seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Matthew 10:1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
9 “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— 10 no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
26 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.[b] 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’[c]
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’[c]
37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
40 “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
a. Matthew 10:8 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
b. Matthew 10:29 Or will; or knowledge
c. Matthew 10:36 Micah 7:6
I have always had a hard time with distinguishing the difference between "Son of God" and "Son of Man". They sound a lot a like. They look a lot a like to the reading eye. But there is a huge difference. Jesus is the "Son of God" and Jesus is also the "Son of Man". So Jesus says.... it won't be long He comes back.... but He hasn't left yet....... I noticed.... In verse 5...Jesus told them to stay away from the gentiles.
This is from the easy English site.
Jesus had many disciples. He chose 12 of them as his special workers ‘to send out’ on his behalf. Another name for these disciples that he sent out is ‘apostles’. He sent them out with his authority. It was better for these workers to go out in pairs. They told the good news about where God rules. And they showed that God did not want disease and illness. Long ago, Jacob had 12 sons and they began 12 tribes. These 12 tribes became the nation called Israel. Now 12 of Jesus’ disciples were beginning new work for God.
The four men whose job was to catch fish are at the beginning of the list. Peter always comes first on the list. He, with his brother Andrew, and James with his brother John, had been disciples of John the Baptist first. Jesus wanted them to fish for people rather than for fish (Mark 1:16-20). Bartholomew is probably the same person as Nathanael (John 1:44-45). Philip and Nathanael came from Bethsaida. Thomas the twin (John 11:16) is linked with Matthew, who collected taxes for the Romans. Simon belonged to the group of Jews who wanted to force the Roman rulers out of their country. They were called ‘the Eager Men’. But Jesus could unite Matthew and Simon as they served him. James, Alphaeus’s son, has the same name in the three lists. But Thaddeus is probably Judas, James’s son, in Luke 6:16. And he is Judas, not Iscariot, in John 14:22. Judas Iscariot is always last on the list. Perhaps he was the only disciple who did not come from Galilee district. Iscariot probably means ‘man from Kerioth’, and Kerioth was in Judea district. Jesus chose him to be an apostle (a special worker). But for some reason he stopped being loyal to Jesus. He was the man who handed Jesus over to his enemies.
Even the disciples’ own family members might oppose them. The writer Tacitus was not a Christian, but he wrote books about Christians. He thought that they were ‘a group of people that behaved wickedly. People hated them’. He also said that Christians ‘hated all people’.
Christians considered that slaves were real people. They called slaves ‘brothers’ if they were Christians. The Roman authorities thought that this was dangerous to their rule. The Romans considered that slaves were just ‘things’. They bought and sold them. The Christians also upset people who made money from their religion. In Ephesus, there were people who made false gods from silver. They lost their trade when Paul told the good news about Jesus to the people there. People believed the message and God changed their lives (Acts 19:24-27).
Jesus came to give people peace with God. And he wanted them to have peace with each other. Some people accepted him, and he changed their lives. Other people opposed him and this caused trouble. This trouble divides some families. Family members do not always have the same attitude to Christ’s message.
Jesus taught that husbands and wives should be loyal to each other (Matthew 5:31-32). He taught that children should look after their parents (Matthew 15:3-6). But people should be loyal to Christ first. Sometimes this may cause fights in a family. In verses 35-36, Jesus used words that God’s servant Micah wrote long ago (Micah 7:6). Jesus himself knew what it was like to have his own family against him. They thought that he was mad (Mark 3:21). Also, his brothers tried to force him to make the wrong decision (John 7:1-5).
This is from bible-studys.org.
“The way of the Gentiles:” Several Greek cities in Galilee existed separately from the Jewish Life-style. The apostles were instructed to avoid these towns and to confine themselves to the Jewish cities only. The word Gentiles is an objective genitive, indicating that they were not to enter a road even leading to the Gentiles, nor were they to enter a city of the Samaritans.
“Inquire” means “to search out.” Hospitality was a normal part of Oriental life and the disciples probably received many offers of accommodation; however, they were restricted to accepting hospitality only from those who received their message. “Shake off the dust of your feet” is a symbolic act of rejection and condemnation, the idea being that not even the dust of a wicked city was worthy of them.
Apparently.... out of the huge crowds Jesus was attracting during the healing services..... there were a lot of people who became disciples. Out of all of the people talking about Jesus..... He had to choose a few to get His message out there quicker. Jesus only had a limited time to do the work He was sent to do. So He had to network.....
Jesus chose 12 men. He gave them the power to heal. He gave them a territory.... and instructed them on the type of crowd they should work with [descendants of Jacob]. He warned them they may be arrested. They weren't promised legal representation..... they were told "the spirit would tell them what to say". They were instructed to escape if at all possible.
On top of that.... Jesus told them that they would have family problems. Ever since the descendants of Jacob [Israel] arrived in Canaan [Israel and Judah] they had been told to keep their eyes on God. God was their only salvation. If they could hold up to all the rules and regulations imposed by the Pharisees and the Sadducees..... life would be better for them. They would prosper.... and now this guy Jesus and His cohorts were saying.... there's a better way.... you can be forgiven..... forgiven was not something offered back in the days of Jesus. God wasn't going to forgive those who were worshiping idols, shiny baubles, and killing babies for a man made god. Jesus said.... Forgiveness was available..... that's not something the Pharisees and Sadducees could or would tolerate.
Back when I was a kid.... I learned in Sunday School that Jesus wanted us to be one big family..... then over the years I learned that people who didn't conform were not invited. I attended one church.... in Maryland.... that wanted to deny church membership to anyone who smoked cigarettes. I attended another church where I listened to the preacher say he would quit rather than allow a gay person in the congregation. He actually punctuated his statement with "practicing or not... period". I have been in a church that fired a Sunday School teacher because she was suffering from guilt of a brief flirtatious moment with the married preacher. The church family isn't a guaranteed place of solace for disciples.
