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These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.
"Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, 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!"
- Matthew 10:5-15
On Saturday, we read that Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of 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 Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food." Jesus sends out the Twelve on their first mission, and He's giving them instructions here. My study bible points out that their mission is like Christ's. It's to preach and to heal. So the power He's giving them is for carrying out the work He has begun. He sends them only to the Jews, or "the lost sheep of the house of Israel." My study bible says that Jesus' earthly ministry was focused on the Jews (15:24) so that, after the Resurrection, the disciples would not be blamed by the Jews for going "to uncircumcised men" (Acts 11:3). The apostles are to be single-minded in this mission to preach and heal. Jesus' power has been freely given to them, a gift from God. They must in turn freely give. And they carry no money. They will not be accused of greed. Their journey is one of dependence upon God, characterized by humility.
"Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, 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!" To stay in the same household until they go out of the city or town is an instruction not to "trade up" for better lodgings in each place they go; it's another instruction for humility. It's a way of conveying themselves. To give a greeting of peace to a household is a kind of blessing. My study bible says it's the same peace that was proclaimed by the prophets (Isaiah 52:7), and that Christ would offer to His disciples at both the Last Supper and after His Resurrection. It is also the same peace that would be revealed as the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). In worship services, "Peace be to all" offers Christ's peace to the faithful.
We make note here of how Christ's power and peace work. Peace is a kind of active blessing here. Those who may receive the peace appropriately will have this blessing remain. If the household is not worthy, this peace returns to the apostles upon whom it's been bestowed by Christ. Rejection of them and their words -- the preaching of the gospel -- is met by rebuke (shaking the dust from their feet). The humble way in which they carry themselves is indispensable to the mission. The power and peace they carry is that of the kingdom of heaven, not a worldly kingdom. It's that power that has to somehow speak for itself, and which must be honored above all. And this is the mission, that "the kingdom of heaven is at hand." They are to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons." To them it has been freely given, and they will freely give. Humility defers to God, and everything at work here is in the name of the kingdom of heaven, by the power and peace of Christ. It is part and parcel of the message, and allows that power to speak for itself in what it confers and what it does. So often we have this choice in our lives. It's another way of putting it to us that we choose to worship one or the other, God or mammon. What's more important? What will we serve? Whose blessings do we want, exactly? We put one thing first, even if all things may be added unto it. But our humility has to come first if we want to focus on whose peace we treasure.
