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Catholic Bible Study
Matthew 10:1-15
00:30:08
This week Dr. Tim Gray and Dr. Michael Barber continue their study of the Gospel of Matthew by diving into 10:1-15.
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- [00:00]
A
Welcome to form. Now, I'm Tim Gray, president of the Augustine Institute. And Joining me is Dr. Michael Barber, who is a professor of scripture here at the Augusta Institute. And it's our delight to be with you as we're walking through our Bible study on the Gospel of Matthew. We do that once a week and we invite you to grab your Bible. We are using the Augustan Bible, which is the ESV Catholic edition, because we think it's one of the most accurate and one of the best English translations of the Bible for studying the word of God. And you can get that at Catholic Market, which is our E commerce store. So you can get that at Catholic Market if you're interested. And grab your Bible and open up. We're at the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 10 and 10 is an important new chapter in the narrative of story of Mark's Gospel because we just saw how in chapters eight and nine there is ten stories of Jesus doing mighty deeds. And those ten signify authority. And so we've been watching Jesus authority being on display basically in all these different scenes and stories. Now we move to chapter 10 and we get a speech or a discourse of Jesus that follows after the after Jesus deeds narrative. And Matthew's Gospel is structured by a movement of narrative story showing Jesus acting and then showing Jesus teaching. And the actions and deeds of Jesus prepare us to understand and to receive the teaching of Jesus more fully. And so it's action and then teaching. So the deeds and the words of Jesus that's so important to understand that once you do, the Gospel of Matthew opens up in a whole new light, which is really exciting. So Matthew chapter 10, we're going to see Jesus teaching and his audience is the 12 apostles alone. Not like in the Sermon on the Mount that we saw earlier in Matthew 5, 6, 7, where he taught the apostles and the crowds. Now he's just focusing on the 12 apostles and he's going to be sharing his authority with them. But what kind of authority does he have to give? Well, we just witnessed that in chapters eight and chapter nine of Matthew. So for example, in chapter eight, a centurion said, I'm a man of authority. I said to one, go. And he goes. I said to another, come. And he comes and. And he recognizes that Jesus is a man of authority. Well, Jesus is going to share some of his kingly authority and priestly authority with the 12. Now we have an image of that. A good example is in the beginning of Matthew, chapter 9. Jesus forgives the sins of the paralytic before he heals him. And so what kind of authority does Jesus give to the 10 or to the 12 in chapter 10? The authority to forgive sins is going to be one of the authorities that Jesus gives the apostles. And we get a hint of that in Matthew, for example, where he ends the scene of the paralytic with the crowd saying in amazement for God who had given such authority to men, plural, not just to Jesus, but to men. And so we'll see him giving that authority to men in chapter 10. So it's really important to read the big picture of the movements of Matthew's Gospel. Now we're going to dive in chapter 10. So, Michael, why don't you start us off with chapter 10 and remind us where we are in the narrative.
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B
Right. Well, so remember, Matthew's Gospel is divided up into five major sections, right? So we could call those five sections books. Because a lot of scholars think, and Tim and I think this, that Matthew did this in order to evoke the five books of the Torah, the five books of Moses. Jesus is presented as a new Moses year. And so you have in the Gospel of Matthew, I mean, at least it's an easy way to think about if you just want to find an easy way to remember Matthew's Gospel. Five major narrative discourse. Narrative discourse. Now we're moving into the discourse of chapter 10. And Jesus has been going through Galilee, and he's been going through all these villages performing miracles. And we read and he called to him his 12 disciples. Now, notice they're not called apostles here, they're called disciples. And I do think that's very important. What does disciple mean? It means student. That's what it really means. And you know what students have to do? I always have to remind mine. They have to study. Exactly right.
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And so from two professors right here, right?
- [04:23]
B
And so, you know, we're not all called to get advanced degrees in theology, but we are all called to study. We are all called to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. Don't forget that last one. That's one that's easy to forget. And so that's why you're here, because you want to study the Lord. You want to study the truth about the Lord with all. You want to love him with all your mind. And he calls to them. So he's going to disciple them before he sends them out as apostles. He. He calls them his 12 apostles. 12 disciples. Why are there 12? That's an important number. The reason that he calls 12 disciples here is because Ancient Israel is made up of 12 tribes, right? You go back to Abraham. Abraham has a son named Isaac. Isaac has a son named Jacob, who's renamed and his new name is Israel. And Israel ultimately has 12 sons. Those 12 sons become known as their families become known as the twelve tribes of Israel. And you can divide it up sometimes the Old Testament divides it up differently. Is Levi one of the 12 tribes? They're a priestly tribe. Joseph has two sons. But either way, broadly, there are 12 tribes in Israel. This is always understood. The problem is by Jesus day, that was ancient history, right? So there were 12 tribes in Israel. But what happens in the 8th century is the Assyrians come in the 8th century B.C. right. 800 years before Jesus, the Assyrians come, they capture the northern tribes and they're taken off. They're never heard from again. They're frequently referred to as the lost 10 tribes. What happened to them? Well, they came to the Americas and came the Mormons.
- [06:20]
A
No, don't go to the Joseph Smith route.
- [06:22]
B
Sorry. Okay, That's Mormon theology. Catholic theology is based on the Old Testament. And what we know is that the 12 tribes become divided. There was one king who reigned over all 12 tribes after David. His name was Solomon, greatest king after David. After Solomon, 12 tribes are divided up and then 10 northern tribes are taken off in the exile and they're never heard from them again. Well, Jesus, by appointing 12 apostles, is pointing to the reality that there will be a restoration of Israel, that all Israel will be restored. And just to kind of fast forward a little bit, In Matthew chapter 19 chapter Jesus refers to this in Matthew 19. I think we've got the Bible verse there on the picture. But in Matthew 19, Jesus says truly or amen in the Greek, I say to you in the new world, literally in the palingenesia, right, in the Palin again, Genesis, in the new Genesis and the new creation, what's going to happen in the new creation? You 12, when the Son of man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 Thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. So Jesus expects a restoration of the 12 tribes. So by appointing 12, he's signifying that Jesus is bringing about the renewal of God's people. And here once again, we have the implicit Davidic messiahship of Jesus because there was only one king that ruled over all 12 tribes. If the 12 represent the new Israel, Jesus isn't one of the 12, he's the leader of the 12. And so there we see implicitly Jesus Davidic role.
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A
Michael that's so important. And I think you beautifully laid out that there's a significance in what Jesus is doing in choosing 12. We know that there was more disciples than 12. It's not that Jesus simply wanted a dozen or a baker's dozen, right? He chooses this 12 to show that he is reconstituting the 12 tribes of Israel around himself, right? With himself as the leader. And that's not. Again, you know, a rabbi might have two or three or four disciples. That would be usually pretty typical, maybe a half dozen, not too much more than that. And here Jesus comes as a rabbi gathering disciples. But he's not just your everyday rabbi gathering your everyday disciples. Jesus is the Christ who's specifically calling 12 to signify clearly. And everyone recognizes this. You find it in the Gospels over and over again. The list of the 12, the list of the 12. And as you mentioned there, and it's other passages that reinforce this. He says there'll be 12 thrones. And you know, that's so fundamental to what Jesus is doing. He's re establishing the kingdom of Israel around himself because a lot of the tribes were lost. But Jesus is now regathering the 12 tribes around the 12 apostles. They're the new 12 tribes. They're the new Israel. And that's just such a powerful thing to understand. And there's so many things like this in the gospel that I hope you can come to appreciate a little bit more. Every little detail has such meaning and purpose. And as you begin to recognize that and you see this, it just feeds your faith. You begin to realize the depth and breadth of the word of God and what Jesus is up to and what he's doing. It's really, really extraordinary. And it has practical implications, by the way, in our own life, you know, there's 12 jurors because in Christendom we decided 12 jurors because just as the 12 apostles would judge Israel and sit on 12 thrones judging Israel, the idea of 12 jurors is selected to remind all of us that, that ultimately there will be a ultimate trial. And it will be the twelve apostles, faithful to Christ, who will judge each one of us in what we do in our life. So every time you are to see a trial or hear about a trial, it was a signpost to remind all of us Christians that there will be an ultimate trial. And we want to make sure that we're faithful witnesses for that ultimate trial. So it's really a beautiful thing. That's why there's 12 jurors.
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That's right.
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That very point.
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You see that influence of Christianity all throughout the West. It's really interesting. Now, what's important to also point out is that according to ancient Israel, right, the 12 tribes, if you look at various synagogues, correspond to the 12 months of the year, the different constellations in the sky. So 12 months is. Is also not a coincidence. Right? And so what Jesus is doing in the 12, he's not just bringing about a new Israel, he's bringing about a new creation. Because Israel is supposed to be sort of creation in miniature. Right? All right, so we go on to read then. Then these are the names of the 12 apostles. So they weren't disciples as they were learning from him. Now they're apostles. Apostles, literally. Apostelo, the Greek word means to send, right? The one who sent. So the apostles are the ones who are sent. And we get the names of the twelve and sent.
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You know, that term is so important because to be sent, like an ambassador, means to be sent in the name of the one who sends you. And you as an ambassador, as an apostle, you share in the authority of the one who sent you, the king, because you speak in their name and therefore with their authority. And so that's a whole different level than disciple.
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B
That's right. All right, so then we go on and we read that the 12 apostles are first. Simon. I like that. First. All right, he's the first. And it's not because he's the first apostle who's called, but he's first in terms of his rank. And we're going to see that play out more in the Gospel of Matthew. In all the lists of the twelve apostles, there are various differences. The order, even the names are sometimes slightly different. One thing that never changes, first name, always Peter. Peter, always Simon Peter. Peter's number one. First Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother. And I always like that, that Peter's brother is called with him. And then we go on to read James, the son of Zebedee and John, his brother. Notice Jesus has a penchant here for calling brothers. Right. So I have two sons, Michael and Matthew, who are very close in age. I have another group of boys, Thomas and Simon. They both share rooms together. Brothers become very close as they grow up. And it's a beautiful thing. Christ builds on that grace, as we always say, builds on nature. So that fraternity within the apostolic college is actually rooted in the Brotherhood of the 12.
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I love that image, especially thinking of your wonderful boys and their closeness and friendship. And, you know, I think Jesus is Probably doing something when he does this. And I know in the Gospel of Mark, the first thing is the calling of the brothers, the two sets of brothers. And you know, all of Genesis begins with a pair of brothers, Cain and Abel, who end up not getting along. And there is fratricide where Cain kills Abel. And I just can't help but think that Jesus is calling a couple pairs of brothers to show that in the new covenant, brothers can love one another and be part of the mission.
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B
Beautiful. That's beautiful. Simon is called Peter, Andrew's brother, by the way. Notice Andrew is a Greek name, which is interesting, which shows us that in Galilee there's a real Gentile influence. Sometimes people imagine that the Jews are just anti gentile. There's no Greek speaking, there's no.
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So is Philip. He's a Greek name. And I think. And they both come from Bethsaida, which is the Greek, the most Greek village on the Sea of Galilee.
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It's really amazing. Now, of course, they moved to Capernaum. They named.
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Right. But they were originally from Bethsaida.
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B
Originally from Bethsaida. And you know, when we were there a year ago, one of the things that you were pointing out to me, and I hadn't really studied yet, was the archaeological data from Bethsaida and Capernaum. You want to talk a little bit about how those two cities are.
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A
Yeah, they're so close. They're only three miles apart, basically. But they're really in two different political jurisdictions in the time of the first century. So when Herod the Great dies, he divides his kingdom by three sons and one son. We know Herod Jr, Herod Antipater, the one after the father. And then you have Philip and so you have Herod Jr. And Philip, who are rivals. And of course we get Philip named in Bethsaida. And Bethsaida is in the domain of Philip.
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B
Philip. What's interesting is that it seems like the Roman incursion into Bethsaida was getting more and more pronounced over the years. Right. And so the archaeological evidence suggests that they moved from Bethsaida to Capernaum. And in Capernaum you have a huge synagogue. There's a lot of evidence that the Jews there are in almost a way they're reacting to forces of, if you want to call it secularization. Right. They want to re entrench in this city and really double down on their faith.
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A
No, that's exactly right. You know, when you look at Bethsaida, it was becoming more and more Hellenized. And Philip, who had studied in Rome really wanted to bring Greco Roman culture to his kingdom and to his city. Herod wasn't necessarily terribly Jewish in his, but he wasn't willing to go as far as Philip. Philip had the Decapolis, which had a lot more Gentiles in his kingdom. Whereas Herod wanted to show himself, he had to show himself as more Jewish, because a lot of the Jews in his kingdom were very zealous and conservative. And so I believe, you know, the reason Andrew and Peter moved from Bethsaida just three miles down to Capharnaum is it's because Bethsaida becomes more and more Hellenized, that is paganized, basically, as you can think about it. And so as devout Jews, they're like, we got to get out of town. So they leave Bethsaida. And it's interesting when Jesus does a miracle in Bethsaida. He takes the blind man outside the city and then heals him and he warns him not to go back into the city.
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That's right, yeah.
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So the idea is that what we know archaeologically, there's a lot of details that show this, that Bethsaida was becoming more and more gentile in its flavor, in its culture, its. Even its religion. And so good Jews wanted to leave Bethsaida. And that's what Andrew, Philip and Peter do.
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And so Jesus calls some of them, he calls Simon, he calls Andrew, James and John brothers. This is James. The son of Zebedee is known as James the Greater. He's the one who's executed in Acts, chapter 12. He doesn't make it very far into Christian history, but has an important role to play. John his brother. This is to John that tradition attributes the Gospel of John to the beloved disciple, as he's known in tradition. Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector, James, son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Jesus calls one man he knows is going to betray him. It's really remarkable. And then we read that Jesus and we could say more about all these 12, but we just got to move on. These 12 Jesus sent out in instructing them, go nowhere among the Gentiles, enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And with this, I want to go back to that prophecy that I mentioned last. In the last episode From Ezekiel, chapter 34, we talk about how the 12 tribes represent the fact that God is one day going to regather his people. This is a major theme in Ezekiel, chapter 34. In Ezekiel 34, the prophet is given an oracle, and he's told to preach against the shepherds of Israel. And the leaders of Israel particularly are who are in view. And he goes on to talk about how the leaders of Israel fed themselves. They did not care for the sheep. And so what does God say? He says, well, I will be the shepherd. He says, I myself will search for my sheep. I will seek them out. And then in verse 16, this is a very important verse, Ezekiel says the following. God says, through Ezekiel, I will seek the lost, I will bring back the strayed, I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak. Now that's what Jesus has been doing. In Matthew chapter nine, we just read that Jesus was healing every disease, every infirmity. And then he looked at the people and said they were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus is the divine shepherd. He's the one coming to bind them up, to heal them, and to work miracles. And Ezekiel goes on to talk about how the sheep of Israel have been scattered, they've been lost. This happened through exile. It happened through dispersion of the people. Jesus is now sending out the 12 to go and do what? Well, to do what the Lord Himself says he's going to do. In Ezekiel, this is going to be a very important theme. The apostles don't just become fans of Jesus. They don't just sit on the sidelines and cheer for him. Jesus wants them to participate in his ministry. This is going to be the basis for the understanding of the church that we're not just the people who God saves in a passive way. God actually wants to work through through the 12. He wants to work through the new Israel and send them out to do the work that he did. And so he says, go nowhere but to that lost sheep of Israel. And at the end of the gospel, he's going to send them to the nations and proclaim as you go, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. How do you demonstrate the kingdom of heaven is at hand? That's some bold claim. The king is here. Who's the king? Jesus. How do you demonstrate that? Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. So the disciples are now going to do what Jesus did. So in Matthew 8 and 9, Jesus does it Himself. In Matthew 10, in this speech, he sends out the 12 to do what he said.
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A
No, it fits beautifully because as you mentioned in chapter nine, he ends with, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Now he commissions laborers to go out.
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B
That's right.
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A
And then he says, you know, Israel is like the lost sheep. And then he talks about the lost sheep of Israel. And I think that prophecy that you mentioned in Ezekiel 34 is so important. And you know, the shepherds, Jesus or God, I should say, who's given this oracle to Ezekiel all throughout the chapter. I mean, if you look at what leads up to verse 7 through 11, God's fed up with his shepherds who are, you know, feeding themselves, pasturing themselves on the sheep and not seeking the lost, not binding them and not caring for them and all that. And so basically God says in verse 11 of Ezekiel 34, I myself will come and seek out my sheep, right? I myself will be the good shepherd. And so God promised that he himself will come to shepherd the flock of Israel. And we see Jesus fulfilling that, and we also see Jesus sending out good shepherds. So one of the things I think, as you step back and look at Ezekiel 34, that I think is important is for us to remember that, you know, throughout the story of Israel, there was bad shepherds. And what does he mean by bad shepherds? Well, he met bad priests, he met bad kings, bad princes, the bad leadership class of Israel, from priests to prince, they had been corrupted and they were feeding themselves on God's people. Rather than serving God's people, they were exploiting them and not serving as God's ministers. And that happened then. And it happened many times in Israel's history. And it also happens many times in church history, you know, different people. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux would use this imagery for the corrupt clergy, as, you know, bad shepherds. And so we've seen where we have bad shepherds. And I know a lot of people get really scandalized and upset and rightfully angry when we find out about priest scandals and bishop scandals and, and of high level clerics who are exactly doing what the bad shepherds are doing. They're feeding themselves on the sheep, they're exploiting the sheep, and they're not being faithful to God. But people sometimes think, well, maybe I'm done with the church, maybe I don't need the church because there's bad shepherds. But remember, God had bad shepherds throughout the history of Israel as well as good shepherds. And God promised he himself will become a shepherd and that he would send good shepherds. And so there's nothing happening with these scandals in the church, no matter how high the cleric, that isn't foretold in the word of God. And so for me personally, Michael, when I know the word of God and I know that even you know, in Acts, Paul will warn that there will become, you know, wolves who will sneak in, who will be shepherds. And these are not good shepherds. These are wolves who want to devour the sheep. And he warns that many will come in even amongst the episcopoe, even amongst the. The bishopric, right? Who will be wolves. We can't let bad bishops or priests steal our faith, right? And undermine our faith. Woe to them. God says in Ezekiel 34, and God's clear that he will judge them with great rigor and woe to them. I would not want to be somebody who was ordained to be a shepherd and who was unfaithful. I mean, they have eternity that they could pay for that if they don't repent. And God will right all wrongs. But it's important for us to see that. And so here Jesus sees that, you know, there's bad shepherds in his day. Some of the Pharisees, a lot of the priests, even the chief priests are bad shepherds. And Jesus comes to lead his sheep. And Jesus always provides for his sheep to find the truth and to find the nourishment, even in the midst of a time of bad shepherds. And so we have to have that hope.
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B
But anyhow, in Ezekiel 34, it's really interesting. God says that he will come and he will judge between his sheep. And he says that he will be the one to distinguish between the sheep. He says, I will judge between sheep and sheep. And he also will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Interestingly enough, in Matthew 25, at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus explains that he will come on the last day and he will separate the nations. And he will put the sheep on one side, put the goats on the other, right? So Jesus is going to come and fulfill this prophecy at the end of time, and he will distinguish between his sheep. One last thing we could just say. Not only does God say in Ezekiel that He will be the shepherd, he also says that he will set up. He says, I will be the shepherd. Then he goes on to say, and I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David. He shall feed them. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. Well, wait a minute. Who's the shepherd? Is it the God of Israel or is it the Davidic king? And the answer is both, yes, all the above. All of. Because in Jesus, the God of Israel has become the Son of David, and he's shepherding his sheep, and he's going to Feed his sheep. And in many ways, especially in the eucharistic celebration.
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A
So after Jesus sends them out and he tells them, you know, they don't need much, they have to rely on God's providence, God's fatherly providence, and, you know, go to houses and, you know, knock the dust off if they reject you and don't receive the message and go on to the next. In other words, it's not necessarily the audience's reception or rejection that you. You're responsible for, but keep going to those who will be receptive to the message. And then he warns about persecution later on. And that's important, too, because I think for us Christians right now, we're moving out of a Christian society into a secular society that's becoming more and more hostile to Christianity, so we might suffer persecution. I think a passage like this is important for us to realize.
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B
Oh, no kidding. What does Jesus say? I'm sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.
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Wow. Well, pretty scary. When I turn on the news, I feel like a sheep in the midst of wolves.
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B
Yeah. That's not the most encouraging thing that your teacher could have told you, Right? You're going to be the sheep, and they're going to be the wolves. Oh, great. Fantastic. But we know who the shepherd is, so we don't have to fear the wolves because we know that we have a shepherd. That doesn't mean that we're not going to suffer. Jesus himself is going to suffer. So there's no reason to think we won't also be called into that mystery of persecution and suffering. Nonetheless, the one who endures to the end, Jesus said.
- [27:43]
A
Exactly. That's the line I was just going to read. That's the one who endures to the end. And so patient endurance is what we need in the midst of wolves. And you know, and I think of Psalm 23, which is the good shepherd, you know. And yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear. Fear no evil, for your rod and your staff, they comfort me. And so we have to know that Jesus is our good shepherd. And that even if we have a bad priest, a bad bishop, any level of bad cleric, Jesus is still the ultimate shepherd of the Church. It is his flock. At the end of the day, priests, bishops, and popes are simply stewards. Jesus is the ultimate good shepherd, and you can call upon him at any time. And Jesus will give you his personal grace. If you call upon him, he will strengthen your faith. He will strengthen you and answer your prayers and Your need. And that's so important for us to know and to be encouraged by and that there's nothing happening in the life of the church that hasn't been foretold. And so we need not be shaken, but believe. And I think that's so important. And I hope that, you know, next time we're going to cover chapter 11, I think. Will we be able to move into chapter 11 or finish up chapter 10?
- [28:55]
B
Yeah, we've got to finish chapter 10 here.
- [28:56]
A
So we'll finish up chapter 10 and then we'll move into chapter 11 and 12. And I hope that, you know, as we go into these stories that it deepens your faith to see the word of God opened up. These connections between Ezekiel and what Jesus is doing and all these images. I think it's so edifying for me, gets me fired up. And I want to thank everybody who supports us in the mission circle. What we're doing at form, we're reaching now over a million, 90,000 people, which is just amazing. We could say a million, but we missed 90,000 people, which is a lot of people. And every day we add more people to the platform, more and more people are joining. So your support of our mission circle is really important. Right now we're in a special time. During the month of August, a donor has made a challenge that they'll match any new mission circle donor and all the giving they give for the rest of 2020, they'll match $ for dollar. It's an extraordinary challenge and this is our 15th year anniversary in the month of August. So if you want to become a mission partner with us, we would greatly appreciate it. Join us in our mission to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world. God bless and keep you.