³⁵ Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. ³⁸ So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

10 Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness. ² Here are the names of the twelve apostles:

first, Simon (also called Peter),
then Andrew (Peter’s brother),
James (son of Zebedee),
John (James’s brother),
³ Philip,
Bartholomew,
Thomas,
Matthew (the tax collector),
James (son of Alphaeus),
Thaddaeus,
⁴ Simon (the zealot),
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).

⁵ Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions: “Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, ⁶ but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep. ⁷ Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!

Matthew 9:35-10:8

Dear God, I never put this together before, but this story of healing a bunch of people and then sending the disciples out comes right on the heels of Matthew 9:30, when Jesus tells the two blind men he healed not to tell anyone. What changed between 9:30 and 9:35? I don’t know that I can come up with an answer for that question, but it’s an interesting one to consider.

And then he empowers the disciples to go out and do the same thing. Go heal. Go preach. Go and make yourself conspicuous for me. This is not a quiet display of power he’s wanting to have them exhibit. He wants them to put themselves out there–even to the point where they will be arrested an beaten (Matthew 10:17). Jesus’s time here and his strategy for using his three “ministry years” to accomplish the things he accomplished is sometimes confounding to me. But like most things about you that confound me (e.g., why you built our scriptures the way you did, why you had to use Jesus life as a sacrifice of us like you did, etc.), I really can’t think of a better alternative. I have no opinions on what I think you should have done.

I guess the other interesting thing about this story is that you wanted to focus on the Israelites first. No Samaritans for this trip. No Gentiles. You wanted to reveal the Kingdom’s nearness to your people first. The Samaritans and Gentiles would come later. I guess that’s the way the plan needed to go as well, and it was the best way to do it in the long run.

Father, I have a job to do today. I’ve been given a fascinating task, and, frankly, it feels above me and over my head. I feel overwhelmed by it. Help me to lean into you today. Help me to hear your voice in the midst of the noise. If there is something you want to do in the world through me today, let it be so. Let it be so, oh, my Father. Oh, my Jesus. Oh, my Holy Spirit. Use me today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen