In Matthew 10:1-15, from our reading this past week, Jesus sends out His apostles to proclaim, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He gave them power to heal, raise the dead, cleanse leapers, and cast out demons. These powers are mighty and amazing, but given with purpose. They needed to prove that what they were proclaiming was from God and not just something made up. The text doesn’t tell us how they reacted to being sent out. I don’t know if they were nervous, afraid, doubtful, etc. We all feel at least some amount of nervousness when we approach someone to tell them about God. We wonder about the best approach to use, whether we will have the answers for their questions or whether they will react kindly or with malice. Jesus even warns them that there will be some who are “worthy” and those who are not. If someone wouldn’t listen, they are told to shake off the dust from their feet — a judgment upon them as well as a relief of feeling guilty about a person’s response. In fact, Jesus states that it would be “more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town” that would not listen to the truth.
Embedded in this account from Matthew 10 is something else we need to see: dependence and trust. They are told to take no bag, 2 tunics or staff or sandals. In other words, nothing extra. They needed to trust God and the power of His word upon the hearts of the hearers. “The laborer deserves his food.” If an honest heart hears their words and heeds them, that person sees the value in what is being proclaimed and will provide for them. This is the will of God – that those who preach the good news should be supported by those who heed and appreciate the words they speak from God.
My takeaway from this reading was trust. Trust the word. Trust God. Do the work. Good considerations for us today as we take on another week of service to the Lord.