Matthew 10:1-7
1 Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.
2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
3 Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
4 Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
5 Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, "Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
6 Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
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Random thoughts on this passage:
- I wish I knew more about what went down when Christ sent these guys out. How long were they gone? What happened? What did they do and see? We know a bit from the description of Chirst sending 72 disciples to proclaim the gospel, but this looks like a different occurrence.
- Unclean spirits? There they are again. Do we believe that they are real? There are many who think that people just used "unclean spirits" to explain things that couldn't be scientifically explained at the time. Do you think the Bible does that too?
- Note the mission is to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The mission to the Gentiles is for Christ Himself, and eventually for the Apostles after Pentecost.
- Judas was among the Twelve, and was sent out on this mission. I have to believe that at this time he was given powers of healing and authority over spirits.
