The Bible Difficulties and Answers Podcast

Tuesday Contradictions: Matthew 10:5-6 – Jesus Said ‘Not Yet’ — Then Told Them to Go Everywhere

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In this episode Lance Smith unpacks the apparent contradiction between Jesus' instruction to limit ministry to Israel (Matthew 10:5–6) and the later Great Commission to all nations (Matthew 28:19). He shows that the difference is one of timing and strategy—not a change of mind—describing Jesus' mission as a staged relay that begins with Israel and expands to the Gentiles.

Drawing on examples from Matthew, Acts, Old Testament prophecy, and everyday analogies like farming and relay races, the episode traces how the gospel moved from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth and explains what that sequence teaches about discipleship and God’s timing today.

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  1. Skeptics Annotated Bible: https://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/contra/samaritans.html 
  2. Perriman, Andrew. "Why did Jesus instruct his disciples not to preach the kingdom of God to Gentiles and Samaritans?" Postost.net, November 2015. https://www.postost.net/2015/11/why-did-jesus-instruct-his-disciples-not-preach-kingdom-god-gentiles-samaritans
  3. SendU Blog. "Why did Jesus prohibit his disciples from going to the least reached?" March 7, 2019. https://sendublog.com/2019/03/07/why-did-jesus-prohibit-his-disciples-from-going-to-the-least-reached/
  4. Robinson, Laura. "Mission, Jews, and Gentiles in the Gospel of Matthew." PhD Dissertation, Duke University, 2010. https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/d8f0d12e-0ca2-4f1e-a861-356e2d360d2b/content
  5. Staples, Jason. "Matthew's 'Lost Sheep of the House of Israel'." Substack, October 2024. https://jasonstaples.substack.com/p/matthews-lost-sheep-of-the-house 
  6. Konradt, Matthias. "Israel, Church, and the Gentiles in the Gospel of Matthew." (Referenced in Robinson).
  7. Pentecost, J. Dwight. "The Great Commission." Doctrine.org. https://doctrine.org/the-great-commission
  8. Bauer, David R. "Jesus and the Jewish Commission." Anglican Compass. https://anglicancompass.com/jesus-and-the-jewish-commission/
  9. "How do we reconcile John 4:39-40 with Matthew 10:5-7?" Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange. https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/66627/how-do-we-reconcile-john-439-40-with-matthew-105-7
  10. "Is The Great Commission Not For The Church Because It's In Matthew?" Believer.com. https://believer.com/frequently-asked-questions/is-the-great-commission-not-for-the-church-because-its-in-matthew
  11. Matthew 10:5 Verse-by-Verse Commentary. StudyLight.org. https://www.studylight.org/commentary/matthew/10-5.html
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