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| Chapter 10 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: the first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 5 ¶ These twelve Jesus sent forth and commanded them, saying, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils. Freely ye have received; freely give. 9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor brass in your purses, 10 nor pack for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves; for the workman is worthy of his meat. 11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and there abide till ye go thence. 12 And when ye come into a house, salute it, 13 and if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. 15 Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for that city. 16 ¶ "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues, 18 and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak, for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaketh in you. 21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And ye shall be hated by all men for My name’s sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another; for verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone through the cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come. 24 "The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his Lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his Lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household! 26 Fear them not therefore, for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, and hid that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear not them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him that is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not, therefore; ye are of more value than many sparrows. 32 "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father who is in Heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father who is in Heaven. 34 "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to ‘set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.’ 36 And ‘a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.’ 37 He that loveth father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me. And he that loveth son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me. 39 He that findeth his life, shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for My sake, shall find it. 40 "He that receiveth you, receiveth Me; and he that receiveth Me, receiveth Him that sent Me. 41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." |
v1-42 The twelve sent out. v1 This group had been with Jesus for some time, following a period of instruction, Mark 3:14, Jesus now gives them authority and sends them out on a mission. The power they had was the ability to heal and cast out evil spirits. Note Jesus separated disease and demonic possession. v2-4 Matthew lists the twelve sent out. See also Mark 3:16ff; Luke 6:14ff; Acts 1:13. Note that Judas Iscariot is included and appears to have been given the same powers as the others. Until the betrayal, Judas was always considered as one of the twelve by the disciples. In all the lists Peter is always given first, though he was not the first disciple chosen. This probably is a reference to the apparent leadership of Peter in the apostles and involvement in specific events, e.g. Pentecost, Cornelius. However, the Bible does not indicate any supremacy of Peter over the other disciples. v5-7 The disciples were not allowed to go to the Samaritans or the Gentiles. This was not to be a permanent restriction. The disciples message was only for the Jews, "The Messianic Kingdom" was about to appear. See Matt 3:1,2, Israel was the heir to this promise. v8 The powers given to the twelve disciples was considerable, even to raising of the dead, though the Gospels give no record of this happening during this mission period. The ministration was to be free to all who asked, just as their power had been given freely. v9,10 For this short mission they were not to have any money or clothing with them, support was to come from grateful hearers. This situation was to be changed later, Luke 22:35,36. v11 It was to be obvious to the disciples who were spiritually open to the message and accept their hospitality. v12 On entering an house they were to give the normal greeting, usually "shalom" (peace). v13 If the disciples were to then find that the person or people of the house were not interested in the message then they were to take back any blessing given. v14,15 If the people of the house or city rejected the message then the disciple were to shake the dust from the place off their feet showing the disciples were not guilty of future judgement on that people. The reference to "Sodom and Gomorrah" are often used as examples of doomed cities. Warnings for the present mission and future missions. Jesus now gives warnings, which in most points will apply to later missions after His death. There does not appear to be any suggestion that the disciples met any of the problems in this first mission. v16 "Wolves," dangerous and vicious enemies, would enjoy a sheep for a meal. People believe that the "wisdom of the serpent" is just cunning, however, the disciples were to also combined this with "harmlessness of a dove," avoiding danger, physical and spiritual. v17 The councils Jesus is referring to were the local courts found in every town and city. v18 Before governors and kings, a prophetic warning which would occur after the crucifixion, Agrippa 1, Felix, Festus, Agrippa 2, Sergius Paulus and Gallio were all to have disciples testify before them during the New Testament time. v19,20 Do not be anxious. The Holy Spirit was to supply all the needs of the disciples and today us when under persecution. v21,22. A very sad result of turning to Christ for forgiveness, those who you thought were close to you may also turn against your belief and faith, rejection by families must be expected. But do not lose faith. Compare v32-39. v23 This is an instruction for the follower not to become a martyr, to deliberately allow capture and punishment, reasonable care for the life of the believer must be taken. "Before all the cities of Israel could have been visited," before the coming of the Son of Man suggests the Second return of Christ and judgement, but to make more sense it probably referees to the coming judgement of God on the Jews and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70 . v24,25 The relationship of a believer with Christ is ‘disciple and teacher,’ ‘servant and Lord,’ ‘master of the house and members of the house hold.’ If Jesus expected to be ill-treated then any followers must also expect similar treatment. Beelzebub was considered the "prince of demons," or Satan, Matt 12:24; Luke 11:15. v26 We should have no fear of these people, God is in full control and will deal with the persecutors. Note, we should continue to preach the message openly. v27 Jesus did not preach to many people compared with the disciples after His resurrection, the teaching Jesus gave them "in darkness" must be revealed to the world, fearlessly publicized "in the light ... on the house tops." v28 Jesus reminds us that our concern must be to please God, who can destroy the soul and body in hell. We are told to resist Satan not to fear him, 1 Peter 5:8,9; James 4:7 neither can Satan destroy people in hell as he will also be there. v29-31 Though we have just been told that God is a terrible judge, here we can see the perfect loving Father for all who trust Him. v32,33 Open confession is an essential mark of being a disciple, Romans 10:9-11. Denying Jesus before men, not just one failure like Peter, but a lifetime of rejection, 2 Tim 2:12 will result in denial before the Father on the day of judgement. v34-39 These warnings of coming danger might seem strange at first as Jesus came as the Prince of Peace but the message Jesus brought was to be delivered to a rebellious and wicked world and would therefore be met will rejection and hostilities, "peace" would be changed to a "sword." v35 "Set a man at variance" means to split in two. The Gospel will often bring relationship breakup, even in a family, not a fault of the message but the rejection of the message by the sinful hearts of the people. v35 A typical family of five. Father, mother, son and wife, unmarried daughter. v36 ‘A man’s foes shall be they of his own household.’ Let us be very careful of our well-meaning relatives advice, make sure it does not turn us away from the instruction of God. v37 Heartbreaking as these splits may be, a disciple must not allow any natural feelings change the relationship with Jesus. A time will come when the believer will have to make a choice. v38 "His cross." Jesus had not yet mentioned the coming crucifixion, yet the disciples would have understood the statement as many Jews had suffered crucifixion under the Romans. A Jew willing to suffer death for their belief would not be unknown. To belong to Jesus will require a sacrifice of the believers personal desires. v39 He who saves his life during persecution, by denying Christ, will eventually lose their life for ever, but anyone who loses their life for the love of Christ will save their life eternally. Note 1 John 1:5,6; 1 John 2:1. v40-42 In conclusion Jesus reminds the reader that anyone who is prepared to suffer persecution for Him will be rewarded. This also applies to other believers and followers. If we take care of our Christian brothers and sisters, Jesus regards this care as being done to Himself. "These little ones" indicates that the smallest service to help the most insignificant followers of Christ will be seen by Jesus and rewarded. |
Easy English Translation
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