📖 Passage Breakdown: Matthew 10:5–6

Verses:

“These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: ‘Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’”

✍️ Authorship & Audience

• Author: Matthew, one of the twelve apostles, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

• Audience: Jews, to demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah, the King promised in the Old Testament.

• Context: Jesus is commissioning the twelve apostles to preach the gospel “good news” of the kingdom during His earthly ministry.

📜 Historical & Theological Context

• The gospel of the kingdom was the proclamation that Israel’s long-awaited Messiah had come, offering the promised earthly kingdom (cf. Matthew 4:17).

• This message was exclusive to Israel at this stage because prophecy had always promised that the kingdom would come through Israel first, and then to the nations (Isaiah 60:1–3; Zechariah 8:23).

• The Gentiles and Samaritans are intentionally excluded here—not because God doesn’t care about them, but because His plan was to reach them after Israel accepted the Messiah (see Acts 3:19–21; Romans 15:8–9).

🔑 Phrase-by-Phrase Breakdown

“These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them”

• Jesus personally commissions His twelve apostles with strict instructions, emphasizing the divine order of God’s plan.

“Do not go into the way of the Gentiles”

• The Gentiles (non-Jews) were not the focus of Christ’s earthly ministry. His mission was to fulfill the promises made to Israel first (Romans 15:8).

“And do not enter a city of the Samaritans”

• Samaritans were a mixed people (Jewish/Gentile) despised by the Jews (John 4:9). They are excluded here because Christ’s ministry was to pure Israelite covenant promises.

“But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”

• Jesus defines the scope of their mission: Israel, God’s covenant people who had strayed but were promised restoration (Jeremiah 50:6; Ezekiel 34:11–16).

• The phrase “lost sheep” recalls God’s tender care for Israel, despite their rebellion, and His faithfulness to restore them.

✨ Key Doctrinal Distinctions

• This is not Paul’s gospel of grace (1 Corinthians 15:1–4). The apostles here are proclaiming the kingdom gospel, rooted in prophecy and covenant promises to Israel.

• The Gentiles would later be reached through Paul’s distinct apostleship when Israel stumbled (Romans 11:11, 25).

• This distinction clarifies why Matthew 10 and Acts 2–3 do not match the content of Paul’s gospel.

💡 Application for Today

• This passage highlights the importance of rightly dividing the Word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

• What was true for Israel in Matthew 10 is not the same as the Church today. God’s promises to Israel remain, but today God is calling out a people for His name into one body, the body of Christ through the gospel of grace.

• God’s order is perfect. His plan for Israel and His plan for the Church, which is His body, the body of Christ are distinct, but both flow from His eternal purpose in Christ Ephesians 3:11.