1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 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 Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Jesus calls His twelve disciples and gives them the same authority He has, to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast out demons. From this point, they are called apostles. Jesus sent them out as His representatives to declare the coming Kingdom. They weren’t to go to the Gentiles or to the Samaritans, only to the people of Israel. Their message was that the promised kingdom was available and their ability to perform miracles was to validate their message to all who saw and heard. The apostles were not to provide their own provisions for this mission but to depend on God to provide. They were to travel light and depend on the generosity and support of those who would receive them in each town they visited. But Jesus also warns them that they would face rejection from those who were unworthy. From those unworthy towns that would not receive them or their message, they were to depart and shake the dust from their feet. They were to move on to those who were more receptive. Those who wouldn’t receive the message, God would hold them more accountable than Sodom and Gomorrah, the two cities who were known for their extreme wickedness (Gen 13:13).
God has given us all a job to do for Him (Eph 2:10). At the very least we know that we have all been commissioned to declare the good news of salvation from sin by grace through faith (Mat 28:18-20). God doesn’t expect you to get it all together before you begin serving Him. Just like the apostles, He wants you to step out in faith. He will provide all you need. Your job is to trust and obey.