Scripture Daily

Context No. 304 of 4322 · Matthew

Context · Reflection

Matthew 10:1-15: in context

1He called to himself his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness. 2Now the names of the twelve apostles are these. The first, Simon, who is called Peter; Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee; John, his brother; 3Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; Lebbaeus, who was also called Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Zealot; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. 5Jesus sent these twelve out and commanded them, saying, “Don’t go among the Gentiles, and don’t enter into any city of the Samaritans. 6Rather, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7As you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’ 8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. Freely you received, so freely give. 9Don’t take any gold, silver, or brass in your money belts. 10Take no bag for your journey, neither two coats, nor sandals, nor staff: for the laborer is worthy of his food. 11Into whatever city or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you go on. 12As you enter into the household, greet it. 13If the household is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it isn’t worthy, let your peace return to you. 14Whoever doesn’t receive you or hear your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. 15Most certainly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.

Jesus gathers the twelve, gives them real authority over sickness and unclean spirits, and sends them out on their first mission. The instructions are specific, and two of them cut against every instinct we have about doing important work. The first is about money, and the second is about supplies.

He tells them what their message and their power actually cost them: nothing. Freely you received, he says, so freely give. The healing, the good news, the authority, all of it was handed to them as a gift, and therefore it has to go out as a gift, never sold, never charged for. Then he tells them what to pack, and the answer is nearly nothing. Take no gold or silver, no bag for the road, no spare tunic, no extra sandals, no staff. They are to go out deliberately empty-handed, so that they will depend on God and on the hospitality of the people they serve, rather than on their own provisions. The vulnerability is the point. A gift that came free cannot be carried convincingly by people loaded down with their own money and gear, quietly self-sufficient. He does promise they will be fed, for the worker deserves his keep, but through dependence, not through a stockpile of their own.

The pairing is worth holding onto. What they received for free, they must give for free, and to keep it that way they go with empty hands. What was given to me at no cost, the mercy, the help, the things I did not earn, do I pass on freely, or have I started to charge for it somehow, in money or in strings attached, as though it had been mine to sell?

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