The Exposition of Matthew (Mathew 10:5-12)

January 5, 2021

(Jesus’ Redirected Ministry)

Questions to be answered in this study

Introduction

1. When did Jesus’ private ministry begin?
2. What was the primary objective of the Apostle’s ministry?
3. What is God’s Kingdom?
4. What was the method given to the Apostles for sharing the gospel?
5. What are the three general categories of people on earth?
6. Why were the Jews the first to be invited to the Kingdom?
7. What was the Apostle’s Message?  
8. What is the greatest thing in all the world?
9. What is the greatest command for the church?
10. Who is worthy to receive the gospel?

Last week, we saw Jesus turning to His disciples to begin preparing them to be the church’s future leaders; this is not considered His private ministry, which officially started with passion week, the last week of Jesus’ life. It is a critical time when Jesus centers on preparing His disciples to carry on the ministry after His ascension into heaven. Jesus, knowing He would be rejected, singled out the 12 to be the church’s future leaders. He gave them extraordinary power to heal all manners of sickness and disease. In the beginning, the twelve were unqualified; they had no formal education in theology or leadership; so, they were dependent on Jesus to prepare them for what lay ahead. They, as we today, would become able because those who the Lord calls, He also equips. They were weak, but in time the strength of the Lord would shine through their lives as they received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and enabling spiritual gifts.

The apostles had a unique place in the history of the church. Nevertheless, we also have the same mission today to some degree. In the beginning, we also are unqualified to serve the Lord, but He wants to equip and prepare us through His Word. Although we don’t have the extraordinary powers of the Apostles, we do have spiritual gifts that enable us to do the ministry God has called us to do and accomplish remarkable things for the Kingdom.

Today we return to the study of how Jesus prepared the apostles to become leaders in the church. There is a dual purpose for a study of this kind, to understand how the disciples served Jesus and prepare each of us for a ministry in God’s kingdom work. 

First, we consider the Primary Objective of the Apostles ministry:

Matthew 10:5-6, “These twelve, Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.”

In vs. 5-6, we find Jesus’ first command to His disciples is to go out and invite Jews to become citizens of the Kingdom; this was not an easy task because the Jews already believed they were born into the Kingdom promised to Abraham. They thought that gentiles were not given that same promise and were not part of God’s Kingdom. They are now sent forth to aid Jesus in preaching the Kingdom and the miracles of healing, casting out demons, and raising the dead.

What is the Kingdom? There are four stages of the Kingdom of God: First, it ultimately refers to the future Kingdom which Jesus shall set up at His second coming from which He will rule the world for 1,000 years. Second, it was the Kingdom that was first promised to Abraham. Third, Jesus offered the Kingdom to the Jews if they would accept Him as their Messiah. Forth, people from the time of Christ until now are being added to the future Kingdom.

Israel was under a false understanding taught to them by their religious leaders, the scribes and Pharisees. Nowhere in the Old Testament do you find that being Jewish is automatically placing them into the Kingdom. Nor does being a gentile exclude you from the Kingdom. God’s intention is an invitation to the world as we see in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The disciple’s objective was, seek people who will place their faith in Jesus as savior and Messiah, then become a part of the Kingdom. The Apostles were to become evangelists for Christ. Jesus further explains the objective and method of ministry for His apostles in verse five: They are to seek out their Jewish brethren exclusively, not Gentiles or Samaritans, at this stage. Evangelism will be extended later to the Samaritans and gentiles.

There are generally three groups of people on earth: God’s chosen people, which was not a chosen nation but a chosen person, Abraham, and it wasn’t based on his ethnic background; it was based on his faith. He was a Hebrew. The title Jew did not come along until much later. The first time Scripture used it was in Scripture is in 2 Kings 16:6. The second group was the Samaritans, which were not accepted by Israel but were children of Abraham. The third group is all non-Jewish people, the gentiles. Today, we are the disciples of Jesus who are still involved in building God’s future Kingdom. We might wonder why only the Jews were invited at this time to be part of the Kingdom? The kingdom was first promised to the Jews; therefore, it began with them and was propagated through them.

Second, the Message that was to be shared with the Jews:

Matthew 10:7, “As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Jesus gives a direct order to the Apostles; it wasn’t you should go, or if you go, it was as you go. God expects evangelism to be a personal lifestyle of each believer, sharing the gospel “as you go” about life each day to whomever we meet. I had a dream last night. There was a large sign which read: Evangelism is the greatest thing in the world. That is true because God loved the world, He made a way of salvation. I’ve known only one man in my life who lived as if that were true, which it is. Each day, where ever he goes, he tells others about Jesus and His gospel. I’ve been with him and watched him as he works. Even in a line waiting for an airline flight, he is witnessing to people.

The average church member never witnesses to anyone. There isn’t a specific time to share the gospel; it is an anytime-anywhere responsibility of every believer. Jesus gave the marching orders “as you go” to remind us that our #1 responsibility for living on this earth is to share the good news with everyone we can. Many people think, for whatever reason, they can’t do that. I have shared in the past that it does not have to be a direct presentation of the gospel; it can be as simple as handing out a business card directing a person to a gospel presentation online or a gospel track you hand out or leave in public places.

Why is it that people are quick to share with a stranger the last NFL football game incidents but shy away from the gospel? We must have a sincere desire in our hearts to help another in the best way possible by sharing the truth about eternity. Why do we hesitate to share the good news of eternal life? That is all we are ever asked to do, to plant seeds; Jesus does the saving. The Holy Spirit does the inviting and the preparing of the heart to receive the gospel. We don’t know the loss from the saved; they are not wearing signs to that effect. So, we are to witness to all and then leave the rest up to Holy God. We have done our part.

Mr. Ginner of Sidney Australia took witnessing seriously. Every day he went down on Broad Street and said to each person he met, “May I ask you a question? If you were to die, where would you spend eternity? The Bible says it is either heaven or hell. Think about it, toddle do.” Mr. Ginner never knew of one soul who accepted Christ because of his witness until shortly before he died. One day an evangelist came to his home and told him of all the people across the world he met who, when visiting Sidney, heard his witness and later accepted Christ. Follow the marching orders of the Lord and start sharing the gospel with others however you can, and then leave the rest up to God. Someone rightly said, “There simply is no ‘polite’ way to share that truth…you have to preach that truth – proclaim it – if it’s going to be heard.”

Third, the God-given method of sharing the gospel:

Matthew 10:8-11,  “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- 10no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. 11Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave.”

We have come to the third part of this study concerning the method Jesus outlined for sharing the gospel. The first part was the objective for sharing the gospel; the second part was the Message to proclaim; and now the third part, the method of sharing the gospel. The primary method given to the Apostles for sharing the gospel was to trust God to prepare the heart of the lost to receive the gospel and provide everything else, including the results. Christ gave every disciple the mission of the Kingdom program; it is that which we are to do as we go; our priority is to seek lost sheep where ever they are in the world and proclaim the Gospel message of our Lord. When we are faithful to do that, we can be assured that God will do the rest, and souls will be saved. By doing so, we are building the population of the Kingdom to come; this is the commission that Jesus gave the church shortly before He ascended into heaven: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen,” Matthew 28:19-20. This is our primary responsibility as the church until the Lord returns to set up His Kingdom on earth. And the most vital command given to the church. Keep in mind that we are only the messenger; the Holy Spirit brings the new spiritual life.

Jesus gives three steps to share the gospel, beginning in Matthew 10:8, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.” Today, we no longer have the heavenly power to heal the sick and raise the dead, but we do have the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit and His spiritual gifts to enable us. A spiritual gift is supernatural and equips believers to carry on whatever their part in the church may be, according to 1 Corinthians 12. The man I mentioned earlier had the spiritual gift of evangelism. The outcome of his witnessing was the evidence of God’s presence bringing glory to Himself. We may not have that gift, but it does not eliminate our duty to witness. Some are better teachers than I am even though I have the gift of teaching, which does not discourage me from doing the best I can.

Availability to do the calling of God is as important as ability. Just showing up to do God’s will can result in God performing something special through us, such as the salvation of a soul. Lost sheep hear the voice through His shared Word and become a part of the flock. Jesus described the effect of our witness this way: “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd,” John 10:16 (KJV). We have the assurance when we witness that His sheep will hear His voice and come to Him. The presence of the Holy Spirit and His spiritual gift to us is the superpower to enable us to witness to whomever we may.

The next step in the method of witnessing is in verses 9-10:

Matthew 10:9-10, “Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.”

In verse 9, Jesus says don’t take gold, silver, copper, or any money, indicating a complete dependence on Him to provide for all needs. Again, in verse10, He says don’t take a bag, extra clothes, extra footwear, or extra staff. They had to place their trust in God that He would supply their every need. Faith is trusting and not making every provision possible to guard against any resulting contingency; in other words, to make sure we are in control. If we fulfill God’s mandates, we must learn to depend on the Holy Spirit and not our strength and resources. If we are not willing to rely on the Holy Spirit, we miss the objective of our mission to win those who are lost.

Now the final resource method of sharing the gospel:

Matthew 10:11-12, “And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. 12And when ye come into an house, salute it.”

How do you determine who is worthy? The answer is by their actions. If they are hostile about what you are saying, move on; they are not respectful of the gospel. Preparation is part of the method we are responsible for making, but it is to be the minimum. We are not expected to go out in ignorance and without proper preparation; that is not being dependent; it is foolishness. The Bible teaches us to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Using good practical sense is another way of preparing. Some places are unsafe to go to for any reason. There are places where the people, by their evil actions, are not worthy of the gospel.

Finally, be discerning for the times God gives you and open the door to witness to someone, and be prepared to walk right through that door depending on the Holy Spirit to empower you.