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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10, as we continue 
to work our way through the gospel according to Matthew, we're looking 
at the mission of the 12 this morning in verses 5 to 15. I do want to begin reading in 
chapter 9 at verse 35, so we are ever mindful of the context. 
Beginning in chapter 9 at verse 35, then Jesus went about all 
the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching 
the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every 
disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, 
he was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary 
and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then he said to 
his disciples, the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers 
are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the 
harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. And when he 
had called his 12 disciples to him, he gave them power over 
unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal all kinds of 
sickness and all kinds of disease. Now, the names of the 12 apostles 
are these. First, Simon, who is called Peter, 
and Andrew, his brother. James, the son of Zebedee, and 
John, his brother. Philip and Bartholomew. Thomas 
and Matthew, the tax collector, James, the son of Alphaeus, and 
Labaius, whose surname was Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas 
Iscariot, who also betrayed him. These 12, Jesus sent out and 
commanded them, saying, do not go into the way of the Gentiles, 
and do not enter a city of the Samaritans, but go rather to 
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, 
saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. heal the sick, cleanse 
the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, 
freely give. Provide neither gold nor silver, 
nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor 
two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs, for a worker is worthy 
of his food. Now whatever city or town you 
enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 
And when you go into a household, greet it. If the household is 
worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, 
let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive 
you nor hear your words when you depart from that house or 
city, shake off the dust from your feet. Assuredly, I say to 
you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah 
in the day of judgment than for that city. Amen. Well, let us 
pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
the Holy Scripture, we thank you for our Lord Jesus, we thank 
you for the Gospel, and we know that it is ours to rest in alone. We thank you for so great a salvation 
and for mercy and grace. We thank you for pardon for our 
sin and the imputation of righteousness. And God in heaven, we pray that 
we would just respond in worship and in praise and in adoration 
to you. As well, God, we pray for those 
who do not know you. We ask that today would be the 
day of salvation, that your spirit would come, that he would take 
the word and would apply it to hearts. and that sinners, boys, 
girls, men, and women would be born again by the power of God 
Most High. We ask now that you would cleanse 
us and wash us and purify us as we come to your word, so there 
would be no hindrance in our reception of your truth. And 
we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, as we saw last 
week, the appointment of the Twelve in chapter 10, the transition 
passage in chapter 9 verses 35 to 38. Remember that Matthew 
has been showing us and describing for us the authority of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. In chapters 5 to 7, we see the 
authority of Christ in His Word, in His doctrine. And in chapters 
8 to 9, we see the authority of Christ in his deeds, in his 
works of mercy. And here in chapter 10, there 
is a shared authority. The Lord Jesus gives authority 
to the 12 whom he's appointed, so that they may go out and extend 
the kingdom. In other words, there is a division 
of labor here. Christ authorizes His servants 
so that they may go and do as He does in terms of deeds of 
mercy and in terms of preaching the gospel of the kingdom so 
that sinners will come to know Him by grace alone, through faith 
alone, in Christ alone. As I said, 9.35 to 9.38. is a transition passage. Jesus 
looks upon the multitudes. He feels compassion for them 
because they were harassed, they were scattered, they were like 
sheep having no shepherd. So he tells the disciples that 
the harvest truly is plentiful. Pray that the Lord of the harvest 
would raise up laborers. They offer up that prayer. The 
Lord Jesus answers that prayer. He then ordains or installs or 
appoints these 12 men and sends them out to do His bidding, specifically 
in the geographic location of Galilee. Well, this morning as 
we take up verses 5 to 15, we'll make four observations on the 
text. First, we'll see the scope of 
the mission. Secondly, the nature of the mission. Thirdly, the provision for the 
mission. And fourthly and finally, the 
response to the mission. And something underscored in 
this particular passage that will be clearly delineated in 
Matthew 12.30 is that there is no neutrality. You see, there 
is no neutrality with reference to the message of the cross. 
You either receive it by the grace of God and believe on the 
Lord Jesus, or you reject it and despise it. Those are the 
two options. And as we move through the exposition 
this morning, I would highly encourage you to take heed to 
what our Lord says in this passage. In fact, verse 15 is one of those 
most terrifying verses that we find in the Bible. If you were 
to do a list of top 10 scary verses, I suspect that chapter 
10 verse 15 would make its way on that particular list. Jesus 
says that everything depends upon your reception or your rejection 
of the word of the living God, the message of the gospel of 
the kingdom. Well, let's take up the scope 
of the mission in verses 5 and 6. Notice these 12 Jesus sent 
out and commanded them. Remember, they're not operating 
on their own authority. They're not operating independently. They're not operating as those 
who have appointed themselves to gospel ministry, but rather 
they are men on a mission delineated and authorized by the Lord God 
Almighty Himself, even Jesus Christ our Savior. He gives them 
the authority. He gives them the ability. He 
gives them the authorization. In our studies in 1 Timothy we 
have seen, and we will see in more detail, that men are not 
to appoint themselves to gospel ministry. Rather, it must be 
authorized by the Lord Jesus Christ, and in these normative 
New Testament ages, through the ministry of the local church. 
She recognizes her leaders, she appoints her leaders under the 
authority of Christ to serve in that capacity. We do not want 
self-willed, self-appointed men, but rather Christ-authorized 
servants to go and do His particular task. And notice their focus. Jesus prohibits. He says, do 
not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the 
Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of 
Israel. Now, we ought not to interpret 
this as anti-Gentile. We ought not to interpret this 
as anti-Samaritan. This is a specific mission with 
a specific target audience in this place. In the book of Matthew 
itself, chapter 28, it ends with a universal scope where the Lord 
Christ says, go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, 
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and 
of the Holy Spirit. This is a localized mission for 
a specific purpose and a specific time. We've already seen in chapter 
8, Jesus heals the centurion's servant, Gentiles. We have seen 
in chapter 8 that Jesus casts out demons from these two men 
possessed at the Gergesenes. These were Gentiles. We see in 
Luke's Gospel that Jesus uses a Samaritan as the hero of the 
story of the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus does not have 
an axe to grind against the Gentiles and against the Samaritans. In 
fact, R.T. Frantz says the geographical 
terms that are used here, he speaks of the way of the Gentiles, 
the town of the Samaritans, contra the towns of Israel. He says, 
indicates a restriction on the area to be visited rather than 
a total ban on contact with Gentiles and Samaritans as such. We know 
that it's in Abraham that all the nations of the earth will 
be blessed. In this particular historical situation, the Lord 
Christ, whose primary mission is to go to the lost sheep of 
the house of Israel, authorizes and delegates his servants to 
go thou and do likewise. Again, he's not anti-Gentile, 
he's not anti-Samaritan, of course he's anti-sinner, He wants them 
to be saved by grace through faith in Jesus. But what we need 
to see here, and again, a lot of the prohibitions that follow 
in terms of what men are to take, it is case-sensitive. It is specific. There is a historical context 
that is in view here. It is wrong for us to jump into 
the middle of a historical text and take from that principles 
that abide and remain forever. Are we supposed to surmise from 
this that no gospel minister should ever wear shoes? No gospel 
minister should ever seek to defend himself, which is why 
a man in that age would take a staff with him on a journey. 
Are we to suppose that gospel ministers ought to live on love 
and fresh air? We are not to take that from 
this particular passage. It is a historical conditioned 
situation. Jesus highlights the people group 
that he once preached to. Romans 15.8, the apostle says, 
now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant or a minister 
to the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises 
made to the fathers. Christ is Israel's Messiah. Christ 
is the one foretold by the Old Testament Scripture. Christ is 
the one Moses wrote up. Christ is the one the prophets 
pointed to. So it ought to make sense that 
when he comes, the one in whom all the promises of God are yea 
and amen, he comes to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 
In fact, later in Matthew 15, he defines his own ministry in 
those particular terms. Now, interestingly enough, in 
that passage in Matthew 15, he's showing mercy and healing and 
grace to a Gentile woman. It's absolutely beautiful what 
he's doing there. But the focus here primarily 
is on the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And interestingly 
enough, this is the mandate given by the Lord in Acts chapter 1, 
verse 8. You are to be my witnesses first 
in Jerusalem. and then in Judea and Samaria, 
and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. Remember that the 
Apostle Paul started his ministry this way as well. Acts 13, the 
Spirit says, separate unto me Saul and Barnabas for the task 
I have appointed for them. Where does Paul go first? He 
goes to the synagogue of the Jews. When they reject, when 
they despise, when they forsake, he says, we will go to the Gentiles. citing the prophet Isaiah, that 
Christ would be made a light under the Gentiles, and Paul 
takes that and says that through the preaching of the gospel, 
we fulfill that particular task. Paul in Romans chapter 1 says, 
I'm not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto 
salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek. There is a 
logical construction going on in the Bible. The promises are 
made to Abraham, in you all the families of the earth will be 
blessed. Israel was to function in old covenant Israel as a means, 
as a place, where the blessings of God would radiate and be mediated 
to the nations around them. Of course, old covenant Israel 
fails, new covenant Israel, Jesus, succeeds, and in and through 
Him, that blessing of God is mediated and radiated to the 
nations around them. So when we read this passage, 
When He prohibits them to go into the way of the Gentiles 
and into the city of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep 
of the house of Israel, He is saying, confine this mission 
to the area of Galilee. Confine this mission to the Jews 
who are in Galilee. Go and preach to them. That's 
the scope of the mission. Notice, secondly, the nature 
of the mission, verses 7 and 8. Their message. What are they 
supposed to do? They're supposed to preach the 
gospel. Remember in the appointment in Matthew 10, 1 to 4, it highlights 
the deeds of mercy. It highlights the miracles. It 
highlights the power that they will, in fact, display as representatives 
of Christ. Now brought into the forefront 
is the message preached. By the time we get to the end 
of the gospel record, when we get to Matthew 28, the stress 
does not fall upon the deeds. The stress does not fall upon 
the mighty works. The stress does not fall upon 
miracles. The stress falls upon preaching 
the gospel. That is what is normative for 
the church now. And in this particular Jewish 
mission, the Lord Christ gives them this emphasis. Verse 7, 
And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Where have you heard that before? 
Matthew 3, 2. This is how John the Baptist 
began his ministry. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven 
is at hand. In Matthew 4, 17, this is how 
Jesus Christ began his public ministry. Repent, for the kingdom 
of heaven is at hand. Now the apostles aren't saying 
here, repent, or Jesus doesn't tell them to say repent, because 
Matthew assumes we got it, we understand, we know that you 
must repent because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This is 
the mandate, this is the apostolic injunction, this is the meat 
and potatoes of what the men of God are supposed to do. The 
signs, the gifts, the wonders that follow came in the first 
century to confirm or as Calvin said, to serve as seals of the 
written word or the preaching of the message itself. Signs 
and wonders are not the end. Signs and wonders at the time 
served to confirm and affirm that the message was in fact 
God-wrought, God-sent, and ultimately men and women are judged not 
based on their reaction to the miracles, but based on their 
reaction to the Word. Notice in verse 14, He says, 
and whoever will not receive you nor hear your words. You see, that's what it depends 
upon. You need to listen to this word this morning. You need to 
pay close attention. I remember meeting a pastor many, 
many years ago, and he said to me, you know, when we have our 
healing services, he was not a reformed pastor, When we have 
our healing services, when people come, they're not interested 
in doctrine. They're only interested in a 
healing. Think about that. You're not interested in everlasting 
life? You're not interested in salvation 
by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone? I suppose 
the persons coming actually were interested, but you have foolish 
men who say that physical healing trumps spiritual healing. It's 
the age in which we live. You fix my arm, God, and that's 
great. It doesn't matter that I end up in hell eternally. You 
see, the great reality of redemptive truth is not a fixed arm. It's 
not cleansing from leprosy. It's not the healing of the paralytic. 
Remember that account in Matthew chapter 9. They lower the paralytic 
down through the roof. Jesus sees him and he says, son, 
be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven you. They 
scratch their melons. They wonder, who does this man 
think he is that he can forgive sins? Only God alone can do that. 
So then Jesus says, which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 
your sins are forgiven you, or take up your mat and rise? He 
says, but that you may know that the Son of Man has authority 
on earth to forgive sins. He said to the paralytic, take 
up your mat and walk. You see, we have wings and sections 
and places in the church that are more enamored with the fact 
that this paralytic took up his bed and walked. I'm happy that 
paralytic is going to heaven. that his sins are forgiven, that 
he's been blood washed, that he's been cleansed and justified 
and sanctified, and that he's going to sit at the marriage 
supper of the Lamb. You see, we really are ready 
to settle for everything less than what God has to offer us. 
The stress falls on the preaching ministry. That is what Jesus 
says here. Notice, their deeds. Not only are they to preach, 
verse 7, and as you go preach saying, the kingdom of heaven 
is at hand, he says, heal the sick, like the master did, right? The centurion's servant. This 
paralytic. Heal the sick. Cleanse the lepers, 
chapter 8, verses 1 to 4. Remember that leper comes to 
Jesus and says, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me 
clean. Not looking for healing, he's looking for cleansing. You 
see, the leper was ostracized. The leper was an outsider. The 
leper couldn't commune with society. So his point isn't clean up my 
flesh, it's cleanse me so that I may return to social interaction 
with people. Jesus says, cleanse the lepers. 
Jesus says, raise the dead. Like he did with Jairus' daughter. 
Remember, little girl, Talitha, Kumi? Arise! He raised her from 
the dead. This reminds us of Elijah, the 
Tishbite. It reminds us of Elisha, those 
Old Testament prophets that raised the dead. He tells them to cast 
out demons, again, like the Lord Jesus does when he comes to that 
region of the Gadarenes. He meets those two men, demon-possessed, 
and he casts the demons out. Chapter 9, as that summary statement 
comes to pass, in verses 32 and 33, there's that man who's mute. 
Jesus casts out the demon, and the man can hear again and speak. 
This is the authorization that he is giving to these men to 
confirm and affirm that the word they are preaching is, in fact, 
God wrought. Spurgeon says, having ministered 
to souls, they were to bless the bodies of men. And thus they 
would confirm their message by their miracles. You see, that's 
what miracles do in the Bible. It's not just to impress people. It's not just to provide some 
razzle-dazzle. It's not just to be a dog and 
pony show. But when you trace through the 
scripture, miracles are given at the time of revelation. Miracles 
confirm and affirm that the revelatory word is in fact legit. It has 
come from God Most High. I submit that if you get that, 
it will help you deal with passages concerning tongues and prophesying 
when you get to the Corinthian epistle. Brethren, the sign gifts 
came to affirm and confirm the written word or the preached 
word of these apostles. Now, I'm not suggesting God can't 
raise people up now. That's a caricature. If you reject 
the common interpretation, you must not believe there's a Holy 
Spirit. I believe in the Holy Spirit. And I believe in the 
power of God. And I believe in His absolute 
sovereignty. And if you're sick and you pray to Him, I believe 
He can fix you. Absolutely, most assuredly. But the emphasis in the Christian 
pulpit is not, wheel yourself up here, because I'm going to 
slap you with a whammy and make you walk home. No, the emphasis 
is, come. you weary, wretched sinner, and 
come to the one alone who can bring forgiveness." You see, 
we cheapen the gospel when we focus on the external and we 
neglect the internal. That man should have been ashamed 
of himself to say, when they come, they're not interested 
in doctrine. May I suggest, if you're not interested in doctrine, 
you're not interested in the salvation of your soul. It is 
doctrine. It is belief on the Lord Jesus 
Christ. It is the reality that he lived, 
that he died, that he rose again. That's doctrine. We ought to 
reject and repudiate anybody who says doctrine's unimportant. 
Doctrine divides. Doctrine, you know, just makes 
people unhappy. And we don't want that. Yeah, 
bad doctrine makes them unhappy. Heresy makes them unhappy. It 
brings confusion. But what is the church if she's 
not doctrinal? What is the church if she's not 
preaching? What is the church if she is not setting forth Christ 
and Him crucified? That, my beloved brethren, is 
what we exist for. If we neglect that, we're no 
better than the Lions Club. If we neglect that, we might 
as well just meet together and pat each other on the backs. 
What brings us together as the Church of the Living God Most 
High is the doctrine that Christ died, that Christ rose again, 
and Christ saves all who come to Him in faith and with repentance. That's where the stress falls. 
Gill says, for so He had given them power to do, and this both 
for the confirmation of their doctrine and the recommendation 
of them to men. You see, peoples would know, 
when they were clothed with this authority, that they were, in 
fact, from God Most High. Again, you go back to Moses, 
you go to the prophets, you go to the ages of miracles. And 
why does God give them these gifts? So they can dazzle people? So they can have healing services? 
So they can amaze people? No. It is to confirm and affirm 
that the word they're preaching is of God and not of man. So 
the nature of their mission, their message, their deeds, notice 
their motive. The end of verse 8. heal the 
sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons, freely 
you have received, freely give. Freely you have received, freely 
give. In other words, they were not 
given this authority so they could profit. They were not given 
this authority so they could buy great big cars and their 
wives could have great big hair. And they could have great big 
bank accounts. And they could stand before people 
and use great big manipulation to try and make them give. Freely 
you have received, freely give. In other words, God blesses by 
sovereign grace so that we will go thou and do likewise. Not do something nice and then 
write out the bill and here you are. You see, the ministry is 
not like your doctor, not like your lawyer. He doesn't say, 
make sure you pay on your way out. There is not to be this 
interest. There is not to be this desire 
for profit. Freely you have received. Freely 
give. You're not like the philosophers 
of the age. You're not like the traveling 
philosophers that go about from city to city and town to town 
and try to gain a hearing and then hit them with a bill. No, 
you've received these things freely. Freely give. Go and preach. Go and heal. Go and cast out 
demons. Go and raise the dead. Go and 
do these things and never ever let it come into your mind that 
you're going to build that. Should I build them for 20 minutes 
or should I build them for an hour? That shouldn't come into 
your head. You've received this freely. 
Go give it freely. Go be abundant in blessing. Go be large-hearted. Go be compassionate. Go be like Jesus Christ the Lord. Certainly, in this new covenant 
era, in the normative phase of the Church of Christ, we can't 
necessarily raise the dead. We can't. Not necessarily. We can't raise the dead. I could 
walk into any mortuary in any town, and I guarantee you, I 
cannot raise the dead. I may not be able to heal the 
sick, but there ought to be a large heartedness and an abundant desire 
to do good to the souls of men, to do good to their physical 
bodies. So on the one hand, yes, the miracles exist to confirm 
and affirm the message preached. And while that isn't normative, 
the principle does abide that we need to be nice. We need to 
be kind. We need to be loving. We need 
to be gracious. We need to be benevolent. I think 
we can glean that principle here from this prohibition in terms 
of profiting from their mission. Well, then that naturally brings 
up the question. Maybe these disciples would have 
scratched their proverbial melon and said, well, wait a minute. 
Are we supposed to live on love and fresh air on this mission? 
If freely we have received and freely we are to give, do you 
want us to starve to death, Lord? Do you want us to shrivel up? 
Do you want us to get about three days in and drop dead? That's 
why he speaks to the provision for the mission. The narrative 
is beautiful. The Lord Jesus is quintessentially 
wise. He heads off things of the past 
before we even ask the question. If, Lord, you tell us freely 
we have received and freely we are to give, I don't want to 
sound like the carnal goat among my 12 brothers, Lord, but are 
we going to starve in this? Notice, first of all, he gives 
a prohibition. Prohibition in verse 9, provide 
neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts. nor bag 
for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs. Now, some have suggested that 
the idea here is not take off all your clothes, save for your 
undergarments, and walk around and just live off love and fresh 
air. The idea might be to procure more, to get more stuff, to acquire 
more of these resources. I think the prohibition, as I've 
already mentioned, speaks specifically to a mission confined to a localized 
geographic region. The idea is that they are to 
travel light. They're not to be burdened with 
all this extra stuff. They are to move nimbly from 
town to town so that they can canvass the area and, in fact, 
preach the gospel. So Jesus makes this prohibition. Do not amass all of these things. Now, does that mean that if we 
were going to send out a mission, Timbuktu, we just tell them, 
brother, live off love and fresh air? Hope everything goes well 
for you. Don't bring a spatula and a frying 
pan. Don't bring extra clothing and 
certainly don't bring extra shoes. We just want you to go and know 
the Lord's blessing and enjoy your next 20 years in China." 
No. That's folly. That's how people 
approach the Bible and that's sad. You know, Jesus tells us 
to turn the other cheek and we believe that means don't lock 
our doors or no death penalty. See, that's bad, bad, bad interpretation. Learn hermeneutics. You should 
read Burkoff, Principles of Interpretation. Great foray into the subject. The reference in verse 8b, and 
freely giving, lends itself naturally to consider temporal support 
during the mission. The emphasis rather seems to 
be on light travel and dependence on God. Jesus is underscoring 
that. Remember in Matthew 6, do not 
be anxious, do not worry, do not be concerned with what you 
will wear, with what you will eat, with what you will do. Jesus 
is teaching his disciples firsthand what it is to rely upon the Lord. But when we compare this passage, 
say, with Luke 22 and verse 36, Jesus does not prohibit taking 
staffs. Jesus does not prohibit there 
taking a sword. There are certain issues, certain 
contexts that speak specifically to the issue at hand. Commenting 
on this, I think this is what Spurgeon is addressing. He says, 
different modes of procedure are to be adopted at different 
times. If you're going to go on a five-day 
journey to canvas the lower mainland with tracks, you really don't 
need the same sort of supplies that you would need if you were 
moving to China. Right? If you do, you're even 
worse than any of us can imagine. You know how ladies, when they 
travel, I'm not picking on you, but they have two great big suitcases 
and a man has a paper bag. That's all you're taking? That's 
what you're taking? Jesus doesn't want them, in the 
language of Gil, to be dainty. I'm going to read that quote 
in just a moment. Here's what Spurgeon goes on 
to say. Different modes of procedure are to be adopted at different 
times. He says, oh that some of our 
spiritual brethren had a little common sense. He says, we offer 
the prayer with very faint heart. They're gonna take this passage 
and make universal abiding rules on every member in the gospel 
ministry. Notice, Jesus gives a reason for the prohibition. 
After saying in verse 10, nor bag for your journey, nor two 
tunics, nor sandals, nor staff, here's the reason why you're 
not supposed to take these things. for a worker is worthy of his 
food." Now, freely you have received, freely you are to give. That 
is a prohibition against profiteering. That is a prohibition against 
writing out a bill. That is a prohibition from taking 
your pencil and saying, yeah, I was with you for 25 minutes, 
I preached three times on that day, and here's what you owe 
me. But that doesn't mean that the poor slob who goes into these 
regions has to die. They're going to feed you. Don't worry. God Most High cares 
for the lilies of the field. He cares for the birds of the 
air. Certainly, He will care for the ambassadors of the gospel 
of Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the principle and the 
point. A worker is worthy of his food. Gill says, this no ways contradicts 
the maintenance of the gospel ministers by the people. It only 
forbids amassing wealth and riches by it, or preaching for sordid 
gain, or filthy lucre's sake. For otherwise it is Christ's 
own ordinance that the preachers of the gospel should live by 
it, and which he confirmed in the following verses. We see 
Paul say the same thing in Corinthians. We see the same principle brought 
out in 1 Timothy 5, 17 and 18. Honor those elders who work hard, 
especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. Four, 
the scripture says, he cites Deuteronomy, he cites Luke 10. You do not muzzle an ox while 
it's threshing up the grain. Let him eat. Let the ox eat. You're a mean person if you muzzle 
your ox when he goes to thresh off the grain. Let him eat. Luke 
10, the worker is worthy of this hire. You don't muzzle the ox 
that's bringing you good things. You let him eat. And then that 
brings us finally to consider the response to the mission. 
Verses 11 to 15. Notice, those who receive the 
word and those who reject the word. Remember, no neutrality. 
Neutrality simply means trying to take a position that's neither 
for or against. I'm sort of right in the middle. 
Matthew's Gospel teaches us there's no place when it comes to Jesus. There's no neutrality, there's 
no fence, there's no third position. You're either in Christ or you 
reject Christ. You are either with him or you 
are against him. You either receive his word or 
you despise his word. That's it. There is not a third 
position. There's not that admirable place 
where you get to just figure it out and find yourself, and 
when you feel it's time and appropriate, that you'll make your decision 
for Jesus. While you're waiting, you are against Him. That's the 
clear teaching and the thrust of Holy Scripture. Notice, with 
reference to these ones who received the Word. Verse 11, Now whatever 
city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay 
there till you go out. Now the worthiness here probably 
means somebody that's hospitable, somebody that's kind, and somebody 
that will house a traveling missionary. Somebody that will feed them, 
somebody that will give them room, somebody that will watch 
over them to make sure that they have the basic necessities of 
life. So Jesus' pattern is clear. Go 
into the city, find out who is receptive to your message and 
truth, and if they will house you, then stay there until you 
go out. What's he mean by that? Don't 
go into one city and bounce from house to house to house to house. 
Why? Because it's going to make you 
look dainty. It may reflect poorly on your 
host. When you find one who is worthy 
in a town, go in there and stay there till you go out. When you 
go to the next town, when you go to the next city, that's when 
you are to depart from that place. Here it is, John Gill. He says, 
in short, Christ's meaning is that he would not have his disciples 
to be difficult, and dainty, or fickle, and inconstant, but 
be content with such things they should have provided for them, 
and not seek for other and better quarters, nor fear being troublesome 
where they are. In other words, when you find 
somebody that's worthy, stay there. Don't say, hey, I hear 
the people next door, the Joneses. I use the Joneses a lot. I was 
reminded by my son recently, you know, we actually have Joneses 
in our church. I hope that every time I've mentioned 
the Joneses, they're not saying, is he speaking about us? It's 
at least in America. I suspect it is in Canada. You 
keep up with the Joneses, the next door family. Hopefully, 
you Joneses aren't too sensitive and going home and crying after 
sermons or anything like that. See what Gil says, he doesn't 
want them to be dainty and fickle. And did Jones's serve beef on 
Friday night? We want to go there. No. You're on a short-term missionary 
trip. Trust God. Go preach. That's the thrust. That's the 
emphasis. When they come there, they're 
to greet the household. When we compare Luke's gospel, 
they are to greet it with peace. The apostles are to let their 
peace, as authorized servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, to 
come upon that household. Notice, there will be those who 
reject. Verses 13b and following. If 
the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But 
if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. In other 
words, get out. Leave. Find someone who is worthy. Find someone who is receptive. 
Find someone that will provide those necessities so that you 
can carry out the mission without this tension, without this problem 
and this trial of living with people that refuse and reject 
and despise the very word you are seeking to promote and propagate. If they do not receive you, if 
they do not receive your words, then let your peace return to 
you. Depart and find a house where such may be the case. And 
then notice, and whoever will not receive you nor hear your 
words when you depart from that house or city, shake off the 
dust from your feet. This is a common occurrence with 
the Jews. If they had walked through a Gentile area, they'd 
shake off the dust. We don't want that paganism on 
us. We don't want that filth on us. We don't want that garbage 
on us. We want to just get rid of it. 
Jesus is saying, do that to those who despise and reject the gospel. If they refuse your overtures, 
if they refuse the preaching of God's grace in Christ Jesus 
the Lord, If they refuse to repent because the kingdom of heaven 
is at hand, when you depart from their city, you make that public 
statement that God Most High is angry with them. You shake 
off the dust. You get rid of that paganism. 
You throw off that Gentile filth. We see this happen in Acts 13. 
The apostles start in the synagogue. The Jews reject. The Jews despise. The Jews refuse. Paul says, we're 
going to go to the Gentiles. You know what they did? They 
shook off the dust from their feet. It's a terrible picture 
of God's judgment. And in case we miss that, get 
verse 15. Jesus says, Assuredly, I say 
to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah 
in the day of judgment than for that city. Let those words sink 
down into your hearts. Those are haunting words. Those 
are scary words. You ever read a passage in the 
Bible and almost this chill comes over you? You get this view, 
this haunting view of the sovereignty of God. There's a passage like 
that in a narrative that describes where the people of Israel had 
been. In Numbers 33, Moses is recording their travels. And 
he says in verse 4, verses 3 and 4, when they left Egypt, because 
the Egyptians were busy burying the firstborn. Burying the firstborn 
whom the Lord had killed among them. That's heavy. Can you imagine that day? Ever jump into the biblical text 
and just imagine seeing a man digging a grave to put his firstborn 
in while the children of Israel are marching out? What's underscored? God is executing judgment upon 
the gods of Egypt in that whole affair. He is redeeming his people 
to be sure. Nevertheless, it is a haunting 
view of God's sovereignty. Listen to verse 15 assuredly. This is one of those amen statements. This is a pay attention statement. 
This is a listen statement. This is you better wake up right 
now. I know it's 1210. I know there's pot roast at home. 
I know that you have other things you'd like to be doing. But assuredly, 
listen. That's what he's saying. I say to you, it will be more 
tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment 
than for that city Remember Sodom and Gomorrah. Let me just refresh 
your memory. But the men of Sodom were exceedingly 
wicked and sinful against the Lord. And the Lord said, because 
the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because 
their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they 
have done altogether according to the outcry against it that 
has come to me. And if not, I will know." In 
Genesis 19, 4 and 5, it describes the wickedness of the inhabitants 
of Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus' point is simple. Jesus' 
point is clear. It is far more serious an offense 
for Israel to reject her Messiah than it was for the Sodomites 
to reject the angels who visited. Greater privilege demands greater 
responsibility. When you've heard the gospel 
preached, say, every Sunday of your life. You've heard the gospel 
preached, say, every day at the family altar. You've heard the 
gospel preached through sermonaudio.com or through church libraries or 
through faithful evangelists or through faithful friends. 
You've heard the gospel every step of your life, and you refuse, 
and you reject. Jesus says those Sodomites and 
those Gomorrahites are going to fare better in the day of 
judgment than you are. That doesn't scare you. I don't 
know what will. That is terrifying. If you are 
here this morning and you have despised the Word, you have rejected 
the Word, you have refused to come to the Lord Jesus Christ, 
here is a foreshadowing, here is a foretaste of what your lot 
is in the future. Sodom and Gomorrah became paradigmatic, 
a pattern for evil and wickedness. When Israel went a-whoring from 
the Lord, they were compared with Sodom. Jesus' audience, 
Jesus' hearers, the twelve, would have been sobered by this statement. 
They too probably would have trembled a little bit in their 
heart of hearts, realizing that the message that we preach, the 
cities that we visit, the towns that we go to, the individuals 
we come into contact with, if they refuse, if they despise, 
if they reject, are going to suffer more. and those cities 
on the plain that engaged in lawlessness and saw hell rain 
out of heaven upon them." That's terrifying. It's one of those 
passages that I hope God Most High, by His Spirit, will open 
your eyes and your ears to, if you're not a Christian here this 
morning. That's not a good place to be. He underscores it. He highlights 
it. He makes sure that we understand. We'll visit that theme when we 
close. We're almost done. A couple of thoughts in conclusion. The first, the focus of the mission 
is to target a specific geographical location and a particular people 
group. It's not a rejection of other 
people groups. We see the comprehensive scope 
in Matthew 28. We see significant differences 
between the call of the 12 in Matthew chapter 10 and what we 
find in Matthew chapter 28 in terms of the broadness, in terms 
of the specifics, in terms of what Christ is employing his 
church to do. Knox Chamberlain defines it this 
way. He says, the latter day Joshua, 
Lord Jesus, here authorizes apostles to conquer the land. He will 
later commission them to conquer the world in Matthew 28. Notice as well, in case you've 
missed it, the emphasis upon their words. Verse 14, whoever 
will not receive you nor hear your words." If you sit under 
preaching that is filled with stories, if you sit under preaching 
that is filled with anecdotes, if you sit under preaching that 
is filled with illustrations of who knows what, and you tune 
out, it's probably going to be okay for you. But if you sit 
under faithful exposition, that means an explanation of the words, 
and you reject that? That's the worst thing you can 
do. What would you say of a man who went to the doctor and the 
doctor said, look, here's your problem. You need to do this. 
I don't want to do that. You'd say, you're nuts. You mean 
all you have to do is take that pill and you'll be fine? And 
you're not going to take the pill? Why is that so evident 
and so obvious when it comes to the physical realm? And yet, in the spiritual realm, 
we call men to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and they say, 
no. I'm going to continue doing what I want to do. I don't want 
this man to reign over me. I don't want to do what he calls 
me to do. I don't want to obey. I don't 
want to have all of that. It is worse than foolish. It 
is worse than the guy leaves the doctor and doesn't take the 
pill. Because if the guy leaves the 
doctor and he doesn't take the pill, the worst thing that's 
going to happen to him is that he dies physically. If you hear 
the gospel and you don't believe, you will die spiritually. You 
will die sufferingly. Notice as well, there is a sin 
worse than sodomy. The Christian Church is right 
to highlight that sodomite marriage is not an alternative lifestyle. 
We are right to oppose that. God's Word prohibits it. Society 
is built on the concept, I know it sounds bizarre, of procreation. If you don't procreate, you don't 
have society. In a Sodomite marriage, there 
is no procreation. Therefore, how would you have 
society? The whole thing is just flawed from beginning to end. 
God's Word specifies that it's wrong. Christians are right to 
be outraged against it. We ought not to view the encroaching 
state, the government, forcing such things down upon us and 
making us the bad guys if we dare voice any opposition against 
such an abomination. But you know what, brethren? 
The Christian church, us, at times, will speak more vociferously 
against that sort of thing and neglect the reality that every 
Sunday morning in our churches, Every Sunday night in our churches 
there is a sin worse than sodomy taking place. People rejecting, 
people despising, people refusing the gospel offer of the Lord 
God Almighty. It will be more tolerable for 
the cities in the plain than for those who hear the word and 
who refuse it. If that's you this morning, please, 
by the grace of God, believe on Christ. Believe on the Lord 
Jesus and you will be saved. That is the blessed message. 
That is the gospel. That is the good news. Jesus 
died. Jesus rose again. Jesus satisfied 
all righteousness in his life. Everything about Jesus answers 
to the demand of God most high. The Scripture says when we believe 
in Him, we have everlasting life. When we believe in Him, our sins 
are pardoned. Our sins are washed away. Our 
sins are forgiven. But not only that, we are given 
a righteousness that avails with God. We are clothed. We have 
a righteousness that will bring us into the presence of God the 
Lord Almighty. There is nothing better and nothing 
more excellent and nothing greater in this world. As the prophet 
said in Ezekiel, why will you die? Why will you die? Turn ye and live! Look to the 
Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved. That is the message that 
our Lord sends these men out to preach, to Galilee, and at 
the end of Matthew's Gospel, to preach globally, so that sinners 
everywhere, from tribe, tongue, people, and nation, would believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. So come, believe, and 
know the joy of being found in Him. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you so much for our Lord Jesus. We thank 
you for these instructions, this missionary enterprise. We thank 
you, God Almighty, for the gospel. It is a message that needs to 
be heard from sea to sea. It is a message that needs to 
be preached throughout this world. We pray that you'd raise more 
men up and authorize them through local churches. to go therefore 
and to take the gospel of the kingdom and preach it. We ask 
our Father for that application in our own midst this morning. 
For those who are outside of Christ, we pray you'd open their 
hearts and cause them to receive the truth as it is in Jesus. 
For God certainly, that last verse does bring fear into all 
of our hearts as we consider loved ones, as we consider friends, 
as we consider a world. so oftentimes rejects the Lord 
Jesus Christ. God, in your mercy, in your grace, 
in your kindness, send forth that word today, conquering and 
to conquer. And we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen.