Matthew the apostle shared how Jesus, “said unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; Pray you therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest. 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.” Matthew continued, “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; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.”, and in chapter ten and verse five of his book, Matthew shared how, “these twelve Jesus sent forth” where we read:
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 you not:
The verse reads, “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, ...” Matthew began with the words, “these twelve” or “the twelve apostles listed by Matthew” “Jesus” who is “the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate whose name means Jehovah is Salvation” “sent forth” or “dismissed and ordered to go to a place” “and commanded them” or “charged, declared, announced and transmitted a message to them”, “saying” which means “uttering, declaring and proclaiming”. Matthew shared how Jesus “ordered” His disciples to go from where they were to other places as He gave them instruction for their way.
The verse continues, “... Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter you not.” Matthew added the words, “go not into the way” which means “do not depart toward the traveled road and way” “of the Gentiles” or “belonging to pagan people in foreign nations who were not worshiping the true God”, “and into any city” which means “and in any abode, habitation or dwelling place” “of the Samaritans” or “belonging to the inhabitants of Samaria” “enter you not” or “do not go in”. Matthew shared how Jesus instructed His disciples not to go to “pagan” people or the people of “Samaria”. At this time the disciples or apostles were to concentrate upon the Jews, and they were commissioned to reach out to them first.
When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus gave preference to the Jewish people. It was not that He did not care for the Gentiles, but rather, His message of the Kingdom of God was to go to the Jews first. Paul the apostle wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16), and this was the beginning of God sharing with the world His desire to have a relationship with them through His Son Jesus Christ. Those who are wise shall understand God's passion and yield their lives to His Son Jesus today.
Next time Matthew shares how Jesus told His disciples, “go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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