The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand
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Matthew 10:5-20
5. These twelve Jesus sent out, charging 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 preach as you go, saying, `The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' 8. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying, give without pay. 9. Take no gold, nor silver, nor copper in your belts, 10. no bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the laborer deserves his food. 11. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart. 12. As you enter the house, salute it. 13. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14. And if any one will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. that hour; 20. for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
This is a familiar scripture passage to many. This passage marks the beginning of the ministry of the twelve apostles! Jesus gave them very specific instructions, but they are also instructions that apply to us today. He told the twelve to go first to their “own people.” He wanted the Jews to be the first to hear the good news. Then after all of them had heard, they could and should branch out to others. Jesus empowered them to use miracles, signs and wonders so that all who heard their message might believe.
He was very specific, too, about how they were to accomplish this! Take no gold, no bag for your journey, nothing but what you have on right now. He wanted them to rely upon only the word of God. He expected them to be completely dependent upon Him. But more than that, he wanted the fact that the apostles were completely dependent upon “the kindness of others” to be a message to those who the apostles met. Rely only upon the Word of God. That is all you need to live. Don’t take your “American Express.” Don’t pack an extra jacket in case it gets chilly at night. Don’t take extra snacks with you so you don’t need to visit the vending machine after you’ve already settled into your motel room for the night! (These are hard for me, because I travel often for my job, and I’ve become quite good and economizing on snacks and packing for all weather conditions!)
Of course all this is figurative as well as literal! Our dependence is not be upon things of this world. We are to depend only upon God and the Good News of the Risen Christ! Not easy! No matter how strong and how deep is our faith, the world tries mightily to convince us we “need” as much as we can possibly consume, buy, go into debt for! And the world tries to turn us away from Christ himself. We must continually go back to the Word to be renewed and revitalized. We need to remember whose we are, and what our mission is.
How amazing that “the Spirit of your Father” spoke through these apostles before the resurrection! God’s power is so great! His love and mercy will sustain us through anything and everything. After all, we received the gift of the Son of God without earning it. We received God’s grace when we had exhausted and depleted any human amount of forgiveness and compassion!
Rely on God. That is all we need. Nurture your faith. Preach the Good News. If man rejects you, move on. Next. Next. How many souls have you brought to Christ? That’s the scale by which we are weighed. That’s the standard we are to measure ourselves against. Did I live my life like an apostle? Did I spread the good news to everyone I met by how I live my life? Do I strive to be the kind of person Christ exemplified? If the answer is yes, then you’re in good shape! Keep up the good work. But if you’re like the rest of us—Go to God and ask Him to help you accomplish his work on earth so that you can rejoice with Him in heaven at the end of time.
I hope you spend today shaking the dust of this world off your feet, taking with you no gold, no bag, no extra tunic, and announcing to all that “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Mary
