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JANUARY 14
Matthew 10:1–20
And when He had called His twelve dis-
10 ciples to Him, He gave them power over 10:8 Freely you have received, freely give.
unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal Jesus was giving them great power, to heal
all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. the sick and raise the dead. If they sold these
Now the names of the twelve apostles are gifts for money, they could have made quite a
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these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and fortune. But that would have obscured the
Andrew his brother; James the son of message of grace Christ sent them to preach.
So He forbade them to charge money for their
ministry. Yet they were permitted to accept
support to meet their basic needs, for a work-
10:1 He gave them power. Jesus delegated man is worthy of such support (v. 10).
His power to the apostles to show clearly that
He and His kingdom were sovereign over the nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for
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physical and spiritual realms,the effects of sin,
and the efforts of Satan. This was an unheard your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor
of display of power, never before seen in all staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.
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redemptive history, to announce Messiah’s “Now whatever city or town you enter,
arrival and authenticate Him plus His apostles inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till
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who preached His gospel. This power was a you go out. And when you go into a house-
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preview of the power Christ will exhibit in His hold, greet it. If the household is worthy, let
earthly kingdom, when Satan will be bound your peace come upon it. But if it is not wor-
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(Rev. 20) and the curse on physical life cur- thy, let your peace return to you. And whoev-
tailed (Is. 65:20–25). er will not receive you nor hear your words,
when you depart from that house or city,
shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly,
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Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the
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Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of
collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Leb- judgment than for that city!
baeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the
4 Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents
also betrayed Him. and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for
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These twelve Jesus sent out and command- they will deliver you up to councils and scourge
ed them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the you in their synagogues. You will be brought
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Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samar- before governors and kings for My sake, as a
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itans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But
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house of Israel. And as you go, preach, say- when they deliver you up, do not worry about
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ing, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal how or what you should speak. For it will be
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the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, given to you in that hour what you should
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cast out demons. Freely you have received, speak; for it is not you who speak, but the
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freely give. Provide neither gold nor silver Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
DAY 14:What does Jacob’s deception teach us about lying?
When Jacob said,“I shall seem to be a deceiver to him”(Gen. 27:12), his objection to his moth-
er’s proposal that he lie to his father makes it clear he fully understood. The differences between
him and Esau would surely not fool his father and might result in blessing being replaced with a
curse as a fitting punishment for deception. But when Rebekah accepted full responsibility for the
scheme and the curse it might incur, Jacob acquiesced and followed Rebekah’s instructions.
Even Isaac’s perfectly legitimate question in v. 20 afforded Jacob an escape route—confess
and stop the deceit! Instead, Jacob, with consummate ease, knowing he needed Isaac’s irrevocable
confirmation even though he had bought the birthright,ascribed success in the hunt to God’s prov-
idence. A lie had to sustain a lie, and a tangled web had begun to be woven (vv. 21–24).That prin-
ciple always follows any lie we tell.
Although Jacob received Isaac’s blessing that day, the deceit caused severe consequences: 1)
he never saw his mother after that; 2) Esau wanted him dead; 3) Laban, his uncle, deceived him; 4)
his family life was full of conflict; and 5) he was exiled for years from his family. By the promise of
God he would have received the birthright (25:23). He didn’t need to scheme this deception with
his mother.
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