And having called to [him] his twelve disciples, he gave them power over unclean spirits, so that they should cast them out, and heal every disease and every bodily weakness.
Chapter 9 ends with the Lord telling His followers to pray for more workers. Chapter 10 opens with Him handing twelve of them power over unclean spirits and every disease — so who can give power away like that, and what was this mission for?
The command to pray comes first. The answer comes at once, from the One who gave the command.
At the close of chapter 9, in His deep compassion, He tells the disciples to pray. They are to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest. At the beginning of Matthew 10 He Himself sends out those same men as labourers. He is the Lord of the harvest.
Another writer hears an invitation in that call to pray:
"PRAY YOU." Oh, how beautiful! In John 4 it was, Look; here it is, Pray. He, so to speak, says, I will take you into fellowship with Me in the work. I do not know whether they prayed, but in any case He sent out twelve.
The men are still called "disciples" in this verse, but their standing changes as He calls them in.
The disciples now become apostles — sent ones. Until now they had been following with the Lord, as disciples. Now they go out for the Lord, as servants. The chapter is full of the deepest practical instruction for every servant, now as well as then.
He had already cast out demons and healed the sick. The new thing here is that the power passes into other hands.
He calls His twelve disciples. He gives them power to cast out demons and to heal the sick, and He sends them to the lost sheep of the house of Israel… This was a striking testimony to Him who had come. He could not only work miracles Himself; He could also give power to others to do the same.
That transfer says more than the miracles themselves did:
It was clear evidence that the true King, Jehovah, was there. He was able not only to cast out demons Himself, but also to give that power to His servants. Who but the King, the Lord of hosts, could do this? This testimony was far greater than if He had kept the power to Himself.
Matthew and Luke use different words for what the Lord handed over, and one writer sets them side by side.
In Matthew it says that the Lord gave His disciples power (exousian) against unclean spirits. In Luke, He gave them power and authority (dynamin kai exousian)… So from Matthew we learn that the Lord gave His disciples authority over unclean spirits, and "the right to exercise it." From Luke we learn that He also gave them the "ability" to use that authority over all demons and to cure diseases.
The two things named in the verse are not a random pair. They are what the promised kingdom will look like.
This is what characterises the kingdom — man healed of all sickness and the devil cast out. So Hebrews 6 calls miracles "the powers of the world to come."
William Kelly points out what this mission did and did not include:
Not a word is said about preaching what we call the gospel, or teaching the whole counsel of God. They were to go with the Messiah's power against Satan and bodily diseases, as a testimony to Israel. They were to declare the kingdom of heaven… Now the servants were to be sent out, and in due order — twelve of them, in relation to the twelve tribes of the house of Israel.
The power was real, but it was never theirs to own. What failed later was not the gift but the faith to use it.
His disciples were there, but their lack of faith left them powerless in front of the enemy's power. God Himself had commissioned and equipped them (Matthew 10:1), yet they could not meet the emergency.
- Prayer — in chapter 9 He tells them to ask the Lord of the harvest for workers. In chapter 10 He answers by sending those same men.
- Gift — He did more than work miracles. He handed the power over, and who but the King, the Lord of hosts, could do that?
- Words — Matthew's word is authority, the right to act. Luke adds the ability to use it. He gave them both.
- Reach — demons cast out and every sickness healed show what the coming kingdom is like. That matched their message: the kingdom is near.
- Result — the power stayed His, never theirs. Later, when faith failed, these same men could do nothing.
Now the names of the twelve apostles are these first, Simon, who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the [son] of Zebedee, and John his brother;
Matthew 10 opens with Jesus calling twelve men to Himself and handing them His own authority. Verse 2 then records their names, starting with Simon Peter. Why are these men now called "apostles"? Why is Peter listed first? And why does the list run in pairs of brothers?
The word behind "apostles" means one sent, and it belongs first of all to Christ Himself.
The Greek word ἀπόστολος means "a messenger," "one sent." It carries this sense for any messenger in 2 Corinthians 8:23 and Philippians 2:25, and means "one sent" in John 13:16. It also has a much higher and stronger sense. It implies a divine commission in the one sent — first of the Lord Himself, and then of the twelve disciples whom He chose to be with Him during His ministry here. The Lord in His prayer in John 17:18 said, "As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world." He was the Sent One.
Matthew presents Jesus as King. A king surrounds himself with named officers. One writer notes that this Gospel uses the word "apostles" only here.
Now we have come to the part of the Gospel where the King must have His court. So here we get the twelve apostles who will one day sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel... He has not only the heart and the power to do everything, but He delegates that power or authority as it pleases Him... We must not lose sight of this, that it is the King who calls these twelve apostles. Matthew uses the word "apostles" only once, Mark once, Luke six times, and John once in his Gospel. John uses it in a general way — "he who is sent" (13:16), which is the meaning of the word "apostle."
The names arrive in couples, and those couples match how the Lord sent the twelve out.
But here we have only a preparatory testimony addressed to Israel. The names come in pairs, six pairs, as the Lord sent them out two by two. He seems not to have disregarded the natural or spiritual ties that link men together. Simon and Andrew are brothers, and Andrew had led Simon to Jesus. So here there were both links. The sons of Zebedee come next. Then Philip and Bartholomew. Bartholomew is thought to be that Nathanael whom Philip had brought to the Lord.
The arrangement served the work:
At any rate, two ensured mutual help and adequate testimony.
The verse gives Simon a second name, Peter, and his name heads every list of the twelve. One writer explains what that order does and does not mean.
Here again (Mark 3:16) you get Simon's new name emphasised, and in all the Gospels it is so. His name always comes first on the list (see Matthew 10:2; Mark 3:16; Luke 6:14; John 21:2). But he had no authority over his brothers, and no one made him a kind of chief bishop, as Rome would like to teach us. His natural fervour and warm-hearted, impulsive earnestness always put him in the front rank. If there is a question, Peter usually asks it; if there is a confession of who the Lord is, Peter is the spokesman.
Another writer points to the order of events. The man listed first was not the first one called.
Peter was not even the first called: Andrew, who had followed Jesus, brought Peter to Him.
Andrew is named second, and we hear little of him after this. Yet Andrew is the one who brought the man at the top of the list to Jesus.
We have a lovely record in John 1:41-42 of a man who did this very thing. He found the Lord — or the Lord found him — and what does he do? "He first found his own brother Simon." I love that little word "first."... And he brought him to Jesus. We never hear much about Andrew. But "his own brother" was Simon Peter, and what a blessing Andrew's brother has been to every one of us! What a debt we all owe to Andrew for that evening's work!
The Lord sent these twelve to one particular people.
Chapter 10 shows that Jesus, as Lord of the harvest, sends out labourers. He gives them full authority and power. But notice, it is still in special connection with Israel... Meanwhile it is a Jewish mission of the twelve Jewish apostles to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. I take this quite literally. It is not said of the Church, which is never called lost sheep. But the sheep of Israel in their desolate condition are most fittingly described this way.
- Sent. "Apostle" means one sent. The title belongs first to Christ, the Sent One, and then to the twelve.
- Named. Matthew uses the word "apostles" only here. This is where the King forms His court and hands His own authority to His men.
- Paired. The list runs in six pairs, following natural and spiritual ties. Two together meant mutual help and adequate testimony.
- First. Peter always heads the list. That came from his fervour, not from authority over the others. He was not even the first called.
- Fetched. Andrew is second, and he is there as the man who brought his own brother to Jesus — the quiet man behind the famous one.
Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax-gatherer; James the [son] of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, who was surnamed Thaddaeus;
Matthew 10:3 holds the middle six names in the Lord's list of the twelve men He sent out. The Bible says little about most of them, and one name carries a public stain — the writer's own.
The list is not a loose roll-call. The names come two by two, and commentators tie this to the way the Lord sent the men out.
But here we have only a preparatory testimony addressed to Israel. The names are in pairs — six pairs, as the Lord sent them out, two by two. He seems not to have disregarded the natural or spiritual ties that link men together... Then Philip and Bartholomew, the latter supposed to be that Nathanael whom Philip had brought to the Lord.
Sending them out in twos had a plain practical value:
The Lord now sent the twelve disciples out in twos, and Mark alone records this arrangement... At any rate, two ensured mutual help and adequate testimony.
The four lists of the twelve follow a settled pattern.
The names are grouped in three fours... Philip is always the first of the second four, and those four always stay together. James the son of Alphaeus is always the first of the last four... Only this list, which Matthew wrote, calls Matthew the publican. Matthew and Thomas are always put together, but when Matthew writes he puts Thomas first. There are many little things in this Gospel which bring out his humility.
The name in the list looks like a family name, not his personal name.
This was the apostle's family name, or surname; and it occurs in all four lists. Nathanael was most probably his personal name. It means "gift of God." He confessed the Lord as Son of God and King of Israel before His public ministry (John 1:49). John never mentions Bartholomew. Yet when John names other apostles after the resurrection, he includes Nathanael of Cana. Of him the Lord said, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!"
His name carries a meaning, and only one Gospel writer records what he said.
The name Thomas means "a twin." So does Didymus, the name John uses three times. Only John says anything about him after his call and appointment. When the Lord spoke of going to Bethany, Thomas said to the other disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
Older translations read "the publican." It means a tax collector, and the work carried shame.
First we get a list of the names of the twelve, and here only is Matthew called "the publican." It is as if the writer wanted to show his thanks for the grace that could take up a poor tax collector and number him among that select company — the apostles of the Lamb.
Who do we hear announcing the shame of Matthew but his own mouth? Matthew the Evangelist tells us of Matthew the tax collector. His fellows call him Levi, unwilling to lay a finger on the blot of his unpleasant profession. He himself will not cover it or whiten it at all. He publishes it to all the world in thankful recognition of the mercy that called him.
The last two names belong together, and the man called Thaddaeus here has another name elsewhere.
Judas is called in Matt. 10:3 by the name of Thaddaeus... John's Gospel keeps him clearly apart from the traitor Iscariot (14:22)... He was connected with James the son of Alphaeus. Some would say as his son; but others, and we think with more reason, would call him his brother... The Lord coupled brothers in this way, as Simon and Andrew, and James and John. That strengthens the view that Judas was the brother of James the son of Alphaeus.
These men left few stories, yet their names carry weight.
No doubt what we have of these earliest workmen should reveal to us much more than we have ever found in it. Even their names and their number should be significant. The Lord Himself connects them with the twelve tribes of Israel, over whom they are to rule in the day of the earth's "regeneration" (Matt. 19:28). And their names are also found on the foundations of the heavenly city (Rev. 21:14).
- Named — the names are not filler. The Lord ties the twelve to the twelve tribes, and their names stand on the foundations of the heavenly city.
- Paired — the list runs in six pairs. He sent them out two by two, so each man had help and each testimony had two witnesses.
- Identified — Bartholomew is most likely Nathanael, "gift of God." Thomas means "twin." Thaddaeus is not Judas Iscariot, and he is tied to James the son of Alphaeus.
- Labelled — only his own Gospel calls Matthew the tax collector. He publishes his old disgrace instead of hiding it.
- Grace — that label is the point. Grace took a despised tax collector and numbered him among the apostles of the Lamb.
Simon the Cananaean, and Judas the Iscariote, who also delivered him up.
The list of the twelve closes with two very different men: a former political radical, and the one who handed Jesus over. Their two short names raise questions readers still ask. What does "Zealot" mean? And why is a traitor on the Lord's own list?
The first name has nothing to do with the land of Canaan or the town of Cana. It marks the man out by the political-religious group he belonged to.
Simon was called Zelotes (Luke 6:15, Acts 1:13). This answers to the Hebrew word translated "Cananean," as it should be. It does not mean either of Canaan or of Cana. It means "zealot," one of that well-known fierce party of Jews.
Different Gospel writers use different words for the same man — one keeps the Hebrew term, another translates it into Greek.
In "Zealot" we have the substitution of a Greek name for a Hebrew one. Matthew 10:4 has "Cananaean." The Zealots were the most extreme and violent of the Pharisees. The Jewish historian states that they originated in Galilee.
The second name is also a description. It names the town Judas came from — the one disciple not from Galilee.
Who was Judas? His surname is given here. Iscariot combines two words, "Ish" and "Kerioth." Together they mean "the man of Kerioth." He was the only disciple from Judea among the twelve. The rest were all from Galilee. This is significant and shows the apostasy of Judah.
The same writer sets Judas beside the disciples who also failed, and points to what the Old Testament had already said.
Luke tells us that Satan entered into him. That mighty enemy now takes real possession of the one who was indeed his own, for Judas had never believed in Christ. Peter may deny Him and the rest of the disciples may forsake their Lord, yet Satan could never enter into them, for they were saved, had life, and the power of God kept them. All this had been predicted in the Old Testament. See Zechariah 11:12; Psalm 41:9; 69:25; 109:8. And the price for which Judas betrayed the King was the price of a servant, a slave, according to Exodus 21:32.
Judas never appears in the middle of a list. His position, and the phrase that follows his name, are fixed.
This name is always placed last of all in the lists of the apostles. With one or two exceptions, every mention of him carries a phrase pointing to his betrayal of Jesus.
One writer finds comfort in this fixed order across the four lists.
We get a list of them in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and the Acts. In each case Peter is first, and Judas last, except where Matthias takes his place. These small, unplanned agreements are very comforting. They show what we believe so strongly — the full inspiration of the Scriptures.
Matthew lists the twelve in pairs. That made the traitor the working partner of the zealot. And the work Judas did then was real.
The Twelve went out two by two, Judas being in the company of Simon the Canaanite (Matthew 10:4), for Matthew marks them off in couples. No doubt Judas had worked miracles, had brought about cures like the rest, and had preached the Gospel of the kingdom too. So in the past he had appeared as a worker — an authorised worker, really commissioned by Christ.
Commentators answer in two ways. One points to the Lord's own words in John's Gospel:
At an earlier point in His ministry He had indicated that there was one of them whom He then called a devil (John 6:70). He now spoke of that same one, still unnamed. He showed why this man was among the Twelve — so that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
Another writer leaves the reason unexplained. He still holds that the choice was right.
Among the twelve was Judas Iscariot, and why he was among them seems mysterious to us. The Lord chose him, however, and so his selection was right. No mistake was made after that night of prayer.
Judas had every outward advantage a man could have. It did not save him.
It was a test of man under new circumstances. He was a "familiar friend" (Psalm 41:9) of the Lord Jesus. He heard His gracious words and saw His miracles. He was probably even allowed to work miracles himself in His name. And yet, as in every other test of man, he fell. Judas is a solemn instance of how far a person may be under the influence and power of Christianity, and yet in the end abandon the faith.
- Named — "Zealot" ties Simon to the fiercest Jewish party, not to the land of Canaan. "Iscariot" marks Judas as the man of Kerioth.
- Placed — Peter comes first in every list and Judas last. Writers see that fixed order as a mark of Scripture's full inspiration.
- Paired — Matthew lists the twelve in pairs. The traitor went out working and preaching beside Simon, on a real commission from Christ.
- Chosen — commentators differ on why. Some point to Scripture being fulfilled. Others call the reason mysterious, yet say the Lord's choice was right.
- Labelled — the note about his betrayal follows his name everywhere. It warns that a man can live close to Christ, never believe, and still fall away.
These twelve Jesus sent out when he had charged them, saying, Go not off into [the] way of [the] nations, and into a city of Samaritans enter ye not;
Jesus has just chosen twelve men and sends them out with careful instructions. The first thing He tells them is where not to go. Why would the Son of God fence His messengers inside one nation? And what happened to that boundary later?
This was no narrow-mindedness on Jesus' part. God Himself had drawn a line around Israel long before, and Jesus honoured it while it stood.
In reading the Old Testament, we cannot miss this: God told His people they were not to go in and out among other nations. Intermarrying was out of the question. (But this separation was soon abused. Pride got into the heart of that nation, and they began to look down on the Gentiles as dogs. The distinction between Jews and Gentiles was God's. The looking down on the Gentiles was their failure.) This shows why the Lord Jesus told the apostles, when He sent them out, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles... but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." God had made Israel a distinct nation. The Lord Jesus would not interfere with that distinction until His own death pulled the barrier down.
Jesus names a second group as off-limits. The reason is the same one that shut out the Gentiles.
Their mission was "Go nowhere among the Gentiles" — there was as yet no word for them. "And enter no town of the Samaritans." This mixed race was half heathen and half Jew. They had no promises from God, any more than the Gentiles had. "But," said the Lord, "go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." They were the objects of this mission. It was narrow, but it was necessary, and it came first.
What these men carried was not what a preacher today carries. The power Jesus gave them pointed to who He was, and their errand reached one people only.
This was their mission in particular. There is not a word about preaching what we call the gospel, or teaching the whole counsel of God. They were to go with messianic power against Satan and diseases of the body, as a testimony to Israel... It was bright evidence that the true King, Jehovah, was there. He could cast out demons Himself, and He could give that power to His servants as well. Who but the King, the Lord of hosts, could do this? It was a far greater testimony than if the power had stayed in His own person... He sent the servants out in due order — twelve of them, matching the twelve tribes of the house of Israel... Their business was only with the lost sheep of the house of Israel. That is positive proof that the phrase means those Jews who had a sense of sin, and who were willing to receive the testimony of the true Messiah.
Even the packing orders belonged to one moment in time.
They were to go just as they were, with the coat on their backs and the shoes on their feet. They were not to lay up any store to support them during their mission. This is not a universal rule for God's servants at all times. It was a special mission, for a special time, and with reference to Israel only. It was not the gospel of God's grace, but of the kingdom. The two go together now; but then it was not so.
After the resurrection, the same Lord who closed these roads threw them open.
But in Luke 24 everything changes. The barriers of God's dealings no longer stand in the way of the messengers of grace. Israel is not to be forgotten, but the Gentiles are to hear the good news. The sun of God's salvation must now pour its living beams over the whole world. Not a soul is to be shut out from the blessed light. Every city, town, village, street and lane must be searched out and visited with love, so that every creature under heaven might hear the good news of a full and free salvation.
The trip these men took was short. The Lord's own words reach much further.
Their mission reaches only the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The judgment that fell on Israel for rejecting the testimony suspended it. But it will resume after this whole present period is over. They will not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of Man comes.
- Boundary. God's own arrangement with Israel closed the road to the Gentiles and Samaritans. Jesus honoured that line until His own death took it down.
- No claim. The Samaritans stood outside on the same ground as the Gentiles: a mixed people with no promises to appeal to.
- Credentials. The twelve carried the gospel of the kingdom, not the gospel of grace. Their power over demons and disease proved the King stood among His people.
- Boundary broken. After the resurrection, the same Lord sent the same men to every creature; the fence in this verse marks what the cross removed.
- Unfinished. Judgment on Israel paused the errand; it did not cancel it. The Lord ties its end to His own coming as Son of Man.
but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
The Lord sends the twelve out with real power. But He first sets a limit: not the Gentiles, not the Samaritans, but Israel. Why so narrow a mission? And why call His own people "lost sheep"?
One writer gives the reason: Christ came to make good the promises God had given to Israel's fathers. Then the circle narrows further, inside Israel itself:
When the Lord had sent out the twelve to preach the kingdom of heaven to Israel (Matt. 10), the mission was confined and narrow. He "became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs" (Rom. 15:8). All the promises to Israel were fulfilled in Himself. Their mission was "Go nowhere among the Gentiles" — there was as yet no word for them. Then, "enter no town of the Samaritans." This mixed race, half heathen, half Jew, had no promises from God any more than the Gentiles. And the mission did not even take in all Israel. In each town they were to find out who was worthy. So it was narrowed down to the worthy ones — the godly remnant of the people.
The phrase is not a picture of the church. It describes a nation in ruin, still waiting for the work that would put them on solid ground:
It is a Jewish mission of the twelve Jewish apostles to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. I take this quite literally. It is not said of the Church, which Scripture never calls lost sheep. But it describes the sheep of Israel in their desolate condition exactly. Before God gathers the Church, what we want is a Saviour. We Gentiles were not sheep at all, but dogs, from Matthew's point of view (see Matt. 15). And once He has brought us into the Church, we are not, and cannot be, lost sheep. But the Lord calls these poor of the flock lost sheep of the house of Israel. Up to this time, the work that could put them in the known position of salvation was not yet done.
Does "lost" only mean lost as a nation? One writer answers from the Lord's own use of the word:
So we have the Good Shepherd saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost" (Luke 15:6). On the face of it, it would not do to limit the thought of "lost" to being lost nationally.
The order follows what the Lord had just seen in the crowds:
"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest'" (Matt. 9:36-38). The Good Shepherd felt deep sympathy for the distresses and weaknesses of the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So He wanted others to work with Him, gathering the scattered without delay. And at once, being Himself the Lord of the harvest, He went on to send out labourers into the harvest.
Later in the same chapter the Lord tells them they will not have finished the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. One writer reads this as a mission cut short, not one carried through:
Their Master's coming would break off their mission before it was complete… So the original Jewish mission was interrupted, and what has been well called "the Gentile parenthesis" came in. When that is over, I have no doubt the Lord will raise up servants at a future day. They will take up the word and work now set aside. And before they finish proclaiming the coming kingdom through all the cities of Israel, the Son of Man will come.
The limit belongs to this moment only. After the resurrection, the Lord sends His messengers everywhere:
But in Luke 24 all is changed. The old barriers no longer stand in the way of the messengers of grace. Israel is not to be forgotten, but the Gentiles too must hear the good news… The messengers must search out and visit every city, town, village and hamlet, every street, lane and alley, hedge and highway. They must do it with care and love, so that "every creature under heaven" might hear the good news of a full and free salvation.
- Compassion. The Lord saw crowds harassed and helpless. As Lord of the harvest, He answered His own pity by sending out workers.
- Confined. The errand passed by Gentiles and Samaritans. Inside Israel it narrowed further still, to the worthy ones — the godly remnant.
- Condition. "Lost sheep" describes Israel in desolation before the saving work was done; it is never said of the church.
- Contested. "Lost" is not just lost as a nation. The Shepherd rejoices over the sheep He found.
- Continuing. The mission broke off before it was finished. The towns of Israel will not be covered before the Son of Man comes. Meanwhile the commission given after the resurrection reaches every creature under heaven.
And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.
The Lord sends the twelve out with a message of only a few words, to announce as they travel. Their route, their hearers and their supplies are all fixed for them — so what did those few words claim, and why do we not preach them today?
The twelve carried nothing new. John had said it, the Lord Himself had said it, and one word is missing here.
In verse 7 their message is summed up in seven words. It matches what John the Baptist preached (Matthew 3:2), and what the Lord Himself preached (Matthew 4:17), except that here the word "Repent" is left out. It was a very simple message, hardly allowing much expansion or variety. They could not preach things that had not yet happened. But the promised King was present in His own land, so the kingdom was near them.
The phrase would not have puzzled the people who heard it. It came out of the prophets, and it did not describe a place above the clouds.
Old Testament prophecy, especially Daniel, made it clear that the God of heaven would set up a kingdom. More than this, the Son of Man was the person who would administer that kingdom... Such was the kingdom of heaven. It was not a mere kingdom of the earth, nor was it in heaven, but it was heaven governing the earth for ever.
The wording announces nearness, not arrival. Everything hung on Israel's answer.
Or, as it may be rendered, "has drawn near." We need to keep this in mind, as it is a key phrase in these opening chapters. Neither John nor our Lord said, The kingdom is going to be set up. In the ways of God the moment had drawn near to fulfil the promises about our Lord. He is the Son of David, Israel's long promised Messiah. It was all presented to them, but it depended on Israel whether they would accept Him or not.
This errand was narrower than we might expect, and it carried its own proof.
Not a word is said about preaching what we call the gospel, or teaching the whole counsel of God. They were to go with the power of the Messiah against Satan and bodily diseases, as a testimony to Israel. They were to declare the kingdom of heaven... But the main mark of the mission was the power He gave them over demons and diseases. How fitting this was, in connection with Israel, is obvious. It was a bright proof that the true King, Jehovah, was there. He could cast out demons Himself, and He could give that power to His servants too. Who but the King, the Lord of hosts, could do this? It was a far greater testimony than if He had kept the power to Himself alone.
Commentators are firm that this errand is not the pattern for Christian work today.
This is not a universal rule for the servants of God at all times. It was a particular mission, for a special time, and with reference to Israel only. It was not the gospel of God's grace, but of the kingdom. The two go together now; but then it was not so. Israel did not receive the testimony of the kingdom. An entire change comes in, and the outward setting up of the kingdom of heaven stays suspended. God's call now goes out to the Gentiles. That call comes in as a vast parenthesis between this message to the lost sheep in Israel and its full completion in the last days.
The same distinction is drawn simply:
We do not preach "the Gospel of the Kingdom" (Matthew 4:23). Christ and the Apostles preached that Kingdom Gospel before the day of Pentecost, and it will be preached again after the rapture. We preach "the Gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24). It takes people morally out of the world and gives them heavenly hopes and destiny.
This announcement is not heard today. But the silence is a pause, not an ending.
This testimony to the nearness of the kingdom has been suspended and will be resumed at the time of the end. The disciples stand here as representative men. What is said applied to them at that moment, and it will apply to others in a similar position at the end of the age. The kingdom, as presented at that moment in Christ in person, was rejected, and so the testimony was withdrawn, as we see in Matthew 16:20.
- Near, not arrived. "At hand" means "has drawn near." Nothing was set up yet. Everything waited on Israel's answer to the King standing among them.
- Near because He was near. The kingdom was near because the promised King was present in His own land.
- Near and proved. The message was short, so power carried it. Healing and deliverance showed the true King was there, able to give His authority to servants.
- Near, then withdrawn. Israel rejected the King, the outward kingdom went on hold, and God's call of grace to the nations came in as a vast parenthesis.
- Near again one day. The mission was interrupted, not cancelled; it will be taken up once more at the end of the age.
Heal [the] infirm, [raise the dead], cleanse lepers, cast out demons ye have received gratuitously, give gratuitously.
Jesus has just called twelve men and hands them an impossible list — sickness, leprosy, death, demons — plus a rule about money. Why does the King lend His own power to messengers, and what condition comes with it?
(A note on wording: older translations read "Freely you have received, freely give." The writers quoted below use that older wording.)
The four works were more than kindness. They showed who had sent the messengers. The striking part is that He could hand His power to others.
It was bright evidence that the true King, Jehovah, was there. He could cast out devils Himself, and He could also give that power to His servants. Who but the King, the Lord of hosts, could do this? This was a far greater testimony than if He had kept the power to Himself.
These signs also show what kind of kingdom is coming — a world with the damage undone.
This is what marks the kingdom — man healed of all sickness and the devil cast out. So Hebrews 6 calls miracles "the powers of the world to come."
The commission joins two things people often separate: God's claims and human misery. Jesus did both Himself, and He sends the twelve to do both.
When the Lord went forth Himself, as in Matthew 4, He healed everyone who had diseases and torments, He cast out devils, and cleansed the lepers. But with all that He preached, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." He published God's claims while He met man's need. And so now, in Matthew 10... Again I say, they were to announce God's rights and relieve man's sorrow.
Commentators add a caution here. These instructions were not a standing rule for every servant of God in every age.
This is not a universal rule for the servants of God at all times. It was a special mission, for a particular time, and it concerned Israel only. It was not the gospel of God's grace, but of the kingdom.
That boundary shows up inside Scripture itself. The seventy whom Jesus later sent out received less than the twelve received here.
The Apostles received delegated power to raise the dead (Matthew 10:8). The seventy received power to heal the sick, which included casting out devils (Luke 10:9, 17). But we read not a word of the seventy raising the dead. We find no instance of it except by the Lord and by the Apostles.
One writer tests anyone who claims this verse as his own commission today. The list is one list; you cannot pick from it.
Anyone who builds so-called faith healing on this verse is just as bound to raise the dead. His failure should convince him of his folly.
The last clause sets the character of everything the twelve do. It matches the way their Master worked.
As far as I can see, He never once claimed the person or the service of those He restored and delivered. He never treated the rescue He worked as a claim on their service... The nature of grace is to impart to others, not to enrich itself.
Because the power was a gift, no one could charge for it.
This power came from the King Himself. They had received it freely, and they were to give freely. They were not to use it for their own gain, as present-day self-styled healers do.
Does "give without pay" rule out supporting those who preach? Grant puts the duty on the hearers, not on the preacher:
This does not mean that the preacher himself is at liberty to take collections or to make any charge for his preaching. These words are for the assembly, not for the servant. They stress the assembly's responsibility to provide such support willingly — not as a salary, but as a free choice.
The principle behind the clause outlives the mission. It applies to anyone who has received anything from God — which is everyone.
To get and not to give makes a miser, whether in the natural world or the spiritual. To give and not to get makes the prodigal and the bankrupt.
But giving has a prerequisite, and it is not technique.
I must be satisfied myself, yes, more than satisfied, before I can impart to others. I cannot give away if I have not enough myself. What a test for all our hearts!... What comes from the head may please the ear and charm the mind. But it leaves the starving soul where it was before — unsatisfied, unfed.
- Received — The twelve carried nothing of their own. The power was the King's, lent to them for a testimony.
- Proof — He could pass His power to others. That said more about who He was than keeping it to Himself.
- Bounded — The commission went to Israel, for that moment. Even the seventy who followed did not get the whole list.
- Free — Grace never charges. Christ healed and claimed nothing back, and His messengers were to imitate that, not trade on it.
- Overflow — What comes free must move on free. Only a soul already satisfied in Christ has anything real to pass along.