Links for today’s readings:
Apr 6 Read: Hosea 7 Listen: (2:19) Read: Matthew 10 Listen: (5:07)
Scripture Focus: Matthew 10.1-7
1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure 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, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
Reflection: Purposeful, Perilous, Powerful
By John Tillman
Multiple times in the gospels, Jesus sent followers on missions of ministry. (Matthew 10.1-5; Mark 6.7; Luke 9.1-2; 10.1-2) The differences in descriptions, instructions, and timing of these missions do not cast doubt on their reliability.
The differences are natural because there were at least two (and possibly more) missions. Matthew and Mark record one but Luke describes two. This is not unusual. Mark, Luke, and John tell us about feeding the 5,000. Matthew adds a second miraculous feeding of 4,000. Multiple events easily explain variations in the accounts.
Matthew’s mission description includes the longest set of instructions, which might be compiled from multiple missions. Jesus described the present mission, but transitioned to warnings about things that would happen after his death, resurrection, and ascension, and throughout the history of the church. These prophetic instructions from Jesus to his disciples are without a geographic limit or a temporal expiration date—they are valid for us today.
In Exalting Jesus in Matthew, David Platt emphasizes that Jesus sent his followers to the needy. Jesus directed his disciples to the diseased, dying, despised, and dirty.
We are commissioned with similar purposes for similar people. The diseased of body or mind are ours to heal and help. Those dying from war, poverty, or disease are ours to save. Those despised for their poverty, ethnicity, illnesses, lifestyle, or any other reason are ours to embrace. Those dirtied by the various corruptions of this world, whether spiritual or physical, are ours to touch, serve, and cleanse.
We are commissioned with similar perils. We are not above our master, and our master was crucified. There will be wolves. We are sent as sheep. There will be swords. We are sent with peace. There will be flogging, persecution, and hatred. We are to endure and flee, not fight back.
We are commissioned with similar power. We are not given worldly weapons of coercion, violence, or the force of the state. God’s power is for heaven’s purposes, not earthly prizes. But what power we have been freely given—to drive out demonic influence, to cleanse, to heal, and to proclaim truth—we are freely to give.
Are you living out your purposeful, perilous, and powerful commission? Are you seeking and giving freely of the Spirit’s power? Are you advancing heaven’s purposes or those of a lesser, earthly kingdom? Are you pursuing needy people with service, help, and good news?
Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; wash me, and I shall be clean indeed. — Psalm 51.8
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: Dead Man Walking
Israel was desperate for help; she got in bed with any political alliance that promised security.
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