Matthew 10.  Chapter 9 had concluded with Jesus commanding his disciples to pray for more harvesters.  Chapter ten begins with commencement day.  Jesus calls his twelve disciples and tells them  “You know those apostles you have been praying for? – You are them!”

1. Everything that Jesus said and did in the previous chapters can be explained in one word: authority.  Now Jesus gave that same authority to the missionaries he commissioned (1-4).
2. Their mission was limited.  Jesus sent them “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” to proclaim “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” and they would demonstrate their message with miracles (5-8a).
3. The mission itself was their motive.  They were not allowed to accept gifts beyond food and lodging. If they were rejected, they were to just move on.  Success was not the measure of their mission. Obedience was.  (8b-15).
4. Their mission would encounter opposition.  They were to expect it.  They would divide families, and be hated by all for Christ’s sake.  Jesus called for them to endure the persecution for the sake of their mission and their master (16-25; 34-39).
5. Their mission would be dangerous.  They might even face death for Christ’s sake.  They should not fear a temporary death at man’s hands, because permanent death at God’s hands (destruction in hell) is much worse (26-33).
6. They would have supporters.  Whoever receives them, receives the ones who sent them.  The supporters will be rewarded.

LORD, we accept your mission.  Use use to reach the lost sheep.  We are willing to be the answer to our prayers for missionaries.