Coming of the King: Week 21

Matthew 10:1-25: The Ministry of the Twelve

• 10:1 "Jesus gave them authority". Who else does He give authority?
• 10:4 "Simon the Zealot" - the Zealots called for the overthrow of Roman rule. Matthew collected taxes for Rome. Yet Christ brought them together.
• 10:5 The Twelve must have asked the Lord of the harvest to send out workers, because Luke records Jesus sending out an additional 70 with the same ministry.
• 10:6 go only to Israel - very clear instructions for a specific time. But, we can still glean and argue about principles.
• 10:7 The kingdom of heaven is "at hand" in the person of Christ. The kingdom of God was in the midst of the Pharisees (and within you) in the person of Christ. Luke 17:21
• 10:8 Those who claim this should also take the next verse.
• 10:10 Compare Luke 22:36. Saint Francis of Assisi adopted this lifestyle.
• 10:11 This tells us that there were some in every town of Israel not only expecting the Messiah, but ready to receive Him.
• 10:16 "wise as serpents" - Genesis 3:1, "But I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil." Romans 16:19

  What the Twelve will encounter during their ministry

  This is a picture of what the Apostles will encounter in their future as well as present ministry.
• 10:18 While their present mission is to Israel alone, in the future they will be His "witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8
• 10:19 A popular out of context excuse for not preparing.
• 10:21 "and have them put to death" - we see a glimpse of this in the activities of Saul before his encouter with Christ.
• 10:23 "The Son of Man comes" - comes into His Kingdom. He will come into His Kingdom in Jerusalem, but will be rejected. "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him." John 1:11 Between the Twelve, and the Seventy sent out later in Luke 10, Jesus covered all of Israel.
• 10:25 "been called Beelzebul" - in 9:34