10:1 And {1} when he had called unto [him] his twelve disciples, he gave them power [against] unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
(1) The apostles are sent to preach the gospel in Israel.
10:1 The Call and Charge to the Apostles
SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 10:
The Twelve Apostles. The Charge. To Whom Sent. How to Go. What to Preach. How to Act If Received or Rejected. Persecution. Prudence Required. Trials to Be Met. Need Have No Care for a Defense. Fear Not Men, but God. The Father's Care. Not Peace, but a Sword. Loving Christ More Than Father or Mother. No Kind Act Lost.
He had called unto [him] his twelve disciples. Compare Mr 3:13-19 Lu 9:1-6. The twelve had already been called, and had attended the Lord for some time. They were now commissioned and sent forth as apostles. This must be connected directly with the last three verses of the preceding chapter, which should belong to Chapter 10.
He gave them power. To do the same kind of works of mercy which Jesus had done, and thus to carry out his mission. Works of mercy and love are inseparable from the true preaching of the gospel.
10:1 His twelve disciples - Hence it appears that he had already chosen out of his disciples, those whom he afterward termed apostles. The number seems to have relation to the twelve patriarchs, and the twelve tribes of Israel. Mark 3:14; 6:7; Luke 6:13; 9:1.
10:1-4 The word apostle signifies messenger; they were Christ's messengers, sent forth to proclaim his kingdom. Christ gave them power to heal all manner of sickness. In the grace of the gospel there is a slave for every sore, a remedy for every malady. There is no spiritual disease, but there is power in Christ for the cure of it. There names are recorded, and it is their honour; yet they had more reason to rejoice that their names were written in heaven, while the high and mighty names of the great ones of the earth are buried in the dust.
