Matthew 9:6, 8
[6] But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” [7] Then the man got up and went home. [8] When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.
[35] Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.
[36] When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [37] Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. [38] Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Matthew 10:1-5, 7-42
[1] Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
[2] These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; [3] Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; [4] Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. [5] These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans.
[7] As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ [8] Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. [9] “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— [10] no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep.
[11] Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. [12] As you enter the home, give it your greeting. [13] If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. [14] If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. [15] Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
[16] “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. [17] Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. [18] On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. [19] But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, [20] for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
[21] “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. [22] You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. [23] When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
[24] “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. [25] It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
[26] “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. [27] What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. [28] Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. [29] Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. [30] And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. [31] So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
[32] “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. [33] But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
[34] “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. [35] For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— [36] a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
[37] “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. [38] Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. [39] Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
[40] “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. [41] Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. [42] And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
Matthew 11:1
[1] After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
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God gave men the authority to forgive sins, and to heal the sick. As a man while on earth, Jesus had such authority. He went throughout Jewish cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing their diseases and afflictions, as a sign that the Kingdom of heaven was near.
When he saw that the crowds of people were harrased and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd, he had compassion on them, so he instructed his disciples to pray that the Lord would send workers to them, who would shepherd them. He said to them, "the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few."
Then he called his twelve apostles together, and gave them authority to drive out demons, and to heal every sickness and disease, preaching, "The kingdom of heaven is near." Like Jesus, their ability to conduct miracles would be a sign which accompanied the message they proclaimed: that the Kingdom of God was near. Jesus the King of the everlasting Kingdom had come, and he was going to establish it on earth, as it is in heaven.
He instructed the apostles not to go to Gentiles or Samaritans, but to Jews ("the lost sheep of Israel").
Note:
Jesus instructed them to go to the Jews because God had made a covenant with the Jews, and therefore He offered them the kingdom of heaven first, just as Paul later said, "to the Jew first, and then the Greek." When the Jews rejected Jesus and his offer of the Kingdom, God opened the way for the Gentiles, and offered the Kingdom of God to them.
Jesus said to the Jews that the Kingdom of God was going to be taken from them and given to another nation who would bear its fruit (Matthew 21:43). The Jews were not bearing the fruits of justice and righteousness for God's Kingdom, and therefore God was going to take it from them and give it to a people who would. Jesus also told a parable describing that this was going to happen:
[24] “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ [25] (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) [26] ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him" (Luke 19:24-26).
In order to provoke the Jews to jealousy so that they migh have faith in Jesus, Paul said to them, "Let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!" (Acts 28:28). The Jews rejected Jesus, but the Gentiles would not, and therefore they would inherit the Kingdom of God.
God sent Jesus to all people, to save His people from their sins (Luke 2:10; Matthew 1:21). From the beginning, all people were invited to be among God's people, and salvation was intended for all people who belong to Him by faith in Jesus.
Jesus instructed the apostles to do what he had been doing: heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons. He instructed them to give these things freely without payment, because they had freely been given this authority from God. They were not to ask or demand money for doing the work that God had called and sent them to do.
He instructed them not to take anything with them, including money, but to depend on those who received them to provide for their needs. Their provision would be payment for the work they were doing.
He instructed them to allow their peace to rest on the home where they were staying if it was deserving. If it was not, they were to let their peace return to them. If anyone did not welcome them into their home or town, or listen to them, they were to shake the dust off their feet when they left. God's judgement on that town would be worse than the Gentile cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were wickedly depraved.
Note:
The "shaking the dust off their feet" was a practice done by Jews who had declared that a Gentile place was unclean. They did want so much as a speck of dust from the place on them, so they would make a public spectacle of shaking the dust from their feet, so that everyone who was present would see that they had declared the place unclean.
In the same way, Jesus instructed his apostles to shake the dust off of their feet, publically declaring that the city was unclean, when they and their message of the Kingdom were rejected. Interestingly though, these were not Gentile cities they were declaring unclean, but rather Jewish cities.
Similar to the prophets, God sent the apostles to the Jews with a message that most would not receive, and that would lead to their persecution. "Shaking the dust from their feet" was to be conducted to symbolize God's judgement of them because they had rejected Him. The act was similar to some of those which He instructed the prophets to perform, such as setting their face against Israel, or lying on their left side facing Judah for hundreds of days (Ezekiel).
In the same way that God had sent the prophets to Israel, God sent the apostles to Israel, who were the people He had made a covenant with and had called to be His own. They would be hostile to the apostles' message, just as they were hostile to the prophets'. They would be like sheep among wolves.
Note:
Wolves hunt, attack, and kill sheep. The apostles' mission to God's covenant people was going to be dangerous. Therefore, Jesus instructed them to be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.
Perhaps Jesus used serpents as a metaphor because those who do not have God as their Father are the children of the devil, who was the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Jesus said that the Jews who rejected Him were not the children of Abraham, but the children of the devil (the serpent), and both Jesus and John the Baptist referred to unbelieving Jews as a "brood of vipers", which is the young of a snake, or the children of the serpent, or the children of the devil. Jesus might have been instructing his apostles to be as wise and as shrewd as the Jews whom he was sending them to were.
He may have also used the serpent as a metaphor because a serpent has a low profile, and can often go undetected. He might have been telling them to keep a low profile as they go to the Jews. "Do not do anything that is going to draw attention to yourselves."
They were being sent out like sheep, which are harmless animals, but they were instructed to be as harmless as doves, which is also harmless. Maybe God considers doves to be even more harmless than sheep. A sheep can still defend itself by biting and kicking, causing some harm, but a dove can only peck at its attacker. It's not a harmful or defensive creature.
The point Jesus was making, was that the apostles were not to defend themselves when they were attacked, or cause harm to their attackers. They were not to engage in fighting, either physically, or verbally, but they were to remain harmless and accept whatever insults or physical harm that was done to them.
As they went to these hostile people, they would be handed over to the authorities to be arrested, and flogged. They would stand trial before governors and kings, but God would speak through them so that they would be witnesses to them as well as to the Gentiles.
Note:
Even though Jesus sent his apostles to the Jews on this initial mission, God's ultimate plan was to use them as His witnesses to both Jews and Gentiles. God's plan for them would be very costly for them, as all of them were persecuted, and all but two were martyred (Judas Iscariot, who killed himself after betraying Jesus, and the apostle John, who died a natural death according to tradition).
They would be hated by everyone because of their witness about Jesus. Their own brothers, parents, and children would betray them and have them killed. Those who stand firm under such trials until the end will be saved, and will receive the crown, or reward, of life.
Jesus instructed them to flee to another place when they are persecuted in one place. Persecution would be inevitable because of their hostlity towards Jesus, so he encouraged them by saying that they would not finish taking the gospel to all the towns of Israel before he came to help or relieve them. They were going to be on their own initially, but he would eventually come and help them or temporarily relieve them.
The Jews did not attribute Jesus's casting out of demons, healing the sick, and raising the dead to God, but to demons. They persecuted him and said that he was able to do these things because he was Beelzebul, the prince of demons. Therefore he said to the apostles that they would also be persecuted and called Beelzebul, because a student is not above his teacher, and a servant is not above his master.
He instructed them not to fear them, even though they would credit their work to demons, persecute them and even kill them. Similar to the prophets, the apostles were to proclaim whatever they heard from Jesus, and they were not to fear them even though they could kill them. They were to fear God, who has the ability to destroy both their souls and bodies in hell, and who values them much more than many sparrows. Two sparrows were sold for a day's wages. How much more does God value His people!
Even though they would be persecuted and possibly killed, they were not to be afraid to acknowledge Jesus before others. If they acknowledged him before others, he would acknowledge them before God, but if they denied him before others, he would deny them before God.
He informed them that he did not come to bring peace upon the earth, but a sword that cuts and divides men against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, daughter in-laws against mother in-laws. A man’s enemies will be members of his own household. This sword is the word of God that cuts away, and divides those who have faith in Jesus, against those who reject him.
Anyone who loves their parents or their children more than Jesus are not worthy of him. Whoever does not take up his cross and follow him is not worthy of him. He requires complete love, commitment and faithfulness, first and foremost, above anyone or anything else, because He is a jealous God. Whoever gives up their life for him, will find life.
Jesus wanted to let his apostles know as he sent them out that whoever receives them, receives him, and whoever receives him, receives God the Father who sent him. John recorded Jesus saying, "Whoever believes in me, believes not in me, but in Him who sent me" (John 12:44). He does not say so here, but they would conclude then, conversely, that if someone rejected them, they reject Jesus, and if they reject Jesus, they reject God. And according to John, if someone does not believe in Jesus, they do not believe in God.
They would know if they were received by the response they received, which may be a place to stay, food, or a cup of water, such as the prophets Elijah and Elisha received from those who received them. He informed them that if someone receives a prophet in the name of a prophet, then they would receive a prophet’s reward. If they received a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, they would receive a righteous man's reward. And if someone gives a disciple only a cup of cold water, in the name of a disciple, they will not lose their reward.
Mark recorded Jesus's words this way, "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward" (Mark 9:41).
Later, when describing what will take place at the judgement, Jesus said regarding the righteous, "And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, in as much as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’" (Matthew 25:40).
Whoever receives them because they belong to Christ, receives Christ, and whoever does something to them because they belong to Christ, does it to Christ, and will not lose their reward, which includes eternal life, Christ, the inheritance of God's Kingdom, and the responsibilities given to reign with Christ in the Kingdom.
These passages also indicates that one can lose their reward if they do not do receive or provide for someone who belongs to Christ. Those who do not receive them will be sent to everlasting punishment because they not only reject them, but Jesus and God also.
When Jesus finished instructing the twelve apostles, he left Capernaum and went to teach and preach in the cities of the apostles, in Galilee.
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