Matthew 10:1

Matthew 10:1 says, And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.  When Jesus had called His twelve disciples, He gave them great power.  As followers of Christ today, we have also been given great power through the power of the Holy Spirit and for God's glory.  Whatever we do must be done by faith and must be in accordance with God's will.  Verse two states, Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;   Verse three adds, Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;  Verse four concludes, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.  Matthew simply gives us the names of the disciples and tells us a little about some of them.  Judas, who spent as much time with Jesus as the other twelve betrayed Him, and some today who profess to be a Christian will betray Jesus if the price is right or the cost of following Him becomes too great.  Verse five declares, These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:  Jesus told His disciples to not go to the Gentiles and the Samaritans at first.  Verse six adds, But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  The disciples were commanded to first go to the lost people of Israel, who were called to be God's people but who had ceased to follow God.  Verse seven commands, And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.  Then verse eight adds, Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.  The message of the disciples was to be that the kingdom of heaven was at hand.  The Jewish people had been awaiting the Messiah, and He was there.  The kingdom of heaven has been at hand every since.  The disciples were to have great power by their faith in Christ.  It may be that we need first to go to those who profess to be God's people today and call them to repentance and obedience before we can effectively reach the lost people of the world.  If we lack power in the world today, it may be because we lack faith.  Verse nine says, Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,  Verse ten adds, Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.  The disciples were to go strictly by faith, relying on Jesus to provide for their needs.  We need that same kind of faith today, where we walk by faith and not by sight.  Verse eleven states, And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.  The disciples were to ask who was worthy of allowing them to stay with them and were to abide there when they went into a city.  Remember, the disciples were going to those who professed to be God's people, and putting up strangers should not have been viewed as an imposition but a requirement if not an honor.  Verse twelve says, And when ye come into an house, salute it.  The disciples were to be respectful to the ones who put them up.  We are not to act as though people owe us anything even if we doing God's will in our life, but we are to be grateful to those who help us along the way.  Verse thirteen declares, And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.  I believe this means that not everyone who claimed to welcome the disciples into their home would really want them there, and if they didn't the disciples were to leave.  Verse fourteen continues, And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.  If the people would not listen to the disciples, they were to simply leave.  These were God's chosen people that the disciples were being sent to, so they should have been familiar with God's word, and if they did not listen to the disciples, they were in effect rejecting Jesus as the Messiah.  Verse fifteen declares, Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.  Those who reject the gospel, especially those who profess to be God's people, will find their punishment to be worse than that of Sodom and Gomorrah.