JP48: Jesus On The Road: How You Can Join His Plan To Change The World

Back when singer and songwriter Roger Miller released the hit “King of The Road” it topped the British charts and rose to fourth in America.  The lyrics capture the carefree life of a traveler moving by train and living on the road “in trailers for sale or rent.”  

One reason this song struck a chord was the lovable way the man’s experiences connected with people.  Like,

“I know every engineer on every train, all of their children, and all of their names, and every handout in every town, every lock that ain't locked when no one's around.”  

Before locomotives, Jesus traveled on foot from town to town with a different mission.  To share the good news of His Father, Jesus came humbly, lived a simple lifestyle, and met the needs of strangers as He went.  

Jesus’ traveling companion and historian, Luke, describes the world-changing strategy -

“After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.”  (NIV, Lk 8:1–3)

Luke's eyewitness account reveals that Jesus modeled an intentional strategy to change the world that we can join today. Joining Jesus calls for a shift from a static to a mobile approach.

Take The Good News Of Jesus Into The Community

Traveling from town to town was a key component of Jesus' strategy for spreading the good news of the kingdom of God.  

He pivoted from teaching in the synagogues, perhaps because the Jewish leaders were looking for ways to capture and kill Him there.  Faced with this threat, Jesus moved about methodically to surrounding towns instead of settling down onto a hillside stage.  

Jesus drew crowds and changed lives everywhere he went because he valued people on the margins of society and taught with the authority of heaven.  

Likewise, followers of Jesus find themselves living most like their King when we build relationships and share the good news in the context of a friendship wherever we live, work, and hang out.  

Travel And Train With A Team

Jesus moved about with a team that He could train while they gained first-hand experience in Jesus' pattern of ministry.

This strategy relied on the twelve disciples and many essential women supporters.  Those mentioned here include Mary Magdalene, whom Jesus had miraculously delivered from "evil spirits and diseases."   She was also among the first to see Jesus alive after His bodily resurrection from the tomb. Joanna was the wife of an official in Herod's government, and Susanna we know only by name.  

Among Jesus' many women teammates, these three stood out as examples of His transforming power and they distinguished themselves by supplying Jesus with the necessary resources from their personal means.

Following Jesus means we move about intentionally not as loners but with a team or micro church to provide mutual support, encouragement, and loving accountability.

Trust The Team To Do The Work

We see Jesus traveling with his team as they learn and grow together. In the next chapter, Luke records an evolution of Jesus’ train and release plan as He sends the twelve disciples to practice their faith on their own. Then, in chapter ten, Jesus sends out 72 disciples. The good news spread as the disciples multiplied.  The results impacted the region so remarkably that the civil ruler, Herod, wanted an explanation (NIV, Luke 9:7-9).

Jesus' plan to restore a broken world meant trusting his disciples to pattern their lives after his, with each generation of new believers taking the good news of Jesus to their neighbors, cities, and nations.

Who is Jesus sending you to love, and who will you take on the journey? Jesus pivoted to take the good news town to town.  Is now the time for you to pivot and take the good news of Jesus to your neighbors and friends?  Let’s all get on board and serve as His 'kings and queens' of the road!

Prayer:  Lord, help me pattern my life after yours and move into my community, workplace, or anywhere people gather to spread the good news.  Teach me how to find a group of friends who can join me on this journey. Help me always to lead with love, listening, and humility while you apply your transforming power to me and my neighbors.

Check out the Ambassadors page on our website for more information on how you can engage your neighborhood, apartment complex, or another context.  You can also access training videos here.

Jesus On The Road: How You Can Join His Plan To Change the World

1. Take the Good News Of Jesus Into The Community

“After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.” (NIV, Luke 8:1)

2. Travel and Train With A Team

“The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases” (NIV, Luke 8:2a)

3. Trust The Team To Do The Work

“Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.” (NIV, Luke 8:2b-3)

“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”  So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere. Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.  But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him. (NIV, Lk 9:1–9)

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. (NIV, Lk 10:1)

Photo by Katie Drazdauskaite on Unsplash