1 And when lie had called unto j Aim his twelve disciples, he gave them j power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heul all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these : The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother ; James, the son of Zebedee, and John his brother ;
3 Philip, and Bartholomew ; Thom- as, and Matthew the Publican ; James the son of Alphceus, and Lebbseus, \ whose surname was Thaddceus • I
4 Simon the Cauaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. !
5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, | and commanded them, saying. Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and j into any city of the Samaritans enter | ye not ; |
6 But go rather to the lost sheep ^ of the house of Israel. j
7 And as ye go, preach, saying, | The kingdom of heaven is at hand. '
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, '
raise the dead, cast out devils : freely ye have received, freely give.
9 Provide neither gold nor silver, nor brass in your purses,
10 Nor scrip for yov?' journey, nei- ther two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves : for the workman is worthy of his meat.
11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy ; and there abide till yo go thence.
12 And when ye come into an house, salute it.
13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it : but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.
15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
This chapter is one of peculiar solemnity. Here is the record of the first ordination which ever took place in the church of Christ. The Lord Jesus chooses and sends forth the twelve apostles. — Here is an account of the first charge ever delivered to newly ordained Christian minis- ters. The Lord Jesus Himself delivers it. — Never was
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there so important an ordination. Never was there so solemn a charge !
There are three lessons which stand out prominently on the face of the first fifteen verses of this chapter. Let us take them in order.
We are taught, in the first place, that all ministers are not necessarily good men. We see our Lord choosing a Judas Iscariot to be one of His apostles. We cannot doubt that He who knew all hearts, knew well the charac- ter of the men whom He chose. And He includes in the list of apostles one who was a traitor !
We shall do well to bear in mind this fact. Orders do not confer the saving grace of the Holy Grhost. Ordained men are not necessarily converted. We are not to regard them as infallible, either in doctrine or in practice. We are not to make popes or idols of them, and insensibly put them in Christ's place. We are to regard them as " men of like passions'' with ourselves, liable to the same
^ infirmities, and daily requiring the same grace. We are
I not to think it impossible for them to do very bad things, or to expect them to be above the reach of harm from
' flattery, covetousness, and the world. AYe are to prove their teaching by the word of God, and follow them so far as they follow Christ, but no further. Above all, we
t ought to J) ray for them, that they may be successors Hut of Judas Iscariot, but of James and John. It is an awful thing to be a minister of the Gospel ! Ministers need many prayers.
We are taught, in the next place, that the great worh of a minister of Christ is to do good. He is sent to seek "lost sheep," — to proclaim glad tidings, — to relieve those