Matthew 10:1-8: “Twelve Apostles Are Named / Jesus Gives Practical
Ministry Advice Prior To Sending Out The Twelve On A Missionary Journey”
by
Jim Bomkamp
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In this first section of chapter 10, we are going to
look at the 12 apostles whom Jesus chose and sent out to perform ministry as
part of a ministry internship
1.1.1.
We will look at what the rest of the scriptures reveal
about these men
1.1.2.
We will see that the Lord purposely chose ordinary men
for this work of service, men whom He could train up in ministry
1.2.
We will discuss the fact that it is the Lord’s will
and desire to use our lives, for the reason that we have been left here on
earth as believers is to reach the world for Christ, and thus we must have
training in ministry, and hopefully even an internship of ministry as the
apostles had
1.3.
We will also look at the instructions that the Lord
gave to these apostles when He sent them out, for in them we can learn some
general principles of ministry which apply to people of all eras
2.
VS 10:1 - 10:1 And having summoned
His twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them
out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness”. - Jesus sends out His twelve disciples on their
first missionary journey
2.1.
Based upon their innate abilities and position in life, the group whom
Jesus chose to be His twelve apostles would not be the ones that we would
naturally select
2.2.
I believe that Jesus chose this particular group just to show us that it
is not what a person is in and of himself, in his old natural self and
abilites, that suits him to be a spiritual leader or be used greatly by the
Lord
2.2.1.
In 1 Cor. 1:26-29, Paul wrote about the fact that it is still God’s plan
to use ordinary people in mighty ways after they have been built up and
equipped in their faith, “26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there
were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27
but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God
has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
28 and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the
things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, 29 that no man
should boast before God”.
2.3.
The disciples are given an internship by Jesus
2.3.1.
These disciples were being groomed by Jesus for ministry, a ministry He
knew would not begin in full until after His death and resurrection, but they
had to now begin to function in ministry in order to be prepared for that
eventuality
2.3.2.
God has called each of us to ministry, and we must in time realize our
calling before the Lord is that of ministry of some sort, and thus we need to
always be moving in the direction of becoming more and more prepared for
ministry
2.3.3.
The twelve disciples (who later came to be called apostles) were given by
Jesus His authority, and by being given His authority, they were now able to
act as His representatives, under His leading, and have at their disposal His
authority
2.3.4.
In this internship which the twelve have with Jesus, they are enabled to
do the very miracles which Jesus Himself was doing, and thus by being able to
do these works as He had done them they would be able to give testimony to the
world of Jesus, just in the same way the signs He performed were attesting
miracles for Him
3.
VS 10:2-4 - “2 Now the names of the
twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew
his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and
Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-gatherer; James the son of Alphaeus,
and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.” - Matthew gives us the names of the twelve
apostles
3.1.
Up till this point Jesus had made no distinctions between His disciples
and this is now the first occurance of the 12 being distinguished and being
called ‘apostles’
3.2.
They had been ‘disciples’ (learners), but now that they are to be sent out
they are to be called ‘apostles’ (sent out ones)
3.3.
I like what I once heard Jon Courson teach. He said that though their will always only be
12 capital ‘A’ apostles (the ones who were directly with Jesus), we all ought
to desire to be small ‘a’ apostles, or ones who are sent out by the Lord to
forge new ministries
3.4.
Within the gospel accounts there appears to be three sub-groups within
the twelve apostles
3.4.1.
Brothers Peter and Andrew, and brothers James and John
3.4.1.1.We have already seen here in
Matthew that these men had all been disciples of John the Baptist first, and
thus they were devout Jews living under the regulations of the Old Testament
law
3.4.1.2.These men worked together in
a business as fishermen before meeting Christ (Luke 5:10)
3.4.1.3.These men were the first
called by Jesus and the first in His inner circle
3.4.1.3.1.Of these four Peter, James
and John have even more of a central relationship with Jesus
3.4.1.3.1.1.They alone went with Jesus
when He raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead
3.4.1.3.1.2.They alone went with Him
when He went up to the Mount of Transfiguration
3.4.1.3.1.3.They alone went with Him to
pray alone in the
3.4.1.4.Simon, who is called Peter
3.4.1.4.1.His name
3.4.1.4.1.1.Simon is the brother of
Andrew, and we read in the gospels of Jesus giving to Simon the name of Peter
(Matt. 6:13-18), “13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea
Philippi, He began asking His disciples, saying, “Who do people say that the
Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others,
Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”15 He *said to
them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 And Simon Peter answered and said,
“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered and
said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not
reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 “And I also say to you
that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of
Hades shall not overpower it””.
3.4.1.4.1.2.The name ‘Peter’ given by
Jesus to Simon means, “Rock” or “Stone”, because the truth that Simon uttered
was the rock of truth upon which Christ’s church would be built
3.4.1.4.1.3.In the gospel of John, John
always refers to him as “Simon Peter” in order to properly identify him
3.4.1.4.2.It is appropriate that Peter
is mentioned first in this list of the names of the apostles because he is the
one whom Jesus hand-picked to be the central leader of the 12 after His
departure from the earth
3.4.1.4.3.Peter and Andrew were from
the city of
3.4.1.4.4.Peter is mentioned in the
accounts more than any other apostle in the gospels and Acts
3.4.1.4.5.Of all of the apostles,
people can usually most relate to Peter for he was a person like most of us who
was constantly acting impetuously (without thinking things through)
3.4.1.4.5.1.He was the originator of the
‘Don’t just stand there, say something mentality’
3.4.1.4.5.1.1.On the Mount of
Transfiguration having seen Jesus transformed momentarily into the glory that
He was to have after His resurrection, then when Moses and Elijah appeared to
Jesus and began talking with Him, Peter said that it was good that they were
there and promptly began to build a tabernacle to worship each of the three
men, an action for which Peter was rebuked
3.4.1.4.5.2.After answering Jesus’
question correctly about who He was (‘the Son of the living God’), he then tried
to talk Jesus out of going to the cross, to which Jesus replied, “Get behind me
Satan!”
3.4.1.4.5.3.He was the originator of the
‘Ready, fire, aim mentality’
3.4.1.4.5.3.1.When they came to arrest
Jesus, Peter grabbed a sword and in haste swung it and cut off a slave’s ear,
which prompted Jesus to reach down pick up the ear and heal the slave
3.4.1.4.5.4.Peter promised Jesus the
night before His betrayal that though all of the other disciples fell away, he
would never fall away, and then later that night he ended up denying that he
knew Jesus three times
3.4.1.4.6.Peter however did have some
natural traits that helped him to be a leader whom Jesus could mold to be an
apostle
3.4.1.4.6.1.He always immediately asked
Jesus questions when he didn’t understand something
3.4.1.4.6.2.Though he tended to be impetuous,
he always acted immediately upon what Jesus said
3.4.1.4.6.3.Though he often found his
foot in his mouth, he seemed to always say what he meant and mean what he said,
he seemed to always tend to be forthcoming and straightforward in his dealings with
Jesus and others
3.4.1.4.6.4.He tended to be naturally
courageous, though as his denial of the Lord proved, he was weak in his flesh
in that area of his life, as are all men
3.4.1.5.Andrew
3.4.1.5.1.He was the brother of Simon,
and though the quietest of this inner group of four, he seemed to be gifted as
an evangelist
3.4.1.5.1.1.As soon as he came to Christ
he immediately went and found his brother Simon and brought him to Jesus (John
1:41)
3.4.1.5.1.2.In John 12:20 when some
Greeks came to the disciples wanting to be able to talk with Jesus, it was Andrew
along with Philip who brought them to Jesus
3.4.1.5.2.It was Peter, James, John
and Andrew that were questioning Jesus in Matt. 13:3 about what would be the
sign of His coming and of the end of the age
3.4.1.5.3.In John 6:8 we discover that
once when a multitude of 5,000 had been with Jesus and had become hungry and
Jesus challenged the disciples as to how they might feed them, it was Andrew
who brought a lad to Jesus who had 5 barley loaves and two fish.
3.4.1.6.James
3.4.1.6.1.He was the brother of John,
and not to be confused with the apostle known as “James the Less”, the son of
Alphaeus
3.4.1.6.2.This James is not to be
confused with James who was the Lord’s brother and pastor in the church in
3.4.1.6.3.He along with his brother
John were sons of a man named Zebedee (Matt. 4:21)
3.4.1.6.4.He along with his brother
John were given the name “Boanerges”,
which means, “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17)
3.4.1.6.4.1.It was James and John who came up to Jesus and asked
that in His kingdom that they might sit on His right and left hand (Mark
10:35-37)
3.4.1.6.4.2.I already mentioned that he and John along with Peter
and Andrew had asked Jesus what would be the sign of His coming and of the end
of the age
3.4.1.6.4.3.In Luke 9:54 James and John
asked Jesus if He wanted them to command that fire come down from heaven and
consume a village of the Samaritans which refused to receive Jesus’ disciples
when Jesus had sent them ahead to make arrangements for the group to stay there
3.4.1.6.4.3.1.Jesus rebuked them by
telling them that they didn’t know what kind of spirit they were of in asking
for this, because “the Son of Man did not come to destroy lives, but to save
them”
3.4.1.6.4.4.These brothers were
obviously men of great passion, and once the Lord had broken them from their
tendency to selfish ambition and a hot temper they were very charismatic
leaders whom men tended to follow after
3.4.1.6.4.5.In Acts 12:2 we see that
James became the first martyr when Herod had him put to death with a sword
3.4.1.7.John
3.4.1.7.1.He and Peter had been asked
by Jesus to go into a city and prepare the Passover for Jesus and His disciples
3.4.1.7.2.This disciple is the author
of the fourth gospel, three epistles which bear his name, and the book of
Revelation
3.4.1.7.3.He was the only disciple who
died of natural causes, and he died an old man in the city of
3.4.1.7.4.History records that a Roman
emperor had him thrown into a vat of boiling oil that had been set on fire,
however he was harmed by this. When the
Roman emperor realized that he could not kill John he had him exiled to the
3.4.1.7.5.John seemed to be the one of
all of Jesus’ disciples who sought most to just be with the Lord, and speaking
of himself in his own gospel he calls himself, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”
3.4.1.7.5.1.He was the only disciple
present at Jesus’ crucifixion, and he was the first to come to his tomb after
his resurrection (only because he could outrun Peter however), John 20:4
3.4.1.7.6.He is often called “the
apostle of love” because his writings deal more with the principle of and
practical working out of love in the disciple’s life
3.4.1.7.7.His gospel is sometimes
called the “spiritual” gospel as his writing style displays in it much more of
the deep spiritual thinker
3.4.1.7.8.We see in the first 12
chapters of Acts that Peter and John seemed to team up together in ministry for
a very successful combo (Acts 3:1ff; 4:13; 4:19; 8:14;
3.4.1.7.9.As He hung on the cross in
John 19:26-27 we see that Jesus trusted John so much that he actually entrusted
His own mother’s care to him
3.4.2.
Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, and Matthew
3.4.2.1.This second group were less
visible than the first group, we know just a little bit about them
3.4.2.2.Philip
3.4.2.2.1.This man is not to be
confused with the evangelist Philip in the book of Acts
3.4.2.2.2.Philip was from
3.4.2.2.3.Philip seems to display the
gift of Evangelism since just after being called to follow Jesus he immediately
went and found Nathaniel and told him that he had found the one prophesied
about in Moses and the law and prophets, and persuaded him to “come and see”
for himself
3.4.2.2.4.Philip was a practical man
for when Jesus sought to miraculously feed the 5,000 He asked Philip where they
would be able to buy bread to feed the multitude, and Philip told Him that two
hundred denarii wouldn’t supply enough bread for everyone to get a little (John
6:4-7)
3.4.2.2.5.Philip struggled with his
faith for in John 14:8 he told Jesus that if He would just show them the Father
it would be enough for them, to which Jesus replied with a question, “Have I
been so long with you Philip and you haven’t yet come to know me? He who has seen Me has seen the Father”
3.4.2.3.Bartholomew
3.4.2.3.1.There is really nothing we
know about Bartholomew except his
association with this second group of four apostles
3.4.2.3.2.Many believe that he may be
the Nathanael whom Philip brought to Jesus just after being saved
3.4.2.3.2.1.Nathanael is the man whom
Philip brought to Jesus and when Philip first told Nathanael about Jesus, he
asked, “Can anything good come out of
3.4.2.3.2.2.Then, when Jesus saw
Nathanael, He said of him, “Behold an Israelite in whom is no guile”. To which Nathanael answered, “How do you know
me?” Then Jesus revealed something to
Nathanael about himself, which we can only speculate about, when He said, “When
you were under the tree I saw you” (John
1:46-48)
3.4.2.3.2.2.1.It appears that Jesus’
remark concerning Nathanael should be taken at face value, in other words,
Nathanael was an upstanding Jew with a pure heart who was living as best as he
could under God’s law
3.4.2.4.Thomas
3.4.2.4.1.Thomas’ was also called
“Didymus”, which means ‘the Twin’ (John 11:16), and he has come to best be known
as the disciple who had a lot of doubts
3.4.2.4.2.Through time Thomas has
unfairly had a bad rap however, for having honest doubt and questions before
the Lord is not bad, that is, as long as you are like Thomas and willing to
take that doubt to the Lord and when He reveals Himself to you erasing your
doubt, fall down and serve and worship Him with all that you are
3.4.2.4.3.When Jesus had determined to
go to
3.4.2.4.3.1.We must remember here that
though Thomas may have been depressed by the possible outcome of going with
Jesus to
3.4.2.4.4.In John 14:5, after Jesus
told His disciples not to worry that He was going away but that He was going to
prepare a place for them, Thomas asked the honest question, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we
know the way?”. In verse 6, Jesus replied to him, “I am
the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through
Me”
3.4.2.4.5.In John chapter 20, Jesus came and appeared to His
apostles, however Thomas was not there with them (probably because he was too
depressed to be around anyone), and then when Thomas showed up later and the
apostles told him that they had seen Jesus, he said to them, “Unless I shall
see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of
the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe” (John 20:25)
3.4.2.4.5.1.Before we get too critical of Thomas for his disbelief
here, we must acknowledge that eight days later when Jesus again appeared to
them, this time when Thomas was present, that after Jesus told him to place his
hands in his side and feel His wounds, that Thomas fell down and worshipped
Jesus, and he was the first one to acknowledge Jesus as being God when he said,
“My Lord and my God” (John 20:28)
3.4.3. Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the zealot,
and Judas Iscariot
3.4.3.1.Matthew
3.4.3.1.1.I will not say much about this man since already in
this study I have said much about the life of this man who was saved while
being a tax-gatherer
3.4.3.2.James the son of Alphaeus
3.4.3.2.1.Not much at all is said about him in the New
Testament, unless he may be the same person as the one in the book of Acts who
pastored the church in
3.4.3.3.Simon the zealot
3.4.3.3.1.Not much is recounted in the New Testament about this
man except for the fact that he belonged to a political party who had been
causing insurrections against
3.4.3.4.Judas Iscariot
3.4.3.4.1.Being the one who betrayed the Lord, he is always
mentioned last in the list of the apostles
3.4.3.4.2.Jesus said that he was the “son of perdition” (or a
prodigal son) and that it would have been better for him if he had never been
born, both of which imply that he is now awaiting judgment in hell
3.4.3.4.3.One of the things that is a bit mind blowing about
Judas Iscariot is that as with the other apostles he too was anointed and given
the same authority to do ministry
4.
VS
10:5-6 - “5 These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing
them, saying, “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city
of the Samaritans; 6 but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of
4.1.
It has been accurately pointed out that there are a few reasons why Jesus
probably commanded His apostles to minister only to the Jewish people
4.1.1. First of all, since they
still harbored their inbred prejudices towards gentiles, at this point in time
they could not have been effective in reaching gentiles for the Lord
4.1.2. Secondly, this internship of
ministry did not need to be too long in duration in order for them to learn the
things that the Lord wanted to teach them through it
4.1.3. Thirdly, there were plenty
of lost Israelites to whom they could minister, which brings us to a general
ministry principle: GENERAL
MINISTRY PRINCIPLE #1: Always begin
at home
4.1.3.1.We are not to go to our
Judea,
4.1.3.2.One of the exciting things
about being a new believer is that you have a ripe mission field amongst the
very people whom you have known before coming to Christ, and those people and
friends you have in your life at that time are probably the most likely to
listen to you and your testimony than people anywhere else
4.1.3.3.We all need exhortation from
time to time to use our sphere of influence whatever it may be to reach the
people who are in our lives with the gospel
4.2.
GENERAL MINISTRY PRINCIPLE #2: in order to have any effectiveness you must
have a very well defined and finite goal to be reached whenever you undertake
any ministry, for you cannot reach everyone everywhere using every means
4.2.1. When Jesus tells the
apostles here not to ‘go in the way of the Gentiles’, He is meaning along any
street that leads to where Gentiles live
4.2.2. He also tells them not to go
to any Gentile cities in order to preach, heal, and cast out demons
4.2.3. I note here again that we
see consistently in the gospels with the ministry of Jesus and the disciples as
well as the book of Acts, that the Lord did not write off His people
4.2.3.1.From this we also are
reminded that when we His people sometimes harden our heart to the Lord and
turn away from Him, He doesn’t write us off but still tries and tries to reach
out to us
5.
VS 10:7 - “7 “And as you go,
preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” - Jesus commands them to go and to preach that
the kindom of heaven is at hand
5.1.
This is the same message that Jesus has been preaching
5.2.
They are to preach that God has sent the Messiah to the world for the
gathering together and building of His kingdom, this is the good news they are
to preach
5.2.1. Remember though that the ‘
5.2.2. They are to tell the people
that God is not waiting patiently in the by and by for a day to return, but that
He is now right in their very midst, and His kingdom is now, as now is the day
of salvation
6.
VS 10:8 - “8 “Heal the sick, raise
the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you received, freely give”” - The apostles are commanded to use the great
power and authority they have been given
6.1.
The apostles are to act as Christ’s representatives for the building up
of His kingdom, and thus He gives to them His authority and power for this work
6.2.
Christ gives them the ability to do all of the works which He has been
doing, for in doing so they shall provide further attestation that He is indeed
the Messiah
6.3.
The Lord gives them mighty power for ministry which can effect every
aspect of the lives of people who are in misery, hurting, and spiritually needy
6.3.1. Every disease known to man
they were given power to heal
6.3.2. They had seen Jesus raise
the dead, now He has given them the power to do the same
6.3.3. There is no record that the
apostles were used to raise anyone from the dead during this ministry
internship, none the less Jesus gives them the power for this work
6.3.4. They had seen Jesus be able
to even heal and cleanse those who had the most dreaded of diseases in His day,
leprosy
6.4.
GENERAL MINISTRY PRINCIPLE #3: Those who do ministry are not to have a
motive of greed, and ministry is not to be viewed as a means for achieving
worldly goods, but the Christian is to be willing to give fully and freely just
as the Lord has given to him
6.4.1. As we study the Bible we
notice that throughout where the false prophets are mentioned, they always have
a motive of greed for what they do
6.4.1.1.This same thing is usually
true in the cults today, for usually there are people at the top who are making
lots of money
6.4.1.2.It is interesting that many of
those who want to claim verse 8 for themselves and believe that God is going to
use them to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, etc., are not also
willing to claim for themselves the rest of the verses though verse 10 which
tell us that they are to give freely and not seek to make big bucks doing the
ministry, and not acquire gold, silver, or copper for the trip
6.4.1.2.1.However, if you claim verse
8, you must also also claim the rest of it
6.4.2. It is such a tragedy today
and it has placed such a bad mark upon the church that so many mainline
Christian leaders, televangelists, etc. have a profit motive and make such a
huge amount of money for performing ministry
6.4.3.
What a testimony it is to the world when Christians are willing to do the
work of ministry without requiring a large amount of money, or sometimes even
no money at all