Jesus Commissions the Apostles

Transcript

GR 683
9/16/1984
Jesus Commissions the Apostles
Matthew 10: 1-23
Gil Rugh

The last part of chapters 9 and 10 of Matthew tie together as a unit. The focal point is that God is reaching out to the nation of Israel with the message of the coming kingdom through the apostles Christ appoints. This emphasis goes beyond the immediate time frame in which Jesus is physically present and includes material related to the Second Coming of Christ.
At the end of Matthew 9, Jesus says there is a plentiful harvest, but He points out that there is a shortage of workers. He tells His disciples that they should be beseeching the Lord of the harvest to send forth workers into His field. In Matthew 10, Christ appoints workers to go out into the harvest to proclaim the message of the coming kingdom. This entire chapter revolves around the ministry of those who represent Jesus Christ.
At this point in Matthew’s record, Jesus summons His twelve disciples. “Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness” (Matt. 10:1). The whole group of people following Him could be characterized as His disciples. Out of that group came an inner core of twelve who followed Him most closely. They attached themselves to Him and traveled with Him from place to place, learning from Him and being instructed by Him. So Jesus took these twelve intimate disciples and gave them authority-not only power, but the right to exercise that power. In so doing, He appointed them as His representatives giving them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out as well as the power to heal every kind of disease and sickness.
These men were to have a ministry that reflects the ministry of Jesus Christ Himself. They were to go about healing, casting out demons and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. These miracles would be done in the context of announcing the presence of the kingdom, and their ability to do the miraculous would validate their message.
It is important to see in Matthew 10 the connection between healing, the casting out of demons and the message of the kingdom. As noted earlier, not every case of physical affliction in the New Testament was caused by demons. Some were, some were not. Jesus gave the disciples authority over demons, over illness and over all kinds of bodily affliction.
In Matthew 10:2-4, Matthew gives the names of the twelve apostles: “Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.” Matthew’s first use of the word “apostle” is in verse 2. A disciple is one who is a learner, someone who is taught or instructed. An apostle is an emissary, one sent to represent a higher authority. The word is sometimes used of a representative of a king or high official who would come to a town or city and make a proclamation as a representative of the higher authority.
Jesus appoints these twelve disciples to be apostles. They are not simply going to be attached to Christ to learn from Him, but they will go out from Christ to represent Him. They will go with His message and His power. A person’s response to the apostles will be a response to Jesus Christ. Those who accept Christ as the Messiah will respond in faith to the message of the apostles. Those who reject the apostles are actually rejecting the One who sends the apostles.
The names of the twelve apostles are listed three other times in the New Testament: Mark 3:16-19, Luke 6:14-16 and Acts 1:13. All of the twelve apostles are disciples, but not all disciples are apostles. There are many following Christ who are learners, and those being taught by Christ are considered disciples. But to this narrow group of twelve is also given apostolic authority to be the official appointed representatives of Christ wherever they are sent.
In Matthew 10:2-4, Matthew lists the twelve disciples in six pairs. This is perhaps connected to Mark 6:7 which indicates that Christ sent the twelve out two by two. Apparently Matthew has that concept in mind as well although he does not state it. This study will not go into great detail about the twelve apostles, but rather simply mention each of them and note a few things about them. If you compare the lists of apostles recorded by the various writers, some of the apostles are referred to by different names. The different names will be noted for each one.
Matthew 10:2 mentions, “The first, Simon, who is called Peter.” “First” indicates his priority and preeminence. Sometimes Protestants react negatively to the practice of the Roman Catholic Church of exalting Peter’s position. I do not believe Peter is exalted in Scripture in a way that is often emphasized by the Roman Catholic Church, but neither do I believe that he should be ignored the way he is in Protestant churches. This statement regarding his priority indicates that Peter was the leader among the twelve. It does not mean he had greater powers or greater authority than did the others. By the Lord’s giving him this position of leadership, an example is given of the principle of God’s establishing leadership. In all the lists of the apostles, Peter is mentioned first and is given the preeminence among his apostolic friends. His name, which was originally Simon, was changed by Christ to Cephas, the Aramaic word for a stone. The Greek word for stone is petros, or Peter as it is referred to in English. So his name is given both as Cephas and as Peter, both names meaning the same thing-a stone.
The second apostle mentioned in verse 2 is “Andrew his brother.” Andrew brought Peter, his brother, to Christ as recorded in John 1:40-42. Scripture does not tell us a lot about Andrew and his ministry. He was not given the prominence that some of the other apostles were given, but he was effective because he brought his brother Peter to Christ, he brought the one who became the leader among the apostles.
Verse 2 also lists as a pair “James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother.” This James is not the James who wrote the epistle by the same name. This James is noted because he was the first of the apostles to be martyred. He was put to death by Herod according to Acts 12. We do not know a lot about his ministry. James’ brother, John, is better known because he is referred to as the beloved disciple. He is the one who wrote the Gospel of John, the three epistles of John and the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
As noted, Peter was the leader among the twelve apostles. But among those twelve is also an inner circle of three apostles-Peter, James and John. Christ had a closer relationship with these three. Mark 5:37 indicates that these three were in the room with Christ at the raising of Jairus’ daughter. At the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James and John are given the added privilege of seeing the transformed Christ.
The next pair listed in Matthew 10:3 are Philip and Bartholomew. In John 1:45 Bartholomew is referred to as Nathanael, and he was brought to Christ by Philip.
Thomas and Matthew are also recorded in verse 3. Everyone knows Thomas because of the expression, “doubting Thomas, ” used to describe anyone who has doubts. Thomas was given this title after the resurrection. He was not present when Jesus appeared to the other disciples, so he did not believe that they had seen Jesus until he had the privilege of seeing and touching Jesus for himself. After he realized that Christ had been raised from the dead, he fell down and worshiped Him saying, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Thomas is referred to in John 20:24 as Didymus, meaning twin. In his record of these events, Matthew refers to himself as “Matthew the tax collector” (Matt. 10:3). He is the author of the gospel of Matthew which is the subject of this study.
Matthew continues his list in verse 3 by adding “James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus.” Matthew refers to this James as the son of Alphaeus to distinguish him from the previous James who is the brother of John. Mark calls him James the less. Such a title may sound somewhat humiliating, but it may indicate that he was smaller in stature or younger in age. Either is a possibility. Thaddaeus is sometimes referred to as Judas, but he is not Judas Iscariot. He is listed in verse 3 as the partner of James the son of Alphaeus.
In verse 4 Matthew lists “Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.” Simon is an interesting character. Although we do not know a lot about his ministry, he is also called Simon the Canaanean. This is an Aramaic word which means zealot. The Zealots were a Jewish political group committed to the overthrow of Rome. Apparently before he became a disciple of Christ and subsequently an apostle, Simon was a member of that fiery political group which had committed itself to overthrowing the rule of the Romans. Simon is paired with Judas, called Iscariot, a name meaning the man of Kerioth, a town in southern Judea. This man is notorious because he betrayed Jesus.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this list is that Christ took these men from diverse backgrounds and used them to change the world. Can you imagine taking Simon the Zealot, a man who had joined himself to a political party committed to the overthrow of Rome, and making him one of the twelve with Matthew, a man who before his call was a tax collector and a representative of Rome? Then imagine taking Peter, one who was as brash and outgoing as you could find, and putting him together with some who were more retiring and hesitant to put themselves forward. These men were surely an odd mixture.
If we were putting together a group for such a purpose, we might have taken all of them in the mold of Peter or all in the mold of Simon the Zealot. But Christ took this diverse group, put them together under His leadership and made them an effective force to transform not only the nation of Israel but also the whole world. The Book of Acts refers to these apostles as those who have turned the world upside down. It is remarkable indeed how Christ could take fishermen, a tax collector, a political radical and others, wed them together, give them a life-transforming message and use them to change the world.
In Matthew 10:5-15, Christ lays out the ministry of these twelve men. If you do not keep this chapter in its proper dispensational perspective, you will have total confusion. The Gospel of Matthew is written to present Jesus Christ as the sovereign Messiah of the nation Israel. Those around Him are committed to Him as the Messiah, and the message they proclaim is one of salvation for Israel in the person of their Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Verse 5 says that when Christ sent out these apostles, He restricted their ministry to the nation Israel alone. In fact, they are forbidden to even go in the road to the Gentile cities or to go to the Samaritan cities. “These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: ‘Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans’” (v. 5). The Samaritans were half Jew and half Gentile. In 722 B.C., the Jews were taken into captivity under the Assyrians. Through the dispersion under the Assyrians, the Jews had been spread throughout the world and had entered into mixed marriages with Gentiles. After the captivity, they came back into the land and formed their own sect with their own
worship center in the northern part of Israel. The apostles were forbidden to preach to the Gentiles and to the Samaritans. Verse 6 concludes, “but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
This restriction is in keeping with the One they represent. Christ said in Matthew 15:24, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Christ says He was sent to the house of Israel, so He sends His apostles out as representatives to those Jews. In Matthew 9:36 Jesus uses the analogy of sheep to represent Israel. He describes them as lost because their shepherds have been unfaithful. The religious leaders in Israel have been corrupted, so Israel is like sheep without a shepherd.
The apostles were given the message they were to preach in Matthew 10:7: “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” This is the same message John the Baptist preached according to Matthew 3:1-2: “Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” The word that is translated “preaching” means to give forth a proclamation or to act as a herald. These representatives of the Savior of Israel were to offer a proclamation from the One who sent them. The message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (v.2). In an earlier study, it was noted that that expression refers to the earthly kingdom promised to Israel in the Old Testament. It is not an announcement regarding the Church of Jesus Christ. It is not the same message that believers proclaim today when sharing the gospel with the lost. Instead it is the proclamation that the kingdom is being offered to the nation Israel in the person of its Messiah, Jesus Christ, and it is an indication that the kingdom is at hand if they will believe in the Messiah.
That is the same message Jesus proclaimed in Matthew 4:23: “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom.” It is the same message reiterated in Matthew 9:35: “Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.” The apostles were given the same message John the Baptist had and the same message Christ was proclaiming-the message of the earthly kingdom of the nation Israel.
After giving them the message they were to proclaim in Matthew 10:7, Jesus commanded them further in verse 8, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” As representatives of Christ proclaiming the kingdom, they were to do the miracles like He did. This was to be a demonstration of power over the demons, a clear indication that their message was true. Their possession of the same kind of power that He had was a validation of their authority as apostles.
Do not overlook the important fact that the miracle of healing and the power over demons were given in the context of the proclamation of the earthly kingdom. In the earthly kingdom, there will be an absence of disease and demonic activity because Satan will be bound during the earthly reign of Jesus Christ. People who say Christians are to go and heal the sick sometimes use verse 8 to validate certain kinds of ministries, such as medical missions. I am not preaching against medical missions, but I am saying that this verse has nothing to do with medical missions. It is a verse given in the context of the earthly kingdom of Jesus Christ and of those who proclaim that kingdom as His representatives. They were sent as His apostles from His presence by His authority. Not every disciple was given power over illness, demons or death. From among all the disciples, only the twelve apostles were given this power as personal representatives of the Messiah of Israel.
Jesus says in the closing phrase of verse 8, “freely you received, freely give.” There had been no charge for the disciples to participate in this ministry. They had been given this authority and power by Christ Himself at no charge, so they were to dispense this power at no charge. They were to go freely among the nation Israel proclaiming the kingdom and healing the sick.
Jesus continues His instructions in verses 9 and 10: “Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support.”
The point of this instruction is that they were not to make extra provisions for their journey. They were not to go home and take three months to plan their trip and gather all the things they needed. The emphasis of Jesus’ instruction was, “Go now! ” His command had an urgency about it. Their not taking extra supplies with them would give the believing people among the nation Israel the opportunity to support these apostles and to manifest their faith by their support of them. With the urgency of the message, Jesus is telling them that the faithful in the nation Israel will support them, so they were not to charge for their ministry.
As noted earlier, there is a necessity to keep the dispensational aspect of these commands in proper perspective. That becomes clearer with the change in the instructions that Jesus gave the disciples as recorded in Luke 22. Notice the question Jesus posed to them in verse 3 5: “And He said to them, ‘When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?’ They said, ‘No, nothing.’” They went out with nothing, and Christ saw that they were cared for. But notice the change in verse 36: “And He said to them, ‘But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one.’”
If you do not keep these passages in their proper biblical context, you will end up with mass confusion. If you take the first instruction without considering the second, you would conclude that today it is not biblical to take any provisions with you as you go out to present the gospel, but rather, you should trust the Lord day by day. However, Christ Himself indicated a change in this later passage. We are not to function according to the original guideline any longer. That instruction was only in effect while the apostles were offering the kingdom to the nation Israel. But once the kingdom has been rejected, they were no longer to function as those offering the kingdom. There was a change in their style of ministry also.
Jesus continues to give them instructions for their ministry of offering the kingdom in Matthew 10:11-13: “And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it; and stay at his house until you leave that city. As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace.” Worthiness is demonstrated by the responsiveness to the message. Those who believe the message of the Messiah will be those who are worthy. The pronouncement of peace from the apostles will be upon those who accept the message. The apostles had the authority of Christ to bestow peace upon those homes where their message was accepted.
However, for those who refused the message, a stern warning is given in verse 14: “Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.” This was a practice used in biblical times to show that you were disassociating yourself from those you had been in contact with. You no longer wanted any association with them, so you would shake off even the dust from your feet that was associated with them. It was an indication that you were cutting yourself off from them completely.
Then Jesus continues in verse 15 to show the seriousness of this rejection: “Truly 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.” Sodom and Gomorrah were viewed as the epitome of the manifestation of wickedness that needs to be judged. These cities were classic examples of wickedness judged by God and are used as such an example several times in Scripture. Jude 7 says that they were set forth as examples of God’s judgment by fire. In Matthew’s Gospel, Christ says it will be more tolerable for those wicked and perverse people who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah who were so open in their sexual perverseness than it will be for the cities in Israel that reject the apostolic message concerning the coming kingdom. The principle in effect here is that greater light brings greater responsibility, a universal principle in Scripture. Those who are exposed to greater revelation will have greater responsibility in the Day of Judgment.
The application of this principle introduced by Christ in Matthew 10 is again demonstrated in chapter 11: “Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you’” (vs. 20-24). Why was this true? It was because they had greater revelation in Capernaum than Sodom and Gomorrah had. The Messiah Himself had done mighty miracles in that town, but the people had rejected Him.
That principle continues today. We proclaim even a greater revelation than was proclaimed at the time of Christ, because we proclaim the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross and His subsequent resurrection. How much more intolerable will it be in the Day of Judgment for those who have set under the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ and have not believed? They will have no excuse. A more severe judgment awaits those who have had greater exposure to greater light. God is the judge of all men, and He is fair in His judgment. All unbelievers are going to Hades and subsequently to hell, but there is more severity in the judgment of some than for others.
Matthew 10:16-23 introduces a change in emphasis. Jesus warns the disciples in these verses that they were being sent out into a hostile environment. Some of the events of these verses go beyond the immediate time in which the disciples were sent out and relate to events in the Tribulation which is yet to come.

The above time line represents the pattern set down in the Old Testament. The Old Testament itself takes history to the time of Christ. Following the cross of Christ information is revealed about the seven-year Tribulation. Following the Tribulation is the Second Coming followed by the Millennium. The significant thing about this time line is that the Church is not represented at all. The period of time in which we live, called the Church Age or the dispensation of the Church, is not revealed in the Old Testament nor in the gospels. Much later in Matthew the issue of the Church of Jesus Christ is addressed. But the description of events as given by Matthew follows the pattern set down in the Old Testament. In that chronology the rejection of the Messiah will result in His crucifixion, followed by an intense period of suffering by the nation Israel for seven years which will be brought to a climax by the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to earth at which time Christ will establish His kingdom.
The Church does not fit in the Jewish perspective of things because the Church was not revealed to Israel. Through the first ten chapters of Matthew, there is no insight at all about the Church of Jesus Christ because that information has not yet been revealed. Later revelation in the New Testament about the Church indicates that this dispensation of time follows the crucifixion of Christ and precedes the time of the Great Tribulation.

Jesus indicates in Matthew 10:16 that the apostles were being sent out into a hostile environment: “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” They were sent as sheep in the midst of wolves. The goal of wolves is to tear apart and destroy the sheep. Jesus used this same analogy in Matthew 7:15: “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Their goal is to destroy and ruin you.
Jesus tells the apostles in Matthew 10:16 that they were to have a combination of shrewdness and innocence. They were to be discerning and on their guard, yet they were to be pure and undefiled. In other words, they must be careful. It is possible to get so clever that one becomes less than pure and unmixed. Those who represent Jesus Christ are to be shrewd, clever and discerning, but they are also to be innocent, a word meaning unmixed or pure. Believers are not to become clever in the world’s sense of using devious methods in their ministry. There is no place for that at all. There should never be any question about the motives of the life of a believer. The ends do not justify the means, so one must be pure and harmless, but also shrewd and clever. This is an interesting balance.
Believers are also to be innocent as doves. The word “innocent” is used only two other times in the New Testament. Paul wrote in Romans 16:19, “For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.” Believers are to be very adept in what is good, right and true, but innocent regarding evil with no involvement or association with it whatever. The other use of this word is in Philippians 2: “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world” (vs. 14,15). Believers are not supposed to be gullible, but they are to be wise, pure, innocent and undefiled as they go out into the midst of a hostile world.
The following verses will be considered in more detail in the next study. Matthew 10:17-18 indicates the opposition that will come from the Jewish leaders: “But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.” These events actually happened as trials took place and scourging occurred in the synagogues, and a very detailed set of instructions was developed for scourging people in the synagogues. Jesus warned the apostles that they would be brought before government officials because of their testimony for Jesus Christ.
The description of these events continues in verses 19 and 20: “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” This indicates that the Spirit of God will speak through them in that time of need. Verse 20 may indicate that the time element involved is within the Tribulation, because the Spirit is not given to them until after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here they are told that it will be the Spirit of God who will give them the wisdom to answer and respond.
This verse does not have to do with believers today. It refers to the apostolic ministry as it will be carried on during the Great Tribulation when the nation Israel will be undergoing intense persecution and suffering. There will be no time for preparation when they are called before government authorities. Some people use this verse as an excuse today not to prepare for teaching the Word of God. They think it is a promise that the Holy Spirit will tell them what to say without their preparing. Someone indicated to me recently that their pastor functions on the basis of these two verses. However, these verses have nothing to do with today. They are related to believers fleeing from place to place under intense persecution, being captured and brought before kings. When that occurs, they are not to worry about their response because the Spirit of God will provide the wisdom for them.
Verse 21 indicates the breakdown of family ties: “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.” The gospel of Christ will divide families. There is some indication of this being present in the world even today. Some who believe in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and begin attending a Bible-teaching church are cut off from their family relationships. Just recently I was talking to a family whose parents told them that they were disinheriting them because of their decision to follow Christ in this way. This is just a little inkling of what will happen in the future. This breakdown occurs more frequently in some countries of the world today where children are government informants reporting on their parents. During the time of the Tribulation, this will go on throughout the whole world and you will not be able to trust even your own family. You will not know whether your wife, your husband or your children will deliver you up to be executed.
Furthermore, there will be a great manifestation of hatred. “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved” (v. 22). This hatred is to be taken in the general sense of the attitude of the world.
The last part of this verse has had many strange interpretations! If it is not seen in its proper context, it can be used to
show that believers who fall by the way did not endure to the end, therefore they will not be saved. But this verse is not nullifying the doctrine of eternal security, it must be taken in the context of the entire chapter. In this context, Jesus has moved on to the events leading up to His kingdom, the subject He is moving toward in verse 23. So Jesus has in view here the rejection which He will undergo and the suffering of the Tribulation. The one who endures to the end is the one enduring to the end of the Tribulation.
Matthew 24 parallels this chapter in content and emphasis. The disciples have asked the question, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (v. 3). Notice that this is in the context of the Tribulation. Verse 13 says, “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”
Jesus continues in verse 14, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Neither does this verse have anything to do with today. I am not arguing against preaching the gospel to the whole world. Perhaps there is foundation for this in other portions of Scripture, but that is not what Matthew 24:14 is talking about. The gospel does not have to be preached to the whole world before the Rapture of the Church occurs. This passage is not speaking of the one who endures to the end of the Rapture being saved. It is talking about those who endure through the Tribulation.
Matthew 10:23 makes it clear that Jesus is talking about His Second Coming as the Son of Man: “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes.” The phrase, “Son of Man,” comes from Daniel 7:13 and refers to the Son of Man’s being presented before the Ancient of Days. He is saying that the believers in that time will not have fled through all the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.
Those referred to in verse 22 as enduring to the end are those who will be faithful to the end of the Tribulation who will be saved by the direct intervention of Jesus Christ coming to earth. He Himself said that if He did not intervene, there would be no flesh left alive during the Tribulation, all people would be killed. So he who endures to the end, he who perseveres through the Tribulation, will be delivered by the coming of the Messiah. They will keep running through the cities, fleeing from their persecutors. But that persecution will be of short duration because it will only occur during the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation. When He says that they will not have time to have fled through all the cities, it indicates that they will not have fled to all the cities until the Son of Man comes, a promised deliverance for them during the Tribulation. Apparently the Jews will study this passage during the Great Tribulation, especially the last three and one-half years, and will take great comfort and encouragement from it.
It is also true that at the end of the Tribulation with the Second Coming of Christ, there will be a mass conversion of the nation Israel. Romans 11:26 says, “And so all Israel will be saved.” There will be a national turning to the Messiah at the close of the Tribulation as the Jews have been prepared by those events to believe that Jesus is their Messiah. They will be ready to receive Him and to establish the kingdom.
After selecting the apostles, Jesus sends them out to proclaim the truth concerning the kingdom that He has come to establish. This message goes beyond the immediate time of the apostles because the message of the Tribulation will be the same message the apostles are proclaiming, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 10:7). This is not referring to the coming of the Lord in the air at the Rapture, but refers to those Jews who proclaim in the Tribulation that Jesus Christ is coming to set up His earthly kingdom. Jesus is telling them to prepare themselves for it because of the persecution, suffering, resistance and hatred they will experience. He promises that before they can be annihilated, He will personally intervene and come in glory to destroy the enemies of Israel and sit up a kingdom in righteousness and holiness.
What an exciting message! The apostles were sent out to proclaim this message to the Jews. We are sent out, but not with the same message. The message of the apostles centered on the kingdom, but there are certain principles which are the same today. We are representatives of Jesus Christ and we proclaim Him. We do not proclaim an earthly kingdom, but we proclaim One who is the Savior, and we beseech men to be reconciled to God by faith in Jesus Christ. We realize that there is opposition today to the gospel message even as the apostles experienced it in their day. There are those around us who hate the truth when it is proclaimed. It divides friends, families and churches. But the truth of the gospel must be proclaimed. In the midst of it all, an individual is measured in light of where he is in his relationship to Jesus Christ. That is the crucial issue today. Jesus warned that it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for the cities that heard the apostles.
How much less tolerable will it be for you who have heard the completed message of the revelation of God? You have heard that Jesus is not only the Messiah of Israel, but He is the One who died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins. Because He paid the penalty, He was raised from the dead as God’s testimony that salvation is found by faith in Him alone. That is the most complete revelation one could ever have. If you reject that revelation, it will be intolerable for you on the Day of Judgment because you will be totally without excuse. The glorious part of the message is that you have the privilege of believing. Do not miss that privilege and subject yourself to the intolerable judgment of God.