Published by admin on 12 Mar 2013 at 01:39 pm
DOES MATTHEW 10:8 APPLY TODAY?
DOES MATTHEW 10:8 APPLY TODAY?
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
In an apprenticeship, a master teaches the apprentice. Once the apprentice has completed his or her training, they are expected to have the same orientation, skills, and attitude of the master, possessing and being able to demonstrate said properties of the master, not just in word, but in deed. When you’re a Sensei ( Master Teacher at martial arts), you teach a particular discipline or form of martial arts, we’ll say Bushido Kan, for example. Once you’re fully trained, you yourself are qualified to teach the same, as you are as skilled as your teacher, and so the line of the discipline continues unbroken.
True, Matthew 10:8 does address the disciples, but why? Jesus chose the twelve whom he personally trained up to CONTINUE his earthly ministry. And of course, after Jesus returned to heaven, the people came to the disciples expecting them to do what Jesus did, and rightly so, for they had been taught by Jesus for 3 1/2 years, and Jesus charged them to do so. Were they up to the task? Certainly so. What was job one for the disciples then? To teach others what Jesus taught them. That’s precisely what “discipleship: does. We see in the scripture where Peter raised Dorcas from the dead, ok, he was one of the twelve disciples, but what about Paul? He raised Eutychus, from the dead, and he was not one of the disciples.
Acts20:9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.
How about Stephen? He was not one of the twelve. But he obviously heard the Gospel and became a believer with signs and wonders following:
Act 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
Concerning Philip, one of the twelve, he went and ministered to the Samaritans, though Jesus indeed said that he was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel. Yet Jesus himself healed the Samaritan woman’s daughter. If you’re referring to one specific time period in the ministry of Jesus, therefore limiting salvation only to the Jews, then Matthew 10:8 does not apply to us today as the modern day disciples of Christ Jesus. You see, if the disciples were limited by Jesus only to preach to the lost sheep of Israel, then salvation is NOT FOR US TODAY as we are not Israelites.
Act_8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
Act_8:6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
So, why doesn’t the church today demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit? Simple, lack of sound teaching, that is, teaching what Jesus taught, and NOT teaching what Jesus did NOT teach. God will back up HIS words, but is not obligated to back up DOCTRINES OF MEN. Another issue is the same thing that stopped Jesus from doing great works in his own community: UNBELIEF. If we preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God that Jesus preached, people will hear, faith will come, and they will believe unto salvation, and the body of Christ will grow. But, just as in the times of Jesus’ ministry, some will believe, some won’t. Jesus taught those who were ready to listen, and multitudes did and followed him. He didn’t stay somewhere and keep hammering on the unbelievers, but moved on when they refused the Gospel message. He taught the disciples to do the same. Yet churches today keep reaching out to those who keep saying NO, thereby wasting ministry resources and time. Preach the Kingdom of God and it will produce believers, and concentrate on discipling them into faithful people who will themselves go out and preach the Kingdom of God. Simple in theory, but when you add in “church denominational doctrines”, “doctrines of men”, the Gospel falls flat and produces no fruit. That’s why I personally do not preach “denominations”, “Baptist, AG, Pentecostal, Methodist, etc”. Jesus didn’t, and I won’t either. I preach the “Kingdom of God” that Jesus preached, and He backs up His Words with power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit. It works for me, I see no reason to change it, for that’s how God operated through Jesus and the disciples, and THOSE THAT HEARD THEM AND BELIEVED (THAT’S ME).
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God certainly has the power to change lives. It changed mine forever. I want to keep the main thing “the main thing”, and that is winning souls for the Kingdom. For every Kingdom, there is a King, and the King has rules of conduct, and if you want to be under the King’s protection and enjoy his benefits, you must live by his rules. That’s why it’s called a Kingdom. I live by Kingdom rules, having His authority over me, and exercising the authority granted me as a believer, a modern day disciple of Christ Jesus. I take the charges that Jesus taught His disciples as relevant for today, striving to maintain the same teachings that Christ Jesus taught his disciples unchanged, for if I don’t, then the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been watered down by traditions of men, and absolutely powerless to change lives.
The Book of Acts clearly demonstrated how the Holy Spirit fell on the 120 gathered in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, how the work of the Holy Spirit continued in and through their lives. And that same Holy Spirit empowers those who believe yet today.
Mar 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Mar 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Mar 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Mar 16:19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
Mar 16:20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Ok, we can say that applied to the eleven remaining disciples, minus Judas. Note verse 16 HE THAT BELIEVETH. That DEFINITELY is not referring to the eleven, but those who hear and believe THEIR PREACHING. Again, I assert, HE THAT BELIEVETH goes in an unbroken line unto today. What “Gospel” have we been listening to? What are WE preaching? Is it bringing forth the fruit of verses 16-18? If not, we are not preaching the same Gospel they preached back then. Their preaching resulted in multitudes of people being saved! Would you like to see a thousand salvations a week? It’s possible, for the Holy Spirit is willing, for it is the very work of God. The remedy? Go back and reexamine what Jesus did and didn’t do, what He said and didn’t say. Preach what Jesus preached, and it will bring forth the same fruit for you as it did for him.
I can spend HOURS and days elaborating on this, for I’ve built my last 20 years around it, but I hope this short letter clears up what I believe and how I arrive at my reasoning.
God bless!
Daniel Turrentine on 15 Mar 2013 at 5:23 pm #
Amen, exactly the reason I left the Church I was at for too long. I kept asking questions at Bible study like “can’t we do what the Bible says we can do in Jesus name?”. I never saw it done there and nobody was really talking about it. I’m pretty sure the last couple of years I was there I made some people uncomfortable with my questions.
Not until I needed healing in my own life did I really start demanding answers. I am thankful to that Church for what they taught me when I was a new Christian. However, I have now moved on to a Church that has no denominational ties and preaches what Jesus preached with all of his power included. Praise him for showing me these things.
Gob bless
Mark on 28 May 2013 at 2:49 pm #
With all due respect, I find your article rather vague. But you seem to think Matthew 10:8 does apply for us today.
But why would it? The command was adressed to the twelve not to us.
Some people quote Matthew 28:20 to prove that we have to obey all the commands of Christ (also those adressed to the twelve), but this position is problematic.
(if all of Christs commands to the disciples would apply we all would have to buy swords, Luke 22:36)
Also just take a look at Matthew 10:5+6, there Jesus instructs his disciples not to go to the Gentiles but only to the people of Israel.
Then flip to Matthew 28 and there Jesus commands his disciples to “make disciples of all the nations”. These two commands seem to contradict, one of them can’t apply for us, so the principle based on Mattew 28:20 fails. (Atleast in my opinion)
Which means Matt. 10:8 doesn’t necessarily apply to us.
However, you might have some great arguments that i haven’t yet heard to support the view that it does apply to us. Please let me know.
Lastly, I would like to urge you to be carefull with using the long ending of Mark (16:9-20) in any discussion. Scholars have know for years that it was added later. (e.g. http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/new-testament/the-strange-ending-of-the-gospel-of-mark-and-why-it-makes-all-the-difference/)
God bless
Jerry’s reply:Mark, without going into a lengthy discourse, if Matthew 10:8 doesn’t apply today, then how can anything else Jesus did apply today? How can John 3:17 apply today? There are specific situations and timelines such as you mention in Matthew 10:5-6 and Matthew 28 where things are done in a certain order, such as Luke 24:46-49. it all had to start somewhere. Does that mean it ended with the lives of the twelve disciples? If so, we are ALL lost since then, period. By taking things out of context, we can come up with things like Matthew 27:5 and Luke 10:37 and put them together and say Judas hanged himself on a tree, go ye and do likewise. Goofy, huh? Yet people continually twist the scriptures to come up with that kind of stuff. Rather, Mark, take all four Gospels together and just read them, not trying to read something into them that they don’t say, or try to remove something they DO say. There is harmony in the Gospels and they do agree. The Bible stands or falls as a unit, and indeed it stands, whether we believe or not. I can’t see anywhere in the Bible where God is asking for our opinion. Rather, He is calling for our obedience.
Todd Craig on 31 May 2013 at 9:56 pm #
Amen! It puzzles me how some will insist that Jesus was just talking to the twelve with His teachings in the Gospel… His message is for US today. Some liberals will also challenge the ending of the book of Mark. Not I… we serve a perfect God whose Word is power. Praise God and thank you for this message Brother!
Rachael on 30 Jan 2015 at 11:01 am #
Simple and plain we need to stop picking and choosing what applies then and now. Jesus(the Word made flesh), is the same yesterday, today, & forever, end of story. But what we as believers are not & do not have to do is defend or argue about God’s word, why, because God’s word IS and He is God all by Himself.
Lisa Savage on 08 Oct 2016 at 2:29 am #
thank you jerry baysinger more faith for my prayer for my only child
Ezioma k. on 17 Jul 2018 at 10:54 pm #
We ll know the truth and only the truth will set us free, thank u so much for these msg, it speaks volume. God bless u, pray for me and my family sir.
Allen Weir on 04 Jan 2021 at 8:50 am #
While I DO believe that God can and has on occasion allowed someone from the dead to return, that is not apply exactly to Matthew 10:8. Jesus was speaking SPECIFICALLY to the disciples with regards to sending them out. And the purpose was to show his power and establish his ministry. In addition, Jesus did not raise EVERYONE who died, he raised only several people for a specific purpose. His command in this specific passage is not meant as a universal command. I hear many preachers say we are meant to raise the dead and we should lay hands on them, but I have not met one who has actually gone to a morgue to do this. I sounds great from the pulpit and hypes up the crowd, but is not actually done by the ones who are yelling it out.
Mark Tpa on 21 Aug 2021 at 6:43 am #
It is worth reading.
Howerver, I am still confusing. I am afraid that it might not work today. Sir, if you are so sure in raising the dead as Jesus told his disciples, is still applicable today. Then, let me ask you how many dead bodies have you raise in the name of Jesus?
If you can tell me, and you also raise some, then, I will surely believe what you have written.
Jerry Baysinger on 27 Aug 2021 at 1:14 pm #
Three
Dayne on 04 Dec 2021 at 12:16 pm #
Hi Jerry, is it possible to have a private chat with you regarding what you have stated/quoted? It’s about how and why I initially arrived at your post. Please let me know, Thanks. God Bless.