https://youtu.be/h3OTaMowYDU

(Matthew 10:1-15) Verses in KNJV

- In Matthew Chapter 9, we see Jesus going from town to town, doing miracles and proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom. Healing sickness and disease, casting out demons, raising the dead, and teaching in the synagogues.

- Jesus came for the Jews first, to show them that he is the Messiah that they have been waiting for. He did things only the Messiah could do. Miracles, healings, and his deep knowledge of God.

- His message was: the Kingdom of God, God’s power and authority, has arrived. Get your life right!

- Mark 1:14-15, Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

- Mark 1:38-39,  But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.” 39 And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.

- Matthew 9:36-37, But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

- There are a lot of lost people out there that need to hear the gospel. Jesus needed to multiply his efforts by empowering the Disciples with his authority, to do the work of the ministry.

- Read Matthew 10:1-4. These are the 12 disciples/apostles:

1. Simon Peter: Peter means “rock”. He was a fisherman from Galilee. He was outspoken and aggressive, and considered the leader of the apostles. He became the Apostle to the Jews. 

2. Andrew, brother of Peter, also a fisherman, and one of the early disciples of John the Baptist.

3. James the son of Zebedee, (the older brother of John. Not James the brother of Jesus, writer of the book of James). A fisherman, and one of the inner circle of Jesus, along with Peter and John.

4. John, “the one that Jesus Loved”, writer of the Gospel of John, and several other books of the Bible. One of Jesus’ closest and trusted friends. He died in exile on the Island of Patmos. 

5 & 6. Philip (not the same one from Acts), who brought his friend Bartholomew. Philip was stoned and crucified, and Bart was beaten, crucified, and beheaded. Both martyred for Christ.

7. Matthew, a tax collector, and writer of this Gospel. Tax collectors were hated, and his presence here is a great testimony of the redeeming power of Jesus Christ.

8 & 9. James, the son of Alphaeus (also not Jesus’ brother), and Thomas, known as “doubting Thomas”. Not present when Jesus rose from the grave, he couldn’t believe it until he saw the risen Savior with his own eyes.

10. Simon the Canaanite, AKA the Zealot. Zealots were Jewish political activists wanting to overthrow the Roman govt. (The fact that Matthew, a roman tax collector, and Simon, an anti-govt activist, could become brothers in Christ shows God’s power of unification over the world’s politics.)

11. Thaddaeus, AKA Judas son of James (son of Alphaeus), AKA Jude, as in St. Jude Children Research Hospital. He is the patron saint of lost causes. (Not Jude the half-brother of Jesus, the author of the book of Jude in the NT.)

12. Judas Iscariot, the betrayer. Keeper of the money bag. He was the one who turned Jesus over to the Jews to be crucified. He was one of the original 12,