Matthew 10

I'm trying to forget.
I want to forget everything I have ever heard about the apostles,
and form a new mental picture as I read this gospel,
see it fresh as the events unfold.

Is this the first time the apostles have been asked to do anything?

They have been called to follow,
but until now they have been silent, haven't they?
Witnesses.

Mat 10:1 And when He had called to Him
His twelve disciples,
He gave them authority over unclean spirits,
to cast them out,
and to heal all kinds of sickness
and all kinds of disease.

What if I had been one of the apostles?
I'm trying to put myself in their shoes.
I'm trying to imagine how I would feel after
hearing this speech Jesus gives me in chapter 10

I've seen awesome things so far.
I've felt the excitement.
I've been happy to be part of it.

I'm feeling just a little bit special
to be one of the chosen

a disciple of
this rabbi who teaches with new meaning.
this miracle-working healer,
this mysterious being who can control the wind,
who has displayed authority over death itself.

Now he is commanding us
to go out and do these things:

Mat 10:8
Heal the sick,
cleanse the lepers,
raise the dead,
cast out demons.

Great!
I didn't know regular people like me could do those things!

Mat 10:16 Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.
Therefore be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.
Mat 10:17 But beware of men,
for they will deliver you up to the sanhedrins,
and they will scourge you in their synagogues.

Uh Oh...
suddenly I am hearing a different tone from Jesus.

Now He is talking about:

scourging (scourging? what did I sign up for here?)
judgement of cities worse than for Sodom and Gomorrah
brothers delivering up brothers to death,
setting men against their fathers,
children killing their parents,
hatred and persecution.

Is he talking about us?
Is he talking to the twelve of us?
or to the generations of disciples who are to come?

I mean, he looks like he is talking to us,
but his words sound so foreign,
as if he is seeing things we can't see
looking forward
and speaking to many.

-=-=-=-

I think I would be terrified.

I would probably volunteer to stay behind
and take notes,

start the biography or something.

-=-=-=-

Since Matthew is the writer of this book,
and since he is one of these twelve
who are about to go out into the world,
maybe we are about to get a first-hand account
of what happened next.

I can't wait to see how this plays out.
I'm in suspense,

With anticipation I turn the page
to start chapter 11...

(to be continued?)