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10:1-4
The 12 disciples on a training run
Still determined to reach the people of Israel, Jesus called to his side
the 12 men he had already chosen earlier on - his hand-picked learners. He gave
them his own miracle-working power, and conferred on them his authority, then he
sent them away to do much the same as he was doing, but this time he sent them
to a specific group of people. They had to evict demons from people, heal every
type of sickness, and bring health, in the name of Jesus, to all they came
across.
These, by the way, were the 12 men :
1.
Simon, also called Peter. Impetuous, generous-hearted, affectionate. A born
leader.
2.
Andrew, Peter's brother. Introduced to Jesus by John (John 1:36,40). He brought
Peter to Jesus, and after than many other people.
3.
James, son of Zebedee. Killed by Herod(Acts 12:2) - the first of the 12 to die
for Jesus.
4.
John, James' brother, son of Zebedee. A much loved disciple of Jesus. Writer of
the fourth gospel, three letters and the revelation.
5.
Philip. Citizen of Bethsaida. He brought Nathanael to Jesus. (Not Philip the
evangelist in Acts)
6.
Bartholomew. An Israelite. Much commended by Jesus (John 1:47) Probably
otherwise known as Nathanael.
7.
Thomas, also called Didymus, meaning "twin". Nick-named Doubting
Thomas but ultimately a fiery, bold confessor of the truth (John 20:28)
8.
Matthew. Former tax-collector. Writer of gospel.
9.
James, the son of Alphaeus.
10.
Lebbaeus Thaddeus, also called Judas, the son of James (Luke 6:16) Also
mentioned in John 14:22.
11.
Simon, a Canaanite. Also called a Zealot - for the Law. (Matt.6:15)
12.
Judas Iscariot. The only disciple not from Galilee - he came from Judah. He
betrayed the Lord Jesus.
These 12 men, all in their twenties or thereabouts, came from all sorts
of backgrounds, and, in themselves, they were an unlikely group considering the
work they were called to do, but because they were focused on Jesus, they found
they had the necessary skills.
10:5-15
The lost sheep of Israel
The twelve were told to go to one specific group of people - the lost
sheep of the house of Israel. They were told not to go near the Gentiles
(non-Jews), or to the Samaritans (a mixed cultural area, made of people imported
from many countries). This was a special mission, unlike the others which were
aimed at Jews and sometimes Gentiles.
As you probably know, the whole kingdom of Israel, comprising 12 tribes,
split in two, many years ago, (just after king Solomon), becoming the larger
northern kingdom (or House) of Israel, and the smaller southern kingdom (or
House) of Judah. The northern kingdom went north to Assyria as captives, then,
about 150 years later the southern kingdom fell to the Babylonians, and many
more captives were taken to the east.
About 70 years later Ezra and Nehemiah returned from Babylon, with some
thousands of Jews, and began to rebuild Jerusalem. This was where the name Jew
came from - designating people from the house of Judah (2Kings 16:6). The name
Jew never referred to people of the northern house, although, as Judaism spread,
the name Jew was attached to all who adopted Judaism.
So there were three distinct groups : Jews, people of Judah, and people
of Israel. Logically, not all Israelites were Jews, although all Jews were
israelites.
When the Messiah came to the Jerusalem, he offered to the Jews the
kingdom, which Israel and Judah had lost, but there were still some people of
the house of Israel living in the area, and it was to these people that Jesus
sent the 12 disciples. It was his desire to gather in some of these "lost
sheep of the house of Israel" into the proposed kingdom . . . but these
Israelites, and the Jews, both rejected the Messiah. Undeterred by this, Jesus
died for all Israel, and ratified the Covenants, intending to bring the
blessings to His people regardless of their attitude towards Him.
The message which the 12 were to proclaim was simple : "God's
kingdom is close! You have the opportunity right now of being part of it!"
Jesus made it clear that each of the 12 was to be a mini-version of
Himself, with similar powers to His own. The men were allowed to heal sick
people, including lepers, evict demons, and call dead people back to life. The
power they had been given was to be used, not kept back, because Jesus wanted
the people they went to to have every reason to believe in Him.
And this particular work was not going to last long. Jesus made it clear
that the disciples didn't need to take any money, nor were they allowed to beg.
They had a few simple provisions - sandals, one set of clothes, and a
walking-stick. They were to present their message, and hope that a few people on
the way would give them the basic things of life - food and a bed for the night.
They were permitted to pronounce a benediction, or blessing, on any home
which received them.
But Jesus also made it clear that this was no light-hearted matter. He
gave permission to his disciples to warn people that if their message wasn't
received, the people who turned them away would be treated in much the same way
as the Sodomites - fire and destruction would one day follow.
10:16-26
The persecutions to come
As a fore-warning of what it would mean to be a Christian, Jesus
described some of the things which would happen to his followers. These things
actually began not long after Jesus returned to heaven - you can read about them
in the book of Acts.
"You" he said, "Are like sheep walking through
wolf-infested countryside. At every stage in your life you will be menaced by
the possible threat of attack.
"To counter this, you must be sensible, and cautious, looking ahead
and considering your words and actions as you go. Think of the serpent, which
moves slowly, testing the air with its tongue, listening, watching for danger .
. . it never rushes into dangerous situations because it is wise enough to know
how to stay alive.
"And you must also be harmless, and gentle, like the pigeon.
(rock-dove) It never attacks people, or acts aggressively. It lives an honest
life, and gets on with the business of living - so should you. Don't go out of
your way to make trouble, and keep yourself morally upright at all times.
"People of this world, religious, Jewish, and otherwise, will treat
you terribly unfairly. Sometimes they will arrest you, and put you on trial for
being Christians - of course they will make up all sorts of other reasons for
why they do this - but that will be the real reason. Civil authorities, and even
royalty, will have a go at you, but through it all the fact that you are
Christians will get out, and people will hear about Me. That's what matters most
in the end.
"But let me assure you, there's no need to worry about what to say
when those highly-trained, legally-clever, lawyers, and equally brilliant but
evil minds begin their cross-examinations. You won't be able to cope with the
sophistication of it all, but God will help you. The Holy Spirit will move, and
you will find that when you speak, god will give you inspiration.
"Another aspect of being Christians will be the effect on your
families. Sometimes you may be the only believers in the home. Your parents,
your brothers and sisters and your relatives may all have a go at you. Sometimes
they will try to get rid of you, by reporting your name to the anti-Christian
authorities. Sometimes children will report their parents too, or sisters
brothers, and so on. No-one will be safe.
"Not only that, but there is a time coming when the very fact that
you are Christians will mean ostracism by every nation. This is because all
people are descended from Adam and Eve, and so all people have inherited the
sinful nature. So it doesn't matter what culture, or education, or social class
you look at, they are all sinners, and therefore rebels against God. Expect to
be hated.
"But all this horrible treatment will work for you, because it will
sort you out. True disciples will hang on and keep the faith, right to the
bitter end. False ones will fall away.
"Now, speaking generally about the Church, let me say that, over the
centuries, Christians will repeat this pattern of preaching, followed by
persecution, right up until the day I come again. I
fact, the job is so big, there will still be people (individuals) to
preach the gospel to right at the end of the Age!
"So remember this : you may be expecting me to take the throne and
begin a glorious reign, with you all sharing the peace and blessings, but this
is not how it is going to be for a while. Be content with the fact that I am
your teacher and Master, and you are my disciples and servants. Before the full
inauguration of my kingdom, there has to be a time of training.
"For example, look how the pagans behave in regard to their god
Beelzebub. They call him Master! They bow to their god and serve him! If pagans
can do this to a devil-inspired piece of dead stone, how much more should you
bow before me, your living Master.
"So just get on with the job, and leave the pagans to me. Let me
remind you of one thing : God sees everything. You may think that people around
you are 'getting away with murder', but some time in the future, everything they
do and say will be displayed openly. Your treatment will be recorded, your
sufferings will be remembered. All present injustices will one day be put right.
Good always triumphs over evil. No-one gets away with anything."
10:27-30
Three things to not worry about
"Up till now, as you know, I have been speaking to you privately. I
have been teaching you many things, and training you to understand the whole
message, but when I am finished with you, the time will come when you will be
required to go public with all this. At the moment we are keeping things on a
conversation level, but soon you will have to find strategic places for
proclaiming the gospel.
"So there are three things I don't want you to worry about : One is
unfair persecution, Two is the possibility that you may be hounded to death for
your stand as Christians, and Three is death itself.
"You see, what people tend to forget is the fact that God sees and
hears everything. He is also the supreme power, in charge of life and death. He
also has an infinite and perfect memory, so there is nothing lost or forgotten
to Him. If you died, He could restore you, right down to the last hair! If a
sparrow dies anywhere in the world, God can, if He wants, restore the sparrow,
right down to the last tiny feather!
10:32,33
Witnessing for Jesus
So don't be afraid to identify with me. You are in very safe hands . . .
anyone who stands up and lives for me will be noticed in heaven. On the other
hand, all the unbelievers, and cynics, and atheists and religious bigots, and
hypocrites, and fakes and so on - they're all recorded on another list. God sees
every one of them. Not a single 'pretend' Christian will slip through the gates
of heaven.
10:34-39
True Christianity brings division
"Now I know that some of you are thinking "But I thought you
were bringing a kingdom of peace and blessing to earth?!" Well, that's
true, but as long as there are people who don't want my kingdom, there will be
no peace on earth.
"The effect of true Christianity will not be pleasant. It will
provoke the selfishness and pride of the world. It will confront the
power-hungry and challenge the self-indulgent. It will strike at the roots of
the hypocrites, and cut to the heart of the greedy.
"As a result, many people will openly attack Christians, as they try
to keep the world, and their own lives, to themselves. The devil, busy pulling
the strings behind the scenes, will help all this along, because, having failed
to kill me, he will try to kill my followers instead. So there will be war,
spiritual and literal.
"Christians will find that their former friends are now their
enemies, and everywhere true Christianity goes, there will be trouble.
"So let me remind you that if you really want to be a Christian, you
will have to make a choice. You can choose either the easy life of the world,
where everyone likes you, and all you have to worry about is food, money, wine,
women and so on, or you can choose the Christian life, which adds a day by day
battle for holiness and high morals.
"You can spend your life in the gratification of self - a life which
ends in much the same way it started - with nothing to show for all the years,
or, you can spend your life in commitment to me, and receive a tremendous
reward.
10:40-42
The preparation speech ends
"Now I want you to understand your position as my appointed
ambassadors. I could call you 'little ones', because you are so low in rank, but
I do also call you prophets, because you are my representatives.
"As you go on your way, you will meet, from time to time, people who
understand who you are. They will treat you very well, because their hearts are
in tune with yours. Even if they give you nothing but a small meal, or a cup of
water, God will take note of them and reward them accordingly. One day they will
be amazed at the blessings they receive simply because they looked after you.
"So hold your heads up, and do your best. You are my
representatives, invested by me with regal dignity. See, you do this work by my
royal appointment."