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Matthew 10 – Jesus Sends His 12 Disciples

“And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

*******

Now what was the last thing to happen in the last chapter?

Jesus told his disciples to pray earnestly for laborers for the harvest.

Now, in this chapter, Jesus immediately sends his disciples out to preach the gospel.

What is the very first thing that Jesus does for sending his disciples out?

Read verses 1-4,

The first thing that Jesus does is equip his disciples for the job. What did he equip them with?

Jesus equipped his disciples with authority to cast out unclean spirits and to heal every disease and affliction.

Is this something that Jesus equips every Christian with?

No. He specifically gives this authority to his 12 disciples only.

So, Jesus equips his disciples with authority to cast out demons and to heal every kind of disease and infirmity. What is the next thing that Jesus equips his disciples with?

Verses 5-15,

“These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.”

So the second thing that Jesus does to equip his disciples is to instruct them!

What is Jesus’ first instruction?

“Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Now the Gentiles we know were not Jews. How about the Samaritans?

We learn from 2 Kings 17:24,

“Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its towns.”

Now what these people did was adopt some of the religion of the Jews. They accepted the Pentateuch only, and changed the Mountain of Worship to Mount Gerizim.

Does this instruction to preach only to the lost sheep of Israel only pertain to Christians today?

No. Jesus later gave us the great commission and told us to go into all the world.

Obviously not because most Christians are not Israelites.

Does this instruction mean that we have to become Israelites first to become Christians?

That is just absurd. There is no invitation from Jesus to become Israelites.

Does this instruction mean that we need to submit to the 631 Old Testament laws and rituals?

Jesus never invited others to keep the laws and rituals. He invited people to keep the ethics he taught, which are much harder to keep.

So, this was a very specific instruction for a very specific time and a very specific task to be performed by the 12 disciples only for a limited time.

Why did Jesus tell his disciples to go to the lost sheep of Israel only?

Jesus already preached to the Gentiles as well as the Jews, so why is he restricting his disciples to the lost sheep of Israel only at this time?

We find a clue in Jeremiah 50:6,

“My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, causing them to roam the mountains. They have wandered from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place.”

God’s people are like lost sheep. They have been led astray by the Pharisees and Sadducees.

We find another clue in Matthew 2:22,

“But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee.”

We learned that Archelaus was especially bloodthirsty, killing all that remained of the line of Hasmodean kings. Jesus hadn’t gone full scale into preaching in the area of Judea yet and up till now, had only preached in Galilee and the surrounding region. Jesus had a mission to fulfill and that was to bring the message of the kingdom of heaven to all of the Jews first before completing his mission on the cross. Sending the disciples out to do this was a good strategy. This way, they could cover Judea quickly before Archelaus would devise a strategy against them. According to Luke 10, Jesus later sends out 72 disciples to preach the gospel in Judea and Samaria.

Why did Jesus want to complete the mission of preaching to the Jews so quickly?

One reason was that his time was getting near.

Another reason was that the time of God dealing with the Jews was coming to an end. Remember that in Daniel 9:24-27, that 70 weeks of years are reserved for dealing with the Jews. 69 of these weeks of years are chronological. They start with the actual going forth of the command to rebuild Jerusalem. That brings us right to the time that Jesus had his triumphant entry into the city, his crucifixion, and his resurrection. That brings us to the leftover week of years that is reserved for judgment. But this week is not placed in sequence. After the work of the Messiah, who is called “an anointed one, a prince,” in the book of Daniel, the time of judgment follows although we are not told exactly when that will be. So, Jesus is preparing the Jews for the coming judgment, giving them sort of a “last call” to repentance.

Other than telling the disciples where to go, what other instruction does Jesus give the disciples?

Proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is near.
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.
Don’t take any pay.
Don’t acquire any money.
Don’t take a bag or a change of clothing.
If you are welcomed, then accept the welcome.
If you are not welcomed or they don’t listen to you, shake off the dust and leave.

Let’s see what else Jesus instructed them about. Verses 16-25,

What instructions do we see in this section?

Be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.
a. Why? Because Jesus is sending us out as sheep in the midst of wolves.
b. How? We do that by being sneaky, but not aggressive.
- Outsmarting opponents.
  - Snakes will coil up and examine what threatens them before acting.
  - Snakes will sneak upon its objective, circling around it or taking cover as it moves about.
  - Doves do no harm to anyone.
- In the same way, Christians should do no harm to anyone, but examine the situation, and deal with it wisely, indirectly if necessary.At the same time be effective.
You will be delivered to courts, flogged, dragged before governors and kings.
- Why? For Jesus’ sake to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.
- When? Now wait a minute. Jesus is saying this just before he sends them into Judea and Samaria. But now he is saying before kings and Gentiles. Is Jesus getting a little ahead of himself here?
- Yes. He is also preparing them for the time when they will be spreading the gospel after he is done with his mission in Israel.
Don’t worry about what you are going to say.
- Why? The Holy Spirit will give you what to say.
- Why does he do it this way?
  - Because this will help us say what is most appropriate.
  - Because a posture of comfortableness goes a long way in conveying the truth of what we are conveying.
  - Does this mean don’t memorize scripture? No.Memorize verses and use the verse that is most appropriate for the situation.
  - Does this mean don’t practice what we might say when we are put on the spot?No.Practice what we might say ahead of time to various situations and use the answer that the Holy Spirit puts on our heart.
    1. What if someone walked up to you and asked, “Why did Jesus have to die?”What would you say?
You will be hated by all for Jesus’ sake. Family members will turn against each other.
The one that endures to the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next.
- So spend your time where it can be productive.
You will not go through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
- Wait a minute!I thought Jesus was the son of Man.What did he mean by this?
- What he means here is that his primary mission will be completed before all the towns in Israel are reached.The rest of the gospels and the book of Acts will show that he worked his way down to Jerusalem.Then, there was the triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the crucifixion, and the resurrection.After that, there were more towns for the disciples to take the gospel to.In Acts, for instance, it documents Phillip going to Gaza, Azotus, and Caesarea.
A disciple is not above his teacher.
- In other words, they maligned Jesus badly, so they will also malign his disciples, and perhaps even worse.

Jesus is depicting that the disciples are not going to be very well liked. Should the disciples be afraid of what might happen to them?

Let’s find out in verses 26-33,

Why should the disciples have no fear of men?

Everything will be revealed.So proclaim everything that Jesus taught.
They can kill the body, but not the soul.
Fear only the one that can kill both body and soul in hell.
God knows when the sparrows fall to the ground, so he will know when you fall to the ground.
Even the hairs of your head are numbered.Hey now!Someone up there is messing with my numbers!
Acknowledge Jesus before men, so he will acknowledge you before the Father in heaven.

Now, I thought Jesus said back on the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Shouldn’t this result in worldwide peace?

It doesn’t because not everyone accepts Jesus’ message.

Let’s see what Jesus says about this in verses 34-39,

So, is Jesus saying that he came to earth to intentionally bring a sword of war?

I read constantly that Christians should not be proud of a verse attributed to Jesus. The verse reads:

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword.

At first glance it indeed appears that Jesus encourages violence and calls his disciples to practice it, presumably righteous violence. But appearances can be deceiving. A text without a context often becomes a pretext, as the old saying goes. Once this verse is read in its historical and literary contexts, the meaning will change.

Let’s set the record straight about that verse. Following is a quote from the “Answering Islam” website:

The historical context, we should recall, is Jewish culture, as Jesus ministers to his own people. He sends out the twelve disciples to the "lost sheep of Israel," not yet to the gentiles, who will be reached after the Resurrection. It is not surprising, historically speaking, that he would spread his word by proclamation to his own, by Jewish disciples. Second, he predicts that some towns may not receive the disciples and that the authorities may put them on trial and flog them. In that eventuality, they should shake the dust off their feet, pray for them, and flee to another city. Third, it is only natural that first-century Jews may not understand this new sect or "Jesus movement" (as sociologists of the New Testament call it), so they resist it. Does this mean, then, that Jesus calls for a holy war with a physical, military sword against his fellow Jews—say, against his own family who wanted to take custody of him because they thought he was "out of his mind" (Mark 3:21)?

Next, those cultural facts explain the immediate literary context, which shows division among family members. The context must be quoted in full to explain the meaning of "sword" in Matthew 10:34 (bold print):

32 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. 34 Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn

a man against his father,

a daughter against her mother,

a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—

36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household [quoting Micah 7:6]

37 Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

The one key element in this lengthy passage is the word "sword," and its meaning is now clear. It indicates that following Jesus in his original Jewish society may not bring peace to a family, but may "split" it up, the precise function of a metaphorical sword. Are his disciples ready for that? This kind of spiritual sword invisibly severs a man from his father, and daughter from her mother, and so on (Micah 7:6). Given Jesus’ own family resistance early on (they later came around), it is only natural he would say that no matter what the cost, one must follow him to the end, even if it means giving up one’s family. But this applies only if the family rejects the new convert, not if the family accepts him in his new faith; he must not reject them, because the whole point of Jesus’ advent is to win as many people to his side as possible, even if this divides the world in two, but never violently.

Furthermore, we can reference the larger textual context in the Gospel of Matthew. In the Garden of Gethsemane, during the hour when Jesus was betrayed and arrested, Peter struck off the ear of the servant of the high priest in order to protect his Lord. But Jesus tells him to stop.

Matthew 26:52-53 says:

52 "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" (NIV)

Jesus denounces violence to accomplish the will of God—at least as Peter imagines the will of God. Then Jesus says that he has more than twelve legions of angels at his disposal. He did not come to crush the Roman Empire. Instead, he willingly lays down his life and dies for the sins of the whole world. Will it accept this wonderful gift?

Now we can appeal to even a much larger textual context. The non-literal interpretation of the sword is confirmed by a parallel passage in the Gospel of Luke.

Luke 12:49-53 reads:

49 "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo [my death], and how distressed I am until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

It is entirely possible that these two parallel passages in Matthew and Luke represent two different occasions. After all, when I teach the same topic in two different classes, I also change the wording a little. Neither class knows about the slight change, but this does not matter, for the meaning is essentially the same. Likewise, in the three years that Jesus taught, he most likely repeated this call to commitment several times to different audiences (though recorded only twice in the Gospels), as he crisscrossed Israel. He issued such radical calls often, telling his listeners to pick up their cross and to follow him (Matt. 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23, 14:27).

Whatever the case, the proper way to interpret Scripture is to let verses clarify other verses, particularly parallel passages. And now Luke 12:49-53 confirms our interpretation of Matt. 10:34. Jesus did not endorse physical violence against one’s own family, but he warns people about possible family division. (This explanation is quoted from James M. Arlandson in “Answering Islam”

https://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Arlandson/matthew_10_34.htm ).

What is the bottom line here?

The bottom line is that people from other religions, whether it be Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Paganism, Atheism, or whatever, they are not going to like it when their family, friends, neighbors, countrymen leave their religion and take up a relationship with Jesus Christ. There will be division, fights, persecution, and they will execute Christians too. You can’t love Jesus and go back to your family’s religion. You can’t love Jesus and recant your relationship with Jesus. You must be willing to follow down the path that Jesus went and take up your cross to be crucified. If you lose your life in this way, you will find eternal life with Jesus Christ. If you recant your relationship with Jesus, you will lose your eternal life with Jesus.

We also need to note that Jesus is about halfway through his ministry and he is already alluding to his death on the cross. When we studied the gospel of John, we saw that from the beginning to the end of his ministry, this was the focus and his whole purpose in coming. This same idea is coming to us through the gospel of Matthew as well.

So, do you get a reward for following Jesus? Verses 40-42,

If you receive a disciple, you get Jesus Christ. If you get Jesus Christ you get the one that sent him, God.

If you receive a prophet, you get a prophet’s reward.

If you receive a righteous person, you receive a righteous person’s reward.

If you give a disciple a cup of cold water, you get a reward for that as well.

Proverbs 19:17,

“Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.”

Every good deed will result in a good reward.

The greatest reward in all these is what?

God.

You only get God how?

Through Jesus Christ.

Song: Ray Boltz - Take Up Your Cross

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