Matthew 10: Sending the Twelve

Introduction

Matthew 10 is the next “sermon” that we get from Jesus in this Gospel. Matthew has spent the last several chapters (since the end of the Sermon the Mount) demonstrating the Lord’s power and identity. Now Matthew tells us about the message Jesus gave to the disciples when he first sent them out to also proclaim the Good News.

This sermon is prophetic. It had immediate application for the original twelve apostles, but it is also clear that this was a message intended for all believers. Jesus sends all of us out to “make disciples”. This message is for us just as much as it was for them.

10:5-15: The Mission

Matthew told us who the twelve apostles were and that these were the first disciples to be sent out into the world to spread the Gospel. Well, not quite the world yet.

The Great Commission to go into “all the world” wouldn’t come until after the resurrection. Before that, Jesus largely limited his ministry, and that of the disciples, to the Jewish population.

He instructs them to not go anywhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans. This same line of thinking was followed by Paul when he said that the Gospel was “first for the Jews, then for the Gentiles”.

By going explicitly to them first, the Israelites would have no excuse for their unbelief. They certainly couldn’t say, “Well the Lord went to the Gentiles first instead of us.”

Their message was the same message as Jesus had been preaching: The kingdom of heaven is at hand!

But Jesus was not just intending for their words to carry the message. So he bestows on them His own power! Notice the ‘miracles’ he tells them to perform match exactly the same miracles Jesus himself has been performing before this.

It turns out, all of those miracles were actually lessons for the disciples, and for us. The Lord will never ask us to do something He himself wasn’t willing to do, or did.

He gave the apostles the power to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast our demons.

There are two aspects to this gifting of power

First, the disciples had been given it freely (they did not pay for it). And so now they must do these things for others, without charge.

The Lord blesses all of us with a multiple of gifts. Miraculous, monetary, forgiveness, ect. the Lord gives us grace upon grace without charge. And so he expects us to share these gracious gifts with others.

The second is that he expects the disciples to wholly rely upon Him and His power.

He basically tells them not to prepare for this journey. Why? Because by his divine providence, they will be provided with everything they need.

Now let’s be honest, that takes faith! I probably would have been the disciple to ask Jesus, “Are you sure?”

Are we wholly depending on the power of Jesus Christ for all of our needs? Do we really trust Him to provide for us?

I think this goes hand in hand with his words in the Sermon of the Mount to “Seek first the kingdom, and all these things will be given to you.” Now the apostles (and us) are being asked to put that teaching into practice.

They now know the location, message, and what (not) to take with them. But what do they do when they actually get somewhere to spread this message?

Look for people who are receptive! Jesus had just said that the harvest was plentiful. The hearts of so many people were ready to hear the good news and to accept it.

This is still true. We might be surprised at just who is receptive to our (Christian) presence, and who will ‘invite us in’ to hear our message. We just have to be willing!

The Lord’s plan here is actually pretty brilliant. They were to find someone in the town or village who was “worthy” - probably a leader or someone trustworthy and with good repute.

If everything went well, the rest of the town would surely listen to the message of the apostles, since they had gained the trust of these “worthy” individuals.

However, Jesus makes clear that he wants to the apostles to “test the waters” of these worthy folks. Just because they might seem like good hosts, doesn’t mean they necessarily were. They were to do this with wisdom and kindness.

If these homes were truly “worthy” and receptive, as well as the right kind of dignified hosts - then the apostles were to “let their peace come upon it” and stay.

If it turned out that these homes weren’t actually the best hosts for the apostles, well then they were to kindly leave, or “let their peace return to them’.

This is still an excellent strategy for evangelism. Find those with the most influence, see if they are receptive, and if so, use them as a ‘base’.

But in some cases, the apostles wouldn’t necessarily encounter an “unworthy host”, but outright hostility. To this, Jesus tells the apostles to “shake off the dust from you feet and leave”.

Does this seem harsh?

In our world of “don’t give up on anybody” the Lord’s instruction here can seem a little strong. He really just wants them to give up and move on?

I’m not sure “giving up” is the best way to look at it. But the reality is, some people’s hearts are so hardened, that they will absolutely not be receptive to the Gospel. Wasting too much time on them will actually take away from others who are receptive.

Certainly I think we can pray that their hearts be softened, and that they come around eventually, but I don’t think it is a bad thing to move on when people don’t want to listen to us. Remember, after healing the demoniac, the people begged Jesus to leave, and he did.

The apostle Paul did this on numerous occasions:

Acts 13:50–51 “But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium.”

Acts 18:5–6 “When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.””

Even among the Gentiles in Athens, he preached a message to some on Mars Hill, and when they asked him to continue debating, he simply moved on.

The reality of anyone’s rejection of Christians, Christ, and the Good News of the Kingdom is judgement. Jesus says it will be better for Sodom and Gomorrah! We all know what happened to those two cities.

Why would it be better for them? Well, to some degree they could probably plead ignorance. Obstinately rejecting and/or disobeying the Son of God - especially after everything the people had seen and heard - would leave no room for that.

16-25: Realistic Expectations

Jesus had no intentions of misleading the apostles (or us). Here the sermon turns prophetic in that I don’t think it’s just talking about the apostles, but all Christians.

He shoots it to them straight: they will be like sheep among wolves. And so, be smart. And be innocent.

This tells us a lot about the behavior that Jesus wants us to exhibit. Mainly: don’t fight back. Can sheep really fight wolves anyway? No. And so be gentle, be smart, and be innocent in doing evil - and if they devour you? So be it.

Romans 16:19 “For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.”

Philippians 2:14–15 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,”

1 Peter 2:11–12 “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”

Nonetheless, suffering will come, and the apostles would find themselves dragged in front of society and tortured for their faith. But this was to serve as a way to bear witness for those watching and for the Gentiles.

This happens in the Book of Acts with Peter and John (and later Paul) being dragged before the Sanhedrin.

Paul himself seemed intent on appealing his way to Caesar - not to get himself freed - but I think to have an opportunity to preach the Gospel to the most powerful earthly king at the time!

Church history is filled with stories of Christians who were willingly dragged into courts and refused to recant their faith, and were put to death for it.

Would we be willing to do the same? If the government knocked on our door today and tried to arrest us for being Christian - would we go willingly....or would we put up a fight?

In those moments, we aren’t to fret about what we will say. I think this is true even in non-persecution moments. The Holy Spirit is always ready to speak through us, and we should be willing to let Him.

Does this mean we just don’t prepare at all? No. We should definitely know what we’re talking about. Peter tells us to “always be prepared to give a defense for the hope that we have”. But we can also have confidence that the words that come out are not just ours.

Polycarp, and early Christian martyr, was in his 80s when he was arrested. The governor didn’t really want to kill him, on account of his age, and he begged Polycarp to simply reject Christ. At the time, Christians were known as “atheists” because they rejected the Roman gods. After continuing to refuse to reject Christ, the Governor finally said, “Simply say, ‘Away with the atheists.’ and I will set you free.” Polycarp simply smiled, and then turned to the crowd of non-Christians and said, “Away with the atheists!”

This was the final straw that led to his death (which was miraculous. He was burned at the stake, but the flames wouldn’t harm him. So eventually he was run through with a sword.) What powerful and bold words to speak! I think this is an example of words that only the Holy Spirit could have provided.

The Lord makes it clear, here and later in the sermon, that Him and his message is so divisive that it will literally rip families apart. And for two thousands years this has been true.

Even in non-persecution contexts (like ours), being the only Christian in your family can be difficult. But in many cultures (and other religions), being a Christian can get you exiled, and sometimes even killed by your own family.

An early church martyr named Perpetua was an example of this. After she became a Christian, her father pleaded with her to recant multiple times, even as she ended up in court over her faith. She had just given birth to a baby, and both her father and the court tried to blackmail her into rejecting Jesus for her baby. “Are you really going to let this child grow up without a mother?” Despite her great love for the child, Perpetua (and her friend, another new mother), both refused to give up Christ and were killed for their faith.

The Lord never shied away from letting us know that the world would hate us for following Him. But he also encouraged us not to give up as He does here. This is a call to endurance. It echoes what Jesus tells each of the seven churches in Revelation. No matter what the world does to us, if we can just stick it out, we win (because Jesus wins!)

Lastly he tells them two things regarding persecution:

First, don’t stay in it if you don’t have to. This isn’t cowardly, it’s actually practical. Anytime persecution breaks out against the Church, the Gospel spreads and flourishes (Acts 8:1). The early church writer Tertullian said, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

Second, Jesus echoes what he told us in John 15. The world hates us because it hated Him first. The servant isn’t greater than the master. If they called him Beelzebul (which they did at the end of chapter 9), how much worse will they treat us?

But the Lord encourages us in John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.””

Sandwiched between those two things is an ominous message of “you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes”. I think this is an allusion to Daniel 7, where Daniel has a vision of the Son of Man “come to the Ancient of Days”. I believe this was fulfilled when Jesus ascended into heaven. And so essentially Jesus is saying, “You won’t even make it through every town of Israel by the time of my glorification.” and at that point, the mission would then expand to “the whole world”.

Conclusion

This is only half of the message of Matthew 10. We’ll finish the other half next week. A few things should be clear from this text:

We know our mission as Christians

We know what to expect on this mission

Will we trust Jesus, and will we persevere until the end?

I pray that we continue to be “wise as serpents, innocent as doves” as we go on mission.