Chapter 10

Jesus chooses 12 men and sends them as his workers 10:1-4

v1 Jesus called his 12 *disciples to come to him. Then he gave them authority to force evil *spirits out of people. He gave them authority to heal every disease and illness. v2 Here are the names of the 12 men that he sent. First are Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. Next are Zebedees sons, James and his brother John. v3 Then there were Philip and Bartholomew. Also, there were Thomas and Matthew. Matthew collected taxes. Two more were James, who was Alphaeuss son, and Thaddeus. v4 The last two were Simon whom they called the Eager Man, and Judas Iscariot. This Judas Iscariot later handed over Jesus to his enemies. Verse 1 Jesus had many *disciples. He chose 12 of them as his special workers to send out on his behalf. Another name for these *disciples that he sent out is apostles. He sent them out with his authority. It was better for these workers to go out in pairs. They told the good news about where God rules. And they showed that God did not want disease and illness. Long ago, Jacob had 12 sons and they began 12 *tribes. These 12 *tribes became the nation called Israel. Now 12 of Jesus *disciples were beginning new work for God. Verses 2-4 The four men whose job was to catch fish are at the beginning of the list. Peter always comes first on the list. He, with his brother Andrew, and James with his brother John, had been *disciples of John the *Baptist first. Jesus wanted them to fish for people rather than for fish (Mark 1:16-20). Bartholomew is probably the same person as Nathanael (John 1:44-45). Philip and Nathanael came from Bethsaida. Thomas the *twin (John 11:16) is linked with Matthew, who collected taxes for the *Romans. Simon belonged to the group of *Jews who wanted to force the *Roman rulers out of their country. They were called the Eager Men. But Jesus could unite Matthew and Simon as they served him. James, Alphaeuss son, has the same name in the three lists. But Thaddeus is probably Judas, Jamess son, in Luk e 6:16. And he is Judas, not Iscariot, in John 14:22. Judas Iscariot is always last on the list. Perhaps he was the only *disciple who did not come from Galilee district. Iscariot probably means man from Kerioth, and Kerioth was in Judea district. Jesus chose him to be an apostle (a special worker). But for some reason he stopped being loyal to Jesus. He was the man who handed Jesus over to his enemies. We do not know much about most of these men that Jesus sent out as special workers. But it is the work that is important, not the workers. Paul had to explain this truth to the Christians in Corinth (1 Corinthians 3:5-7).

Jesus gives instructions to his 12 special workers 10:5-15

v5 So Jesus sent these 12 men. He gave them these orders. Do not go among people who are not *Jews. Do not enter any town in the *Samaritans land. v6 Instead, go to Israels people. They are like sheep that have lost their way. v7 Go and tell them this message. Heaven is near now. And that is where God rules. v8 Heal the sick people. Cause dead people to be alive again. Heal those people with skin diseases so that they are clean again. Force evil *spirits to come out of people. You did not have to pay for all that you have received. So give to other people and do not make them pay. v9 Do not take any gold with you. Do not take any silver or copper in your belts. v10 Do not take a bag for the journey. Do not take extra clothes or extra shoes. Do not take a stick. The people should give a worker what he needs.

v11 Enter a town or village. Then look for someone who will provide for you. Stay at that persons house until you leave that place. v12 Enter their house. Greet the people who live there. We pray that the people in this house will be at peace, you should say. v13 If that family welcomes you, you should let God answer your prayer for them. But perhaps that family will not welcome you. Then, do not ask God for peace for them. v14 Some people may not listen to your words. In that case, leave that home or town. And shake the dust off your feet when you leave. v15 I am telling you the truth. On judgement day, it will be easier for the people from Sodom and Gomorrah than for the people from that town. Verse 5 This order meant that the *disciples would only work in Galilee district. This was a wise decision. They would be more successful because they worked in just a small area. Probably the 12 workers were not yet ready to tell the good news about Jesus to foreigners. Later, God sent Paul to the people who were not *Jews. He had experience of them in the city of Tarsus where he had lived. Jesus did not give this order as a permanent order. Jesus gave his final order to his *disciples in Matthew 28:19-20. Then he told them to go everywhere in the world. Verses 6-7 The special workers had to tell the good news to the *Jews. The *Jews could come into Gods rule. The king had arrived now. This king was Jesus and they could follow him. They would no longer be like sheep that have lost their way. Verse 8 The *disciples had to do the same work as Jesus did (9:35). They had to heal peoples bodies and minds. They had to look after the whole person. A *Jewish teacher (called a rabbi) had to teach his *disciples but he could not charge them money. The *disciples did not have to pay Jesus when he taught them. So now, they had to go and teach other people. They had to teach what they had learned from Jesus. Verses 9-10 Jesus said that they should not take any money with them. They should not take extra supplies. They had to trust God to provide for them. They could expect someone to be ready to help them. People usually provided food and shelter for a teacher. They considered that this was an honour. Paul too said that a worker deserves his pay. (See 1 Corinthians 9:14.) Verses 11-13 The workers had to find someone who welcomed them. They had to stay in the same home all the time that they stayed in that place. They could not look for somewhere more comfortable. They could not look for someone who gave them better food. They had to ask for Gods peace on that home. Verse 14 They were taking their message to *Jews. The *Jews were expecting God to do good things to them. If nobody welcomed the good news about Jesus, the *disciples were not responsible for those people. They showed this when they shook the dust off their feet. This was a *Jewish custom. The *Jews did this when they returned home from another country. Anything that the *Jews touched among foreigners made the *Jews dirty. So they shook off those things before they went into their home. Verse 15 People knew that Sodom and Gomorrah had been two very wicked cities. The people there behaved very badly with Lots guests (Genesis 19:1-11). They had refused to accept the men with Gods message. So God destroyed them. But the people in Sodom and Gomorrah had no opportunity to refuse the message about Christ. The people in Galilees towns and villages now had that opportunity. So their punishment would be more severe.

Jesus warns his workers that people will oppose them 10:16-25
v16 I am sending you out like sheep among fierce wild animals. So you must be wise like snakes, but you must also be like gentle birds. v17 Watch out! Men will hand you over to the local courts. They will whip you in their synagogues (buildings where *Jews meet). v18 They will take you to stand in front of rulers and kings because of me. You will be witnesses to them. You will also tell foreigners all about me. v19 When they arrest you, do not be afraid. Do not worry about what to say to them. Do not worry about how to say it. At that time, you will receive the right words to say to them. v20 You will not speak by yourself. Your Fathers *Holy Spirit will help you. v21 Brothers will hand over their own brothers for people to kill them. Fathers will hand over their own children. Children will oppose their parents, and they will even let people kill their parents. v22 Everyone will hate you because you are my friends. But God will save you if you believe me until the end. v23 When people attack you in one place, escape to another place. I am telling you the truth. You will not finish your work in all the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. v24 A student is not more important than his teacher and a servant is not more important than his master. v25 It is enough for the student to be like his teacher. And it is enough for a servant to be like his master. They call the head of the family Beelzebub, which is the devils name. So the rest of the family can expect the same bad names. Verse 16 Fierce wild animals called wolves attacked sheep. Jesus was honest. He told his workers that people would oppose them. The *disciples must be wise as they told people the good news. They must be gentle with people. And they must live in a good and honest way. Verse 17 Jesus words came true in the future. The *Jewish authorities opposed the *disciples. They had to answer these authorities about their message in the local courts. They could receive 39 blows from a whip in the buildings where the *Jews met. Paul himself said that the *Jews had punished him in this way five times (2 Corinthians 11:24). Verse 18 The state would oppose them. At that time, the rulers were *Roman officials. *Jewish kings like Herod Agrippa tried to please both the *Jewish authorities and the *Romans. So they attacked and opposed the Christians. Herod Agrippa ordered his men to kill Zebedees son, James. He also put Peter in prison (Acts 12:1-4). Verses 19-20 Jesus said that the *disciples should not worry. People might arrest them because they were Christians. But the *Holy Spirit would give them the right words to say at such times. The men in the *Jewish *religious government were astonished at the way that Peter and John were able to speak to them (Acts 4:13). Verses 21-22 Even the *disciples own family members might oppose them. The writer Tacitus was not a Christian, but he wrote books about Christians. He thought that they were a group of people that behaved wickedly. People hated them. He also said that Christians hated all people. Christians considered that slaves were real people. They called slaves brothers if they were Christians. The *Roman authorities thought that this was dangerous to their rule. The *Romans considered that slaves were just things. They bought and sold them. The Christians also upset people who made money from their religion. In Ephesus, there were people who made false gods from silver. They lost their trade when Paul told the good news about Jesus to the people there. People believed the message and God changed their lives (Acts 19:24-27).