Bible Commentaries

The disciples ( τούς μαθητὰς )

The or his, referring to them as already chosen, though he nowhere relates their choosing. See Mark 3:14; Luke 6:13.

Apostles ( ἀποστόλων )

Compare disciples, Matthew 10:1. Apostles is the official term, used here for the first time. They were merely learners (disciples, μαθηταὶ ) until Christ gave them authority. From ἀποστέλλω , to send away. An apostle is one sent forth. Compare John 13:16 and Rev., one that is sent. Cremer (“Biblico-Theological Lexicon”) suggests that it was the rare occurrence of the word in profane Greek that made it all the more appropriate as the distinctive appellation of the twelve. Compare Luke 6:13; Acts 1:2. Also, John 17:18, I have sent. The word is once used of Christ (Hebrews 3:1), and in a very general sense to denote an:), one sent (2 Corinthians 8:23; Philemon 2:25).

The Canaanite ( ὁ Καναναιος )

Rev., Cananaean. The word has nothing to do with Canaan. In Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13, the same apostle is called Zelotes. Both terms indicate his connection with the Galilaean Zealot party, a sect which stood for the recovery of Jewish freedom and the maintenance of distinctive Jewish institutions. From the Hebrew kannázealous; compare the Chaldee kanánby which this sect was denoted.

But the proper reading is staff, ( ῥάβδον )

The workman is worthy, etc. Matthew 10:11, There abide, etc.

“The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles,” a tract discovered in 1873 in the library of the monastery of the Most Holy Sepulchre at Constantinople, by Bryennios, Metropolitan of Nicomedia, is assigned to the date of 120 a.d., and by some scholars is placed as early as 100 a.d. It is addressed to Gentile Christians, and is designed to give them practical instruction in the Christian life, according to the teachings of the twelve apostles and of the Lord himself. In the eleventh chapter we read as follows: “And every apostle who cometh to you, let him be received as the Lord; but he shall not remain except for one day; if, however, there be need, then the next day; but if he remain three days, he is a false prophet. But when the apostle departeth, let him take nothing except bread enough till he lodge again, but if he ask money, he is a false prophet.” And again (ch. 13): “Likewise a true teacher, he also is worthy like the workman, of his support. Every first-fruit, then, of the products of wine-press and threshing-floor, of oxen and sheep, thou shalt take and give to the prophets, for they are your high-priests … .If thou makest a baking of bread, take the first of it and give according to the commandment. In like manner, when thou openest a jar of wine or oil, take the first of it and give to the prophets; and of money and clothing, and every possession, take the first, as may seem right to thee, and give according to the commandment.”

The workman is worthy, etc. Matthew 10:11, There abide, etc.

“The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles,” a tract discovered in 1873 in the library of the monastery of the Most Holy Sepulchre at Constantinople, by Bryennios, Metropolitan of Nicomedia, is assigned to the date of 120 a.d., and by some scholars is placed as early as 100 a.d. It is addressed to Gentile Christians, and is designed to give them practical instruction in the Christian life, according to the teachings of the twelve apostles and of the Lord himself. In the eleventh chapter we read as follows: “And every apostle who cometh to you, let him be received as the Lord; but he shall not remain except for one day; if, however, there be need, then the next day; but if he remain three days, he is a false prophet. But when the apostle departeth, let him take nothing except bread enough till he lodge again, but if he ask money, he is a false prophet.” And again (ch. 8): “Likewise a true teacher, he also is worthy like the workman, of his support. Every first-fruit, then, of the products of wine-press and threshing-floor, of oxen and sheep, thou shalt take and give to the prophets, for they are your high-priests … .If thou makest a baking of bread, take the first of it and give according to the commandment. In like manner, when thou openest a jar of wine or oil, take the first of it and give to the prophets; and of money and clothing, and every possession, take the first, as may seem right to thee, and give according to the commandment.”

When ye come into ( εἰσερχόμενοι )

The Greek indicates more distinctly the simultaneousness of the entrance and the salutation: as ye are entering. Rev., as ye enter. So of the departure, as ye are going forth ( ἐξερχόμενοι , Matthew 10:14).

Shake off ( ἐκτινάξατε )

“The very dust of a heathen country was unclean, and it defiled by contact. It was regarded like a grave, or like the putrescence of death. If a spot of heathen dust had touched an offering, it must at once be burnt. More than that, if by mischance any heathen dust had been brought into Palestine, it did not and could not mingle with that of 'the land,' but remained to the end what it had been - unclean, defiled and defiling everything to which it adhered.” The apostles, therefore, were not only to leave the house or city which should refuse to receive them, “but it was to be considered and treated as if it were heathen, just as in the similar case mentioned in Matthew 18:17. All contact with such must be avoided, all trace of it shaken off” (Edersheim, “Jewish Social Life in the Days of Christ”). The symbolic act indicated that the apostles and their Lord regarded them not only as unclean, but as entirely responsible for their uncleanness. See Acts 18:6.

I send you forth ( ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω )

Cognate to the word ἀπόστολος (apostle )The I is emphatic: “It is I that send you forth.”

Wise ( φρόνιμοι )

So A.V. and Rev. Denoting prudence with regard to their own safety. Wyc., wary.

Harmless ( ἀκέραιοι )

Lit., unmixed, unadulterated. Used of wine without water, and of metal without alloy. Hence guileless. So Luther, without falsity. Compare Romans 16:19; Philemon 2:15. They were to imitate the serpent's wariness, but not his wiliness. “The presence of the wolves demands that ye be wary; the fact that ye are my apostles (compare “I send you”) demands that ye be guileless ” (Dr. Morison on Matthew).

Of men ( τῶν ἀνθπώπων )

Lit., “the men,” already alluded to under the term wolves.

Take no thought ( μὴ μεριμνήσητε )

Rev., Be not anxious. See on Matthew 6:25.

In that hour ( ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ )

Very precise. “In that selfsame hour.” Bengel remarks: “Even though not before. Many feel most strongly their spiritual power when the hour comes to impart it to others.”

Beelzebub ( βεελζεβοὺλ , Beelzebul )

There is a coarse witticism in the application of the word to Christ. Jesus calls himself “the Master of the house,” and the Jews apply to him the corresponding title of the Devil, Hebrews, BeelzebulMaster of the dwelling. (The phrase reappears in German, where the Devil is sometimes called Herr vom HausSee Goethe, “Faust,” sc. xxi.). Dr. Edersheim's explanation, though ingenious, seems far-fetched. He says that szebuhlin Rabbinic language, means, not any ordinary dwelling, but specifically the temple; so that Beelzebul would be Master of the Temple, an expression having reference to the claims of Jesus on his first purification of the temple. He then conceives a play between this word and Beelzibbulmeaning Lord of idolatrous sacrifice, and says: “The Lord of the temple was to them the chief of idolatrous worship; the representative of God, that of the worst of demons. Beelzebulwas BeelzibbulWhat, then, might his household expect at their hands?” (“Life and Times of Jesus”).