Matthew 10
Jesus Picks The Twelve
10:1-4
After stressing the need for laborers to proclaim the kingdom and shepherd the sheep, Jesus commissions the 12 disciples. Matthew called them “his disciples” which indicates they had already become a special group among the larger group of disciples.
Matthew lists them for us in groups of two. First are Simon\Peter and his brother Andrew. Simon is a Hebrew name. It may be a contraction of the name Simeon.
Jesus announced that Simon would be called Cephas. (John 1:40) Cephas is an Aramaic name meaning “rock”. Jesus spoke Aramaic, as did most of the people in the area. The New Testament writers wrote primarily in Greek. They translated the name Cephas to “Petros”. It means a small rock or pebble. Paul mostly referred to him as Cephas.
When the church adopted Latin as its language, it translated the name Cephas into “Petrus”. It was eventually Anglicized into “Peter”.
Matthew also names Simon as “first” indicating a leadership role.
Although John presents Andrew as following Christ before Simon, and bringing Simon to Christ, Simon becomes more prominent than Andrew.
Andrew’s role is bringing people to Jesus, as he did with Simon. He found the boy with the loaves and fishes and brought him to Jesus. (John 6:8) He, with Philip, brought some Greeks to see Jesus. (John 12:22)
Next, Matthew lists the brothers James and John. James is the first martyr of the Twelve. (Acts 12:2) They are also identified as sons of a man named Zebedee.
They are part of the inner circle of three along with Peter. They are present at the Transfiguration. (Matthew 17) They were present at Gethsemene. (Matthew 26)
Then, Matthew lists Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, then Simon the Zealot.
A Zealot was one who advocated violence to overthrow the Roman government. They were aligned with the Pharisees in their observance of the law, but looking for revolution.
The King James Version labels Simon as the “Canaanite”. However, that would make him a Gentile and a pagan. The word should be “cananaean” which is Aramaic for “zealot”.
Lastly appears Judas Iscariot. Judas is identified as the one who betrayed Jesus. There are seven places in the New Testament where Judas is listed by name and as the betrayer or traitor.
So we see the disciples are a collection of very different kinds of people. Imagine the Zealot sitting down to dinner with the tax collector. One wants to expel the Romans by force, one works for the Romans.
Four are fishermen and probably knew each other before becoming disciples. The others are not fishermen.
Peter, Andrew, and Philip were all from Bethsaida, so they probably knew each other.
They all come in with different backgrounds, different abilities, and different expectations. But Jesus makes them into his missionary force.
It is a preview of the church. We come from different places and backgrounds but are united in Christ. As Paul wrote: “There is neither Jew or Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”. (Galatians 3:28)
Jesus gave these disciples authority to do some of the things Jesus had authority to do. He gave them authority over demons (unclean spirits) to cast them out of people, and to heal every type of disease. (1) They were also given the authority to raise the dead to life. (8) These 12 now stand out from the rest of the disciples because of this authority.
This authority to perform miracles validates their authority to proclaim the gospel with Jesus as the Messiah\Christ.
Jesus Sends the Twelve
10:5-15
Having given them authority, Jesus sent the Twelve out as evangelists. They were only to go to the Jews. (6) This is the principle that Paul followed: the Jew first and then the Greek, the Gentiles. (Romans 1:16)
These disciples were to proclaim that the kingdom is at hand. The king has come and the kingdom comes with him. They were also to show that the kingdom was at hand by healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out demons. They were advancing the kingdom of Christ and driving out the kingdom of Satan.
They were not to profit from their work. They were not to acquire gold, silver, or copper, no gas or extra clothes or shoes. The reason is they received without pay and, therefore, needed to give without pay.
They were also to depend on God’s provision for them through the people they ministered to. The people who received the them and the gospel were to provide for them. We follow this example today, providing financially for our ministers.
They were to receive what was offered. If someone invited them to stay at their house, they were to stay there until they left the town. (11) They were not to shop around for the best quarters. They could declare peace on houses which welcomed them and withdraw it from those who rejected them. (13) They withdrew it by not staying there at a house where the welcome was withheld or given with reluctance.
And the places that rejected them would be judged. The disciples were to shake the dust of the place off of their feet of those places. (14) This reflect a Jewish custom of removing dust from the feet or clothes when leaving a pagan land and entering Israel. Those who rejected the disciples were rejecting Christ. Thus, the disciples were to treat them as pagans.
Those who rejected the disciples would also experience terrible judgment at the final judgment, so bad it would be worse than what happened to Sodom and Gomorrrah.
God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness. (Genesis 18) He rained sulphur and fire upon them.
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