CHAPTER 10

(A.D. 31)

THE TWELVE

¹And when He had called unto Him His Twelve Disciples (for instruction and a special mission), He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease (all such power comes from God).

²Now 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 (none of the twelve were of the aristocracy of Israel);

³Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican (tax collector); James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus whose surname (last name) was Thaddaeus;

⁴Simon the Canaanite (the zealot), and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him (eleven were Galileans; one, Judas Iscariot, was a Judaean).

THE MISSION

⁵These Twelve Jesus sent forth, and Commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter you not (Israel must be addressed first; after the Cross, Resurrection, and Ascension, the Command would be to go into all the world [Mk. 16:15]):

⁶But go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel (notice the lost sheep, which refutes unconditional eternal security.

⁷And as you go, preach, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (the Kingdom was rejected by Israel).

⁸Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils (demons): freely you have received, freely give (a monetary charge is never to be made).

⁹Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses (the Lord is to be depended upon for everything),

¹⁰Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat (it is criminal to receive the fruit of the labor, without labor).

¹¹And into whatsoever city or town you shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy (of like faith); and there abide till you go thence (work with them).

¹²And when you come into an house, salute it (bestow peace).

¹³And if the house be worthy (of like faith), let your peace (blessing) come upon it: but if it be not worthy (proves not to be of like faith), let your peace return to you (dont bless it).

¹⁴And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet (a curse is now upon such).

¹⁵Verily I say unto you (extremely important announcement), It shall be more tolerable (degrees of punishment) for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the Day of Judgment (Great White Throne Judgment, Rev., Chpt. 20), than for that city.

PERSECUTION

¹⁶Behold, I send you forth (Christ does the sending) as sheep in the midst of wolves (most wolves are in the Church): be you therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

¹⁷But beware of men (religious apostates): for they will deliver you up to the Councils, and they will scourge you in their Synagogues (the religious world is opposed to Christ and the Cross);

ENMITY

¹⁸And you shall be brought before Governors and Kings (persecution by the Church is often followed by that of the State) for My sake (animosity against Christ), for a testimony against them (take the opportunity to witness to them) and the Gentiles (a prediction of the soon to come Church).

¹⁹But when they deliver you up (not if but when), take no thought how or what you shall speak (defense is left up to the Lord): for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak (unction of the Spirit).

²⁰For it is not you who speaks, but the Spirit of your Father (Holy Spirit) which speaks in you (in you, Baptism with the Spirit [Acts 2:4]).

²¹And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death (animosity against Christ and the Cross is greater than love for loved ones).

²²And you shall be hated of all men for My Names sake (the offense of the Cross): but he who endures to the end shall be saved (persecution will continue until the Second Coming).

²³But when they persecute you in this city (the certainty of opposition), flee you into another (keep evangelizing): for verily I say unto you (remember this), You shall not have gone over the cities of Israel (due to persecution, which was the case), till the Son of Man be come (boldly announcing the Second Coming).

INSTRUCTION

²⁴The disciple is not above his master (as they persecuted Christ, they will persecute His followers), nor the servant above his lord (said in two ways to emphasize certitude of fulfillment).

²⁵It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord (the Believer must experience the same opposition as his Lord). If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub (of the Devil), how much more shall they call them of his household?

²⁶Fear them not therefore (fear must not guide the Message): for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known (a reckoning is coming).

²⁷What I tell you in darkness (in prayer), that speak you in light (openly): and what you hear in the ear (what the Spirit reveals), that preach you upon the housetops (publicly).

²⁸And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul (dont fear men): but rather fear Him (God) which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing (cheap)? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father (without His Knowledge or Will).

³⁰But the very hairs of your head are all numbered (seek to please God Who knows all things, and can do all things).

³¹Fear you not therefore (what do we have to fear, serving One Who is all-knowing, and all-powerful?), you are of more value than many sparrows (if God takes care of them, and He does, will He not take care of you?).

³²Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men (to tie man to God), him will I confess also before My Father which is in Heaven (upon ones confession of Christ, a corresponding confession is made by Christ).

³³But whosoever shall deny Me before men (Christ Alone is the focal point), him will I also deny before my Father which is in Heaven.

OPPOSITION

³⁴Think not that I am come to send peace on earth (the entrance of Christ into the world manifests the evil of the heart): I came not to send peace, but a sword (the sword against the Righteous will be the response of religious reprobates).

³⁵For I am come to set a man at variance (odds) against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

³⁶And a mans foes shall be they of his own household (speaks not only of immediate family, but at times, of ones Church family).

DISCIPLESHIP

³⁷He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me (Christ must come first in all things): and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me (worthy to receive what I did for him at the Cross).

³⁸And he who takes not his cross (total Faith in the Cross to the exclusion of everything else), and follows after Me (we can only follow Him by the Way of the Cross), is not worthy of Me (not worthy of the blessings afforded by the victory of the Cross).

³⁹He who finds his life shall lose it (he who refuses the Cross loses his life): and he who loses his life for My sake shall find it (places his life into Christ, which is done by the Cross [Rom. 6:3-5]).

REWARDS

⁴⁰He who receives you receives Me (he who receives My Messenger receives Me), and he who receives Me receives Him (God the Father) Who sent Me.

⁴¹He who receives a Prophet in the name of a Prophet (because he is a true Prophet) shall receive a Prophets reward; and he who receives a Righteous man in the name of a Righteous man (because he is a Righteous man) shall receive a Righteous mans reward (one on a Righteous Mission).

⁴²And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones (newest Believer) a cup of cold water only in the name of a Disciple (because he is a follower of Christ), verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward (a reward is guaranteed).