Christian Art | Mission Of The Disciples
Matthew 10: 1-7 – Week 14 Ordinary Time, Wednesday | King James Audio Bible KJV
1 AND when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphæus, and Lebbæus, whose surname was Thaddæus;
4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Jesus’ great Discourse of the Mission begins in these Gospel verses with the calling together of the twelve disciples and the summative naming of the twelve. These twelve apostles are mandated; they are sent to establish the first foundations of Christ’s Church, and they are empowered by Jesus to exorcise unclean spirits and to heal the sick, to perform the very miracles of Jesus as a sign that the Kingdom of God has come. Through exorcism, the apostles are called to an imitation of Christ, and so in this way to establish the Christian community.
Jesus tells the disciples to confine their mission to the Jews, going nowhere near the Gentiles or the Samaritans. This is to be an exclusively Jewish mission, to call the lost sheep of the people whom God originally chose to be His people. Pearls will not be cast before swine.
As we ask to understand the meaning of this mandate, we are aware of Jesus’ own work with non-Jews, and his journeying to exclusively Gentile territory, and Jesus’ subsequent commandments, including in Matthew’s Gospel, to go and preach the Gospel to all nations, to the whole world. It seems we must relate to one another what might seem contrary injunctions and impulses.
Perhaps we now think of the whole of the Bible, of God’s promises to Abraham, and the long salvation history which followed, as the people of Israel unwittingly moved toward the time when, from them, would come a light for all nations. We might think of the prophets especially, and of the psalms, through which we now are taught how to pray; more broadly, of all the ways in which God spoke in such wise as his words would descend to us. Just as the Old Testament provides the foundation of Christian faith, albeit radically overhauled by Jesus, so the first call of Jesus’ new Church is to the Jewish people.
Beyond this, the call will come for integration. This is one of Matthew’s concerns in relation to his readership, to bring the Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians together, to heal divisions so that all may be one in Christ. Here, distinctions are recognized, while it is also made clear in the Discourse of the Mission that many of the Jewish people will reject Christian teaching. Through this, we are taught to understand that to embrace Christianity raises one to a new reality, in which we transcend such questions of Gentile or Jew.
Concluding Prayer
O God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth
and all nations learn your saving help.
Let the people praise you, O God;
let all the people praise you. (Psalm 66/67)
King James Audio Bible | Endnotes
Jesus’ Disciples Are Sent Only To The Jews
Jesus calls his twelve disciples to him and gives them authority to heal the sick and cast out demons. Jesus then sends the twelve out on a mission, but with a specific instruction: ‘Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ (Matthew 10:5-6 KJV)
This passage clearly indicates that Jesus intended his disciples to focus their ministry on the Jews, and not on Gentiles or Samaritans. The term ‘lost sheep’ is a reference to the Jewish people, who were seen as being in need of spiritual guidance and salvation.
Some may wonder why Jesus would limit his disciples’ ministry in this way. One explanation is that the Jews were God’s chosen people, and that they had a special relationship with him that Gentiles did not. As the Apostle Paul explains in Romans 9:4-5, the Jews were the recipients of ‘the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises’. In other words, the Jews had a unique spiritual heritage that required special attention and care.
Additionally, it was important for the disciples to focus on the Jews because they were the ones who would ultimately spread the message of Jesus to the Gentiles. As Jesus explains in Acts 1:8: ‘But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.’ In other words, the disciples needed to start with the Jews in order to prepare for the broader mission of spreading the Gospel to all nations.
Christian leaders have wrestled with the question of why Jesus sent his disciples only to the Jews. Some have argued that this was simply a practical decision, based on the fact that the disciples themselves were Jewish and would be most effective in reaching their own people. Others have suggested that it was a matter of divine providence, and that God had a specific plan for the Jews that required their attention and care.
Saint John Chrysostom, prominent early Christian theologian and Archbishop of Constantinople, argued that Jesus’ decision to focus on the Jews was based on the fact that they were in a state of spiritual darkness and needed to be brought into the light of Christ. He also suggested that the Jews were more receptive to the message of Jesus because of their familiarity with the prophetic tradition of the Old Testament.
Martin Luther, 16th Century Protestant reformer, also had thoughts on the matter. In his commentary on Matthew 10, Luther suggested that Jesus’ instructions to the disciples were primarily intended to teach them humility and obedience. He argued that the disciples needed to learn to follow Jesus’ instructions even when they didn’t fully understand them, in order to build their faith and trust in him.
In more recent times, Pope Benedict XVI has also addressed the question of why Jesus sent his disciples only to the Jews. In his book Jesus Of Nazareth, Pope Benedict argues that Jesus’ ministry was focused on restoring the unity of the people of God, which had been broken by sin. Pope Benedict suggests that by focusing on the Jews, Jesus was working to heal the divisions within the people of Israel and restore them to a right relationship with God.
Jesus speaks in parables when he has something important to communicate. The meaning of a parable may seem obscure or in need of explanation. Jesus does give interpretations of the parables to his disciples. We are encouraged through the parables to see our world in new and perhaps unexpected ways. The parables encourage us to think more deeply about Jesus’ teaching. They are, above all, a challenge – even an anarchic challenge – to everything we think we know [ … ]
In the Bible, a miracle is an event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to a divine agency. Miracles are often seen as a sign of the intervention of God in the affairs of human beings. In the Old Testament, the most famous miracles are the Ten Plagues of Egypt, in which God punished the Pharaoh for refusing to release the Israelites from slavery, and the parting of the Red Sea, in which God allowed the Israelites to escape from the pursuing Egyptians by opening a path through the sea. In the New Testament, the miracles of Jesus are a central part of his ministry and are seen as evidence of his divinity. These include healings, such as the restoration of sight to the blind and the raising of the dead, and acts of nature, such as turning water into wine and walking on water. Is There A Theological Significance To Jesus’ Miracles? In the Christian tradition, the miracles performed by Jesus are seen as a manifestation of his divinity and as proof of his authority to teach and heal. Many of these miracles are described in the Gospels of the New Testament, which are the primary source of information about the life and teachings of Jesus. The purpose of the miracles, according to the Gospels, was to demonstrate Jesus’ power over natural forces and to show that he had the authority to forgive sins and offer salvation to those who believed in him. Why Did Jesus Ask To Keep His Miracles Secret? ‘Tell No One Of This.’ In the Gospels, there are a few instances where Jesus tells people not to tell others about what he has done for them. For example, in the Gospel of Matthew, after Jesus healed a man who was possessed by demons, he told the man, ‘See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a proof to them’ (Matthew 8:4). In this case, it seems that Jesus was concerned that the man’s testimony might not be believed or might be misunderstood, and so he asked him to keep the experience to himself for the time being. It is difficult to say for sure why Jesus might have asked someone to keep quiet about a miracle without knowing the specific context in which the request was made. However, some possible reasons that come to mind include: To avoid drawing unnecessary attention to himself. In the Gospels, Jesus often tries to avoid drawing too much attention to himself, especially from the authorities who are hostile to him. Asking someone to keep quiet about a miracle might be one way of avoiding unwanted attention and allowing Jesus to continue his ministry without interference. To allow the person who was healed to experience the transformation for themselves. In some cases, the person who was healed might have been skeptical or unsure of what had happened to them. Asking them to keep quiet about the miracle might have given them time to reflect on the experience and come to their own understanding of it without being influenced by others. To test the person’s faith. In some cases, Jesus might have asked someone to keep quiet about a miracle as a test of their faith. If they were truly grateful for what Jesus had done for them, they would be willing to follow his instructions and trust that he had a good reason for asking them to keep quiet. These are just a few possible reasons why Jesus might have asked someone to keep quiet about a miracle. It is important to remember that the Gospels are ancient texts and that we must be careful not to impose our own interpretations on them without considering the historical and cultural context in which they were written. To avoid creating conflict or division. In the Gospels, Jesus often encounters people who are skeptical or hostile to his teachings, and he sometimes tries to avoid confrontations with them. Asking someone to keep quiet about a miracle might be one way of avoiding a confrontation or a heated debate that could disrupt his ministry. To avoid being misunderstood or misrepresented. In some cases, the person who was healed might not have understood the full significance of what Jesus had done for them, and they might have tried to explain it in a way that distorted or misrepresented the truth. Asking them to keep quiet might have given Jesus time to explain things to them more fully and help them to understand the true meaning of the miracle. To avoid becoming a spectacle. In the Gospels, there are many instances where people are amazed by the miracles that Jesus performs, and they often try to make him into a kind of celebrity or showman. Asking someone to keep quiet about a miracle might have been one way of avoiding this kind of attention and keeping the focus on the message that Jesus was trying to convey. What Is The Significance Of Miracle Of The Wedding At Cana? In the Christian tradition, the wedding at Cana is significant because it is the first of the miracles performed by Jesus that is recorded in the Gospels of the New Testament. This event is described in the Gospel of John, where it is said that Jesus, along with his mother Mary and his disciples, attended a wedding in the town of Cana. At the wedding, the host ran out of wine, and Mary asked Jesus to help. In response, Jesus turned water into wine, which is seen as a miraculous act that demonstrated his power and authority. In the Gospel of John, after Mary asks Jesus to help with the wine at the wedding in Cana, he replies, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4). This statement is often seen as indicating that Jesus was aware […]
Through these verses of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus directs us to consider and take to heart not the outward show of the Law, the behaviour which other people can see, but rather the inward spirit – our thoughts, our mind, the invisible part of ourselves, which is visible to ourselves and to God [ … ]
