The Commission as Disciples of the King. (Matthew 10: 1-8a)

1 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. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: 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 tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot , who also betrayed him.

(Matthew 10 1: 1-4)

We are 10 chapters into this gospel account and Matthew has been unfolding his story of Jesus step by step. Following the advent story, Matthew told us about the baptism of Jesus. In that account Matthew shows us Jesus accepting the task that God had commissioned him to do. Then in the account of the Temptation in the wilderness  Matthew shows us Jesus deciding on the methods he will use to embark upon his task. In the Sermon on the Mount, we listen to Jesus' words of wisdom and extensive teaching on how we might be right with God. In Matthew 8 and the opening part of chapter 9 we have now seen Jesus' miraculous works of power. Then in the close of chapter 9 we saw the growing opposition gathering itself against Jesus and his ministry. Now here at the beginning of chapter 10 we see Jesus choosing his followers and disciples..

If a leader is about to embark upon any great undertaking, the first thing that he must do is to choose his followers. On them the present the future success of his work will depend, particularly when we understand from our point in time, that Jesus will not always be with us physically on earth. Here Jesus is choosing his helpers in the days of his incarnation, those who would carry on his work when he left this earth and returned to his glory. There are two facts about these men which are bound to strike us immediately.

(i) They were ordinary men. They had no wealth; they had no academic background; they had no social position. They were chosen from among the ordinary people. They were men who had no special education, men who had no social advantages. It has been often said that Jesus is looking, not so much for extraordinary people, as for ordinary people through which he can do extraordinarily things. Jesus chose these men, not only because of who they were and weren’t, but also for what they were capable of becoming under his influence and in his power.No one need ever think that he has nothing to offer Jesus, for Jesus can take whatever limited abilities we are prepared to offer him and do  great things.

(ii) They were the most extraordinary mixture of people. There was, for instance, Matthew, the tax-collector. Everyone at that time would have regarded Matthew as a traitor, as someone who had sold themselves into the hands of his country's enemies for financial gain.  However, alongside Matthew Jesus chose Simon. Luke calls him Simon Zelotes, which means Simon the Zealot. A Roman historian called Josephus, describes these Zealots in his book called ‘Antiquities’; “the fourth party of the Jews”. The other three parties were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. He says the zealots had "an inviolable attachment to personal freedom," and that they said that "God is to be their only ruler and Lord." They were prepared to face death for their nation and their beliefs. Prepared to see their comrades or even their family member and loved ones die in the struggle for freedom. They refused to recognise any earthly man as king. They were also prepared to go the lengths of murder or assassination to seek to rid their country of foreign rule. They were the ultra- patriots of the 1st century Jews, the most nationalist of all the nationalists. The plain fact is that if Simon the Zealot had been joined to a group with  Matthew the Roman tax-gatherer is amazing. Anywhere else than in the company of Jesus, he would probably have stuck a knife in him.  The amazing truth is that people who hate each other can learn to love and accept each other when they both decided to love Jesus Christ. 

We may also ask why Jesus chose ‘twelve’ special disciples. The reason is very likely because there were twelve tribes of Israel. Just as in the Old Testament dispensation there had been twelve tribes of Israel, so in the New Testament there are twelve apostles of the new Israel. The New Testament itself does not tell us very much about these men because the New Testament is about telling us about their Master Jesus, and the work. Rather than the workers being glorified. These men, ordinary people with no special background, people from many differing spheres of thinking and background, were the very foundation stones on which the Church was built. As today, it is on the labours of ordinary men and women that the Church of Christ is built upon, and we first see it in all these gospel account, and later in the book of Acts. When we put together the three accounts of the calling of the Twelve certain illuminating facts emerge.

(i) He chose them. Jesus called his disciples and chose them from the larger crowd of followers (see Luke’s account). Jesus looked upon crowds who were starting to follow him and chose from a smaller band who perhaps stayed with him when the crowds had departed.  There are many tasks for people to do in the kingdom of God. There are tasks for those who are young and fit and can go out into the world, and there are tasks for those who now need to stay at home. Tasks for those who can use their hands and tasks for those who must use their minds. There are even  tasks that need doing that no one will ever see or acknowledge. 

(ii) He called them. Jesus does not force anyone to do his will or his work. Jesus does not manipulate, he invites. Jesus does not make conscripts; he seeks volunteers. Every single human being on this planet is free to be faithful and free to be faithless. But to every individual there comes the call to follow, which everyone can accept or refuse.

(iii) He appointed them. The King James Version has it that he ordained them in Marks account, ( Mark 3:14). The word which is translated ordain is the simple Greek word ‘poiein’, which means to appoint or make. But it was often technically used for appointing a man to some office. Jesus was like a king appointing his men to be his ministers; or he was like a general allocating his tasks to his commanders. It was not a case of just drifting into the service of Jesus Christ; it was a case of definitely being called and appointed to a role. People are often proud when they are appointed to some earthly position but how much more can we be satisfied when we are appointed by the King of kings? 

(iv) They were chosen to be with him. If we are to do Gods work in the world, we must live in his presence, and he invite us to accept his presence living within them. Before heading out to the world, they must go with the presence of God into the presence of men and women. No work of Christ can ever be done except by him who comes with the presence of Christ. Sometimes in the complexity of the activities of the modern Church we are so busy with committees and administration and making sure the wheels continue to turn and we are often in danger of forgetting that only the presence of God is really required.

(v) They were called to be apostles. The word apostle literally means one who is sent out. It is the word for an envoy or an ambassador. Therefore, the Christian is Jesus Christ's ambassador to other people. He goes out with the presence of Christ, bearing with him the word and the presence of his Master.

(vi) They were called to be the heralds of Christ. In Matthew 10 they are encouraged to preach. The Christian is the herald Christ. The Christian is not meant to bring people his own opinions; he brings a message of divine truth from Jesus Christ, and he cannot bring that message unless first he has been in the presence of God himself to received it.

The 1st Commissioning of the Disciples. 

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 [c]is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.

(Matthew 10: 5-8a)

Here we have the beginning of Jesus’ commission of his disciples. Notice it says, Jesus ‘commanding’ them, or gave them orders in some translations. The word used is a word that have several special usages.

It is the regular word of military command; Jesus is therefore like a general sending his commanders out on a campaign and briefing them before they went. It is also the word used of calling one's friends to come and help. Jesus is like a friend with a great vision summoning his friends to make that vision come true.  

It is the word which is used of a teacher setting out rules and precepts to his students. Jesus was like a teacher qualifying his students to go out into the world, equipped and ready to practice what they had been taught.

It is also the word which is regularly used for an imperial command. Jesus was like a king despatching his ambassadors into the world to carry out his commission and to speak for him.

This passage includes what almost everyone finds a very difficult verse. It begins by him  forbidding the twelve to go to the Gentiles or to the Samaritans.  There are many who find it very difficult to believe that Jesus ever said this at all, this apparent exclusiveness is very unlike him in all other parts of the gospel accounts. It has been abused by people throughout history by those who wanted to keep the gospel from the Jews. But there are certain things to be remembered here. However, there is no question he said it, and so there must be some explanation as to why he said it, and what it means.

Bible experts are quite certain it was not a permanent command. Within the gospel itself we see Jesus himself later talking graciously to a woman of Samaria and revealing himself as the Messiah to her. We will also see him healing the daughter of Syro-Phoenician woman  later in Matthew 15. Matthew himself tells us in the final chapter of his book in the commission of his followers to go out into all the world and to bring all nations into the gospel promise.  What then is the explanation?

The twelve were forbidden to go to the Gentiles; that meant that they could not go north into Syria, nor could they even go east into the Decapolis, which was largely a Gentile region at that time. They already could not go south into Samaria for that was forbidden already. The effect of this order was in actual fact to limit the initial journeys of the twelve to Galilee and there were three good reasons for that.

Firstly, the Jews held a very special place; in the plan of God, they had to be given the first offer of the gospel. It is true that they in the main at that time, they rejected it, but the whole of history was designed to give them the further first opportunities to accept.

Secondly these twelve men were not at that point equipped to preach to the Gentiles. They had neither the background, nor the knowledge as how to reach into Roman and Greek cultures. Before the gospel could be effectively brought to the Gentiles a man with an appropriate background needed to emerge. Such a man was Paul's whose life and expertise meant he had a much greater opportunity for success. 

Still today if the messenger is ill-equipped to deliver the message, or if a teacher is wise, he will realize his limitations, and will see clearly what they are equipped and not equipped to do. The great reason for this command is simply this, any wise leader knows that he must limit his objectives. He must direct his efforts at the right pace. If he diffuses his people’s too thinly, he dissipates their strength and invite discouragement and failure. Jesus knew that his aim should at first be to concentrate his evangelism initially on Galilee, for Galilee, as we have seen, was the most open of all parts of Palestine to a new gospel message. This command given her in verse 6 was in fact a temporary command. He was the wise leader who refused to diffuse and dissipate his followers. He skilfully concentrated his disciples’ efforts on one simple objective in order to achieve an ultimate and universal victory.

The Commission to Obey the Will of God

Of all persons who ever lived in the world Jesus was, and is, the only person who ever perfectly did, and obeyed, and fulfilled, God's will.. But the task of the twelve was not confined to speaking words; it involved doing things. They had to heal the sick, to raise the dead, to cast out demons. All these injunctions are to be taken in a double sense. They are to be taken physically, because Jesus Christ came to bring health and healing to the bodies of men and women. But they are also to be taken spiritually. They describe the change brought about by Jesus Christ in the heart and souls of people.

Firstly, they were to heal the sick. The word used for sick is very suggestive, the primary meaning means to be weak. When Christ comes into the heart of someone, he strengthens the weak  and protects us. Jesus can strengthens us for the fight ahead, Jesus Christ fills our human weakness with his divine power.

Secondly, they were to raise the dead. A person can be dead in sin their will to resist can be broken; their vision of the difference between good and evil can be blurred, to the point where the line almost doesn’t exist for them.

Someone may be helplessly and hopelessly in the grip of his sin and blind and deaf to goodness of God. However, when Jesus Christ comes into our life, he resurrects in us his goodness. In fact, he revitalizes His goodness deep within us which our sinning has oppressed.

Thirdly they were to cleanse the lepers. As we have seen, people with leprosy were regarded as polluted. So, this then means as well as healing the sick his disciples are to bring cleansing to the outcast and disenfranchised. Someone can stain their life with sin; and pollute their mind, heart, and body with the consequences of their sin.  Their words, and actions, and influence, can become so fouled that they are an unclean influence on all with whom they come into contact with. Jesus Christ can cleanse the soul that has corrupted themselves with sin. 

Finally, they were to cast out demons. A demon-possessed person was an individual in the grip of an evil power. They are no longer master of themselves or their actions; the evil power within has control over them.

Anyone can be mastered by evil; anyone can be dominated by evil; evil can have a firm hold of us. Jesus comes not only to cancel sin, but to break the power of that cancelled sin. Jesus Christ brings to anyone who is a slave to addiction or sin the liberating power of God. And the disciples, then, as today have been commissioned to take his saving and healing power out into the world.