Eternity Daily Bible Study No. 219 Vision For Mission - 4 To subscribe just send a blank email to: eternity-dbs-subscribe@strategicnetwork.org THE FIRST SENDING OF THE TWELVE Matthew 10:1-15 MKJV And when He had called to Him His twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. (2) And the names of the twelve apostles are these: 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 tax-collector; James the son of Alpheus, and Lebbeus, whose surname was Thaddeus; (4) Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. (5) Jesus sent out these twelve, commanding them, saying, Do not go into the way of the nations, and do not enter into any city of the Samaritans. (6) But rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (7) And as you go, proclaim, saying, The kingdom of Heaven is at hand. (8) Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. You have received freely, freely give. (9) Do not provide gold nor silver, nor copper in your purses, (10) nor a bag for the journey, nor two coats, nor sandals, nor staves. For the workman is worthy of his food. (11) And into whatever city or village you enter, inquire who within it is worthy. And there abide until you go away from there. (12) And when you come into a house, greet it. (13) And if the house is worthy, let your peace come on it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. (14) And whoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. (15) Truly I say to you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. These verses have to be interpreted with some caution. Some aspects of them were revoked by Jesus before His ascension. For instance in these verses the twelve are told NOT to go to the Gentiles : ". (5) Jesus sent out these twelve, commanding them, saying, Do not go into the way of the nations, and do not enter into any city of the Samaritans. (6) But rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. " whereas in the Great Commission he commissions them to "Go, make disciples of all nations". Just before the cross Jesus also explicitly revokes the "living by faith" provisions of Matthew 10: Luke 22:35-38 MKJV And He said to them, When I sent you without purse and wallet and sandals, did you lack anything? And they said, Nothing. (36) And He said to them, But now, he who has a purse, let him take it, and likewise his wallet. And he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. (37) For I say to you that this which is written must yet be accomplished in Me, "And he was reckoned among the transgressors"; for the things concerning Me have an end. Some aspects of Matthew 10 remain in force as good missiological principles and Matthew 10 formed the basis for the early Franciscan preaching movement in Italy that quickly spread across Europe. Let us start with one of the first of Jesus' principles "He gave them authority". The disciples did not arduously earn authority, and authority was given to them without diplomas and without social or institutional recognition. It was an authority that you cannot get from even the most prestigious earthly institution - spiritual authority. The ability to work miracles of healing and deliverance. "He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease." All the wisdom in Oxford University cannot confer the power to cast out demons, the power of US Senate cannot confer authority to heal all kinds of sickness and even the United Nations does not have authority over unclean spirits. This authority belongs to Jesus and to those He gives it to, by grace, through faith. It is a unique form of authority that comes from God alone. Just today I have been working on accreditation requirements for my ministry, the Asian Internet Bible Institute, as we hope to offer an online Christian Worker's Diploma. Why bother with this if spiritual authority comes from God alone and not from study? Because both are generally needed, (though spiritual authority is the greater need) and knowledge is good if rightly used and in the big wide world people need some way of knowing that their staff have studied certain basics of the faith to an acceptable level of competence. But I don't pretend that an AIBI graduate has spiritual authority. No exam can determine that. Spiritual authority must be sought in prayer as a grace gift from God, separate from one's academic curriculum. It is in the same category as one's salvation or one's call to ministry, which are similar grace gifts and callings outside of study. I cannot stress strongly enough that spiritual authority is a grace gift - and that even Judas received it. God sovereignly calls and sovereignly bestows spiritual authority. You cannot earn it by "being good" or spiritual or holy or high up in the Church. The Pharisees were probably "holier" in their strict lifestyles than say Peter, but they had no authority and could do no miracles; and the Chief Priests Annas and Caiaphas had positional authority in the Temple - but were powerless in the spiritual realm. Because this authority is freely given the ministry must also be without "strings attached". "(7) And as you go, proclaim, saying, The kingdom of Heaven is at hand. (8) Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. You have received freely, freely give. " Just imagine - one minute the twelve were without spiritual authority, the next they were being asked to cleanse the lepers and raise the dead! They were simply told to do what they had experienced Jesus doing. Having watched Him heal the sick, cleanse the lepers and raise the dead - now they were to do the same in their new found authority. Next came the matter of provision: "(9) Do not provide gold nor silver, nor copper in your purses, (10) nor a bag for the journey, nor two coats, nor sandals, nor staves. For the workman is worthy of his food." Paul reiterates the last part of this verse in 1 Timothy 5:18 MKJV For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle the ox treading out grain," and, "The laborer is worthy of his reward." The principle that a Christian worker should be properly remunerated for his or her labor is thus well -established. However, as we saw earlier, the demand to "live by faith" is revoked once we get out of the time of Jesus and into "normal" ministry. This means that we cannot demand that someone work for nothing or live by faith. If they wish to do so, that is another matter, but we cannot insist on it or make it out to be more spiritual. Lastly the Christian worker is to enter peacefully into the community with the aim of being a blessing. "(11) And into whatever city or village you enter, inquire who within it is worthy. And there abide until you go away from there. (12) And when you come into a house, greet it. (13) And if the house is worthy, let your peace come on it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you." The Christian worker is to bring "shalom", God's peace to where they stay. And if this peace is refused then God's ultimate peace is refused as well and "It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than that city". Ideally we are to be spiritually authoritative Kingdom heralds bringing the gospel with healing, cleansing, resurrection, wholeness and deliverance to communities among which we dwell and from which we are to receive our support. Frankly, such an ideal is scary. It is far easier to get a diploma, find a good church, ignore the city and forget about raising the dead. That is the safe option and it is where most of us are at, but something in us wants more. We want Matthew 10, but feel its way beyond us. And it is beyond us, but it is not beyond God. Perhaps we need to ask Him for the power, authority and anointing and passion for the city that will make us truly transformational. Blessings, John Edmiston Were you blessed by Eternity Daily Bible Study? 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