Matthew 10:5–15
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing 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 proclaim 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 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or 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 there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet 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 anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
So why did Jesus purposely send out the disciples with no money or anything that could sustain them? Keep in mind that they were not sent to the Gentiles or to the Samaritans. They were sent to the lost sheep of Israel. When God sends out HIS disciples, He sends them to the lost that are in the church, not to those on the outside but those on the inside. Their instructions are to go and tell the lost in the church that the ‘kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Now most people don’t even know what that means. So I will explain it simply. When they were told that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand, they were actually saying that ‘we have been sent by God to return you back to God. They were making an announcement that they had the Truth and that they could back up what they were saying because God had written their names in heaven. Therefore they were authorized by God and had His permission and authority to be sent out. It is with that authority that they were able to tell the lost in the church what God truly says. Announcing that the kingdom of heaven is here was to be spoken so that the lost could see their way out of the kingdom of darkness. They were to shed the “Light” of the gospel to those who would accept and believe what they were saying.
So why did He send them out with nothing? Because the pharisees were egotistical money lovers. They had their own ways of doing God’s word, and that was by distorting it in order to glorify themselves. So in contrast God authorizes the preaching of the gospel in the opposite manner. Why He does this is two fold. The first is because He doesn’t want you to mistake His ministers as pharisees and the second is so that He can see YOUR worthiness.
Verse 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.
You see when God sends a true minister to you, He is checking YOUR worthiness. The disciples were sent to you to give you something for free. However the status of YOUR worthiness is demonstrated by the provision that you give them.
So what exactly does ‘worthy’ mean?
First of all worthiness has to do with peace. Peace is the agreement that God has with His ministers and that same peace or agreement that they have with men. In other words, since God has sent them out because they are accurate in giving the Word of God out, then those who hear it must agree with it’s accuracy also. They must also agree that the one giving it is truly from God and speaks the Truth from God. With this there is a peace and agreement with each other and with God. That’s why the verse says “let your peace come upon it.” In other words God’s power lies upon the persons in that household. However if the Word they give is rejected, then the people in that household have not only rejected the ones who are sent, but also have rejected God Himself. So the peace they were trying to give is now taken back, because the Word from God was rejected in the first place.
So what does a person have to do in order to validate his or her worthiness? Simply they are to give provision. It is up to the people who receive and hear to authenticate their own worthiness, by the value they place on the Word of God. This is done through the giving of provisions in any manner. If they give provision to the one who gives the gospel from God, then they are authenticating their worthiness and God’s peace through the minister rests upon the household. If they don’t authenticate or place any value on the Word of God, then the opposite occurs. You must remember that God looks to you to give them their wages. He puts YOU in charge of their provision. You are in charge of giving them their wages.
That is why verse 14 states:
14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
1 Ti 5:18
For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”
1 Co 9:3–7
4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?
In order to receive the kingdom of God, you first must acknowledge the true gospel of Christ; the testimony of Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of God is the peace, the love and joy in the Holy Spirit. This means you agree and love to be in the center of God’s will by accepting the gospel that is being shared with you.
Worthiness has to do with value. First it deals with your own value in the sight of God and then it deals with the value that you place on His Will in your life. It is then that you must realize that true ministers are sent to the lost sheep in His church. Giving provisions to God’s ministers is not only so that they can be sustained, but because God has placed you in an honorable place so that you can do that. How happy He must be when He sends a messenger to you free of charge and then God trusts you enough to have you pay for their work. We must not misconstrue paying for the gospel. Rather we are paying for the workers so that we are not part of Satan’s kingdom in hindering the gospel. If we don’t provide for the messengers, then the gospel is hindered. If you hinder you not only prove yourself unworthy, but you also at the same time are promoting Satan’s plans to hinder the gospel.
1 Thessalonians 2:15
So we wanted to come to you–even I, Paul, time and again–but Satan hindered us.
Philipians 4:15
And as you Philippians know, in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church but you partnered with me in the matter of giving and receiving. 16For even while I was in Thessalonica, you provided for my needs once and again. 17Not that I am seeking a gift, but I am looking for the fruit that may be credited to your account.
When a minister such as myself is sent to you with the Truth of God’s Kingdom; of how it operates and how His will is to be done on earth as it is in heaven, you are to provide provision so that you can not only validate your worthiness, but also so that you can be credited with all the others who come to hear the gospel of Christ after you. God will credit you with the souls that were brought back to Him because of your provision. It is an honor to give the gospel but it is a greater honor to have God give you the opportunity to give provision.
If you believe this message is true, then authenticate your worthiness by giving some provision. If not then I will dust the shoes off my feet and the peace that God and I want you to have will be removed.
Matthew 10:14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
If you believe that I deserve a wage for bringing this word to you, please donate below. And if you do not then you have your answer if you are worthy of receiving God’s Word.
IF God is worthy, then His ministers of the gospel are worthy and if you provide their wages and provisions, then you are worthy as well.
Sofia Chokmah
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Amen
AMEN
It’s more than an “AMEN!!!”
Gave in obedience to God’s Word.
Agreed…you can’t give what you don’t have…but with a lot of us, it’s not that we don’t have anything…we just refuse to give for whatever reason it is. If you have it, give it…as the prophetic word says
Same here…had to actually apologize to The Father because I thought I was able to give later than now and no need to explain because it’s neither here nor there because we simply need to learn how to trust God…no wonder I felt unsettled previously but now I know why…It doesn’t what it looks like people…give because it is required for us to do…you cannot call yourselves worthy if you HAVE but won’t GIVE HEAR but won’t LISTEN…I too gave in obedience to God’s Word…God help us to stop being so dang hard headed
I had to actually apologize to The Father because I thought I was able to give later than now and no need to explain because it’s neither here nor there because we simply need to learn how to trust God…no wonder I felt unsettled previously but now I know why…It doesn’t what it looks like people…give because it is required for us to do…you cannot call yourselves worthy if you HAVE but won’t GIVE HEAR but won’t LISTEN…I too gave in obedience to God’s Word…God help us to stop being so dang hard headed!
Thank you for this! I have also given according to the Word that was given. It’s a great responsibility God places on us to take care of those who lead us, and we can’t take that responsibility for granted. It’s not only about us, but about all the people God wants to continue to reach!
Thank you for this! I have also given according to the Word that was given. It’s a great responsibility God places on us to take care of those who lead us, and we can’t take that responsibility for granted. It’s not only about us, but about all the people God wants to continue to reach!