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BIBLE STUDY MATTHEW 10:1-42 REVIEW: As noted throughout this Bible study, Matthew organizes his material very carefully into sections. For example, chapters 5-7 constitute a section of material commonly known as Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” – a collection of his teachings about the “Law of the Kingdom of Heaven”. In that section, Jesus’ authority as a lawgiver was stressed – showing him to be a “new Moses”. In the same way, chapters 8-9 constitute a section about various miracles of Jesus (nine in all), showing his authority to cure diseases, calm the forces of nature, cast out demons, forgive sins, and even resurrect the dead. Interwoven in this section (after every three miracles), are teachings about what it means to be a disciple in the Kingdom – such as being willing to follow Jesus immediately and totally, being open to new understandings, etc. In the final part of chapter 9 (vs. 35-38), Jesus has compassion for the crowds who need to be taught the good news of the kingdom and to be healed of their diseases and sicknesses – calling them “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” He tells his disciples that “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” In accordance with this, Jesus in chapter 10 – which we are about to study – Jesus shares his authority with his twelve disciples and sends them out with multiply his ministry. His extended instructions form the second of the five major “teaching discourses” of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel (the first one was his “Sermon on the Mount” in chapters 5-7). CHAPTER 10:1-4 “Jesus Confers His Authority on the Twelve” “Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.” Matthew previously has referred to Jesus’ disciples, but here for the first time he specifically mentions twelve of them. Why twelve? Most probably it is because there were twelve patriarchs of the old Israel, and therefore twelve would also be a fitting number for the beginning of the new Israel. This would certainly fit in with Matthew’s overall theme of writing to Jewish Christians – they would instantly recognize the significance of this number. This is the only passage where the twelve are referred to as APOSTLES, which literally means “those who are commissioned and sent”. The term is very much tied to the authority that Jesus is giving them. They are to be Jesus’ ambassadors – his special representatives – doing the very same ministry that he is doing. The list is similar to those also found in Mark, Luke, and Acts. Interestingly, however, there is no list of the Twelve in the gospel of John. Also, the term “apostle” apparently was not limited to these Twelve in the early Christian church. As we know, Paul referred to himself as an apostle. Others referred to as apostles in the New Testament include Barnabas (Acts 14:6), the brothers of the Lord (1 Corinthians 9:5), and Andronicus and Junia (Romans 16:7) Finally, Simon Peter is always listed first in this and in every list of the Twelve. This is probably because of his later confession of faith in Matthew 16:16 – he was the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God. CHAPTER 10:5-15 “Instructions for the Twelve” “These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” According to Daniel Harrington in his commentary on The Gospel of Matthew, these instructions would have been especially significant to Matthew’s Jewish-Christian community because they saw themselves as having a special role within Israel to show other Jews that theirs was the authentic way of Judaism after A.D. 70. Only after his resurrection (Matthew 28:19) does Jesus command to make disciples of “all the Gentiles.” The aim of this command was NOT that Christians should try to convert Jews to Christianity, but rather to show that Christian Judaism was the best way to carry on the Jewish tradition (as opposed to the teaching of the Pharisees). “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” “The kingdom of heaven has come near” is the same phrase that was used to introduce the ministry of Jesus (Matthew 4:17) and also John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2). This shows that there is continuity between the ministry of John, Jesus, and the Twelve (and also the Church of today). Also, the Twelve is charged to do the entire ministry that Jesus was doing – not just “proclaim” the good news. POINT: The same commission is made to the Church of today. Ours is not to be just a “spiritual” ministry, but also a ministry of healing and power. Every good thing we do for others in Jesus’ name is a manifestation of the kingdom of heaven being among us and coming through us! “You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” Several points are being made in this passage. First, the ministry of the kingdom is not to be a “job” that one does for money. As we have received the good news and experienced God’s works of healing and power in our lives, so we should share these with others who need it as well. On the other hand, those who do this ministry are entitled to support. The apostle Paul makes the same point in 1 Corinthians 9:4, 8-11. The point is that whatever they receive, they receive as GIFTS. Traveling missionaries are told that they must not be distracted by worrying about packing and having enough provisions. Instead, they should literally trust that God will provide for their needs through those whom they minister to. Thirdly, Jesus talks about judgment. Those who truly receive the message of the kingdom will show it by offering hospitality to his apostles. Those who reject his apostles and refuse to show them hospitality show that they are also rejecting his message, and they will surely face God’s judgment. When Jews returned from foreign lands, they shook off the dust from their feet as a symbolic rejection of pagan lands. In the same way, the Jewish Christians of Matthew’s day were to “reject” and treat as pagan those Jewish cities who would not receive their message about Jesus. This talk of “judgment” may make many people uncomfortable. But the fact is, everyone chooses either to accept or reject the good news of Jesus – and those who reject the gospel spurn God’s mercy that is being offered to them. CHAPTER 10:16-25 “Future Persecutions” “See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” To “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” means that Jesus’ disciples should expect opposition, but should still respond in love. It could also mean that they should be ready to be persecuted for their ministry, but should not go “out of their way” to court persecution. We need to understand this section in light of the situation faced by Matthew’s Jewish-Christian community. According to Daniel J. Harrington in his commentary, Matthew intended a “parallelism” between the mission of the twelve apostles and the mission of his own community. We must remember that Matthew’s community saw themselves as JEWS who were being opposed by other Jews. Their missionary activity to fellow Jews not only aroused opposition from Jewish leaders, but sometimes even from within their own families. The point is that Jesus’ sayings here were very real experiences to many of Matthew’s original readers. Regarding the saying; “you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes” – many commentators interpret this as referring to all Jews wherever they may live throughout the world. In that case, the Second Coming of Jesus – although expected by Matthew to be in the near future – still would have to wait until missionaries could reach the more remote areas in which Jews dwelt. Some “evangelical” Christians have understood this to be a call for special “evangelization” among the Jewish people – believing that this kind of activity will hasten the Second Coming of Christ. We must keep in mind, however, that in its original context Jesus is speaking to JEWS witnessing to other Jews about him – not Gentile Christians trying to convert Jews to “Christianity”. “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!” The point being made here is that when we are persecuted for our faith and witnessing, we are sharing the same persecutions that Jesus received during his ministry. We should not expect “success” and “love” from all people for doing Jesus’ ministry – after all, Jesus himself was often rejected and slandered! CHAPTER 10:26-31 “Do Not Fear” “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” “Do not fear” is mentioned three times in this short passage – for three reasons: 1. The truth will triumph! Jesus is telling his disciples that the message they proclaim about God’s kingdom will certainly bear fruit – even when facing apathy, opposition, or persecution. Do not be afraid or discouraged during these times, because the truth of this message will never be overcome. Also, Jesus shows in this passage that he does not favor “secret” formulas and doctrines (this was often a practice of many religions and philosophies of his day – such as GNOSTICISM) – everything that he teaches and does is meant to be shared openly and publicly. 2. Fear GOD rather than humans! Today we usually refrain from talking about “fearing” God, but that is certainly what Jesus is referring to here. As God’s children, we should be more “afraid” of offending God (both because we fear his wrath and because we in love do not want to disappoint him) than we are afraid of what other people may think or say or do to us. William Barclay in his Daily Study Bible commentary tells the following story about a pastor named Latimer when preaching when the king of England was present. He knew that the king would not like what he had to say. So in the pulpit he soliloquized aloud with himself: “Latimer! Latimer! Latimer!”, he said, “be careful what you say. Henry the king is here.” He paused, and then he said, “Latimer! Latimer! Latimer! Be careful what you say. The King of kings is here!” So it should be with all of us! 3. God will take care of us! Jesus uses the example of sparrows – even creatures that were practically worthless (2 for a penny) were cared for by God. (Luke in his gospel is even more vivid – “five sparrows for two pennies” …i.e. the fifth sparrow was “thrown into the bargain” and was actually worth nothing at all… and yet God cared for it also! (Luke 12:6) How much MORE will God care for US! Jesus says that God constantly cares for every detail of our lives – even how many hairs we have! If God cares for us like that, we never need be afraid that he is forgetting us. CHAPTER 10:32-33 “Loyalty” “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.” It is possible to deny Jesus in three ways: by our words, by our silence, and by our actions. Do our words and speech bear witness that Jesus is truly the Lord of our lives? Do we speak up for our faith when we should, or are we intimidated by what others may think or say? Do our actions show that we belong to Jesus? As a saying puts it: “If it was a crime to be a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict me?” This is a question we should be asking constantly! It should be noted that this passage would be of special significance to Matthew’s community of Jewish-Christians. The temptation would often be great to not acknowledge their faith in Jesus, lest it cause controversies and worse within the families and their friendships with others. Perhaps this is still often true for us today! CHAPTER 10:34-39 “The Costliness of Being a Disciple” “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. 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; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” Jesus’ message often provokes conflict because those who are opposed to it will react in a very negative way. Darkness hates the light, falsehood hates truth, etc. The most agonizing thing for Jesus’ disciples is that this conflict often takes place within our closest relationships. As mentioned previously, this certainly was often so for the members of Matthew’s community. Jesus’ expectation is clear that in order to be his disciples, our relationship with him must be the greatest priority in our lives. If we value family relationships or friendships above our relationship with him, we are not worthy of him. There is a great truth being expressed in the last sentence of this passage. It is only when we give up living for ourselves that we truly begin to experience life with God that Jesus has to offer. CHAPTER 10:40-42 “Rewards for Helping Jesus’ Messengers” “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple – truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” The final test and result of discipleship is practical service. Not everyone is called to be a prophet or a “righteous person” (we do not know exactly what that term means) – but we all CAN help and encourage them as they do the work of Christ. As a Mission Developer in New Albany, Ohio I (Pastor George) remember one hot day when I was canvassing a neighborhood door-to-door to introduce myself and our new congregation. A stranger drove up when I was walking along, gave me a bottle of ice-cold water and words of encouragement – it was great! Jesus says that person will surely receive a reward for his service. Not only that, Jesus seems to be saying that even non-believers will receive a heavenly reward for their service – because their deeds show that their hearts are in tune with the kingdom of heaven even if they have not yet fully understood it with their minds. -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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