January
14th Matthew
10 Christ calls twelve apostles
1:
And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them
power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all
manner of sickness and all manner of disease. 2: Now the names of the
twelve apostles are these; The 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 publican; James
the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4:
Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
Instructions
regarding the mission
5:
These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not
into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans
enter ye not: 6: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel. 7: And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at
hand. 8: Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out
devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 9: Provide neither
gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10: Nor scrip for your
journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the
workman is worthy of his meat. 11: And into whatsoever city or town
ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye
go thence. 12: And when ye come into an house, salute it. 13: And if
the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not
worthy, let your peace return to you. 14: 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. 15: Verily I say unto you, It
shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day
of judgment, than for that city.
Persecution
16:
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye
therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17: But beware of
men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will
scourge you in their synagogues; 18: And ye shall be brought before
governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the
Gentiles. 19: But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or
what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what
ye shall speak. 20: For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of
your Father which speaketh in you. 21: And 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. 22: And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but
he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 23: But when they
persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say
unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the
Son of man be come. 24: The disciple is not above his master, nor the
servant above his lord. 25: It is enough for the disciple that he be
as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the
master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of
his household?
At
this stage of Christ’s Ministry he calls the Disciples together and
specifically gives them Apostolic Power over unclean Spirits and to
heal all manner of diseases. This power never leaves them until the
end of their ministry in about AD 70. Christ also names them and
numbers them. These twelve were ‘sent forth’ in other words they
were Apostles. They were instructed very carefully not to go to
Gentiles. There ministry would always be exclusively to the Jews and
even after Gentiles are brought into the church late in the Acts
their ministry is still to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to the
Jews. They were sent specifically to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel. And their message was to call on Israel to return unto the
LORD their God, because the Kingdom was near at hand. Their ministry
was to be given freely. (This was the reason why Paul in particular
supported himself as much as possible) They were to go out relying on
the custom of hospitality in Israel, having no money or script. They
were not to take spare shoes coats or even a staff. Because says
Christ the workman is worthy of his hire. They are to be self
supporting and dependant on the customary kindness of Israel and
relying on God. Next the Lord explains that if they come to a house
and they find they are worthy them their peace is to remain but if
not their peace is to return to them. If they are not welcomed and if
they are not listened to then they are to shake off the dust from
their feet. The judgment of God will be very stringent on those who
reject them. The Apostles are to be a wise as serpents and harmless
as doves. Next Christ warns them that they will be betrayed by their
own country men who will deliver them to councils and scourge then in
Synagogues. This explains the persecution and imprisonment of Peter
and Paul. They will be delivered to Kings and governors and when this
happens, they are not to worry but rely on the LORD for help. (In
this passage Christ is speaking as if the Church age never happens.
He goes right on to describe the continuation of the apostolic
mission right on into the Tribulation and the end of it by the
tribulations saints. There will be betrayals even in the family and
they will be hated of all men for Christ’s sake but those who
endure to the end will be delivered from death.) When they are
persecuted in one city they are to flee to another (Paul escapes from
Damascus) and their mission will not be completely finished before
Christ returns in glory and power to establish the Kingdom. Christ
lastly warns them of terrible persecution.
- Make a list of the twelve Apostles and gather information about each one.
- What instructions does Christ give to the Apostles in their mission?
- How does the Lord prepare them for the reception that they are going to receive?
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