The Gospel and the Kingdom - Matthew - Jesus Instructions to Former Disciples - Part 5

 

TEXT: Matthew 10:1, 5-15 – And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. ⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. ⁶ But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. ⁹ Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, ¹⁰ nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. ¹¹ “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. ¹² And when you go into a household, greet it. ¹³ If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. ¹⁵ Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

Today we’re continuing our series in Matthew and Jesus is apparently giving instructions to three kinds of Disciples – each living at a different time period. Instructions to:

• ·      To former disciples living in the time He was with them
• ·      To future disciples living during the time of the Great Tribulation
• ·      To faithful disciples living throughout church history.

We will continue to look at the first group today. This first group is who we tend to call the Apostles (verse 2). So, you ask, “What is an Apostle?” The Greek word used here –  Apostolos – means a messenger, one sent forth with orders.  We spent a few days studying the Twelve hand-picked men that Jesus established as His Apostles. So, now let us see the Instructions our Lord had for them.

He started by assigning them their mission field (verses 5-6). They are to go to the lost sheep of Israel. The Nation of Israel was God’s Chosen People, not that others were not loved by Him, but to be His witness to the World. So, When Jesus was here, He started with God’s Chosen to receive the truth of the message.

So, in His Instructions, He gave them their mission. They were to:

• ·      Preach that the Kingdom of God is near (verse 7).
• ·      To heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons (verses 1, 8a).
• ·      To give freely (verse 8b) They received freely they were to give freely.
• ·      To remain unburdened (verses 9-10) they were not to take money or extra clothes with them. (They were to demonstrate complete trust in God).
• ·      To bless or curse each town upon leaving (verses 11-15): They are to bless the worthy towns and curse the unbelieving towns.

Even though we should be challenged to Preach the message, give freely, remain unburdened, we must understand that this was the mission and instructions for these Disciples. Jesus will give us our instructions as He continues in His ministry.

Over the last five devotional lessons, I would like us to have at least these two quick takeaways –

• God uses ordinary men in extraordinary ways, and
• Our mission today is the take the Great Commission and the Great Commandment to our world today.

Tomorrow, we will move into pondering His Instructions to future disciples living during the time of the Great Tribulation.