Matthew 10
Sending Out the Twelve Apostles
1Jesus called his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits so they could cast them out and heal every kind of disease and sickness.
Jesus was preparing the disciples for their post-resurrection ministry. Unclean spirits possess demonic power. However, Jesus gave the apostles authority over these powerful demons. The disciples were able to cast out the demons. They were able to heal every kind of disease and sickness. If faith healers can duplicate these miracles of the disciples, then they need to go to the closest hospital and heal every single patient within the hospital walls.
2Now these are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (called Peter), and Andrew his brother; James son of Zebedee and John his brother; 3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Notice that even Judas Iscariot was given this supernatural authority, but he still rejected Jesus.
5Jesus sent out these twelve, instructing them as follows: “Do not go to Gentile regions and do not enter any Samaritan town. 6Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Notice that Jesus chose the audience. At this time, Jesus took the message to the Jews first. Later, He would send these same disciples to the Samaritans and Gentiles. This is an example of the doctrine of election and predestination. God chooses the date, time, messenger, audience, and means of salvation.
7As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near!’
This message at this time was to the Jews only, not the church. The church was not in existence at this time. The disciples were offering the Jews the Messianic Kingdom. However, the Jews were not interested in this type of Kingdom. Their sin nature was too busy enjoying the seductive pleasures of the satanic world system.
8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.
The purpose of these miracles was to authenticate that the disciples’ message was from God. Modern charismatics cannot raise the dead, but the disciples could and did.
9Do not take gold, silver, or copper in your belts, 10no bag for the journey, or an extra tunic, or sandals or staff, for the worker deserves his provisions.
The disciples could not take any provisions. God was to supply everything for their ministry.
11Whenever you enter a town or village, find out who is worthy there and stay with them until you leave.
The disciples were only to stay with righteous hosts who welcomed their message. These righteous hosts were Jewish messianic believers who were waiting for the Messiah.
12As you enter the house, give it greetings.
The disciples were to greet each house with a friendly greeting.
13And if the house is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
The peace of the disciples was the offering of the Messianic Kingdom to the Jewish nation. If the message was rejected, then the disciples were not to waste time sharing this message. They were to move on to a new location.
14And if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your message, shake the dust off your feet as you leave that house or that town.
If the message was not welcome, then the disciples were to treat the Jewish town like Gentiles. Shaking off the dust meant that the kingdom had been offered and rejected, so the disciples were clear of any future judgment which the townspeople would receive.
15I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town!
The towns that rejected the Messianic Kingdom were given more light than Sodom and Gomorrah, so their punishment in the Lake of Fire will be greater.
Persecution of Disciples
16“I am sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
Jesus was not sending out the church to spread the gospel. He was sending out Jewish disciples to Jewish people with the offering of the Messianic Kingdom. When the disciples went out, they were surrounded by wolves who wanted to devour them. However, they were under divine protection until their mission was accomplished. To be wise as serpents is to know Bible doctrine. To be as innocent as doves, is to apply Bible doctrine.
17Beware of people, because they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues.
This verse is not a prophecy about the modern church. Jesus was speaking to His disciples in 30 A.D.
Jesus next showed the disciples their future. After the resurrection, the disciples would be handed over to councils, flogged, and commanded not to teach about Jesus. Some of these events would be fulfilled in the Book of Acts.
18And you will be brought before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them and the Gentiles.
This prophecy would be fulfilled in the Book of Acts.
19Whenever they hand you over for trial, do not worry about how to speak or what to say, for what you should say will be given to you at that time.
When arrested, the Holy Spirit would guide the disciples in what to say
20For it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
When the disciples were to be accused, the accusers would hear the answer from God Himself.
21“Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against parents and have them put to death.
Jesus would cause a division between Jewish families. When Paul begins his persecution, family members would turn on one another.
22And you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
The disciples would be hated by the Jewish world which they were attempting to save. The disciples would be kept alive during the three year ministry of Jesus. They were immortal until they finished their mission. In Matthew 24, the Jews who endure to the end will be the future Jews who will be living during the Great Tribulation.
23Whenever they persecute you in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Notice that the disciples were to go through all of the towns of Israel. The disciples visited every town of Israel and offered the Messianic Kingdom to every one of them. They performed miracles in all of these towns to authenticate that their message was from God. After the disciples visited every town, Jesus followed them into these same towns and offered the Messianic Kingdom to them once again. Jesus visited every town of Israel during His three-and-a-half-year ministry. Israel had no excuse for rejecting their Messiah.
24“A disciple is not greater than his teacher, nor a slave greater than his master.
Jesus was greater than the disciples, because He was God in human flesh.
25It is enough for the disciple to become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much more will they defame the members of his household!
The disciples were to imitate Jesus, because He was God in human flesh. The people of Israel saw the miracles of the disciples, heard the teachings of Jesus, but they rejected Him. Their reaction was that Jesus was not God, but rather He was demon possessed.
Fear God, Not Man
26“Do not be afraid of them, for nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known.
Jesus commanded the disciple not to fear man. Man has no authority in eternity.
27What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops.
Rome was full of mystery religions which would only be revealed to the most diligent and dedicated disciples in secret temple rituals. Jesus taught everything openly and in front of large crowds. The teachings of God were not to be whispered in secret enclosed rooms of the mystery cults. The teachings of God were to be proclaimed from the housetops so that everyone could hear and be saved.
28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
God is omnipotent. All man can do is kill the body, but God can destroy the soul and send one to the Lake of Fire forever,
29Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
God is omnipotent. He controls everything. Man does not place much value on a sparrow, but God does. God is so sovereign, that a sparrow will not even fall to the ground unless God has ordained it to do so before the foundations of the world were even created.
30Even all the hairs on your head are numbered.
God is omniscient. He knows how many hairs are on the head of every single person and creature in eternity.
31So do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
Man was created in the image of God. He is more valuable than sparrows.
32“Whoever, then, acknowledges me before people, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven.
Jesus is not only the Messiah, but He is also the God of the universe who became a man to die for the sins of the world. Whoever acknowledges this truth about Jesus before people will be acknowledged by God the Father in Heaven. Whoever denies Jesus will be denied by the Father in Heaven. When a skeptic denies Christ, it is time to end the conversation and spend time with someone else who needs Christ.
Not Peace, but a Sword
34“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword.
When Jesus returns at His second coming, the devil and all of the nations will come against Him. Jesus will squash all of the unbelievers like grapes in a winepress. He will purge them off of this world and send them to Hell in order to await the Great White Throne Judgment. Jesus will rerun with a sword in His mouth. He will bring His rod of iron to earth.
35For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, 36and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.
The gospel does not bring peace. It brings division. Those who believe in Jesus will receive individual peace from God, but they will not receive peace from the world. The world will be their enemy.
37“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
A Jew cannot remain a Jew of Judaism because of family tradition. He must choose Jesus over the family tradition of Judaism.
38And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Jesus will die on the cross. He will expect His followers to do the same. All of the disciples listening to Jesus at this time (except for John) will die a martyr’s death.
39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life because of me will find it.
This is the paradox of the Jews living in that day. Those who give their life for Jesus will find eternal life.
Rewards
40“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
If the Jews listen and receive the disciple’s message, then they will believe in Jesus. If they believe in Jesus, then they will believe in God the Father as well.
41Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.
If the Jews receive Jesus as only a prophet, then they will receive a prophet’s reward. A prophet communicates divine information from God. The reward is divine revelation, but they miss the divine identity of the Messenger. If they miss the divine identity of the Messiah, then they also miss eternal life. They must take the divine knowledge with them into the Lake of Fire.
If the Jews receive Jesus only as a righteous man, then they will receive a righteous man’s reward. The reward is good advice from a righteous man, but they miss the divine identity of the Messenger. If they miss the divine identity of Jesus, then they will enter the Lake of Fire with this knowledge.
42And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth, he will never lose his reward.”
The disciples were “little men” as far as the Jewish leaders and Roman leaders were concerned. However, if anyone gave these disciples a cup of cold water, then they were sustaining them to continue their message. Only believers would help a disciple tell others about the offering of the Messianic Kingdom. Those who sustained the disciples would gain eternal life as their reward. They would never lose this reward.