But into whatsoever city or village ye enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and there remain till ye go forth.
Jesus sends His twelve disciples out to the towns of Israel. His first instruction on arrival is not about preaching. It is about lodging. Behind that simple travel rule lie two questions — who counts as "worthy," and why they had to stay in one house instead of moving around.
The command to search for a worthy host does not match the way the gospel goes out today. One writer sets the two missions side by side.
Take, for instance, a command like this: "And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart." Is a man going out with the gospel now to ask who is worthy? He seeks the unworthy. But this was a mission to Israel. Jehovah wanted the excellent in the earth, those whose hearts truly desired the Messiah… The gospel aims straight at those in misery — the wicked and the hopeless. It is the fullness of God's grace to man, who has nothing at all to give to God… God does not ask me to give, but to receive. This is the gospel of God, the gospel of His Son. But here, in Matthew, it is the gospel of the kingdom, and this gospel goes out to those who are worthy.
The word does not describe moral perfection. It marks out people who were already waiting for the Messiah.
In city and village they were to inquire for those who are worthy. That worthiness was, beyond doubt, a desire to know the Messiah, "waiting for the consolation of Israel." The gospel of grace preached now makes no such distinction. Its message is "Whoever" — even the most unworthy.
That inward desire had a visible test. How a household treated the twelve showed what it thought of the One who sent them.
When they entered a place, they were to seek out the "worthy." These were people who feared the Lord. They showed how they received the Master by the way they received His servants.
The second half of the verse tells them to remain in that house for the whole visit. One writer explains what moving from host to host would have cost.
There was to be no greed and no self-seeking. Resting on their heart-allegiance to the Messiah, they were to take whatever was given to them… They were not to go from house to house. That would take away from His glory, because people could charge them with indulging in self-seeking.
The rule cuts against an ordinary instinct: the search for somewhere more comfortable.
"Remain in the same house." We had this in the mission of the twelve — "Do not be looking out for better food." What a defiling thing it is to see the followers of Christ trying to make themselves comfortable here!
They carried nothing for the journey. Writers differ over how far these details fit our own day, but one draws out the principle underneath.
They were to go forth with no provision made. This made them completely dependent on the Lord who had sent them. Trust in the Lord, who sends out the labourer, is another principle which belongs to this age as well. All disappointment and discouragement for the servant of Christ comes in when he looks not to the Lord but to man. The Lord never disappoints. "When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?" They said, "Nothing" (Luke 22:35).
The host had a duty too. Those who took in the messengers gave what Israel owed its Messiah.
The Messiah of Israel was sending His servants to His own people, Israel. They were responsible to give His messengers full and thorough care. Those who accepted them as true servants of Jehovah would supply their needs for that reason.
One writer carries the instruction forward to a coming day.
"Whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it." We see this cannot apply to the gospel now, because it goes out to the most unworthy and unlikely. Only those who believed in the Messiah were the worthy ones. In the coming day the messengers will be the Lord's brothers, the Jews. Those who receive them will be the sheep at His right hand, when the Son of Man has come in His glory and all the nations are gathered before Him (Matt. 25).
- Sent. Jesus sent the twelve to Israel to announce the kingdom. Its rules are not the rules for preaching the gospel today.
- Searched. "Worthy" meant hearts already longing for the Messiah. The gospel now goes to the unworthy, and its word is "whoever."
- Shown. The test was practical. A household welcomed the Master by welcoming His servants.
- Settled. Staying in one house shut out self-seeking and the hunt for better food. Moving around would have dimmed the glory of the One they represented.
- Supplied. Carrying nothing forced total dependence on the Sender. When the Lord later asked whether they had lacked anything, they answered, "Nothing."
And as ye enter into a house salute it.
The Lord sends the Twelve out to Israel. Their first act on entering a house is to greet it. That simple greeting raises two questions. What are they handing over? And what happens to it if the house refuses?
These instructions belong to a particular errand at a particular moment, and one writer marks how far they stand from the way the good news goes out today.
Is a man going out with the gospel now to ask who is worthy? He seeks the unworthy. But this was a mission to Israel. Jehovah was looking for the best in the land — those whose hearts really desired the Messiah. This is not at all the way of the gospel now. On the contrary, it is peace with God that the servant of Christ is entitled to proclaim to His enemies. The gospel is aimed at those who are in misery — the vile and forlorn — because the gospel is the fullness of God's grace to a man who has nothing at all to give to God.
The greeting carries real goodwill, but one writer is careful not to make it more than it is.
This, however, was only a greeting. It was not the authoritative pronouncement of peace. It was like the word the Lord later gave His Twelve — or rather the seventy — in Luke 10. When He sent them out, He told them to say first, in whatever house they entered, "Peace be to this house." This was a greeting, a wishing well, an announcement of goodwill towards the house. It was not an authoritative pronouncement of peace. That would follow only once they found that the son of peace was there.
The messengers were not to knock at random. One writer explains what marked out the household they were looking for.
Wherever they went, they were to seek out the "worthy." These were the people who feared the Lord, and who showed that they received the Master by receiving His servants.
The messengers spoke peace in every house they entered. Where that peace stayed was another matter.
They were to ask who was worthy — that is, to seek out the righteous remnant, not poor sinners. Those who would not receive them they were to reject with the fullest condemnation, shaking the dust off their feet. Though in Israel they were "as sheep in the midst of wolves": it was an ungodly nation. They were to seek the worthy ones in it, speaking peace everywhere, but that peace resting only on the sons of peace.
If the house will not have it, the greeting does not vanish. It comes back — and the messenger is the one who gains.
That was a blessing for those greeted. But the greeters would not lose out if the house rejected the message, and the greeting would not be lost. In principle that may be true now. When people will not receive a faithful message, a blessing returns to the messenger. Unbelief even limited the Lord Himself in His works.
One writer reads this commission as paused rather than finished.
The Lord's commission here is to the twelve, and it also looks on to a future day (v. 23)... The death of Christ interrupted this ministry, but in the end it will be taken up again. A long gap of time comes in here. But preachers in a day yet to come will resume the testimony that is now interrupted, and these instructions will apply to them.
- Peace spoken. The greeting is a wishing well, goodwill announced at the door — not yet an authoritative pronouncement of peace over the household.
- Peace tested. The messengers offered it in every house. It rested only where there was worth — on those who feared the Lord and welcomed His servants.
- Peace returned. Refuse the message and the peace comes back to the one who brought it. A faithful messenger turned away still leaves with a blessing.
- Peace widened. That errand asked who was worthy. The gospel now runs the other way. It seeks the unworthy and proclaims peace with God even to His enemies.
- Peace resumed. The death of Christ interrupted the commission but did not cancel it. One writer sees these instructions taken up again by messengers in a coming day.
And if the house indeed be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
The Lord sends His twelve disciples into Israel with a greeting on their lips, and warns them it will meet two very different welcomes. Verse 13 settles what happens in each case: the peace rests on the house, or it comes back to the men who carried it.
The word does not measure general goodness. It points to one longing in the household.
From verses 11 to 15 we read other instructions for this special mission. In city and village they were to inquire for those who are worthy. That worthiness was a desire to know Messiah, "waiting for the consolation of Israel." The gospel of grace preached today draws no such line. Its message is: "Whoever," even the most unworthy.
Others describe the same search as a hunt for the faithful few inside an unfaithful nation — the disciples were "to enquire who was worthy (that is, seek the righteous remnant, not poor sinners)."
This mission went to Israel, so a preacher today cannot simply copy its method. The two errands run in opposite directions.
Take a command like this: "And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart." Is a man going out with the gospel now to ask who is worthy? He seeks the unworthy. But this was a mission to Israel. Jehovah wanted the best in the land, those whose hearts really desired the Messiah… This is not at all the way of the gospel now. On the contrary, the servant of Christ may proclaim peace with God to His enemies… Here, in Matthew, it is the gospel of the kingdom. This gospel goes out to those who are worthy.
The Lord names the house, not the master of it. One writer presses that wording and traces the same pattern through the New Testament.
"And if the house (not merely the master) is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you." (Matt. 10:13) And to the jailer at Philippi: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:31) … In all these scriptures we find the same great truth maintained, namely, that when God visits a man with blessings and responsibilities, He visits his house with the same.
"Your peace" begins as the spoken greeting of verse 12. Whether it settles on the house is a second question, and the welcome decides it.
This, however, was only a greeting. It was like the word the Lord later gave His twelve disciples, or rather the seventy, in Luke 10. When He sent them out, He told them to enter a house and first say, "Peace be to this house." This was a greeting, a wishing well, the proclamation of good-will towards the house, not an authoritative pronouncement of peace. That would follow only when they found that the son of peace was there.
The second half of the verse turns to the messenger, not the house.
That was a blessing for those greeted. But the messengers lost nothing when people rejected the message, and the greeting itself was not wasted. In principle that may be true now. When a faithful message is not received, a blessing returns to the messenger. The Lord Himself was limited in His works by their unbelief.
What happens house by house here happened to the whole nation. Later in the same chapter, the offer of peace gives way to a word about a sword.
As the Prince of Peace, He sent out His messengers to preach peace in every house they entered. But the people were not worthy of that peace, because they rejected the Prince of it. So the peace they refused came back to those who carried it (Matt. 10:13). Because of this stubbornness and blindness, the Prince of Peace had to say, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword" (Matt. 10:34).
- Peace offered. Every house got the greeting. The messengers carried peace on their lips before they knew the answer.
- Peace tested. "Worthy" measured one thing: did the household want the Messiah? Preachers today look for the unworthy instead.
- Peace resting. A good wish becomes a settled blessing where the house welcomes it, and the blessing covers the whole house, not just its head.
- Peace returning. Refusal does not drain the servant. The blessing comes back to the one who carried it, and no faithful message is lost.
- Peace refused. Israel sent the peace back to its bearers. In the same chapter, the King speaks of a sword instead.
And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, as ye go forth out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.