Written by: Toby Wright
Matthew 10 v 1-4
Jesus called his twelve followers together and gave them authority to drive
out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and sickness. These are
the names of the twelve apostles: Simon (also called Peter) and his brother
Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew;
Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who turned against Jesus.
Notes
Matthew introduces us to his twelve followers - or disciples - here. These
were some of Jesus’s closest friends who accompanied him during his life.
It seems that Jesus recognised it is not easy to have a whole lot of friends,
and some are closer than others.
It is important for us to see that Jesus had particular people he was close to, and this is probably a good model for us. Here we see twelve people chosen – which points us to the twelve tribes of Israel (see Matthew 19 v 28) and shows that there is continuity between Jesus and the Old Testament times.
The first thing that Matthew says is that they were given authority by Jesus - authority to drive out spirits and to heal. This reveals just how important Jesus thought healing was, for God wants each of us to be whole and free from suffering. The twelve followers were clearly to continue the ministry that Jesus had of healing those who were in need.
If you are like me then sometimes you will not feel particularly special. Well, the great news about God is that God chooses ordinary people – these guys were normal fishermen and tax collectors; no one special. In the same way today, God still uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things!
Prayer
Jesus, you called your twelve followers to continue your ministry of healing.
I pray that you will come and touch my life and show me what your will is for
me.
Sometimes it is hard to hear your voice in my busy life.
Break through the distractions and noise that keep me from you
and help me to give my life in service for others.
For you are my God, now and for ever. Amen
Matthew 10 v 5-10
Jesus sent out these twelve men with the following order: “Don’t go
to the non-Jewish people or to any town where the Samaritans live. But go to
the people of Israel, who are like lost sheep. When you go, preach this: ‘The
kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead to life again, heal
those who have skin diseases and force demons out of people. I give you these
powers freely, so help other people freely. Don’t carry any money with you—gold
or silver or copper. Don’t carry a bag or extra clothes or sandals or a walking
stick. Workers should be given what they need.”
Notes
Jesus sent the twelve followers out, just as God the Father had sent him. The
orders were clear and concise: they were only to go to the people of Israel.
This suggests that Jesus saw his primary mission to be to those of the Jewish
faith – of which Jesus himself was a part. Jesus felt called to inspire others
to help shepherd the lost sheep of Israel and lead them back to God. Only
later do we see the message opening up for others outside the Jewish faith
(see Matthew 15 v 22-28).
He also mentioned the kingdom – this is God’s kingly rule, a rule that is very different from earthly power struggles, like we have seen in Iraq. It is a kingdom based on justice and righteousness, and Jesus encouraged the twelve to say that it was very near. Some think that Jesus really expected everything to change very rapidly, but it seems most likely that Jesus recognised he was bringing in the kingdom in a new and dramatic way, through his life and his death on the cross, but that it would only be completed in the distant future.
Having spoken of the kingdom, Jesus again spoke of healing and how the twelve should raise the dead and heal those with skin diseases and force demons out of people. It is a very serious commission that we too need to try to understand in our lives. The good news about God’s healing power is that it is freely given, and Jesus made this clear to his followers.
They were told to live simply and not carry extra things. What a message in our day and age where we are told constantly that we need all the latest clothes and gadgets. That’s why the gospel is such good news.
Prayer
Jesus, I know that your will is that I should go out
into the world and tell others of your love.
Sometimes, I feel I just can’t manage it.
I pray for your strength in my life.
And I pray for faith,
faith to pray for your healing to come into our world afresh today.
May your kingdom come. Amen
Matthew 10 v 11-15
“When you enter a city or town, find some worthy person there and stay in that
home until you leave. When you enter that home, say, ‘Peace be with you.’
If the people there welcome you, let your peace stay there. But if they don’t
welcome you, take back the peace you wished for them. And if a home or town
refuses to welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake its dust
off your feet. I tell you the truth, on the Judgment Day it will be better
for the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah than for the people of that town.”
Notes
Lots of people in Jesus’s day would have travelled around, and some of them
went here, there and everywhere, never settling down. Jesus wants those who
follow him to make sure that they make time to stay in one place for a good
length of time. I wonder if you have ever gone to a place you have never
been before. It can be tempting to run in and then move on as quickly as
possible. But if we stay, it is only then that really significant things
happen and we can begin to really talk to people properly.
Jesus taught that on entering a house it is good to wish peace to it. If you have ever entered a scary house then it is a brilliant thing to remember this passage: wish peace on the house – that way, God is involved straight away!
The next bit of the passage is really heartening for all who believe: if you are not welcomed, then don’t stick around. Head on to a new place and find people who do want you to be with them and let your peace remain there. If you get a frosty reception and people are teasing you about your faith, God understands this, and Jesus says, move on. Even if you don’t do it literally, imagine you are shaking the dust from your feet. You see, hospitality is so important – we need to remember this ourselves when we welcome new people into our schools, colleges, places of work and church families.
Jesus said it would be better for the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah than for people who don’t welcome his followers. Sodom and Gomorrah were, according to Genesis 19 v 24-29, two of the “cities in the valley” which were destroyed by fire from heaven.
Prayer
Jesus, may your peace rest on the places I visit today.
May your peace fill my heart and give me courage when I meet new people today.
May your peace surround me and guard me today. Amen
Matthew 10 v 16-20
“Listen, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as clever as snakes
and as innocent as doves. Be careful of people, because they will arrest
you and take you to court and whip you in their synagogues. Because of me
you will be taken to stand before governors and kings, and you will tell
them and the non-Jewish people about me. When you are arrested, don’t worry
about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given the things
to say. It will not really be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father
speaking through you.”
Notes
Today we see that Jesus said to his followers that they were like sheep going
out amongst wolves. It is a sign of Jesus’s care for his friends that he
warned about the dangers of faith. In many places today people are still
persecuted for their faith, and some people really suffer for believing in
Christ. It is an incredible thought for those of us who live in Britain that
this is happening to Christians every day. For those in Britain, almost the
only persecution is from the apathy of those who don’t believe.
One of the early writers of the church said that: “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” – that is, if people are persecuted then they become more serious about their faith. If any of you work out at the gym you will know that it is only when you really push your muscles until they ache that they then grow, because when the muscle tissue rips it grows back twice as strong.
If we look at areas in the world where Christians are persecuted, we see examples of great faith where people have placed all their reliance upon God to give them the words to say. This is because they really live as those who believe the Spirit of the Father will speak through them.
Prayer point
Pray for those who today will be persecuted for their faith,
especially for those who are imprisoned and tortured for faith in Christ.
Pray also for the gift to trust in God to help you when your faith is challenged.
Matthew 10 v 21-23
“Brothers will give their own brothers to be killed, and fathers will give
their own children to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents
and have them put to death. All people will hate you because you follow me,
but those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved. When you
are treated badly in one city, run to another city. I tell you the truth,
you will not finish going through all the cities of Israel before the Son
of Man comes.”
Notes
Today’s reading speaks to us of the reality of divisions. You may know someone
who follows a different football club to you and you passionately disagree.
Here Jesus was recognising that faith will bring about huge anger and division.
We only have to look at the troubles in Northern Ireland to see how this
has happened in our own day. This passage has echoes of a passage from the
prophet Micah in the Old Testament:
“A son will not honour his father,
a daughter will turn against her mother
and a daughter-in-law will be against her mother-in-law;
a person’s enemies will be members of his own family” (Micah 7 v 6).
The Jewish people of Jesus’s day saw this to be a prophecy of the time when the Messiah (which means anointed one) would come, for it was recognised that true faith can divide families.
Jesus’s imagery is even stronger, but he encourages those who suffer these divisions to persevere to the end, for they “will be saved”. With this in mind, the spread of the good news is not to be held up by persecution, but people are to continue to go to new places before the Son of Man (Jesus) comes at the end times.
Prayer
Father, I pray for all families who are divided by faith.
I pray for all who are killed and suffer at the hands of their own family.
Fill me with a determination to continue to spread the good news,
and at the last time, may you show mercy on me and grant me life. Amen
Matthew 10 v 24-25
“A student is not better than his teacher, and a servant is not better than
his master. A student should be satisfied to become like his teacher; a servant
should be satisfied to become like his master. If the head of the family
is called Beelzebul, then the other members of the family will be called
worse names!”
Notes
I wonder if you can think of a really inspirational person who has taught you.
Every now and again you might come across someone who is just awesome and
you want to be like them. Undoubtedly Jesus was like this, and his followers
then, as now, sought to be like him. In today’s reading we are reminded that
a student of a teacher is likely to be treated in a similar way.
As followers of Jesus, then, we should not expect an easy ride. Those of you who have seen “The Passion of the Christ”, might at this point feel concerned. Well, in some ways you should. Given that Jesus endured great suffering even before his crucifixion, we too should not expect a cushy life. As Jesus himself said, “Whoever is not willing to carry the cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10 v 38).
Earlier in the Gospel the Pharisees accused Jesus by saying: “The prince of demons is the one that gives him power to force demons out” (Matthew 9 v 34). One of the names of the ruler of demons is Beelzebul, which literally means: “lord of the house”. If even Jesus was called a name like this, then as his followers we should expect to be called worse names!
Prayer point
Today pray for courage to follow Jesus.
Pray for the gift of perseverance even when others may make you suffer.
And pray for all those who persecute Christians for their faith.
Matthew 10 v 26-31
“So don’t be afraid of those people, because everything that is hidden will
be shown. Everything that is secret will be made known. I tell you these
things in the dark, but I want you to tell them in the light. What you hear
whispered in your ear you should shout from the housetops. Don’t be afraid
of people, who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. The only one you
should fear is the one who can destroy the soul and the body in hell. Two
sparrows cost only a penny, but not even one of them can die without your
Father’s knowing it. God even knows how many hairs are on your head. So don’t
be afraid. You are worth much more than many sparrows.”
Notes
In this passage we are told three times not to be afraid. It is a great message
to have – and the Bible has many accounts of God or God’s messengers telling
people not to be afraid. It is a really important point to take on board
– we are called to live as those who believe and therefore we need to not
be afraid.
Jesus said that the things that are hidden will be revealed. In part, this reminds us that Jesus taught these things to the disciples before he had been crucified, and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead shed new light on human understanding of what Jesus had taught. But also, when the end times come, the light of God will reveal all that has been done and we will surely be judged for our actions. This is a salutary reminder on the anniversary of the blinding light and destruction caused by the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. But Jesus told us not to be afraid of those who can only destroy the body – ie, earthly rulers. God alone can destroy the soul, so it is much smarter to worry about offending God than to worry about other human beings. As the Bible says: “Wisdom begins with respect for the Lord” (Proverbs 9 v 10).
Jesus spoke of sparrows, which were really common and seemingly unimportant, reminding us that God knows if even a single sparrow dies. We are worth much more to God and so we should take heart - whatever happens in our life, God knows about it.
Prayer
Father, help me not to be afraid of other people.
Transfigure my fear that it may become faith,
and transform my pain that it may become power.
For you reveal in Jesus the mystery of your love
for me and for your whole creation. Amen
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes