Matthew 10:5–23

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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 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 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.

"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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

If sheep were simply exposed to wolves it would be bad enough, but to be sent among them is more serious still... You want the combination. It is a sad thing to have only the prudence and a very weak thing to have only the guilelessness.

The Lord does not hide from the disciples that the nation, indeed the world, would reject Him, and therefore them. He puts this fully before them, to prepare them for it and to encourage them in view of it. He was sending them out as sheep among wolves — a hopeless thing to natural expectation. They were therefore to be as prudent, or wary, as serpents, but pure as doves, without the serpent's deceit.

From verse 16 the Lord warns them of the circumstances in which the gospel of the kingdom was to be preached... He calls for prudence, heavenly prudence. The aim and character of that prudence were to be entirely holy, and free from any just charge of harming men. "But beware of men" — do not suppose that, although you go out with love in your hearts, you will not meet with wolves.

The Lord told His disciples to be as wise as serpents, probably a reference to Genesis 3:1. The word "subtil" there is translated by the same word in the Greek Old Testament as the one used in this passage. It is "prudence."

The world may be prudent, knowing evil. The heart may be simple through ignorance and find itself betrayed. The Christian may be wise or prudent by the wisdom of God who directs him, and simple because he walks according to the life which is in him... This is not the simplicity of ignorance, but the simplicity of good. It avoids whatever would make one leave one's true position before God.

All who truly seek to build up the church will carefully avoid actions that by their nature can be misread. To be wise as serpents is no less necessary than to be harmless as doves.

Verses 16 to 23 involve far more than the commission in effect while the Lord was on earth; for it goes on to the testimony seen in Acts, and then further still, to what will be revived in the tribulation period, as verse 23 shows. They were sent as sheep among wolves, and so were always to be on guard: wise as serpents, yet unlike serpents, guileless as doves. Wisdom and transparent honesty are a true protection for the servant of the Lord.

But — and this is a terrible word about man — "Beware of men," says the Lord. He does not say, beware of Israel. All men are now thrown into the same mass. It was in Israel itself that the disciples worked, yet Israel is blinded along with the whole mass of human wickedness. God could still think of them and of the promises, but in fact the heart of man was the same there as everywhere else.

Pilate said to the Jews about the Lord, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law" (John 18:31). This shows that they were allowed to judge certain matters and to give limited punishments... The Lord told His disciples that they would be flogged in the synagogues (Matt. 10:17). Paul confessed that when he was persecuting the church, he had imprisoned and beaten in every synagogue those who believed on the Lord (Acts 22:19). Paul himself no doubt suffered the same punishment in the same buildings (2 Cor. 11:24). So they put their places of worship to a very undignified use.

"But beware of men" — do not think that you will escape meeting wolves just because you go out with love in your hearts. The Jews are plainly meant... While hating the Gentile yoke, they would be quite willing to call in Gentile authority where it became a question of Christ's followers. The Jews would drag them before the Gentile kings and governors, hated as those rulers were.

He was sending them out as sheep among wolves, which looks hopeless from a natural point of view. So they were to be as prudent — or wary — as serpents, but pure as doves, without the serpent's deceit. Men would hand them over to councils, or sanhedrins. These were religious courts attached to the synagogues themselves. But beyond this they would bring them before governors and kings, the worldly powers of the Gentile nations.

If they did not beware of men (a sad testimony about men), they would only suffer. But when they were flogged and brought before councils and governors and kings, all this would become a testimony to them. It was God's way of presenting the gospel of the kingdom to kings and princes. It did not change the character of that gospel, or adapt it to the world, or mix the Lord's people up with the world's customs and false greatness. What is more, circumstances like these made their testimony far more visible than links with the great ones of the earth would have done.

While the Lord was on earth, there is no record of His disciples suffering the opposition of verses 17 and 18. John the Baptist did suffer prison and death. But in the book of Acts they were handed over to the Jews' councils and flogged for their testimony to Christ. Some of them were also brought before governors and kings for His sake. This is first a testimony against the Jews, but the Gentiles are added too. That shows these words go beyond the commission of verses 5 and 6.

While the Jews hated Gentile rule, they were quite willing to call in Gentile authority when it became a question of Christ's followers. They would drag the messengers before the Gentile kings and governors, hated as those rulers were.

Men would hand them over to councils — the religious courts attached to the synagogues themselves. But beyond this they would bring them before governors and kings, the secular Gentile powers. As we see in the Lord's own case, the charge there had to be a different one, and it was brought with malice. Yet He would turn that malice into a testimony in the highest places, and to the Gentiles at large. Grace was content to reach them even in such a way.

When they were scourged and brought before councils and governors and kings, all this should become a testimony to those rulers. It was God's way of bringing the gospel of the kingdom to kings and princes. And it did that without changing the character of the gospel, without adapting it to the world, and without mixing the Lord's people up with the world's ways and its false greatness. What is more, circumstances like these made their testimony far more visible than any link with the great ones of the earth could have done.

This is the means the Lord uses to carry the gospel to kings and to the great of the earth. The preachers are not the great of the earth. His disciples would always have to keep their true character. So they would stand before kings and rulers as prisoners, giving an account of their faith.

While the Lord was on earth, there is no record of His disciples facing the opposition of verses 17 and 18. John the Baptist did suffer prison and death. But in the book of Acts they were handed over to the Jews' councils and scourged for their testimony to Christ. Some of them were also brought before governors and kings for His sake. This is first a testimony against the Jews, but the Gentiles are added too. That shows these words go beyond the commission of verses 5 and 6.

We see this happen in Acts, where Paul stands before Felix and Festus, and then before King Agrippa. The Lord gives them clear instructions in verse 19. People misapply those words when they use them of preaching the gospel. They have no reference to any service for the Lord, but would save the disciples from anxiety when on trial.

I could not doubt that this preaching of the kingdom of heaven by the twelve apostles will start again in days to come. Israel's definite and utter rejection of Christ interrupted it. And it is to this renewed testimony that much of Matthew 10 has its most definite application. See especially verses 18, 22, 23.

We see this in the Acts, where Paul appears before Felix, and Festus, and then before king Agrippa. Verse 19 gives them clear instructions. People misapply the verse when they use it of preaching the gospel. It has no reference to any service for the Lord, but would save them from anxiety when on their trial.

In Matthew 6, verses 25, 27, 28, 31, 34 (and Matthew 10:19), "thought" should be "anxious thought."

When these things happened they would need no speech-writer. They would not even need to study in advance the wisest or most fitting answer to the charges. Instead, they were to depend fully on God to give them the words to speak at the time they were needed. In this they would allow the Spirit of their Father the freedom to speak without hindrance. We see this beautifully carried out in the cases of Peter and John in Acts 4:8-12 and 5:27-32; Stephen in Acts 7; and Paul in Acts 24:10-21 and 26:1-29.

They would receive such power and guidance from the Spirit of their Father that the words they spoke would not be their own words. They would be the words of Him who inspired them. Once again, their relationship with their Father is the basis of their fitness for the service they had to do. That same relationship clearly marks the Sermon on the Mount. Remember that this testimony went to Israel only. Yet Israel was living under foreign rule, so the testimony would reach their rulers.

What about the accused? No orator that we hear of volunteered to present his case in the most favourable light before the court. No one pleaded his cause. Was he deserted? Was he worse off for this? He had One with him whom Ananias, Tertullus, and Felix did not know. Relying on His help and guidance, he could stay perfectly calm and let the orator speak first. He was sure that no human eloquence, no shameless flattery, and no cunning misrepresentation could damage his defence.

One cannot but feel that such a truth as this, though it has special application to apostles setting out on this mission, most surely remains for us.

Wherever possible, a person should think over and study the subject he expects to speak on. It is no mark of spirituality to take no thought how or what we shall speak, and we do not believe this is a correct use of the Scripture... Here, He assures His disciples that He will never desert them when they stand before kings and rulers for His name's sake. They need not work out in advance any line of defence, or any elaborate statement of what they hold. Suppose they have been living in the enjoyment of these things and bearing faithful witness. Then they may be sure that the Lord will not desert them in their time of need.

It seems clear that up to verse 15 the group of apostles is mainly in view. That mission was marked by the personal presence of the King. From verse 16 to 20 the language is more general. It looks at the preaching in Acts and on to the fall of Jerusalem. By then the King has gone away, and His servants are handed over to be flogged and brought before rulers and kings. The Holy Spirit from the Father would be in them and would be the power for every emergency.

It is the calm of one who does not think of himself, either through fear or through human eagerness. It is full of the Holy Spirit; everything he says and everything he does comes from Him. Such a man works perfectly on God's side, because the man himself is out of the way, and God by His Spirit works in him... If man works, then there is imperfection. God works in man, and then man is what he ought to be.

They would receive such power and guidance from the Spirit of their Father that the words they spoke would not be their own words, but the words of Him who inspired them. Once again, their relationship with their Father... is what makes them able for the service they had to do.

Those who believe the gospel of salvation have the Holy Spirit of God living in them, and He seals them. He is certainly a distinct person from those He lives in. He bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God (Romans 8:16). At the same time He identifies Himself with us in a wonderful way. He helps us in our weakness, and He makes intercession for us with groanings that words cannot express.

No one pleaded his cause. Was he deserted? Was he worse off for this? He had One with him whom Ananias, Tertullus and Felix knew nothing about. Leaning on His help and guidance, he could stay perfectly calm and let the hired speaker go first, as the trial required. He was sure that no human eloquence, no shameless flattery and no clever twisting of the facts could damage his defence.

Taking no thought about how or what we will speak is no mark of spirituality, and we do not believe it is a correct use of that Scripture... Here He is assuring His disciples that He will never desert them when they stand before kings and rulers for His name's sake. They do not need to work out a line of defence in advance, or any careful statement of what they hold... The same holds good when someone cannot know in advance what he will speak on, or when an unexpected opening for preaching the gospel comes. At such times there has often been the greatest liberty and directness, and the Lord's help has been clear.

Even before an enemy, the Lord told the twelve apostles to have no anxiety about how or what to speak, because in the hour of need it would be given to them... How much more was that divine power needed and given when the question was not their own defence, but passing on God's mind and will to His own people, and for ever!

Here we see clearly that this part of the chapter referred to the time when the Lord would be away. It would be the Spirit of their Father speaking in them. But the hatred of the human heart against the testimony of God would be shown by pushing men to break the ties that God had formed at the time of creation. The affections of the flesh, of the human heart, would be changed into positive hostility. The more intimate the relation, the more relentless its hatred. There are rights in these relationships; but now it would be the rights of hatred: brother would deliver brother to death.

The revelation of God in the person of Christ, or in the preached word, awakens the enmity of the human heart. So long as God is not revealed, everything is tolerated; but when He is revealed, man's will rises up against His authority, and against the pressure which this revelation exerts on a conscience that is not at rest; and the closer the relations are, the greater is the hatred.

"Brother will deliver brother over to death." It is Christ who brings out the true character of everyone. The tenderest ties of nature are set aside here in their hostility toward those true to Christ.

Then he describes in the most striking way the fearful breaking of all bonds and the treachery common among the Jews. "The son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house." It is a solemn thought that these are the words Jesus applies to the effect of His message of the kingdom. What an awful proof of man's evil! At the end, this state of things will bring God's final judgment on the Jews. Yet it is what the Lord tells the disciples to expect wherever this gospel is preached now.

Our Lord now promises them the most bitter persecution: "You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes." These words are perhaps the most important in the whole chapter. They are a kind of key to the entire chapter.

The same will no doubt be true in the tribulation period, and verse 21 will have special application to that time, when even close natural relationships will be ignored because of the intensity of hatred toward the name of Christ, the true Messiah — brothers betraying brothers, fathers their children, children their parents, to be put to death. How dreadfully abnormal! Yet this will be the exposure of what is the real character of the unbelieving heart of men.

The full character of their mission is gone into — persecution, death — but the Spirit of their Father speaking in them, and a care over them which counted the hairs of their head... The full power needed would be given every moment, but the testimony would draw out the passions of men in a way that would break through every natural tie. Relations of nature divinely formed would not resist the hatred of the human heart against the testimony of God.

The testimony would draw out the passions of men in a way that would break through every natural tie. Family ties that God Himself formed would not hold out against the hatred of the human heart toward the testimony of God. All men would hate them because of Christ's name. It is a strange feeling, and only the hatred of man's heart against God can explain it!

At the same time He prepares them for the most heartless conduct toward them, even from relatives. A brother would know his brother's habits. A father would know all about his child, and the child would know all about the father. All of it would be turned against the servants of Christ.

hupomone (from hupomeno, "to sustain")… it is a "patient endurance" that does not give way under trial and suffering… Romans 15:5 traces it back to its divine source for us. Scripture never applies it to God directly, because nothing could ever test Him or press on Him. But the Lord Jesus, in the place He has taken as Man, is our perfect example in it, Hebrews 12:2-3. He "endured" the cross, and the hostility of sinners against Himself.

These words about enduring to the end, and about not finishing the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes, are perhaps the most important in the whole chapter. They are a key to the entire chapter.

The death of Christ cut the mission of the apostles short. They still carried it on for a while afterwards, but the destruction of Jerusalem ended it completely — for the time being, though not for ever. God then took up the calling of the Church. When the Lord has taken the Church out of the world to heaven, He will again raise up witnesses to the Messiah on earth, and the Jew will be converted.

Then follows a text which has troubled the peace of many a Christian, but which really belongs to the faithful few in Israel in a future day — "But the one who endures to the end will be saved." It refers to salvation when the Lord appears in judgment. Many will fall away under the delusions of that time. But when the Son of Man appears, His judgment will separate: of two in a field, one may be taken in judgment and the other spared, or "saved," to pass into eternal life on the earth under Him in the thousand years of His reign.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved. It does not matter what the end may be — a martyr's death, or the coming of Christ to the earth. As ever, the test of reality is continuance. There may indeed be failure, and even the love of many growing cold, but those that are real will endure. Peter broke down, but his faith did not fail; he continued to the end.

All these words had a special meaning for the Jewish disciples our Lord sent out. They also hold precious comfort and teaching for every true believer living today. It would be very one-sided to pass over these words of our Lord and treat them as holding no truth for us.

It is plain that the Lord, in this chapter, sends the twelve on a mission that is specifically Jewish. "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Then He warns them of the persecutions and betrayals they were to expect. He tells them to flee from one town to another: "For truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through (or finished) all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes." That is, their mission would be broken off before it was complete — broken off by the coming of their Master... So the original Jewish mission was interrupted, and what has been well named "the Gentile parenthesis" came in. When that is over, the Lord will, I have no doubt, raise up servants at a future day to take up the word and work now left aside. Before they have finished announcing the coming kingdom through all the towns of Israel, the Son of Man will come.

This had no fulfilment in His lifetime. While He was here with them, the disciples were not persecuted in any town in the way that chapter describes. Yet they were part of the remnant of their own day. Seen in that light, He could rightly speak to them as representatives of His servants among the Jews in the future.

The explanation is that this testimony to the nearness of the kingdom has been suspended, and will be resumed at the time of the end. The disciples stand as representative men. What He 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 was rejected when it was presented at that moment in Christ in person, and so the testimony was withdrawn. It will be resumed when the gathering out of the church is complete, and it will barely reach its finish when the Son of Man comes to receive and establish the kingdom, as Daniel 7 had predicted.

Preachers will bring this message to the towns of Judah, and they will be in the middle of their work when the King comes... These are the ones who stand for the testimony of Jesus in the middle of suffering beyond anything known before.

Everyone knows that it is easy to be a martyr in theory, and that those who are martyrs in theory are seldom so in practice... Faith never teaches anyone to court danger and difficulty, but to walk the path of Christ in peace and thankfulness... I dare say some of us have been struck by this: the Lord told them to flee to another town when they were persecuted in one. That is not courting martyrdom at all, but the very opposite.

Paul's service in Thessalonica was cut short by this riot, for he served in the spirit of the Lord's instruction recorded in Matthew 10:23. So they moved on to Berea.

These words had a special meaning for the Jewish disciples our Lord sent out. They also hold precious comfort and instruction for every true believer living today. Every word which our God and Father has been pleased to give us has a meaning for us.