MORE TOLERABLE FOR SODOM AND GOMORRAH
1. Matthew 10:1-15 (NKJV) And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. 2 Now 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; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 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!
I. APOSTLE
A. Meaning of apostle -- one sent as a representative. Cf. 2 Corinthians 5:20 (NKJV) Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. There may be a sense in which all faithful Christians are Christ’s ambassadors, Paul’s use of the first person pronoun suggests that he is saying that he and the other apostles are ambassadors for Christ in a sense that is not true for all disciples.
B. Significance of the number twelve . . . twelve is an important symbolic number in the Bible.
1. The Old Testament featured the twelve sons of Jacob as the foundations for the twelve tribes of Israel [Genesis 49:28].
2. The twelve apostles were part of the foundation of the New Testament kingdom.
a. Ephesians 2:19-21 (NKJV) Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
b. Revelation 21:14 (NKJV) Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
C. Jesus gave them power -- apostles were empowered to perform miracles before the baptism of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
II. LIMITED COMMISSION
A. Specific prohibition --
1. Do not go into the way of the Gentiles
2. Do not enter a city of the Samaritans
3. Rather, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Jesus had seen the multitudes and had compassion on them because they were "like sheep having no shepherd" [Matthew 9:36].
4. These restrictions were lifted when Jesus gave the apostles the "great commission" before He ascended to heaven. Now, the command is to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature [Mark 16:15].
B. Sent to preach the good news of the kingdom
1. John the Baptist had preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand [Matthew 3:2].
2. Jesus had preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand [Matthew 4:17].
3. Now the apostles are commissioned to preach the same message [Matthew 10:7].
4. The kingdom was near when these events took place. It happened within the lifetime of Jesus’ hearers [Mark 9:1 (NKJV) And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."] This prophecy was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost seven weeks after the resurrection of Christ [Acts 2:1-4].
III. DEPENDENCE
A. The apostles were forbidden to make provisions for their needs. This was not a universal commandment [cf. Luke 22:35-36 (NKJV) And He said to them, "When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?" So they said, "Nothing." 36 Then He said to them, "But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.]
1. This text in Luke reveals to us the reason behind the prohibition against taking any provisions with them. The apostles needed to learn by experience the lesson that God would take care of them. So just before His death, Jesus was able to remind them of that experience and ask, "Did you lack anything?" They were able to answer, "Nothing."
2. When we’re doing the Lord’s work, we can depend on God and the hospitality of those who support the gospel [1 Corinthians 9:14 (NKJV) Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.] Consider the example of James A. Harding who often went far away from home to preach the gospel without having any financial resources to get himself home. He was totally dependent on his brethren and on the Lord! Harding took Philippians 4:19 seriously: "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
B. Look for whomever is worthy in whatever city or town they enter.
1. Hospitality was important in the first century world when lodging for strangers was rare. Since Jesus was sending the apostles out without money or food, they were altogether dependent on the hospitality of strangers. Christians should also be "given to hospitality" [Romans 12:13].
2. Those who loved the truth would support the work the apostles were doing. The apostles should look for those "worthy" people and make friends with them.
3. Almost everywhere one goes preaching the gospel of Christ, he finds some who are seeking truth and are easily converted. If we can make ourselves known to them, we will be able to lead them to the Lord.
a. Evangelism involves going -- taking the gospel to all the world. We cannot expect to simply hold services and make the gospel available to anyone interested enough to come hear it preached. When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He commanded, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)].
b. There is much we should be doing. But the very first thing is making ourselves well enough known in the community where we are so that those "worthy seekers" will be informed about what we teach and will seek us out. I have a friend who is today a brother in Christ. About 25 years ago, he heard a gospel preacher speak on television and a few days later walked into his office and said, "I want to talk to you about the Bible." With that attitude, it wasn’t long before he was baptized!
IV. SHAKING OFF THE DUST
A. Just as there will be people who will accept the message of the gospel, there will also be people who choose to reject it.
B. Some would not receive the apostles nor choose to hear their words. Jesus told them to "shake off the dust from your feet" with regard to those individuals [Matthew 10:14; cf. Mark 6:11 and Luke 9:5 which say the shaking of dust was "a testimony against them."]
1. When Jews traveled into Gentile territory and returned to Israel, they would sake their feet, symbolically cleansing themselves of the contamination they thought had come upon them because of their association with the Gentiles.
2. This action came to be recognized as a gesture of rejection. Those who rejected the word of Christ would be rejected by the Lord.
V. A JUDGMENT MESSAGE
A. The gospel is a message of good news. God loves us and wants us to be saved.
B. However, the gospel is also a message which announces the reality of judgment.
1. We are all accountable to God [Romans 14:12].
2. We will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ [2 Corinthians 5:10].
3. Judgment will be based on our works [Revelation 20:12].
4. Judgment will be according to the word spoken by Christ [John 12:48].
C. Those who choose to reject the gospel will pay a price for that decision.
1. Jesus said it would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for the city which rejected the preaching of the apostles [Matthew 10:15].
a. Sodom and Gomorrah were cities were cities where wickedness reigned. You know the story of Abraham bargaining with God to spare the cities if ten righteous people could be found [Genesis 18:32].
b. However, Sodom and Gomorrah were also cities with much less opportunity to know about God’s will. That is why their situation would be more tolerable than those who rejected the preaching of the apostles. Those who heard the apostles proclaim the glad tidings of the kingdom had no excuse for their failure to listen.
2. Likewise, those who fail to listen to the gospel today will face the Lord without any acceptable excuses. They could have followed the way of salvation, but they made the wrong choice. [2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 (KJV) In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;]
CONCLUSION
