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 Credentials of the King
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."
Word and Power Together
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.
A Mission with a Boundary
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.
A Test for Modern Claims
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.
Grace That Asks Nothing Back
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.
No Conflict with Support
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 Rule That Still Stands
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.
Summary
- 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.