Matthew 10:5-16
The Coach’s Pep Talk
“5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. 11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city! 16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”
There were two other Gospels written on this incident. The disciples Mark and Luke recorded this same situation. So, let’s see what they say and then compare all three to gather more information.
Mark 6: 7 – 13, “7 And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. 8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts— 9 but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics. 10 Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 11 And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” 12 So they went out and preached that people should repent.
Luke 9: 1 – 6, “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 2 He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece. 4 “Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
For all of you who have ever served in the military, then you are familiar with the term ‘OJT’. I have already given to you in the title what the term means – On The Job Training. Our Lord is now in the process of getting His special twelve apostles ready to begin their lives of ministry on His behalf. He calls His close selected group together and says, ‘men, now is the time for you to get a dry run of what your future ministry will be. So, I want you to pair off. Yes, one of you has to go with Judas.’
“5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
The apostles received from the Lord ‘power and authority’ to preach that the Messiah has arrived on the scene and that His kingdom is now accepting citizens. To prove that their message is true, then are given His power to heal all physical infirmities and His Authority to cast out evil spirits.
How come we do not see the same spectacular effects from men and women who serve our Lord today? I have heard it said from some teacher’s that the power and authority was only given to the apostles and was only for their ministry. That doesn’t seem to jive with what other Scripture reveals. For example, in the following verses;
Acts 5:15-16, “15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. 16 Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.”
Acts 28:7-9, “7 In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days. 8 And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. 9 So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.
1 Corinthians 12:1-11, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: 2 You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”
So, it looks like our Precious Holy Spirit even today distributes to people individually whatever gift He feels like distributing. It seems that during the time of the apostles, which were only twelve, they seem to have all the gifts of our Majestic God given to them. Now that the church has grown, there are now millions of candidates for our Wonderful Holy Spirit to issue out His gifts to.
I just wish He would issue to individuals who serve with me the whole variety of gifts. Then it would be besides the important task of evangelism and preaching the Word, we would have more influence to heal individuals, especially children, and to raise some from the dead. Now that would be awesome to be part of, would it not?
9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. 11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
I am amazed at how some of the salaries that many men receive who are fortunate enough to be allowed to teach God’s sheep. Some of these guys and women have salaries and benefits exceeding one million dollars a year. What bothers me is that they see nothing wrong with this at all. What also bothers me is that our Mighty God allows this to happen.
I just did a funeral recently of a young woman who was not a believer in our Lord Jesus Christ. One of her sister’s read that she was disgusted with how some ‘men of the cloth’ were living so high while the people they served struggled to make ends meet. She said that these men go around driving Lexus’s, Cadillac’s, Lincoln Continentals, and other luxury cars. To clarify to all, I drive a Hyundai.
Do you notice why our Lord specified the means in which the apostles were to use in their travels?
He wanted them to travel light. This way, the six groups would be able to cover the whole country of Israel.
In addition, there were some other things that our Lord was not only teaching His ministers but for all those they would evangelize.
1. The Messiah did not come to offer wealth but there followers would be dependent on the Lord supplying their needs.
2. They would have to depend on the Lord to cover the housing and food.
3. It allowed the people to invest in the work of the ministry.
14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city! 16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”
Shaking the dust off their feet was not a new gesture. Religious Jews would do this same things after passing through Gentile territory. This act was to show their separation from non-Jewish cultures.
By shaking the dust off their feet from a town that rejected them, the apostles would in effect be displaying that this area rejected the Messiah. For these guys went in His power and authority. So, by rejecting them they were rejecting Him Who sent them.
Truly all of Israel would be abuzz with the news that the Messiah had come to the nation of Israel. For all over the message was proclaimed by twelve men who were picked by the Lord Jesus Christ. As the prophet Isaiah had proclaimed, these men were fulfilling the long awaited prophecy, “Isaiah 35:5-6, “5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.”
