Matteo 10:6 Commento

This chapter is an ordination sermon, which our Lord Jesus preached, when he advanced his twelve disciples to the degree and dignity of apostles. In the close of the foregoing chapter, he had stirred up them and others to pray that God would send forth labourers, and here we have an immediate answer to that prayer: while they are yet speaking he hears and performs. What we pray for, according to Christ's direction, shall be given, Now here we have, I. The general commission that was given them (Mat 10:1). II. The names of the persons to whom this commission was given (Mat 10:2-4). III. The instructions that were given them, which are very full and particular; 1. Concerning the services they were to do; their preaching; their working miracles; to whom they must apply themselves; how they must behave themselves; and in what method they must proceed (Mat 10:5-15). 2. Concerning the sufferings they were to undergo. They are told what they should suffer, and from whom; counsels are given them what course to take when persecuted, and encouragements to bear up cheerfully under their sufferings (v. 16-42). These things, though primarily intended for direction to the apostles, are of use to all Christ's ministers, with whom, by his word, Christ, and will be always to end the world.

And when he had called to him his twelve disciples,.... These persons had been for some time called by the grace of God, and were already the disciples of Christ, and such as were more familiar and intimate with him, than others, that went by that name. They had sat down at his feet, and had received of his words; they had heard his doctrines, and had seen his miracles, and had been by him training up for public work; but as yet had not been called and sent forth to enter on such service: but now all things being ready, they being properly instructed, and the time for the conversion of a large number of souls being up, he called them together privately; and gave them a commission to preach the Gospel, ordained them ministers of the word, and installed them into the office of apostleship. The number "twelve", is either in allusion to the twelve spies that were sent by Moses into the land of Canaan, or to the twelve stones in Aaron's breast plate; or to the twelve fountains the Israelites found in the wilderness; or to the twelve oxen on which the molten sea stood in Solomon's temple; or to the twelve gates in Ezekiel's temple; or rather, to the twelve patriarchs, and the tribes which sprung from them; that as they were the fathers of the Jewish nation, which was typical of God's chosen people; so these were to be the instruments of spreading the Gospel, not only Judea, but in all the world, and of planting Christian churches there. And that they might appear to come forth with authority, and that their doctrine might be confirmed, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out; or "over all devils", as Luk 9:1. It was usual with the Jews to call a demon or devil , "an unclean spirit"; especially such as frequented burying places: so in one place (l), an unclean spirit is interpreted by the gloss, , "the spirit of the demons", or devils; and in another (m) place, , "the demon of the graves"; where necromancers sought to be, that these spirits might be their familiars, and assist them in their enchantments: accordingly the devils are here called, "unclean spirits"; being in themselves, in their own nature, unclean, and being the cause and means of defiling others, and delighting in impure persons, places, and things. There were many of these spirits, who, because of the great impiety of the Jews, the prevalence of magic arts among them, and by divine permission, had at this time taken possession of great numbers of persons; whereby Christ had an opportunity of giving proof of his deity, of his being the Messiah, the seed of the woman, that should bruise the serpent's head, by his ejecting them; and of confirming the mission of his disciples, and establishing the doctrine preached by them, by giving them power and authority over them, to cast them out also: and whereas various diseases frequently followed and attended such possessions; he likewise gave them power to heal all manner of sicknesses, and all manner of diseases, as he himself had done. The expressions are very full and strong, and include all sorts of maladies incident to human bodies, either of men or women; all distempers natural or preternatural, curable or incurable, by human methods: so that at the same time they were sent to preach the Gospel, for the cure of the souls of men, they were empowered to heal the diseases of their bodies; and which, one should think, could not fail of recommending them to men, and of ingratiating them into their affections. (l) T. Bab. Chagiga, fol. 3. 2. (m) T. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 65. 2.

But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. To whom he himself was sent, Mat 15:24. By "the house of Israel" is meant the whole Jewish nation; for though this phrase, when distinguished from the house of Judah, designs only the ten tribes; yet here it intends all the Jews, then living in the land of Judea, among whom there were some of all the tribes: and by "the lost sheep" of this house, are meant either all the people of the Jews in general, who were wandering, and were lost in error and sin, and to whom the external ministry of the Gospel came; or rather the elect of God among them, for whose sake particularly the apostles were sent unto them. These are called "sheep", because they were chosen of God, and given to Christ to be redeemed, looked up, sought out, and saved by him; and "lost" ones, not only because lost in Adam, and by their own transgressions, so that neither they themselves, nor any mere creature, could save them from eternal ruin and destruction; but also, because they were made to go astray, and were lost through the negligence and errors of their pastors, the Scribes and Pharisees: and this character is the rather given of them, partly to reflect upon the characters of the shepherds of Israel: and partly to magnify the grace of God, in having regard to such ruined and miserable creatures; and also to excite the compassion and diligence of the apostles, to preach the Gospel to them: respect seems to be had to Jer 1:16. . Matthew 10:7 mat 10:7 mat 10:7 mat 10:7And as ye go,.... Through the cities of Judea, and the streets thereof, from one city to another, from place to place; for these were itinerant preachers, who were not to abide long in any place, but to move about, that the Gospel might be spread all over the land, and the lost sheep in every corner be sought out and found. Preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This was to be the subject matter of their ministry, which they were to proclaim aloud in every place; and which is expressed in the same words with which John the Baptist, and Christ himself, began their ministry, Mat 3:2 which shows the entire harmony, and strict agreement, there were between them: for the meaning of the phrase; see Gill on Mat 3:2. The Cambridge copy reads, "repent, for the kingdom", &c.

The promulgation of the Law deserved also the first preaching of the Gospel; and Israel was to have less excuse for its crime, as it had experienced more care in being warned. Though they are here called sheep, yet they raged against Christ with the tongues and throats of wolves and vipers.

But let us see whither, and to whom, He sends them. "These twelve," it is said, "Jesus sent forth." What manner of men were these? The fishermen, the publicans: for indeed four were fishermen and two publicans, Matthew and James, and one was even a traitor. And what saith He to them? He presently charges them, saying, "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." "For think not at all," saith He, "because they insult me, and call me demoniac, that I hate them and turn away from them. Nay, as I sought earnestly to amend them in the first place, so keeping you away from all the rest, to them do I send you as teachers and physicians. And I not only forbid you to preach to others before these, but I do not suffer you so much as to touch upon the road that leads thither, nor to enter into such a city." Because the Samaritans too are in a state of enmity with the Jews. And yet it was an easier thing to deal with them, for they were much more favorably disposed to the faith; but the case of these was more difficult. But for all this, He sends them on the harder task, indicating his guardian care of them, and stopping the mouths of the Jews, and preparing the way for the teaching of the apostles, that people might not hereafter blame them for "entering in to men uncircumcised," and think they had a just cause for shunning and abhorring them. And he calls them "lost," not "stray," "sheep," in every way contriving how to excuse them, and whining their mind to himself.

(Verses 5, 6.) Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter into the cities of the Samaritans: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. This place is not contrary to the commandment which is afterwards said: Going, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Matt. 28:19) . Because this is before the resurrection, and that after the resurrection is the commandment. And it was necessary to announce the first coming of Christ to the Jews, so that they would not have a just excuse for rejecting Him; because He sent the apostles to the Gentiles and to the Samaritans. But according to the tropology, those of us who are called by the name of Christ are commanded not to walk in the error of the way of the gentiles and heretics, so that as their religion is separated, let their way of life be separated as well.

This passage does not contradict the command which He gave afterwards, Go and teach all nations; for this was before His resurrection, that was after. And it behoved the coming of Christ to be preached to the Jews first, that they might not have any just plea, or say that they were rejected of the Lord, who sent the Apostles to the Gentiles and Samaritans. Figuratively; Herein we who bear the name of Christ are commanded not to walk in the way of the Gentiles, or the error of the heretics, but as we are separate in religion, that we be also separate in our life.

Since it is evident to all, dearest brothers, that our Redeemer came into the world for the redemption of the nations, and since we see Samaritans being called to faith daily, what does it mean that when sending the disciples to preach, He says: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter into the cities of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel"? Unless we understand from the outcome of the event that He wished the preaching to be first to Judea alone, and afterward to all nations, so that when she, though called, refused to be converted, the holy preachers might come in due order to the calling of the nations, and thus our Redeemer's preaching, rejected by His own people, might seek the Gentile peoples as though they were strangers; and what was done as a testimony to the Jews might become an increase of grace for the Gentiles. For there were then some who were to be called from Judea, and some from the Gentiles who were not yet to be called. For in the Acts of the Apostles we read that when Peter preached, first three thousand Hebrews believed, and afterward five thousand. And when the apostles wished to preach to the Gentiles in Asia, they are recorded to have been forbidden by the Spirit; and yet the same Spirit who first forbade the preaching afterward poured it into the hearts of the Asians. For it has been a long time since all of Asia believed. Therefore He first forbade what He afterward brought about, because there were then in that land those who were not to be saved. There were then in that land those who did not yet deserve to be restored to life, nor yet to be judged more severely for having despised the preaching.

"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: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." "These..." Who are they? Fishermen, ordinary people, and publicans. He sends them first to the Jews that they might not be able to say, "The apostles were sent to the Gentiles and because of this we Jews did not believe." Thus He deprives the Jews of any excuse. He links the Samaritans to the Gentiles as they were Babylonians who inhabited Judea, and did not accept the prophets but only the five books of Moses. You must also understand the "kingdom of heaven" to mean the enjoyment of good things to come. He arms them with miracles, saying:

(non occ.) When He sends them, He teaches them whither they should go, what they should preach, and what they should do. And first, whither they should go; Giving them commandment, and saying, Go ye not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; hut go ye rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Why sheep? Because they were lost more by the fault of the Pharisees than by their own. Hence Psalm 90 (v. 3): "We are his people and the sheep of his pasture" and 1 Peter (2:25): "You were straying like sheep, but now have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls." But what will they do, as they go about? Preach as you go: "I have appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains" (Jn 15:16).

MISSION OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES. ( = Mar 6:7-13; Luk 9:1-6). (Mat 10:1-5) And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power--The word signifies both "power," and "authority" or "right." Even if it were not evident that here both ideas are included, we find both words expressly used in the parallel passage of Luke (Luk 9:1) --"He gave them power and authority"--in other words, He both qualified and authorized them. against--or "over."

But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel--Until Christ's death, which broke down the middle wall of Partition (Eph 2:14), the Gospel commission was to the Jews only, who, though the visible people of God, were "lost sheep," not merely in the sense which all sinners are (Isa 53:6; Pe1 2:25; compare with Luk 19:10), but as abandoned and left to wander from the right way by faithless shepherds (Jer 50:6, Jer 50:17; Eze 34:2-6, &c.).