Matthew 10
CHAPTER 10
Jesus authorises his disciples to preach and heal people
And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal all manner of disease and all manner of sickness. 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 tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, 4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out and ordered them, saying: Do not go unto the Gentiles and do not enter into any city of the Samaritans. 6 Instead go 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, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. 9 Acquire no gold, nor silver, nor brass for your purses, 10 no wallet for your journey, neither two coats, nor shoes, nor staff; for the labourer is worthy of his food.
11 And into whatever city or village you shall enter, search out who in it is worthy, and stay with them until you go. 12 And as you enter into the household, greet it. 13 And if the household be worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it be unworthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, as you go out of that household, or that city, shake off the dust of your feet. 15 Truly I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.
16 I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and in their synagogues they will scourge you. 18 Yes and before governors and kings you shall be brought for my sake, for a testimony to them, and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious how or what you shall speak, for it shall be given to you at that time what to speak. 20 For it is not you that speaks, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks in you.
21 And brother shall deliver up brother to death and the father his child, and children shall rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake; but he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next. For truly I say to you, you shall not have gone through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes.
24 A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his teacher, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of his household!
26 Therefore fear them not. For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and nothing hid that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light, and what you hear in the ear, proclaim upon the house-tops. 28 And do not be afraid of those that kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a very small coin? And not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Therefore, fear not. You are of more value than many sparrows.
32 Therefore, everyone who shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever shall deny me before men I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven.
34 Think not that I came to send peace on the earth. I came not to send peace but a sword. 35 For I came to set a man at variance against his father and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
37 He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that does not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. 39 He that finds his life shall lose it, and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it.
40 He that receives you receives me, and he that receives me receives him that sent me. 41 He that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward, and he that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. 42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple; truly I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
Commentary
10:11 Until you go- Jesus wished to focus upon families and homes, which later developed into the house churches of the later New Testament. His focus is still very much on the family unit as the foundation for His church.
10:15 More tolerable- There will be degrees of reward and punishment at the day of judgment when Jesus returns. All our behaviour in this life will be judged sensitively, nothing will be overlooked and everything will receive an appropriate response.
10:16 Wise as serpents- We are not asked to be naieve; but the opposite.
10:23 Gone through the cities of Israel- This may imply there will be persecution of believers and also a strong witness to the Jews in Israel immediately prior to Christ’s return. We should be prepared.
10:25 We should therefore not be surprised to be persecuted; in fact we should expect it, because if this world treated Jesus as they did, they will treat us the same. 10:26 Revealed – at the day of judgment (1 Cor. 3:13). If we will be revealed for who we really are eternally, there’s no point in acting out a false image to our brothers and sisters in this life.
10:27 Proclaim upon the housetops - This is alluding to 1 Sam. 9:15,25, where God speaks “the word of the Kingdom” in Samuel’s ear, and then he speaks that word to Saul on the housetop. The Lord is saying that in essence, we are all in Samuel’s position; we hear the word of this world’s salvation, the word about “the Kingdom” as it was for Saul, and that very fact is in itself the imperative to overcome our natural reservations and share it with those for whom it is intended- even if, as with Saul, we consider them unlikely and unspiritual hearers.
10:28 Gehenna was the rubbish dump outside Jerusalem. The fires were always burning there because new garbage was always being thrown onto it. It became a symbol of complete destruction. Some Bibles translate it [wrongly] as “hell”.
10:40 Peoples’ attitude to us is their attitude to Jesus. This means that we, as baptized into the body of Christ, are Him to this world. Our behaviour should be appropriate to this.
