Matthew 10: The First Commission

Each day this week, I'll be posting comments on the 10th Chapter of Matthew, as a follow-up study from our February 3 service. You can listen to the service in its entirety on our website, www.cometothesprings.com

Matthew 10:5-8 from The Message
Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge:
"Don't begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don't try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.

Before Jesus' "Great Commission" in Matthew 28, there was the "First Commission" in Matthew 10. Before Jesus sent his followers worldwide, he sent them into the neighborhood. Eugene Peterson captures this perfectly in his translation of the Bible called The Message, which I quoted above. Jesus intentionally narrowed the scope of his ministry and concentrated his efforts--and those of his followers--to a small and familiar geographical area. You don't hear much about this in church today. You hear a lot about the Great Commission, but very little about the First Commission. You can find any number of churches with the flags of nations flying outside, with large globes on stage or embossed on the podium, or maps of the world in the foyer. And you can hear the buzzwords of the Great Commission in many churches: "all nations," "worldwide," and "to the ends of the earth." But how many times have you seen a church with a map of the immediate neighborhood in the foyer, or heard the buzzwords "next door," or "down the street?"

Obviously the Great Commission is both important and urgent. My intent is not to detract from it, but rather to draw our attention back to the importance of the First Commission. Matthew 10 was phase 1. Jesus did not abandon it when he moved to phase 2, he merely added to it. Jesus said (and still says): start local, start simple, and start in familiary territory. Make sure you have your act together at home before you start going worldwide.

The warning word "dramatic" jumps out at me from this passage. Underneath some of the church's globe hype is the idea that global is sexier than local, more dramatic, more attention-getting. Jesus clearly cautions against this kind of thinking. Throughout the chapter he instructs his messengers to be modest, content, courteous, and inoffensive; but not intimidated, invisible or disengaged. Jesus himself is dramatic enough; he doesn't need to be hyped. His message is scandalous enough without his messengers stirring up controversy. His power speaks for itself, without pyrotechnics.

Our charge is to begin in our own villages, to engage people and prepare the way for Christ who is coming to them. The success of our worldwide mission is dependent upon our faithfulness first in the neighborhood.

Matthew 25:21 TNIV
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'