Page 39 - Demo

MATTHEW 
Zebedee, and his brother John; 3Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; 4Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
The Commissioning of the Twelve. 5b Jesus sent out these twelve* after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. 6c Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’d 8* Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. 9e Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; 10f no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. 11g Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. 12As you enter a house, wish it peace. 13If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you.* 14* h Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. 15Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.i
Coming Persecutions. 16j “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. 17* But beware of people,k for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues,l 18and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. 19When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say.m 20For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21* n Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 22You will be hated by all because of my name, but
Jesus and his twelve disciples, in a painting
by Nicolas Poussin
10:9
The apostles are to take nothing for their journey, but are instead to depend on the hospitality and generosity of those to whom they bring the message of the kingdom. In this way, they also show their faith that God will provide for them.
10:16
Jesus exhorts his apostles to be “‘Wise,’ that they may escape snares; ‘simple,’ that they may not do evil to others”
(St. Jerome).1
10:17
Jesus warns the disciples of
the persecutions they will encounter in carrying out this ministry they have been given. The persecutions will come from everywhere—from strangers and from family members, from within and from without. They must endure this persecution not because su ering is good for its own sake, but because they are following in the footsteps of Christ, who will soon be arrested, tortured, and put to death. Like master, like servant: the apostles cannot
be Christ-like only in the power he gives to heal and to preach. They must also be Christ-like in carrying a cross.
1 The Golden Chain.
Chapter 10
a. [10:1–4] Mk 3:14–19; Lk 6:13–16; Acts 1:13.
b. [10:5–15] Mk 6:7–13; Lk 9:1–6.
c. [10:6] 15:24.
d. [10:7] 3:2; 4:17.
e. [10:9–10] Mk 6:8–9; Lk 9:3; 10:4.
f. [10:10] Lk 10:7; 1 Cor 9:14; 1 Tm 5:18.
g. [10:11–15] Mk 6:10–11; Lk 9:4–5; 10:5–12.
h. [10:14] Acts 13:51; 18:6.
i. [10:15] 11:24; Gn 19:1–29; Jude 7.
j. [10:16] Lk 10:3.
k. [10:17–22] Mk 13:9–13; Lk 21:12–19.
l. [10:17] Acts 5:40.
m. [10:19] Ex 4:11–12; Jer 1:6–10; Lk 12:11–12.
n. [10:21–22] 24:9, 13.
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* [10:5–6] Like Jesus (Mt 15:24), the Twelve are sent only to Israel. This saying may re ect an original Jewish Christian refusal of the mission to the Gentiles, but for Matthew it expresses rather the limitation that Jesus himself observed during his ministry.
* [10:8–11] The Twelve have received their own call and mission through God’s gift, and the bene ts they confer are likewise to be given freely. They are not to take with them money, provisions, or unnecessary clothing; their lodging and food will be provided by those who receive them.
* [10:13] The greeting of peace is conceived of not merely as a salutation but as an e ective word. If it nds no worthy recipient, it will return to the speaker.
* [10:14] Shake the dust from your feet: this gesture indicates a complete disassociation from such unbelievers.
* [10:17] The persecutions attendant upon the post-resurrection mission now begin to be spoken of. Here Matthew brings into the discourse sayings found in Mk 13 which deals with events preceding the parousia.
* [10:21] See Mi 7:6 which is cited in Mt 10:35, 36.
* [10:22] To the end: the original meaning was probably “until the parousia.” But it is not
likely that Matthew expected no missionary disciples to su er death before then, since he envisages the martyrdom of other Christians (Mt 10:21). For him, the end is probably that of the individual’s life (see Mt 10:28).