Gospel According to Matthew Bible Study
Chapter 10
Book Two: Jesus’ Miracles and the Commission of the Twelve, Discourse: Missionary Sermon for the Apostles
Context: After performing miracles himself, Jesus now prepares and sends the 12 apostles out with his authority to the lost sheep of Israel. see last page here.
Questions
- (1-4) Why 12 apostles? Why do Matthew (and Mark and Luke and Acts) list their names? Is the order of their names significant? Why is Peter always first? Why is Judas Iscariot always last? Who are always listed in the top 4 and why? Which apostles are in Jesus’ inner circle? The Twelve Apostles
- (5-6) Jesus limits the apostles’ immediate mission to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”. Why?
- (7) What did it mean when the apostles preached that the kingdom of heaven is “at hand”? Was it already there? Coming soon? Coming later?
- (9) Why the ascetic/minimalist instructions to the apostles (no money, no bag, no extra tunic, no sandals, no staff)?
- (12-13) What does it mean for the house to be worthy or not worthy? Here Jesus says to stay at the house until you depart and when He later commissions the seventy Lk 10:7, Jesus tells them not to go from house to house. Why should they in one place and not go from house to house when in a town?
- (14-15) Shaking the dust of their feet was a traditional, derogatory statement against Gentiles that Jews would make when returning to Israel from Gentile territory. Who takes judgement for those that don’t listen to the Gospel? What does this mean for us in our mission to evangelize?
- (16-23) Jesus loved the apostles (and loves us), knows the persecution that they/we face in the world when we preach the Gospel, yet he sent them/us out anyway. He gives some sage advice (including “wise as serpents and innocent as doves”) but what is the ultimate message about what we are to remember in our dealings with the world - whose power do we rely upon and whose praise should we be seeking?
- (22) My translation reads “But he who endures to the end will be saved.” How does this verse jibe with (or contradict) the doctrine of eternal security (“once saved, always saved”)?
- (23) “You will not have gone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of man comes.” He promises them later that he will come within their generation. 16:28, 24:34 We are still awaiting Jesus’ second coming - what coming of the Son of man is Jesus referring to here?
- (26-33) Jesus says that we shouldn’t fear those that can kill the body, but rather him who can kill both body and soul in hell. Is He referring to Satan or God? Eph 6:11, Jas 4:7, 1 Pet 5:8-10, Matt 3:12, Matt 25:41, Ex 20:20, Phil 2:12
- (34-36) Are Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:34-36, where he says he has come not to bring peace but a sword, a contradiction of his words in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Why or why not?
- (38) Jesus said that those not willing to take up their cross and follow him are not worthy of him. What did the cross (an instrument of execution) represent to the Apostles? Does it still mean the same thing to us today?
- (40) “He who receives you (the Apostles) receives me (Jesus), and he who receives me (Jesus) receives him who sent me (the Father).” Luke 10:16 adds a negative clause to that - he who rejects you (the Apostles) rejects me (Jesus). Imagine what would happen if someone said to Jesus, “I want a relationship with just you, not your apostles … I like you, but I can’t stand Peter … I’m willing to follow you, Jesus, but I can’t accept the leadership of James and John”? What is the significance of this verse for us today?
- (42) “And whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of water …” - who are the little ones that Jesus is referring to?
Primary Resources
Secondary Resources
Logical Daily Gospel Exegesis (Hayden)
The Bible in a Year Podcast (Fr. Mike)