THIRD CIRCUIT OF GALILEE. THE TWELVE INSTRUCTED AND SENT FORTH
MATT. 9:35-38; 10:1, 5-42; 11:1
MARK 6:6-13
LUKE 9:1-6
9:38 The Lord Jesus told the disciples to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Notice here that the need does not constitute a call. Workers should not go until they are sent.
"The verb ekballō really means to drive out, to push out, to draw out with violence or without. Prayer is the remedy offered by Jesus in this crisis for a larger ministerial supply. How seldom do we hear prayers for more preachers. Sometimes God literally has to push or force a man into the ministry who resists his known duty." -RWP
Sending forth the 12
"How little did these men dream that their names would be engraved on the foundations of the New Jerusalem." -Rev 21:14 -F.B. Meyer
"And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Revelation 21:14
Twelve. To be heads of the tribes of the new Israel (Rev_21:14; cf. Jas_1:1; Mat_19:28). -Pulpit
Way of the Gentiles (hodon ethnōn). Objective genitive, way leading to the Gentiles. This prohibition against going among the Gentiles and the Samaritans was for this special tour. They were to give the Jews the first opportunity and not to prejudice the cause at this stage. Later Jesus will order them to go and disciple all the Gentiles (Mat_28:19).RWP
"These twelve Jesus sent forth b and he began to send them forth by two and two [He sent them in pairs because: 1. Under the law it required two witnesses to establish the truth. 2. They could supplement each other's work. Different men reach different minds, and where one fails another may succeed. 3. They would encourage one another. When one grew despondent the zeal and enthusiasm of the other would quicken his activities" -Fourfold Gospel
Observe that nothing is said of their receiving authority to convert. This God himself keeps. But they can remove all hindrances other than those purely subjective and spiritual, whether the objective hindrances be intruding evil spirits affecting body and mind or only bodily diseases. All manner, etc. (Mat_9:35, note).
Right away, Jesus put restrictions on them. Why? Because He was establishing priorities for them, saying, "This is where you start—in your home country. Start where you're at," Jesus says. "Cross the street before you cross the ocean." In addition to establishing priority, there's another reason Jesus put this restriction on them. Had these apostles gone to the Samaritans—Gentiles—first, no one would have received them when they came back home because the Jews despised the Gentiles. In Romans we read that the gospel went to the Jew first and then to the Greeks, or the Gentiles, not because of priority, but because of precedence. The Jews were prepared by the prophets, by the covenants, and by the promises. So the Lord sent His boys to the Jews first. -Jon Courson
"And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you." Matthew 10:13
"Whatever house you go in, stay there. The problem is, we so often get into a place and say, "Well, this is fine for now." But we keep our eye open for a more influential or powerful place to stay."
"...In reality, it was the common people who heard Jesus gladly (Mar_12:37). We learned the hard way to focus not so much on the quarterback, but rather to go to the kids who sat by themselves, those whom everyone else ignored. When we went to these kids, there was an openness and a readiness to receive Jesus.
I believe that's essentially what Jesus was referring to when He said, "When you go into a house, be content to stay there. Don't try to move around and move up. Just go in, pronounce peace, and stay until you leave the city." -Jon Courson
The peace of God goes forth and returns. -RWP
From Hosea, God's love and kindness drawing the Jews:
" I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them." Hosea 11:4
Cords of kindness, bands of love....interesting imagery---cords and bands tie a person to something, connecting them. To be connected or bound to love and kindness---seems almost paradoxical, this image of captivity to love.
Shake off the dust (ektinaxate ton koniorton). Shake out, a rather violent gesture of disfavour. The Jews had violent prejudices against the smallest particles of Gentile dust, not as a purveyor of disease of which they did not know, but because it was regarded as the putrescence of death. If the apostles were mistreated by a host or hostess, they were to be treated as if they were Gentiles (cf. Mat_18:17; Act_18:6). Here again we have a restriction that was for this special tour with its peculiar perils.-RWP
"It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master." Mat 10:25
Christ was never at rest in this world---his enemies plotted his death, the masses sought him for what he could do for them, and even his closest circle struggled to be loyal friends to him. He was misunderstood the majority of his life, ministering against the grain.
This teaches me that I should not expect an easy road. It is enough that I follow His steps. He walked out his calling in this world with his mind and heart focused on the bigger picture, the higher goal. I must do the same.
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." Matt 10: 6
The serpent was the emblem of wisdom or shrewdness, intellectual keenness (Gen_3:1; Psa_58:5), the dove of simplicity (Hos_7:11). It was a proverb, this combination, but one difficult of realization. Either without the other is bad (rascality or gullibility).rwp
"For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil." Rom 16:19
"that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." -Php 2:15
"Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature." 1 Co 14:20
"And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. .." -Eph 4:11-16
"For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you." 2Co 1:12
Abstain from every form of evil. 1Th 5:22
"These twelve Jesus sent forth b and he began to send them forth by two and two [He sent them in pairs because: 1. Under the law it required two witnesses to establish the truth. 2. They could supplement each other's work. Different men reach different minds, and where one fails another may succeed. 3. They would encourage one another. When one grew despondent the zeal and enthusiasm of the other would quicken his activities" -Fourfold Gospel
Observe that nothing is said of their receiving authority to convert. This God himself keeps. But they can remove all hindrances other than those purely subjective and spiritual, whether the objective hindrances be intruding evil spirits affecting body and mind or only bodily diseases. All manner, etc. (Mat_9:35, note).
Right away, Jesus put restrictions on them. Why? Because He was establishing priorities for them, saying, "This is where you start—in your home country. Start where you're at," Jesus says. "Cross the street before you cross the ocean." In addition to establishing priority, there's another reason Jesus put this restriction on them. Had these apostles gone to the Samaritans—Gentiles—first, no one would have received them when they came back home because the Jews despised the Gentiles. In Romans we read that the gospel went to the Jew first and then to the Greeks, or the Gentiles, not because of priority, but because of precedence. The Jews were prepared by the prophets, by the covenants, and by the promises. So the Lord sent His boys to the Jews first. -Jon Courson
"And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you." Matthew 10:13
"...In reality, it was the common people who heard Jesus gladly (Mar_12:37). We learned the hard way to focus not so much on the quarterback, but rather to go to the kids who sat by themselves, those whom everyone else ignored. When we went to these kids, there was an openness and a readiness to receive Jesus.
I believe that's essentially what Jesus was referring to when He said, "When you go into a house, be content to stay there. Don't try to move around and move up. Just go in, pronounce peace, and stay until you leave the city." -Jon Courson
The peace of God goes forth and returns. -RWP
From Hosea, God's love and kindness drawing the Jews:
" I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them." Hosea 11:4
Cords of kindness, bands of love....interesting imagery---cords and bands tie a person to something, connecting them. To be connected or bound to love and kindness---seems almost paradoxical, this image of captivity to love.
Shake off the dust (ektinaxate ton koniorton). Shake out, a rather violent gesture of disfavour. The Jews had violent prejudices against the smallest particles of Gentile dust, not as a purveyor of disease of which they did not know, but because it was regarded as the putrescence of death. If the apostles were mistreated by a host or hostess, they were to be treated as if they were Gentiles (cf. Mat_18:17; Act_18:6). Here again we have a restriction that was for this special tour with its peculiar perils.-RWP"It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master." Mat 10:25
Christ was never at rest in this world---his enemies plotted his death, the masses sought him for what he could do for them, and even his closest circle struggled to be loyal friends to him. He was misunderstood the majority of his life, ministering against the grain.
This teaches me that I should not expect an easy road. It is enough that I follow His steps. He walked out his calling in this world with his mind and heart focused on the bigger picture, the higher goal. I must do the same.
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." Matt 10: 6
The serpent was the emblem of wisdom or shrewdness, intellectual keenness (Gen_3:1; Psa_58:5), the dove of simplicity (Hos_7:11). It was a proverb, this combination, but one difficult of realization. Either without the other is bad (rascality or gullibility).rwp
"For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil." Rom 16:19
"that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." -Php 2:15
"Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature." 1 Co 14:20
"For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you." 2Co 1:12
Abstain from every form of evil. 1Th 5:22
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