The Gospel according to Matthew is written in such a way that it oscillates between stories about Jesus and the teachings of Jesus. All in all, there are five major sections of discourse in this particular book, the first of which is the oft-labelled Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5–7). The second, our text of study today, is an instructional passage often referred to as the Commissioning of the Twelve.

As we take in the entirety of this discourse, we’re going to experience the full force of what Jesus was asking of his first-century disciples and, by extension, what he’s asking of disciples today. 

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Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 9:35. The gospel of Matthew is written in such a way that it oscillates between narrative and discourse, between story about Jesus and the teachings of Jesus. All in all, there are five major teaching sections in Matthew, the first of which is the so-called Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5–7). Today we come to the second, a teaching often referred to as the Commissioning of the Twelve.

This morning we’re going to cover the discourse in its entirety—running from 9:35 through to 11:1—so, as you can imagine, we’re going to move quickly, but I decided not to spread it over multiple weekends because I didn’t want to risk missing the full force of what Jesus was asking of his disciples in the first century and, by extension, what he’s asking of you and I today. This was one lesson given by our Lord and it will be one lesson for us as well.

The Compassion of the King

Now, prior to the discourse itself there is a four-verse introduction at the end of chapter 9. There we’ll see the compassion of the King that motivates the commissioning of the twelve in chapter 10.

Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

Matthew 9:35–38

Jesus is continuing his ministry throughout Israel, desiring that God’s chosen people believe the gospel of the kingdom he’s declaring, repent of corporate waywardness, and thus begin a time of promised bliss and peace.

Unfortunately, as he ministers, Jesus doesn’t find a people zealous for the kingdom but, instead, a people distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. They’re vulnerable and aimless without capable and caring leadership.

This was pharisees’ job, but they were dropping the ball (9:34). Those tasked with leading God’s flock toward safety were actually wolves bringing distress and discouragement. No doubt, Matthew had Jeremiah 50:6 in mind when he wrote this.

Jesus recognizes Israel’s predicament and felt compassion for them, something you’d feel for a neglected child. Where’s the parents? They’re supposed to be protecting and guiding but their absence is, instead, causing harm, fear, and vulnerability.

I imagine it’s with a lump in his throat, that Jesus comments to his disciples that the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. The kingdom was ripe but lacking the manpower to bring it about. So, he continues, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send more workers.

This is the compassion of the King on display. Jesus wanted Israel to turn to him, to follow him, to believe who he was—the Messiah—and what he could do—inaugurate the kingdom of peace. It hurt his heart to see a failure in leadership that caused such distress and confusion.

Isn’t it amazing to know the God of the universe feels compassion for the confused and distressed? That as he’s keeping the planets in orbit his heart is heavy with the hardships of people? Isn’t it incredible that while God is holy-holy-holy (“other”) he’s also personal, hating the fallenness of this world and the impact sin has on our lives?

The Commission of the King

As Matthew 9 closes we find Jesus filled with compassion, and as chapter 10 opens, we find that heartache moving Jesus into action. From the compassion of the King comes the commission of the King. He’s going to send workers into the harvest field. 

In the first four verses we see the empowerment of the workers.

Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

Matthew 10:1

Notice the similarity here to 9:35.. His twelve disciples are given the same authority to proclaim the same message about the same Messiah promising the same kingdom authenticated with the same signs. Jesus is expanding the scope of his ministry through the twelve.

Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.

Matthew 10:2–4

This is a rag-tag group of unspectacular people. We’ve got fishermen, a former tax collector and a former zealot, and an eventual traitor. Yet, as unimpressive as they were, they’re being commissioned with a world-changing message and empowered for that task. Our God doesn’t need powerful people; but he empowers willing people.

The next couple of verses reveal the direction of the work.

These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Matthew 10:5–6

The now-empowered disciples are given a specific target audience for their ministry. Don’t go to the Gentiles, that is, non-Jewish people. Don’t go to the Samaritans, that is, partially-Jewish people. Go only to the house of Israel. 

Why? Because the gospel of the kingdom was for God’s covenant people. She needed to accept her King, the who had finally come to bring shalom, perfect peace. If they would accept him, the whole world—Gentiles and Samaritans included—would be blessed through them as the covenants God made with Israel declared.

Now that they’ve been empowered and given direction, Jesus next provides the twelve with an explanation of their work. He’s sending them out, but to do what, exactly?

“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

Matthew 10:7

They’re being sent to declare the same message declared by John the Baptist (3:1–2) and by Jesus himself (4:17). They were to announce the gospel of the kingdom, the good news that it and its King were near.

They were to prove the validity of their message with miracles and avoid undermining their message by taking payment beyond what was needed.

“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support.”

Matthew 10:8–10

They didn’t want to give the impression they were in it to get rich because that would cheapen the message. At the same time, they should allow receptive people to minister to them in return as that highlights the worth of the message. It’s a tightrope the disciples have to walk, but one that best allows their ministry to flourish.

“And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.”

Matthew 10:11–15

Those receptive to the ministry and message of the disciples are called worthy and should be blessed. Alternatively, those who reject the gospel of the kingdom are not worthy. 

To shake the dust off your feet symbolized a rejection of people who had just rejected them; that not even the dust on their streets was worth taking. To reject the empowered workers of the incarnate King is worse than even the sins of the infamous Sodom and Gomorrah. Why? Because of what they were rejecting! Sodom and Gomorrah rejected Lot but these people would be rejecting Messiah himself.

What’s more offensive, for someone to see a picture of you and say, “That’s not a good photo,” or meeting you in person to say, “You’re ugly”? Obviously, the face-to-face rejection is worse because it’s a rejection of the real thing!

That’s the explanation of their work: Declare the gospel of the kingdom without compromise nor prejudice. But, before he sends them out, Jesus warns of the dangers of their work.

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

“But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”

Matthew 10:16–25

His workers can expect to be treated as well as Jesus was treated. The work’s going to be hard even though they carry good news. There will be people who hate them, beat them, and prosecute them even if the message they declare is supernaturally provided at times (vv. 19–20). Even family members will try to spill their blood. Many will stand against them and the name they represent: Jesus. And because of these dangers, the twelve must be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves; wise and above reproach, enduring with the certainty of final salvation and the power of God to deliver his people.

Perhaps adding to the discouragement, verse 23 reveals that the job won’t be finished until the Son of Man comes. This points ahead to another coming of Jesus, this time with the clouds of heaven and in total victory (see Daniel 7). At that time, Israel will repent and receive her kingdom. Meanwhile, the twelve disciples are being given dangerous work they’ll likely leave incomplete. 

Continuing in the passage we find Jesus quickly follows this warning of the dangers of their work with an encouragement for the workers. 

“Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Matthew 10:26–28

All the wickedness of their opposers, all their schemes and plotting, will not go unobserved nor unpunished. In the end, light will triumph over darkness. The worst your enemies can do is kill your body; they can’t touch your soul. God, on the other hand, brings absolute, total, perfect justice. In other words, though you’re going to experience terrible dangers, know that you’re on the winning team. After all:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”

Matthew 10:29–33

Jesus tells these men, “God knows you intimately and you’re more valuable than you can imagine. Trust him, confess him with courage, that you may receive the highest commendation there is: that of the Son to the Father on your behalf.” Now, that’s encouragement to endure dangerous work!

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”

Matthew 10:34–39

The gospel or the kingdom that Jesus declared, that which the twelve were being commissioned to spread to Israel, was one that would initially bring division. Families would be torn apart as some would believe and others would reject. These disciples—these workers being sent into the harvest—needed to be willing to stare down the barrel of that type of rejection, pain, and loss, and know that faithfulness to Christ is worth it.

And, finally, Jesus closes his kingly commission with a mention of the reward for the work.

“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”

When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.

Matthew 10:40–11:1

Those who served the Lord and who received these workers were promised rewards. If you accept the prophet, the apostle, the disciple, it’s like accepting Jesus himself so intimate was his connection with these men and their message.

Seeing lost and leaderless Israel, Jesus is filled with compassion, a compassion that fuels the commission he gives to his twelve followers. He empowers them, directs them, explains their task, warns them of dangers that await, encourages them, and describes rewards that await.

Now, not to state the obvious, but we are not the twelve. We are not Jewish men, being sent to Jewish people, with a Jewish gospel about a Jewish kingdom should there be Jewish repentance. Matthew’s recording of this discourse is crucial to the development of the point of his gospel account.

At the same time, are we, as 21st-century disciples of Jesus, not commissioned by a compassionate God?

Do you remember our study in the book of Jonah? In chapter 4, Jonah finally admits why he disobeyed God and didn’t want to minister to the ungodly people of Nineveh, he declares: “I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity” (Jonah 4:2).

God is gracious and compassionate, so much so he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life and that it was while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

And it’s God’s compassionate character that we, as God’s people, are to reflect as we’re sent into the world. We love, because he first loved us. The compassion of our God, that which we’ve received by grace, compels us to the work he’s assigned.

Like the twelve, he empowers us with authority, directs and explains our work, encouraging us with his promised presence.

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18b–20

Will there be dangers for those who “proclaim upon the housetops that which was whispered in our ears?” Will there be a cost to being a confessing, professing, convicted emissary of the King? You bet. Jesus was clear: “If the world hates you … know that it has hated me [first].”

Go With Trust-Filled Endurance!

Motivated by God’s compassion we are given a commission. We’re to Go with trust-filled endurance! We’re to declare peace with God through Jesus Christ even though we’ll have to endure war. We’re to go with trust-filled endurance.

One of my professors in seminary was a man named Dwight Pentecost. Dr. P, as he was affectionately called around campus, died while I was a student, at the age of 99. It was something to learn from a man who, not only studied, taught, and preached the Scriptures for 80 years, but who walked with his Saviour for even longer.

Dr. P. would end every class session by leaning over his lectern toward his students and dismissing us with a single word: “Go!” With that word, he sent us out into the world, filled afresh with the awe of our Lord and Saviour that we have just experience in the word together, fuelled by his grace and compassion of which we were all recipients, and burdened with the thrilling mantle of the divine commission. Go.

I can’t help but feel that same push as we come to the end of Matthew 10. We’ve been empowered by the Father’s love, Christ’s authority, and the Spirit’s indwelling. We’ve been given direction and explanation: Proclaim the gospel of Christ to all, baptize, and teach them. We’ve been warned about dangers but encouraged by his promised presence and future rewards for faithfulness. 

And, so we are to go with trust-filled endurance and commitment to our commission. Go!

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