Matthew
9:35-10:15
Lesson 18
9:35-10:15
Lesson 18
Matthew 9:35-38
Pray for more workers 35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. Matthew: 10: 1-15 Instructions for the twelve 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 scrip 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, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. 12 And when ye come into an 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 Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. |
Margin notes:
"Healing every sickness and every disease." (9:35) - This is an amazing display of love and irrefutable evidence that Jesus is the Son of God. See also verse 4:3. "He was moved with compassion." (9:36) - Jesus was often touched by the peoples suffering and poor choices. Once, Jesus was moved to tears for the people of Jerusalem when they rejected Him (Luke 19:41-44). "Because they fainted." (9:36) - Means "because they (the crowd) were so distraught." "The harvest truly is plenteous." (9:37) - Jesus is talking about the harvest of souls. He used a similar metaphor in Luke 10:2 and John 4:35. "Twelve disciples." (10:1) - In this verse, the twelve are described as "disciples" or students learning at the feet of Jesus. "Twelve apostles." (10:2) - Now the disciples are "apostles," which means advocates, ambassadors, or missionaries. The word apostle comes from the Greek word "apostello," meaning "to send." An apostle is a proponent or messenger. It is a person who believes in an idea or cause and persuades others to follow it. Jesus was the first Christian Apostle (Hebrews 3:1), sent by God to reveal His divine plan to mankind. Jesus selected twelve disciples/apostles to join Him in His ministry. They traveled with the Messiah, heard the great sermons, witnessed the miracles, and learned at Jesus' feet. Jesus prepared the apostles to build the church after His crucifixion and granted them the power to heal the sick and injured, drive out demons (Mark 3:14-15), and raise the dead (Acts 9:39-41, 20:8-12). After Jesus' resurrection and ascension, the apostles set out to spread the good news of salvation throughout the Roman Empire. "Matthew the publican." (10:3) - Matthew, the author of this Gospel, was a tax collector. "Go not into the way of the Gentiles." (10:5) - "Don't go into the area of non-Jews." Here, Jesus commissions His disciples to preach only to Jews. After the resurrection, Jesus commissioned them to spread the Word to everyone (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:8). That is called the Great Commission. "Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (10:6) - "Go instead to the marred sheep of the house of Israel." The original Greek transcripts use the word "apollumi," which better translates to "marred" rather than "lost." The word "marred" helps us understand Jesus' parable in Mark 2:22. "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." (10:7) - Jesus repeated this message often (Matthew 3:2). "Freely ye have received, freely give." (10:8) - The Messian told His disciples not to charge for their ministry. If you are a disciple of Jesus, you should also give freely of your time. "Nor scrip for your journey." (10:10) - "Nor money for your journey." "Nor yet staves." (10:10) - "Nor walking sticks." "The workman is worthy of his meat." (10:10) - "The worker deserves his food." The apostles were not to charge for their ministry but could accept food and shelter. "There abide till ye go thence." (10:11) - "Stay there until you leave (town)." "Salute it." (10:12) - "Greet them." "Shake off the dust of your feet." (10:14) - It was a common Jewish practice to shake the dust off one's feet to show distaste for the person, home, or city the dust came from. See Acts 13:50-51 for a good example. "Verily." (10:15) - "Truly." "It shall be more tolerable..." (10:15) - Some Bible scholars believe this passage implies there will be different punishments in Hell depending on the severity of each person's sins. "Sodom and Gomorrah." (10:15) - Two ancient cities from the Old Testament whose names are synonymous with wickedness. They were located in the "vale of Siddim" on the southeast shore of the Dead Sea (Genesis 14:2-3). God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with "brimstone and fire" (Genesis 19:24) because of their rebellious and immoral lifestyle (Genesis 18:20-19:29) and their pride, idleness, and disregard for the poor (Ezekiel 16:49-50). Jesus Himself refers to their demise in this verse. Their destruction was so complete that even today, no trace of either city can be found. Jude 1:7 and Second Peter 2:6 also remind us what happens to those who defy God. |