Memory Text: Matthew 10:31 NIV “So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Sunday – The Kingdom of Heaven Is Near
Matthew 10:7 NKJV “"And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
Matthew 10:7 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE From this commission we learn what the grand subject of apostolic preaching was-THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND! This was the great message. "They preached," says Quesnel, "to establish the faith; the kingdom, to animate the hope; of heaven, to inspire the love of heavenly things, and the contempt of earthly; which is at hand, that men may prepare for it without delay."

Monday – Missionary Instructions
Warning - Matthew 10:16 CEV “I am sending you like lambs into a pack of wolves. So be as wise as snakes and as innocent as doves.”
Getting Along - Matthew 10:2-4 CEV “2 The first of the twelve apostles was Simon, better known as Peter. His brother Andrew was an apostle, and so were James and John, the two sons of Zebedee. 3 Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus were also apostles. 4 The others were Simon, known as the Eager One, and Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed Jesus.”
Matthew 10:2 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES James the son of Zebadee, and John his brother. This James was slain by Herod in a persecution, Ac 12:2. The other James, the son of Alpheus, was stationed at Jerusalem, and was the author of the epistle that bears his name.
Special Powers - Matthew 10:8 God’s Word to the Nation “Cure the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse those with skin diseases, and force demons out of people. Give these things without charging, since you received them without paying.”
Reception:
1. Matthew 10:17 Holman “Because people will hand you over to sanhedrins and flog you in their synagogues, beware of them.”
Matthew 10:17 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES Scourging, or whipping, is often mentioned in the New Testament as a part of punishment. The law of Moses directed that the number of stripes should not exceed forty, but might be any number less, at the discretion of the judge, De 25:2,3. The person who was sentenced to scourging was formerly laid upon the ground, and the blows inflicted on his back in the presence of the judge. Afterwards, the criminal was tied to a low post, Scourging is still practised in the East; but the blows are commonly inflicted on the soles of the feet. It is called the bastinddo.
The instrument formerly used was a rod. Afterwards they employed thongs or lashes attached to the rod. To make the blows severe and more painful, they sometimes fastened sharp points of iron, or pieces of lead, in the thongs. These were called scorpions, 1Ki 12:11. The law was express that the number of stripes should not exceed forty. The Jews, to secure the greater accuracy in counting, used a scourge with three lashes, which inflicted three stripes at once. With this the criminal was struck thirteen times, making the number of blows thirty-nine. Paul was five times scourged in this way.
2. Matthew 10:22 Moffatt NT “and you will be hated by all men on account of my name; but he will be saved who holds out to the very end.”
Matthew 10:22 COMMENTARY THE FOURFOLD GOSPEL The term "all" is used in its general and not in its absolute sense. The apostles had some few friends among the unbelievers. Jesus gives the exact cause of the hatred. It would not be because of any personal faults or peculiarities, but simply because of adherence to Christ.
3. Matthew 10:41 NLT “"Anyone who welcomes you is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me.”
Additional Instructions:
1. Matthew 10:19 NLT “When you are arrested, don’t worry about what to say in your defense, because you will be given the right words at the right time.”
Matthew 10:19 PEOPLE’S NT COMMENTARY They are not told to take no thought what they shall preach, but that the Holy Spirit will give them utterance when they make their defense before civil magistrates.
2. Matthew 10:23 NRSV “When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next.
Matthew 10:23 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE To deprive those who are disposed to do evil of the opportunities of doing it; to convey the grace which they despise to others; to accomplish God's designs of justice on the former, and of mercy on the latter, are consequences of the flight of a persecuted preacher.

Tuesday – Gentiles and Jews
Matthew 10:5-6 Weymouth “These twelve Jesus sent on a mission, after giving them their instructions: "Go not," He said, "among the Gentiles, and enter no Samaritan town;”
Matthew 10:5 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES The full time for preaching the gospel to the Gentiles was not come. It was proper that it should be first preached to the Jews, the ancient covenant people of God, and the people among whom the Messiah was born. He afterwards gave them a charge to go into all the world.
John 10:10 ESV “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Wednesday – A Holistic MinistryMatthew 10:7-8 CEV “7 As you go, announce that the kingdom of heaven will soon be here. 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead to life, heal people who have leprosy, and force out demons. You received without paying, now give without being paid.”
Matthew 10:8 PEOPLE’S NT COMMENTARY Not only in order to do a beneficent work, but to demonstrate that they had the Lord's commission.
Leviticus 25:8-54 KJ21 (selected verses) “10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. It shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. 14 And if thou sell aught unto thy neighbor or buyest aught of thy neighbor’s hand, ye shall not oppress one another. 23 ¶ The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is Mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with Me. 29 "‘And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it. 30 And if it is not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations; it shall not go out in the jubilee. 35 "‘And if thy brother be waxed poor and hath fallen into ruin with thee, then thou shalt relieve him, yea, though he be a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with thee. 36 Take thou no interest from him or increase; but fear thy God, that thy brother may live with thee. 37 Thou shalt not give him thy money upon interest, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. 46 But over your brethren, the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigor. 47 "‘And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother who dwelleth by him wax poor and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger’s family, 48 after he is sold he may be redeemed again.

Thursday – Do Not Be Afraid of Them
Matthew 10:22 KJV “And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”
Matthew 10:22 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE He who holds fast faith and a good conscience to the end, till the punishment threatened against this wicked people be poured out, he shall be saved, preserved from the destruction that shall fall upon the workers of iniquity. This verse is commonly understood to refer to the destruction of Jerusalem. It is also true that they who do not hold fast faith and a good conscience till death have no room to hope for an admission into the kingdom of God.
Hebrews 10:35-36 KJV “35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. 36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”
Hebrews 10:35 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES Cast not away therefore your confidence. Gr. "your boldness;" referring to their confident hope in God. They were not to cast this away, and to become timid, disheartened, and discouraged. They were to bear up manfully under all their trials, and to maintain a steadfast adherence to God and to his cause.

Friday – Further Study
1. Ellen White, Desire of Ages, p. 350 – “Calling the twelve about Him, Jesus bade them go out two and two through the towns and villages. None were sent forth alone, but brother was associated with brother, friend with friend. Thus they could help and encourage each other, counseling and praying together, each one’s strength supplementing the other’s weakness. In the same manner He afterward sent forth the seventy. It was the Saviour’s purpose that the messengers of the gospel should be associated in this way. In our own time evangelistic work would be far more successful if this example were more closely followed.”
2. Ellen White, Desire of Ages, p. 351 – “The disciples on their first missionary tour were to go only to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel." If they had now preached the gospel to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, they would have lost their influence with the Jews. By exciting the prejudice of the Pharisees they would have involved themselves in controversy which would have discouraged them at the outset of their labors. Even the apostles were slow to understand that the gospel was to be carried to all nations. Until they themselves could grasp this truth they were not prepared to labor for the Gentiles. If the Jews would receive the gospel, God purposed to make them His messengers to the Gentiles. Therefore they were first to hear the message.”
3. Ellen White, Desire of Ages, p. 352 – “He lays open before them the perils they must encounter, the self-denial that will be required. He desires them to count the cost, that they may not be taken unawares by the enemy. Their warfare is not to be waged against flesh and blood, but "against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Eph. 6:12, R. V. They are to contend with supernatural forces, but they are assured of supernatural help. All the intelligences of heaven are in this army. And more than angels are in the ranks. The Holy Spirit, the representative of the Captain of the Lord’s host, comes down to direct the battle. Our infirmities may be many, our sins and mistakes grievous; but the grace of God is for all who seek it with contrition. The power of Omnipotence is enlisted in behalf of those who trust in God.”
4. Ellen White, Desire of Ages, p. 355 – “So bitter would be the enmity to the gospel that even the tenderest earthly ties would be disregarded. The disciples of Christ would be betrayed to death by the members of their own households.”