herod was perplexed, not with them, but by the excitement generated by Jesus’ message that the kingdom of God was at hand, and the power he possessed over disease and demons. Certainly Herod thought he was losing control. That’s what all rulers fear. He would finally see Jesus by the way when Pilate punted the real King to him.

Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. Luke 23:8

A good question is what was Jesus doing behind the scenes while they were gone. We’ve seen plenty of movies where the director watches his or her agents in action on a big screen, as if there are cameras everywhere (and there are!). Being God, certainly he was aware of their every move and was praying for each one, for each word, and for those with whom they ministered.

Nothing’s changed for us either. While we may be “alone,” behind the scenes he monitors our every move, puts words in our mouths and power in our hands and feet.

More important to me in this account is that these men sans Judas would soon be truly on their own, sharing that the kingdom had come and that one must believe to enter into it. They needed a trial run while their mentor was still present.