Jesus called in his twelve disciples and gave them authority over evil
spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of sickness and disease.Now
the names of the twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; 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, who
betrayed him.These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Do not go to the Gentiles,
and do not enter any Samaritan town,but go instead to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel.Wherever you go, preach the Gospel, saying, ‘The Kingdom
of Heaven is near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, so freely give. 9 Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your money belts, 10 no bag for your journey, nor even
two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for a worker is worthy of his support. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay at
his house until you leave that town. 12 As you enter a house, give it your
blessing. 13 If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace, but if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. 14 Whoever will not receive you or pay attention to your words, when you leave that house or that town, shake the dust off your feet. 15 I am telling you the truth: it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment than for that town. 16 “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore be as
wise as serpents, and as innocent as doves. 17 Beware of people who will hand
you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues. 18 You will even be
brought before governors and kings for my sake, as a witness to them and to
the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you should speak, because it will be given to you in that hour what you should say. 20 For it is not you who will speak, but the spirit of your Father
will speak in you. 21 “Brother will deliver up a brother to death, and a father his child. And children will rise up against parents and condemn them to death. 22 You will
be hated by all people because of me, but the one who endures to the end will
be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. I am
telling you the truth: you will not have finished going through the towns of
Israel before the Son of Man comes.[115] 24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It
is enough for the student that he becomes like his teacher, and the servant like
his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much
more the members of his household! 26 “So do not fear them, because there is nothing covered which will not be revealed, and nothing hidden which will not be known. 27 What I tell you in
the darkness, speak in the light, and what you hear whispered in your ear,
shout from the rooftops. 28 Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body, but cannot kill the soul.[116] Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body
in the Gehenna fire of destruction. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? But not one of them falls to the ground without your Father knowing. 30 Even the
hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. 32 “Therefore everyone who confesses me before people, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies me before
people, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven. 34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth. I came not to bring
peace, but a sword. 35 I came to divide a man against his father, and a daughter
against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a
man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. 37 “He who loves father or mother above me is not worthy of me, and he
who loves son or daughter above me is not worthy of me.[117] 38 And he who
does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 He who finds
his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it. 40 “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives
Him who commissioned me. 41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and he who receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever in the name of a disciple gives one of these humble
ones even a cup of cold water to drink, I am telling you the truth: he will not
lose his reward.”
Commentary
Matthew
[114]
Kingdom of Heaven is of course the exact synonym of Kingdom of God. Only Matthew uses
the term Kingdom of Heaven based on Dan. 2:44. The Jews avoided the name God and replaced it
sometimes by Heaven. The Kingdom has God as its author and the Christian Gospel is all about the
Kingdom and how to enter it by obedience to Jesus (Mk. 1:14-15; Lk. 4:43).
[115]
Referring to an end-time missionary campaign in Israel. As frequently the “you” incorporates
and includes the successors of the disciples. The Great Commission (Mt. 28:19-20) was given until the
end of the age, the Second Coming. Jesus accused the Pharisees of his day of having been responsible
for the death of Abel and Zechariah (Mt. 23:34-35, from the beginning to the end of Jesus’ Bible, in
order from Genesis to 2 Chronicles) and he spoke of the temple existing in his day as of a temple which
would be there at the time of the final great tribulation (Mt. 24:15), close to the arrival of Jesus in
power at his Second Coming. This is a non-western, but very Hebrew way of thinking. When he spoke
of “this generation” he meant the whole of society which is evil right up to the time of the arrival of the
future Kingdom of God on earth. He did not mean a period of 40 or 70 years. Thus “save yourself from
this generation” (Acts 2:40) means separate yourself from society which is chronically evil during the
present evil age (Gal. 1:4), dominated by Satan who is the prince and ruler of current society across the
whole world (Rev. 12:9). “Generation” is contrasted with the future society which will begin at the
Second Coming (Mk. 8:38). See also genea, type of person, “kind” in Luke 16:8.
[116]
The inner man and character cannot be destroyed, because God intends to resurrect the faithful
from death at the future resurrection when Jesus returns (1 Cor. 15:23).The dead are not presently
conscious, but God has perfect memory of them and can restore them to life by resurrection (Dan. 12:2;
1 Cor. 15:23). Resurrection is the only way out of death. There is no survival of an immortal soul
anywhere in the Bible.
[117]
This is typical of Jesus’ uncompromising demands for undivided allegiance to himself. Even
family relationships must take second place to loyalty to the Messiah.
Matthew