The Gospel of Matthew: Jesus Sends out the Twelve Apostles.

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, ⁶ but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ (Matthew 10:5–7 (ESV)

Jesus gave instructions to the Twelve Apostles prior to sending them out on their journey. In the overall context (vs. 5-15), His instructions contain some hard sayings. Jesus’ words sound strange to today’s church culture and certainly to the secular culture. Therefore, we require the insightful and softening ministry of the Holy Spirit to provide instruction, insight and illumination to this extended text.

Jesus did not send His apostles to the Gentiles nor to the Samaritans. He warned them to not even travel the roads that would lead to their towns and villages. Rather, He wanted them to only go to the Jews and to proclaim that the kingdom of God was at hand. The apostles were to travel west, because in Gentiles lived in the north, south and east.

Jesus referred to the Jews as lost sheep. In others words, these were people who had wandered from the Word of God and the One, True God of the Word (Psalm 1; 19; 119). To be lost meant to be in the ways of destruction and ruin. They were unconverted.

Jesus commanded them to actively proclaim and herald the rule and reign of God was near. However, instead of a political kingdom like Rome, God’s kingdom would be eternal and a spiritual kingdom ruling the souls of the redeemed.

“Though Jesus had already commended a Gentile’s faith as greater than that found in Israel (Matt. 8:10), the focus of the first mission of the disciples were to the biological descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; Israel’s lost sheep (Ezek. 34:16),” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul. “Faithful to His promises to the patriarchs, God has sent His Messiah to bring salvation to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Rom.1:16-17).”

The Jews have the priority here in this context to receive the kingdom of God. Even today, evangelism efforts must not forget the Jewish people. It is through Israel that God would provide a blessing to the whole world (Gen. 12:1-3).

“Christ did not forbid the disciples to preach to Gentiles or Samaritans if they encountered them on the way, but they were to take the message first to the covenant people, in the regions nearby (cf. Rom. 1:16,” explains Dr. John MacArthur. “Jesus narrowed this priority even more when he said the gospel was only for those who knew they were spiritually sick (Matt. 9:13) and needed a physician (Luke 5:31–32).”

Does your church provide mission funds for outreach to the Jews? Do you have Jewish friends who are in need to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord? If not, pray not only for your church to extend their outreach to the lost sheep of the house of Israel but for you also.

Soli deo Gloria!