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.
Do not provide yourselves with gold, or silver, or brass, for your belts,
Jesus sends out His twelve closest disciples as the King's messengers. The first thing He does is empty their pockets. Why would Jesus forbid His own workers to carry the very money that would make the journey easier?
The "belts" of the verse were not decoration. They were where a traveller kept his cash.
A bag for money or weights. Proverbs 1:14; Isaiah 46:6; Luke 10:4; Luke 22:35-36; John 12:6. In Matthew 10:9 and Mark 6:8, it refers to the belt, part of which served as a purse.
This instruction belonged to one errand at one moment in time.
That is, they were to go just as they were, with the coat they had on, with the shoes they had then on their feet. They were not to provide anything, or to lay up any store as a means of support during their mission. This is not a universal rule for the servants of God at all times. It was a mission of its own kind, 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 they did not.
They were walking into towns that already claimed to belong to God — and those towns owed His messengers a living.
They were to take no supply, whether of money or clothing. They were not going out into a heathen world. They were going among people who claimed to acknowledge God, and they came with His message. They also travelled under the guardianship of the King their Master. So they had a right to expect the support owed to His workers.
Jesus Himself pointed back to this trip later on. The same pattern ran through His own life.
The Lord refers to this sending out of the twelve in Luke 22, when He says, "When I sent you out without moneybag or knapsack, did you lack anything?" In fact, for others, there was always plenty in the presence of the Lord. He provided them with everything needed. We never read of the Lord Jesus having any money. On one occasion, when He wanted a coin, He said, "Show me a denarius." When the temple tax collectors wanted the two-drachma tax, He told Peter to go to the sea and cast a hook. Peter was to take the first fish that came up and open its mouth. There he would find a shekel — "take that and give it to them for me and for yourself." His was a life of perfect dependence.
The order did not stand forever. Jesus Himself later withdrew it.
Then the Lord tells them to provide themselves now with purse, bag, and sword. The very things they were not to do before, they were to do from that time. The Lord cancels what He had earlier commanded, as far as the special circumstances were concerned. His goodness and love to them would remain, and so would their walk in wisdom and harmlessness. But the special character of this mission ended at the death of Christ.
One principle still carries over. What they received for nothing, they had to hand on for nothing.
Some well-meaning people have tried to follow these commands to the very letter. But the servants of Christ were never meant to follow them literally during this age. However, two principles in these words find their application in this age. They had received the message and the power for free, and so they were to give it. The gospel is to be free, without price and without money. This principle holds good at this time. What a great failure this is in Christendom! There we find a salaried ministry, pew rents, and fairs and entertainments to raise money for building churches and other things.
Travelling light kept them quick. It also kept their appearance from getting in the way of their message.
These instructions of the Lord all point to the simplicity He wanted to mark His servants. Having no luggage let them travel faster. Their work was among the simple country people of Galilee. There, signs of wealth would have made people less ready to receive their preaching. Besides, if they had two coats, would it not have been their duty to give one to the man who had none?
- Sent. The purse was the belt; the twelve left with the coat and shoes they had on, provided with nothing at all for the road.
- Stripped. The command belonged to one errand — the kingdom announced to Israel — not to every servant of God in every age.
- Supplied. They went among people who owed the King's messengers their keep. They also travelled under the guardianship of the King Himself, and they lacked nothing.
- Changed. Jesus Himself later reversed the order and told them to take purse and bag. The special mission ended with His death, but His care for them did not.
- Free. One principle outlives the empty belt. They received the message and the power for nothing, so the gospel must still go out without price.
nor scrip for the way, nor two body coats, nor sandals, nor a staff for the workman is worthy of his nourishment.
Jesus sends the twelve out with empty hands. No money, no spare clothing, no travel bag. His reason is one short line about a worker and his food. That raises two questions: why send them out with nothing, and what claim does a worker of God have?
Older English translations use "meat" for food here. They also put "staves" in the plural. That has puzzled readers, because Mark's account allows a staff. One writer takes both points together:
The word "meat" in verse 10 means food or nourishment. How simplicity is stamped on the instructions given here! They were to be free from all anxiety. Some have been puzzled by the words "nor yet staves" here, while another passage allows them to take a staff. We know there is nothing contradictory. In this case the Lord says, "Provide not" — that is, they were not to go and get one, but if they had one, they could take it (Mark 6:8).
The empty hands were not poverty for its own sake. The twelve went to people who already claimed the God whose message they carried. That gave them a right to expect support.
They were to take no supply, whether of money or clothing. They were not going out into a pagan world, but among people who claimed God as their own, and they carried His message. They were under the protection of the King, their Master. So they had a right to expect the support due to His labourers.
Another writer reads the order literally — and then marks its limits.
That is, they were to go just as they were, with the coat they had on, with the shoes they then had on their feet. They were not to provide anything, or to lay up any store as a means of support during their mission. This is not a universal rule for the servants of God at all times. It was a special mission, for a special time, and with reference to Israel only.
Matthew records "food"; Luke's parallel says "wages." The difference is not a slip but a fuller provision.
The labourer is indeed worthy of his food, and of his wages. There are other necessities beyond food, and the Lord forgot none. This twofold statement makes it plain (Matt. 10:10, Luke 10:7, as cited in 1 Tim. 5:18). So the apostle declares (1 Cor. 9:14) that the Lord ordained that those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel. The law had done the same before for those who served at the holy things.
Jesus Himself came back to this commission later and reversed its terms.
In Luke 22:35, referring to this very mission, the Lord asks, "When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?" They said, "Nothing." Then He tells them to provide themselves with a moneybag, a knapsack, and a sword. The very things they were not to do before, they were to do from that time. The Lord cancels what He had earlier commanded, as far as the special circumstances went. His goodness and love to them would remain, and so would their walking in wisdom and harmlessness. But the particular character of this mission ended at the death of Christ.
One principle from that mission still belongs to this age. It concerns where the servant looks:
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. "And He said to them, When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything? They said, Nothing" (Luke 22:35). The Lord who calls His servants and sends them out always keeps them when they walk in simple dependence on Himself.
The other side is the duty of those who receive the message.
This was not merely a man's word: the law spoke in exactly the same way. Deuteronomy 25:4 established the principle with a humble working animal. The temple service and the Jewish altars put it into practice too. Finally, the Lord Himself ordained it for the present time, as Matthew 10:10 and other passages in the Gospels show. The principle is overwhelmingly established. Let all who love the Lord be very careful not to neglect any true servant called by Him to His service. If we do so we shall be flying in the face of His word, and we ourselves shall be the great losers.
- Sent — the twelve went exactly as they stood, with nothing stored up. The King who sent them was their protector.
- Supplied — "food" in Matthew and "wages" in Luke together cover the whole need; the Lord left nothing out.
- Special — the ban on money and spare clothing belonged to one mission to Israel, not to every servant in every age.
- Superseded — before the cross Jesus reversed the terms Himself. He told them to take the moneybag and knapsack He had once forbidden.
- Standing — the worker's claim to support outlived the mission. The servant looks to the Lord; those who love the Lord must not neglect the servant.
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.
Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in judgment-day than for that city.
Jesus is sending out the twelve — the twelve disciples He chose. He tells them what to do when a town refuses to receive them. Then He warns that such a town faces something worse than Sodom. Why should a town of ordinary Jewish people, guilty only of shutting its doors, be worse off than the most notorious city in the Old Testament?
The warning follows a gesture Jesus had just commanded. Shaking the dust off the feet was not temper. It was a formal act, and one writer explains what it meant:
To "shake the dust off the feet" when leaving a city that had rejected the servants of Christ meant leaving that city to judgment: not even the dust of their city would be brought before the messengers' Master.
Why such a heavy sentence? It has to do with where this mission stood in God's dealings with Israel. Writing on the parallel account in Mark, one commentator explains:
Wherever people would not receive their message, they were to shake the dust off their feet as a witness against that city. That city's fate would be worse than the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah… As to the principle of the mission, what we find in Mark was the last testimony given to Israel before the judgment of the nation. It was a last appeal to the conscience and heart of the people, so that the nation might receive the Saviour, repent, turn to God, and escape the terrible judgment waiting for it.
So the comparison is not between two kinds of immorality. It sets filth beside something God counts worse. The verse also assumes that Sodom's people still face a day of judgment:
Here is a very solemn lesson!… God has not finished with the Old Testament sinners. What brought down His judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah? The moral filth of those wicked cities is not so bad as the guilt of grace slighted! God is never in a hurry to carry out judgment… God never sends a blow without warning, and we call the space between the warning and the blow His patience.
Sodom's advantage is not innocence but ignorance. One writer names the difference:
Sodom's judgment would be more tolerable than God's judgment on a city that rejected them. Sodom had never known the witness of the Lord Jesus present in person, so it was not as responsible as these cities.
Jesus repeats this measurement later against three towns He knew well, and the pattern behind it can be stated in a line:
There was another city still more favoured (elsewhere called His own city, Matt. 9:1), because it was where He usually lived at the time; and that made its guilt all the greater. "And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day."… In other words, the measure of privilege is always the measure of responsibility.
"More bearable" implies a scale, not one flat sentence. (Older translations read "more tolerable", and the writers here use that wording.) One commentator shows how exact the scale is:
God will deal with each person on his own distinct ground, according to his light and privilege. There will be the few stripes and the many stripes, as in Luke 12. It will be "more tolerable" for some than for others… The Judge of all the earth will do right, but man is responsible, and his light and advantage set the measure of his responsibility. He does not lump them all together, as though they all stood on one common ground. On the contrary, He makes the most exact distinctions, and He will never condemn anyone for despising and refusing advantages that were never within his reach.
Many assume the danger lies far away, among people who have never heard. This verse turns that around:
This is a solemn principle, far too easily and too often forgotten. People tend to pity those who have never heard of Christ and to think of distant lands. It is right for those who fully rejoice in the Lord to feel for people who lack Him. But there can be no greater delusion than to suppose that, when the judgment comes, people in themselves will be better off in England, for example, than in a far country like Tartary… Privileges despised or misused only bring a deeper ruin on those who reject or twist them.
- Warning first. God never sends a blow without warning. The gap between the warning and the blow is His patience.
- Refusal answered. Shaking off the dust left a town to judgment. The messengers would not carry even its dust into their Master's presence.
- Measure set. The measure of privilege is always the measure of responsibility. Sodom never saw the Lord in person, so it answers for less.
- Degrees kept. Judgment is not one flat sentence: few stripes and many, and no one condemned for refusing what was never within reach.
- Nearest, most exposed. Privileges despised or misused bring a deeper ruin, so the danger sits closest to those who hear the most and repent the least.