Matthew 10 Study Notes
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10:1 The emphasis on Jesus’s selection of twelve disciples (cp. 11:1) reminds readers of the twelve tribes of Israel (Mt 19:28) and identifies Jesus’s followers (the church) as the new and true Israel, the beneficiaries of God’s promises to Abraham (Gn 12:1-3; 15:6; see note at Mt 1:1).
10:2-4 Only here in Matthew are the Twelve called “apostles.” This is one of four lists of the apostles in the NT. See Mk 3:16-19; Lk 6:14-16; Ac 1:13.
10:5-6 Jesus prioritized the mission to Israel. Although he had already served Gentiles (8:5-13) and would do so again (15:21-28), Jews were the main focus of the earliest Christian missions (see Acts 13:14,15,43; 14:1; 17:1-17; 18:1-8).
10:7-8 They are to declare and demonstrate that the kingdom of heaven is breaking in.
10:9-10 Jesus prohibited his disciples from carrying the provisions normally taken on lengthy trips. This invited utter dependence on God. The disciples trusted that God would provide for them just as he had for OT Israel (Dt 8:3-4). Some suggest that the prohibition against a staff here contradicts the permission to carry one in Mk 6:8. However, the texts can be harmonized by several explanations. For example, Matthew may prohibit acquiring a staff while Mark allows those who already own one to take it along.
10:11-14 Those who were worthy would welcome the disciples and their message (see note at 7:6). Those who were unworthy would neither welcome them nor listen. The typical Jewish greeting Shalom (“Peace be unto you”) pronounced a blessing, but those who rejected the gospel were unworthy of such a greeting. Jews shook the dust off their feet when they returned to Israel from pagan lands. By doing this when rejected, Jesus’s disciples marked those who rejected the gospel as pagans who did not truly belong to Israel. Paul and Barnabas practiced this at Antioch of Pisidia (Ac 13:51).
10:15 God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness (Gn 19:24-29). Jesus declared in Mt 11:23-24 that even these notorious cities would have repented if they had heard the message the disciples announced and had witnessed the miracles they performed.
10:16 Just as wolves stalk and destroy sheep, persecutors will attempt to hunt and destroy Jesus’s disciples. Serpents are shrewd because they flee from danger (see note at 3:7-9). Similarly, Jesus’s disciples must be prepared to take strategic action when persecution threatens (10:23). However, like doves, they should be innocent and not use violent means to answer persecution.
10:17-20 The reference to synagogues show that Jews sponsored the first anti-Christian persecution. Jewish persecutors appealed to governors and kings because only Roman officials had the authority to order executions. However, persecution by the highest levels of government gave the disciples opportunity to bear witness . . . to the Gentiles.
10:21-22 Followers of Christ must be prepared for even their families to turn against them. Everyone means all kinds of people.
10:23 The phrase you will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes may mean that Christian disciples will not complete their mission to the Jewish people before the second coming of Christ. The towns of Israel likely include the far-flung cities of the world where Jews settled down after several dispersions from Israel. However, Jesus’s promise is closely linked to the first half of the verse by the conjunction for and by the repetition of the word town. Thus “will not have gone through the towns” primarily means that the disciples will not have run out of Jewish towns to which to escape before Messiah comes. The mission to the nations in Mt 28:19-20 augments rather than replaces the mission to Israel.
phobeo
| Greek pronunciation | [fah BEH oh] |
| CSB translation | fear |
| Uses in Matthew | 18 (Mk, 12; Lk, 23; Jn, 5) |
| Uses in the NT | 95 |
| Focus passage | Matthew 10:28 |
Like the English term fear, Greek phobeo covers a broad spectrum of meanings, including worry (Mt 1:20), discomfort at potential circumstances (Mt 2:22; 10:31; 14:5; 21:26,46), and feelings of awe and/or terror, especially in the presence of the supernatural (Mt 9:8; 10:28; 14:27; 17:6-7; 27:54; 28:5,10). Phobeo has two main applications in the NT: fear of God and fear of man or circumstances. In regard to the former, fear can be understood as a healthy understanding of who God is, his power, and what he demands from us (cp. Pr 1:7; 9:10). The unbeliever should tremble in terror before such a God, for he is the one who can “destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt 10:28). For the believer, however, such fear is replaced by a relationship in which perfect love can flourish (1Jn 4:18; cp. Rm 8:15), though awe of God’s greatness remains (2Co 5:11; 7:1).
10:24-25 On the meaning of Beelzebul, see note at 12:24.
10:26-28 Most may not see the truth of the gospel now, but they will. And “the worst [the persecutors] can do does not match the worst God can do” (D. A. Carson).
10:29-31 If God must consent to the fall of sparrows, no disciple can suffer persecution without his consent. The God who has numbered even the hairs of your head has also numbered the days of your life. His plan for his disciples cannot be cut short by persecution.
10:32-34 Jesus’s words do not imply that his disciples should take up the sword in violent reprisal against persecutors. The sword is merely a symbol for conflict and division (Lk 12:51).
10:35-37 This is an even more emphatic statement of 10:21-22.
10:38 Taking up a cross does not refer to evangelism. Instead, Jesus refers here to the death march that leads to crucifixion. The point is that disciples must be prepared to die (literally and figuratively) as martyrs for Christ.
10:39 Worldly “life” and true life in the world to come are incompatible.
10:40-42 The person who welcomes a persecuted disciple welcomes Jesus and the one who sent him. He can expect to receive a heavenly reward, just as the person who welcomes a prophet or righteous person receives the reward that a prophet or righteous person deserves.