Today's passage provides Matthew's account of Jesus' sending of the twelve that we covered in Luke 9 roughly a month ago.

We see a clarification of the first audiences to receive the word from the disciples. Jesus will command they do not go to Gentiles or Samaritans, but to Jews only at this time. Matthew paints a clear picture of Jesus being the fulfillment of the messianic promise to the Jews first, but we know the full mission wouldn't stop there. Rather, it would include everyone at the right time (see Romans 1.16, Acts 1.8, and John 3.16). Jesus, the Good Shepherd, was instructing His shepherds-in-training to first collect the lost sheep of their flock, and would later have them seek out and add new sheep.

May the word of God guide our minds and hearts to those whom He is sending us to now, and keep us focused on and actively engaged in our part in His mission.

[Matthew 10.5-7]

5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ Whom did Jesus send in this passage? [v. 5]

+ To whom did Jesus send them, and to whom did He forbid them to go (at this time)? [vv. 5-6]

+ Why may this have been the case?

+ What simple yet critical message were the disciples to share? [v. 7]

+ What did that message mean to the Jews? What does it mean to us now?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ Are there examples in your life where you have done good things out of order (e.g. in the wrong time or place), resulting in those otherwise good things actually being sin?

+ Are there areas of your life now on which God is calling you to focus in this season? What steps can you take this week to honor God in that area of your life?

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?