Loving the Scriptures March 16, 2026 Issue

Jesus commissions the twelve

Christ Jesus’ sending his disciples to preach and heal was a radical shift for these followers. Up to this time, the twelve had been listeners to Jesus’ teachings and witnesses to his cures. Now they were also deemed ready to spread his message and prove its truth.

For this assignment, they were directed solely to their fellow Jews. Jesus twice designated his people “lost sheep” (see Matthew 10:6 and 15:24, considered references to the prophecies in Isaiah 53:6 and Jeremiah 50:6). Although the Israelites had been unfaithful to God’s covenant, they were to receive the gospel first. (Gentile nations would be added after Jesus’ resurrection; see Matthew 28:18–20.)

Jesus’ injunction to the disciples not to charge for their work and to take no money or extra supplies meant that they were to depend on God’s provision (though he told them at a later time to take supplies; see Luke 22:35, 36). Their needs would be met partly by Jewish hospitality—not simply shelter and food but acceptance of the gospel message as well. Rejection of that “good news” was to be symbolically condemned by shaking the dust of that place from their feet.

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