1718 | Matthew 9:29
29 Then he touched their eyes and said,“ Ac cord ing to your faith let it be done to you”; v 30 and their sight was re stored. Jesus warned them sternly,“ See that no one knows about this.” w 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that re gion. x
32 While they were go ing out, a man who was de mon-pos sessed y and could not talk z was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the de mon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said,“ Noth ing like this has ever been seen in Is rael.” a
34 But the Phar i sees said,“ It is by the prince of de mons that he drives out de mons.” b
The Workers Are Few
35 Jesus went through all the towns and vil lages, teach ing in their syn a gogues, pro claiming the good news of the king dom and heal ing ev ery dis ease and sick ness. c 36 When he saw the crowds, he had com pas sion on them, d be cause they were ha rassed and help less, like sheep without a shepherd. e
37 Then he said to his dis ci ples,“ The har vest f is plentiful but the work ers are few. g 38 Ask the Lord of the har vest, there fore, to send out work ers into his har vest field.”
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
10:2-4pp— Mk 3:16-19; Lk 6:14-16; Ac 1:13 10:9-15pp— Mk 6:8-11; Lk 9:3-5; 10:4-12 10:19-22pp— Mk 13:11-13; Lk 21:12-17 10:26-33pp— Lk 12:2-9 10:34,35pp— Lk 12:51-53
Jesus called his twelve dis ci ples to him and gave them au thor ity to drive out im pure
10 spirits h and to heal ev ery dis ease and sick ness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apos tles: first, Si mon( who is called Pe ter) and his brother An drew; James son of Zeb e dee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Mat thew the tax col lec tor; James son of Al phaeus, and Thad daeus; 4 Si mon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. i
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the fol low ing in struc tions:“ Do not go among the Gen tiles or en ter any town of the Sa mar i tans. j 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Is rael. k 7 As you go, pro claim this mes sage:‘ The king dom of heaven l has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have lep rosy, a drive out de mons. Freely you have received; freely give.
9:29 v ver 22 9:30 w Mt 8:4 9:31 x ver 26; Mk 7:36
9:32 y Mt 4:24 z Mt 12:22‐24
9:33 a Mk 2:12
9:34 b Mt 12:24; Lk 11:15
9:35 c Mt 4:23
9:36 d Mt 14:14 e Nu 27:17; Eze 34:5, 6;
Zec 10:2; Mk 6:34 9:37 f Jn 4:35 g Lk 10:2
10:1 h Mk 3:13-15; Lk 9:1
10:4 i Mt 26:14-16, 25, 47; Jn 13:2, 26, 27
10:5 j 2Ki 17:24; Lk 9:52; Jn 4:4-26, 39, 40; Ac 8:5, 25
10:6 k Jer 50:6; Mt 15:24
10:7 l Mt 3:2 a 8 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
9:29 According to your faith. That is,“ because you have faith,” not“ in proportion to your faith.” But in vv. 32 – 34 Jesus heals someone who is probably prevented by demons from believing, so we cannot generalize and make faith a prerequisite for every miracle. 9:30 See that no one knows. For Jesus’ stern warning, see note on 8:4. Not surprisingly, many just ignore Christ’ s command. 9:32 demon-possessed and could not talk. Although the demons had caused this affliction, not all sickness was attributed to demon possession. The crowd’ s response( v. 33) highlights Jesus’ incomparable power and authority. But an ominous, contrary explanation by the Pharisees foreshadows growing hostility toward Jesus by many Jewish leaders. For their specific charge, see 12:24 and note on 12:22 – 37. 9:35— 10:42 Missionary Discourse. After a three-verse introduction( 9:36 – 38) and the formal call of the 12 apostles( 10:1 – 4), Matthew presents the second of five major sermons of Jesus that punctuate this Gospel( 10:5 – 42). 9:35 See 4:23 and note on 8:1— 9:34. 9:37 the workers are few. The shepherd imagery in vv. 35 – 38 is akin to Ezek 34 with its prophecy against evil shepherds. Too many of the Jewish leaders were offering their people inadequate or improper guidance.
Good leaders in large quantities were acutely needed.
10:1 – 42 Jesus instructs his 12 closest followers to replicate his ministry. 10:1 impure spirits. Another way of referring to demons. 10:2 – 4 Jesus may have already designated his closest followers, but Matthew gives the full list of their names for the first time here. Twelve men were chosen, probably on an analogy to the twelve tribes of Israel( cf. the council of twelve at Qumran, 1QS 8:1ff.), and they point to the renewal of the people of God in the Messianic age. 10:2 apostles. Those disciples closest to Jesus whom he called to follow him throughout his ministry. The term is used for people sent on a mission. The first four appeared already in 4:18 – 22. Peter begins all the lists of the apostles( Mark 3:16 – 19; Luke 6:14 – 16; Acts 1:13) and often plays the role of spokesman. Peter, along with James and John, formed an inner circle of leadership for the Twelve. 10:3 Bartholomew. Meaning“ son of Tolmai,” he may be the same person as Nathanael( his actual name) in John 1:45 – 51, since both are paired with Philip. Thomas. Best known, sadly, for his one episode of doubt in John 20:24 – 25( but see John 20:26 – 29). Matthew. Introduced in 9:9 – 13. James son of Alphaeus.
Called“ James the younger” in Mark 15:40. Thaddaeus. A nickname of endearment, since it comes from Aramaic taday(“ breast”). Appears to be the same person as“ Judas son of James” in Luke 6:16. 10:4 Simon the Zealot. See also Luke 16:15. He is possibly a former freedom fighter; here he is literally a Cananean( from an Aramaic word for“ zealous”). Iscariot. The name distinguishes this Judas from the one mentioned in the note on v. 3 and probably means“ man of Kerioth.” For his betrayal, see 26:47 – 50. 10:5 – 42 In these verses Jesus gives instructions for the Twelve. Verses 5 – 15 itemize conditions of their immediate missionary travels within Israel. Verses 17 – 42 look beyond this short-term mission to what they will experience after Jesus’ death. Verse 16 forms a transition, linking the two main sections. 10:5 – 15 Jesus sends out the Twelve to replicate his ministry: to proclaim the arrival of the kingdom and to heal the sick( vv. 7 – 8; cf. 9:35). Their immediate mission is within Israel. 10:5 – 6 Jesus lifts these restrictions after his resurrection( 28:18 – 20). The gospel is offered“ first to the Jew”( Rom 1:16) because Israel is God’ s“ treasured possession”( Exod 19:5).