A Tribal Thing

"A Tribal Thing" Matthew 10:21

This prophetic decree falls from the lips of the Lord in the context of His Commissioning and Charging His Twelve Interns prior to their maiden Evangelistic Campaign. According to verse 1 of chapter 10, subsequent to His Call to Internship, Jesus then temporarily Apostolized or Deputized them; in that, "He gave them power (temporarily) against unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease," and then in verse 5, "Jesus sent these twelve forth."

This Internship was characterized by Three Major Facets: namely, SHORT TERM LIMITATIONS, CLEAR CUT SPECIFICITY, and A MEASURE OF VULNERABILITY as outlined in Verse 5-20.

The SHORT TERM LIMITATIONS, as recorded in Verse 5 & 6, were related to A RACIAL THING; in that the 12 were Limited in the Scope of their Travel and Contact. For in these two verses, Jesus commanded them saying, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

The CLEAR CUT SPECIFICITY was related to A SPIRITUAL THING as recorded in Verses 7-14. They were told Specifically What To Preach: the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Told Specifically the Scope of their Ministry: to Heal the Sick, Cleanse the Lepers, Raise the Dead and Cast Out Demons. Told Specifically their Fee: Freely ye have received, freely give. Told Specifically What Not to Carry: Provide neither gold nor silver, nor brass in your purse, nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. Told Specifically Where To Stay: "And into whatsoever town or city ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence." Told Specifically How to Enter a Home: "And when ye come into a house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you." Told Specifically When and How to Leave: "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet."

And the MEASURE OF VULNERABILITY, as recorded in Verses 16-20, was related to A JUDICIAL THING. They were told to be Judicious in their Judgments, being aware of their Vulnerability to the Jaundiced Judgments of Men. (Read verses 16-20)

Then, in Verse 21, there seems to be a Shift in the train of thought of Jesus; for, according to my syntactical exegesis of this verse, Jesus introduces A NEW IDEA that appears to be unrelated to the LIMITS, SPECIFICS and VULNERABILITY of their immediate mission. Now you need to understand and apprehend that the very First Word in Verse 21 is Very Crucial to my argument. The conjunction which is translated "And" in the KJV is really the Greek conjunction "De." It is the Greek particle which marks the Super-Addition of a Clause, whether in Opposition or in Continuation, to what has preceded. This Greek particle "De" most commonly and frequently is rendered "But, On the Other Hand, or Now." And as such, it serves as an Indicator, introducing a New Idea into the conversation. And the word commonly used to denote the particle "And" is the Greek work "Kai."

Now as I investigated the Greek Text, I discovered the Greek particle used in this verse was not "Kai" which means "And," but rather the Greek particle "De" which denotes Opposition or Distinction, and is rendered "But, on the other hand or now."

Thus, according to Matthew’s interpretation, Jesus is Not continuing a previous idea but Shifts to introduce A NEW IDEA into this passage that is Distinct from the previous verses. It is NOT a continuation of the same idea saying, "AND the brother ..." BUT THERE IS A Shift TO A NEW IDEA saying, "NOW the brother ..." If you would read the NKJV, you would detect this difference. The word "Now" in this instance does Not express the idea of Present Time, but is a Transition to a New Idea that is Distinguished from the preceding verses.

While, on one hand, the RACIAL, SPIRITUAL and JUDICIAL THINGS have a direct relationship and impact on the 12 as a direct result of their Ministry; on the other hand, Jesus in Verse 21 introduces A TRIBAL THING which seems unrelated or distinguished from the Administration of the Gospel; and I’ll expand on this in a minute.

But for the present moment I want you to comprehend it’s as if Jesus says to them: ’Don’t be unaware of this TRIBAL THING which is happening at the Same Time. For simultaneous with your going exclusively to the lost sheep of the house of Israel in pursuit of THE RACIAL THING; as you are dealing Specifically with Preaching, Healing, Resurrecting and Exorcism in pursuit of THE SPIRITUAL THING; and while you’re being delivered to the local councils, terminating in being flogged and being brought before governors and kings as a direct result of your Ministry, fulfilling THE JUDICIAL THING; contemporaneous with all of that, says Jesus, "The brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death." Therefore, the Lord focuses in on THE TRIBAL THING as opposed to the preceding RACIAL, SPIRITUAL and JUDICIAL THING!!!