10 He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; 10 take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep.
11 “Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15 I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. 16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
MacArthur had several sermons on the disciples themselves which I would've loved to listened to, but simply didn't have the time. I may look them up again sometime though as I would find it interesting to learn what clues the Bible gives us about these twelve men.
Jesus gave them some instructions that we can find helpful today as well.
We cannot heal the sick or raise the dead, but we can minister out of the same compassion that drove these miracles. And when we serve, we should not request payment for our service. If it is offered, it may be gratefully and graciously accepted - and indeed, we should trust that our needs will be met when we are living in service to God.
All people are to be given the chance to hear the gospel message, and though we do not turn our backs at the slightest resistance, we do need wisdom to know when to go on to those who are more receptive, instead of repeatedly banging our heads against a wall of resistance.
Serve God by serving each other, speak the good news while living out it's truths, rest secure in God's provision, all while exercising discernment.
Tomorrow's scripture focus: Matthew 10:17-23
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