Heal, Raise, Cleanse and Cast Out

Matthew Chapter 10

MATTHEW 10:1-42

10:1 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.

2 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; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.

5 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; 6 but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 “Heal the sick, raise thedead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. 9 “Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, 10 or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support. 11 “And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. 12 “As you enter the house, give it your greeting. 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 does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. 15 “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.

16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 “But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 “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. 20 “For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

21 “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. 22 “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.

23 “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.

24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 “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!

26 “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. 28 “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. 29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a *cent? And yetnot one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 “But the very 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 men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 “But whoever denies Me before men, 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 did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 “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; 36 and A MAN's ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.

37 “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. 38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

40 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 “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. 42 “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.”

MATTHEW 10:1-15

10:1 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.

Gave them authority

Much is said about the people Jesus chose to be his disciples. With closer examination, we would see that it was more that Jesus accepted his disciples than chose them. First he took the two sent by John the Baptist (Andrew and John the Beloved). Those two in turn went and found their brothers and friends and invited them to follow the Lord.

The disciples we know Jesus went out of his way to choose were Matthew, the tax collector. Simon and the sons of Zebedee (James and John) were either related or fishing associates of John the Beloved. We don’t know much about Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, James, Thaddaeus, Simon and Judas and what their background was before Jesus.

Jesus accepted ordinary people and made them extraordinary. That’s what great leaders always do. Here are some of the lessons we can learn about Jesus from those followed him. Great leaders don’t always begin by gathering the best followers, but they always end sending out the greatest leaders.

1. His two youngest and first apostles couldn’t help but run and tell their brothers and friends. When young people do ask about going to church, they don’t ask, “What are you doing to do?” They ask, “Who is going to be there?” It is not much different for adults going to social events. Do the people we interact with become so excited about their relationship with us that they feel compelled to bring their friends and family as well?

2. Jesus intentionally seeks one of the most hated people in Galilee, Matthew. It is quite obvious that Jesus is going to disturb the norm — even within his own little band of stragglers. Do we intentionally associate with people who break the norm and rattle a few proper cages? Selecting Matthew would definitely alienate Jesus from most of the ruling religious elite. If we were to apply that to today’s parameters, who would be our Matthew?

3. Simon was a Zealot, we would acquaint that with a terrorist today. They were radically against the foreign rule of Israel and would stop at nothing to end it. They would gladly accept the death their own countrymen and welcome torture to end Rome’s rule. To the Zealots, expedience was all that mattered, “The ends will justify the means.”

The fact that Simon and Matthew were two of Jesus’ closest followers tells us the mission Jesus offered was even greater than the divisions of the world. Do we call people to something greater than the divisions of the world?

“Do not go in the way of the Gentiles…”

Those who followed Jesus were originally called “Followers of the Way.” The Way of Jesus is not like the ways of the world, neither was it like the way of the conservative Jews of Jesus’ time. We might define the Way of Jesus as holding the following traits.

1. Humility

2. Heeding God

3. Justice, mercy and compassion

4. Simplicity

When Jesus led people on his way, he sent them to, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give [v8].”

Shake the dust off your feet

This was not the way one snuck out of town after nearly being martyred. This was a very public departure. This was a way of saying, “When the judgment comes, I don’t want the dirt of this town’s road to even be on my shoes.”

We often want to be politically correct and not offend people’s sensibilities, usually for the wrong reasons — because someone offends our sensibilities. This is not about our self-righteous judgment or anger. God is offended by injustice far more than our mere insensitiveness. He sends the adulterous woman away forgiven and shames the religious who are denouncing her [John 8:2-11].

MATTHEW 10:16-42

23 “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.

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.”

Jesus was not naïve about his call. He had to know as early as when he stepped into the Jordan that his choice was a political and not just a religious choice. Herod was already hot on John’s tail and soldiers had already been out to monitor his actions in the desert.

Asking John the Baptist to baptize him, Jesus knew he was putting himself in the crosshairs of both the religious and political authorities of his time.

There is a time when following the way means putting ourselves in the crosshairs, neither welcoming martyrdom nor avoiding it. The real key is if we are to be a sacrifice, make sure it is for the right reason. Not to gain attention or notoriety or on behalf of a political or religious ideology based in falsehood. To sacrifice ourselves on behalf of justice for the poor is a daily choice we must make.

To be “shrewd as serpents” is to be wise about the ways of the Evil One in the world. Jesus saw those ways revealed in the wilderness temptations and revealed them to his followers in an intimate setting [Matthew 4:1-11]. Satan’s bag is small but potent. First is immediate gratification, second is approval and third is the power of manipulation. Each progressive step is harder to resist.

Our resistance as well must not be through the world’s means or the saying would be different. “Be shrewd about the world and respond with similar shrewdness.” Instead Jesus tells us to respond with the insight of the Holy Spirit. Using innocence, humility and gentleness on our guide.

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered”

Jesus does not sugarcoat the trials ahead for his close followers. After commissioning them, he tells them how tough their life is going to be. In Matthew 9, the apostles already had a sense of the gathering storm when the Pharisees began leveling their accusations of blasphemy against Jesus. Blasphemy was a religious crime punishable by death.

Simultaneously, Jesus provides eternal comfort to his followers. They would be unaware of such an intimate concept of God, such as Jesus shares in the Lord’s Prayer and here again in these words. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were so judgmental and their God was an image of them (how often is that the case — our God being an image of us, instead of the opposite).

The God Jesus depicts is an intimate and loving parent who has even counted the number of hairs on our head. This Creator is concerned about the life of the smallest sparrow and the most sinful man (like Matthew).

Do we resemble the God of Jesus or — in our ideology — have we begun to model the Pharisees with a judgmental God that looks like us?

“I did not come to bring peace, but a sword”

These are among some of the more controversial images that Jesus presents. On the one hand, Jesus says, he comes to bring a sword, on the other hand, when Peter draws a sword to save the life of Jesus, our Lord admonishes the disciple.

Matthew 26:52

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.”

What we can know for certain is that Jesus did not come to bring peace as the world knows peace. A peace that is a condition of power. The “Pax Romana” of his time (peace belongs to the biggest military) or as Roosevelt quoted from the ancient West African saying, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”

The peace of Jesus was not about weapons; it was about compassion. His parameters for peace can be found in the Beatitudes, “Whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also [Matthew 5:39].”

He began telling his disciples early that he was not bringing peace, as the world knew peace. Yet, even during his last week in Jerusalem, there are indications they did not understand that his way to peace was sacrificial in nature.

They still maintained that Jesus was the new Prince (David-style) and would take Israel back from Rome and that Israel would again become a great nation-state. Jesus contested that Israel would be great because of its compassion, not its military might. It would be a “light on the hill [Matthew 5:14],” as pointed to by both the Psalmist [Psalm 43:3] and Isaiah [Isaiah 49:9].

Hubert Humphrey’s last speech included the following quotation, “...the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped.”

This is the greatness and the peace to which Christ called his people and calls us! Not to military might and rule, but to the depth of humility and leadership by compassion. It is similar to the peace of the Greek people. Though multiple military masterminds dominated their country, their culture spread throughout the world. Their libraries and centers of arts and learning became the center of the world and traveled across time and the globe producing minds like Plato and Socrates.

Which form of peace marks our understanding of life, that of Rome, Napoleon and Alexander or that of Christ, Humphrey and Gandhi? Do we seek to lead by conquering and ruling or leading by compassion and invitation?

“Gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink”

Going even further into remarkable territory, Christ tells his newly appointed apostles that a sure ticket to heaven is to give a cup of cold water to the little ones [Mikros G3398]. It is from this word that we get the term “micro” as in “microscopic.” These would be those with the least rights, least recognition and least safety. A disabled orphan in the time of Christ would be a good example.

The Romans would take their handicapped infants out to the dump and leave them there for the animals to dispose of them. Such children would be all over Israel at the time. If they came to the door seeking water, the owner of the house would be more likely to give them used bath water or dishwater than to give them fresh water. Fresh water meant a walk to the well with a large jug or container. No one would ever consider doing that for one of these children.

Yet, that is exactly who Christ says will receive the heavenly reward of a prophet or righteous person.

I know denominations where people struggle for the self-title of Reverend, Most Reverend, Bishop or Prophet. Would that we instead would seek to be called, “Beloved to the least little ones.”

Imagine that your tombstone had the following epitaph, “He/She replenished the thirst of the famished, parched or hopeless orphan.”