Mission of the Twelve Mt 10: 5-15
If the pericope of Mt 10:1-4 can be treated as an introduction to the great speech of Jesus, then the pericope that follows it is part of the speech itself. Jesus chose the apostles, appointed twelve, and immediately, at least in the account of an evangelist, sends them to proclaim the kingdom of heaven. This mission is preceded by his special teaching, a kind of instruction, which on the one hand was something necessary for beginner advocates of God's great causes, and on the other hand showed how much importance Jesus attached to the work of his representatives.
The Lord sends his apostles to the territories of Israel, more precisely, to the cities and villages of Galilee, because he and those who accompany him are now there. The apostles are forbidden to preach the Gospel outside Israel. They are to go to the lost sheep of Israel. These words express an idea that we have already encountered in this Gospel (cf. Mt. 9:36). It may come as a surprise that Jesus would later send his disciples all over the world (Matthew 28:19). But it will be so only after His Resurrection. Now the mission is to be focused on a specific goal. The apostles must not succumb to the danger of being scattered and thus diminishing the mission they have received. Moreover, by God's will, salvation is to embrace the world through the Jewish people. Jesus himself will say elsewhere: Salvation comes from the Jews (see John 4:22). That is why God chose this nation, formed it for centuries and made His Son come into the world there. Here in Palestine, a good start must be made, a living fire that will spread throughout the world in its time. The apostles therefore participate in God's eternal plans. Later they will spread all over the world, but before that, it is necessary to understand the meaning and sense of the beginning. Otherwise, everything can be chaotic, marked by rush and cheap efficiency. Especially the latter concept has not found a place in biblical theology ...
The first task of the sent is to Proclaim the kingdom of Heaven. It is about a very broad and rich meaning of this concept. Contrary to the rest of the evangelists, Matthew uses the term kingdom of heaven instead of the kingdom of God. Scholars explain this fact according to the custom of the community to which Matthew addressed his Gospel. It is a fact that the expression kingdom of heaven also functioned in the synagogue liturgy. Perhaps this is where the roots of this phrase come from in the community of Matthew, which was rather Judeo-Christians. The preaching of the kingdom presupposes the liberation of people from spiritual and bodily evil, including bringing the dead back to life. The apostles therefore receive the tasks and the authority which the evangelist had already signaled when he related the institution of the twelve (Mt. 10: 1). These tasks will not change throughout the life of the apostles and, in the succession of the apostles, they are transferred to the whole Church with the same importance and significance.
In his indications, Jesus emphasizes the material status of the witnesses of the Gospel. It seems that this is the most important condition for the success of the mission. Apostles are to be radically, even to the extreme, liberated from material goods: neither money, nor bags, nor sandals ... Even if Jesus' instructions should be understood in a hyperbolic key, such words, coming from the mouth of Someone and addressed to such an addressee and in this context, have their deep content, which should forever be the subject of meditation and an impulse for examination of conscience in the Church ...
The sent, however, have the right to subsistence, that is, to be paid for their toil. It is about securing their life needs by those they preach and will preach to. Of course, Jesus' vision of the Church and the kingdom of heaven proclaimed within it rules out any commercialism. It is also not about being a burden to the community. The idea of material subsistence for the preachers of the Gospel to the community presupposes a mutual exchange of goods. For the received spiritual goods, the evangelized ones provide the material needs of the apostle, and the apostle, in turn, without having to worry about work and earning a living, can devote himself entirely to his mission of Evangelization.Saint Paul understood this well and made it available in his Second Letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 8). The ideal expressed by Jesus, practiced at the beginning of the Church, is still a task to be realized in the new times, according to the new challenges and opportunities.
Jesus emphasizes brotherhood, not only in the apostolic community, but also on the relationship between the Apostles and his audience. This is to be expressed in living together, in using shared houses, in being in daily direct relations. By Jesus' will, the Church is to be like this: fraternal, communal, simple ... The apostles are to bring peace to the community to which they come. They are to be servants of peace. Not his own, not the one who gives the world, but the peace of Christ, which the world does not know but needs so much (cf. Jn. 14:27). The mission of the Church is to bring peace, first of all peace, to people's hearts. This peace should not be imposed by force or established by administrative means. It is a gift that requires acceptance, consent and openness. Only under such conditions will this peace bear fruit. The Apostles, when sent to preach about the kingdom of heaven need to respect man's freedom, his "yes", but also his "no." This is how their Master always did.
At the end of his sublime teaching, Jesus utters sinister words. Contempt for God's gift will not remain unpaid. Those who reject the intercessors of the kingdom of heaven and close themselves to the peace of Christ offered to them will be punished. Jesus does not specify what this punishment will be, but the recall of the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah makes His words terrible. Freedom of choice should be respected at the time of preaching, but all due justice will be done on judgment day.
Jesus sends his apostles with the mission to preach. For them, it is a kind of pastoral practice under the watchful eye of the best educator. Then they will do it on a larger scale and more independently, but never on their own initiative. Now they are led by Jesus, then they will be led by the light of the Holy Spirit. This message is repeated endlessly in the history of Christianity. Different - and still different - are the messengers, but always the same Lord, always the same mission, the same Good News, the same message and the peace of Christ to be announced, though at different times and circumstances. The same requirements as then are placed on the now heralds of the Good News. They went and performed. And those present will go and try. Maybe ineptly, maybe lazily, between the two falls ... It is important not to run out of good will, readiness, humility ...
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one bringing good news, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation (cf. Is 52: 7).
Until Tomorrow
fr. george