Matthew 10:1-16 - Reach All
Greetings: The Lord is good and his love endures forever.
Introduction:
A leader with any great undertaking must choose his staff. Here Jesus is choosing his staff, his right-hand men, and his helpers in the days of his flesh. They were very ordinary men. They had no wealth; they had no academic background; they had no social position (William Barclay). We see quite a variety in this make-up of the apostles. This team had Matthew, a governmental employee, and Simon the Zealot, a governmental hater, a set of brothers as well as individuals, men of blue-collar and white-collar jobs. They were not Pharisees, Sadducees, rabbis, priests, or prophets.
These Twelve were appointed to special roles and were called, taught, equipped, and sent as representatives of Jesus. The word "apostle" is from the Greek term apolstolon, meaning "sent out" by a master to carry a message. Jesus gave them His own authority to cast out demons and heal diseases, and afflictions. They were the Gospel pioneers. A pioneer is someone who is the first to explore something or the first to do something.
1. Go to the Lost Sheep of Israel (Matthew 10:5-10)
Jesus gave the commission to his messengers. Jesus commanded his men or gave them orders is interesting and illuminating. The Greek word used is ‘paragellein.’ This word has four special usages. a military command; a call to friends to help; a teacher giving rules and precepts to his students; an imperial command (William Barclay). Jesus was dispatching his ambassadors into the world to carry out his orders and to speak for him. The messengers had words to speak and deeds to do.
The apostles were forbidden to enter into Gentile regions or Samaritan towns but to focus and preach to Israelites. They were instructed to go to the house of Israel. Which is the whole Jewish nation, all the Jews consist of all tribes of Israel. They were lost, not only in Adam but by their own transgressions. So, only Christ can save all. The family of Israel (Leviticus 10:6, Exodus 19:3), the theocratic nation was alienated from the divine truth and the divine life, and so were found wandering in error, like sheep without a shepherd and without faith in Him (Matthew 15:24, 9:36
Jesus saw the Jews as wandering and lost sheep straying without a shepherd. They were wandering sheep, and want of proper guides. The Jews at this time had miserable teachers. Christ's death broke down the middle wall of partition and brought all into one-fold (Ephesians 2:14). Until then, the Gospel was to Jews alone who were lost sheep, of course, all are sinners (Isaiah 53:6, 1Peter 2:25, Luke 19:10).
2. Search for a worthy person (Matthew 10:11, Mark 6:10, Luke 9:4)
Jesus insists that the apostles not take extra money, clothes, or supplies for this first journey. It is purely for this initial mission. The apostles radically depend on the provision of God. The point is that if they take up their residence in a house that had an evil reputation for morals, conduct, and fellowship, it would seriously hinder their usefulness. They need to stay in that house and not move. Later they may be tempted to move on to a house that could provide more luxury, more comfort, and better entertainment (Bible says).
Jesus told his disciples to seek out someone of good repute, and willing to receive them as messengers of glad tidings, even if he is poor (Ellicott), be disposed to show you hospitality and to treat them kindly (Barnes). The point is all are new to this Christ and his message, all were equally strangers to this mission. Does it mean a man famous for piety and religion, or one that feared God, and a worshipper of Christ? But a hospitable man, very liberal, willing, and ready to entertain strangers.
The Hebrew understanding of "to be worthy", means "to give alms", because a man who gives alms was reckoned by the Jews a very worthy man (Gill). A host is to be carefully sought out in each place, the deciding consideration to be good, worthy, and not wealthy (Expositors’ Greek Testament).
Search out means doing a spiritual examination. The godly are easily discovered by the godly, and in like manner the ungodly by the ungodly (Bengel). Jesus told the twelve to look for any godly and upright men, who have some fear and reverence for God, and of whose readiness to receive instruction good hopes may be entertained, that they may direct their labors chiefly to them (Calvin).
Are you a worthy person to pray for the servants of God, are you worthy to be blessed and receive the blessings of God?
"The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles," a tract discovered in 1873 in the library of the monastery of the Most Holy Sepulchre at Constantinople dated AD 100 says, "And every apostle who cometh to you, let him be received as the Lord; but he shall not remain except for one day; if, however, there be the need, then the next day; but if he remains three days, he is a false prophet. But when the apostle departeth, let him take nothing except bread enough till he lodges again, but if he asks money, he is a false prophet."(Vincent Word Studies).
3. Shrewd Snakes, innocent doves (Matthew 10:16)
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.”
Disciples were valuable people. But in mission work, they must not defend themselves with worldly forms of power. Wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge would keep them from attracting trouble unnecessarily or show them how to avoid it without compromise. (Enduring Bible).
Jesus gives two powerful metaphors to disciples to understand their mission. The first is a warning. The second is an admonition. Around the world, Sheep were common symbols of innocence and helplessness. Doves too!
Wolves are symbolic of being ravenous and cruel. Wolves operate in packs and teams to hunt their prey. They are the natural predators of sheep, who are helpless against their attacks. Even as His disciples are to be shrewd as serpents by taking advantage of worldly institutions to accomplish their mission, they are to do so with the utmost integrity. They are to maintain their mission focus to serve others, rather than to be self-seeking. Their job is not to obtain victory on earth.
Jesus instructed for a short-term trip, where the apostles will visit the towns and cities of Galilee preaching Jesus' message, while also healing and casting out demons in His name. Their message will be that the kingdom of heaven is near. They are to encourage the people to repent and prepare themselves for its arrival. The message will be inherently divisive in the eyes of a non-believing world.
