Mission of the Twelve

Gospel Matthew 10

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

¹ Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil ^[a] 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, 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 workers are worth their keep. ¹¹ Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at that person's 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, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

Sermon

Putting gospel reading into context – end of chapter 9 The Harvest is Great and the Labourers Few. Jesus tells us to pray the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest.

This followed by call of 12 apostles – they are named by Matthew: Simon Peter, his brother Andrew, James and his brother John (sons of Zebedee), Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus, Simon the Cannanean, and Judas.

Mission of the Twelve
Jesus told apostles not to go to Gentiles. Not to enter any Samaritan town. This was mission to lost tribes of Israel. At parish weekend, we talked about development of Christ’s ministry, and his growing awareness as fully human of what God required of him. This was not neglect of non-Jews but probably a development of how Jesus saw himself and what his mission on earth was to be like.

Nature of mission of 12 was partly to proclaim good news – The Kingdom of Heaven has come near. Not – the Kingdom has come, or will be coming – but something between the two.

The Mission was a very practical one. Cure the sick, raise the dead. Cleanse the lepers. Cast out demons. Clearly Jesus thought you cannot speak to a person’s soul without first meeting their human bodily needs. Salvation Army takes the same approach.

Note that the apostles were to rely solely on God. They were to make no provision at all for their own needs, but God would supply them. Not directly – things do not work that way – but through the generosity of others. The same is the case in any charitable or church work – we can pray for God’s provision, but we are God’s hands and feet here on earth and his help will only come through our own sacrificial giving and inspiration.

For those who did not support the mission, the apostles were to shake off the dust from their feet and not offer them the traditional greeting of Peace be upon this house. But if those who opposed the Mission were likened to Sodom and Gomorrah – so also life would be tough for the apostles themselves. They would be like sheep in the midst of a band of wolves.

Even so, they were not to be afraid. Discipleship comes with a cost, but Jesus says later in the same chapter:

³² "Whoever publicly acknowledges me I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever publicly disowns me I will disown before my Father in heaven.