And {1} when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

(1) The apostles are sent to preach the gospel in Israel.

People's New Testament

10:1 The Call and Charge to the Apostles

SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 10:

The Twelve Apostles. The Charge. To Whom Sent. How to Go. What to Preach. How to Act If Received or Rejected. Persecution. Prudence Required. Trials to Be Met. Need Have No Care for a Defense. Fear Not Men, but God. The Father's Care. Not Peace, but a Sword. Loving Christ More Than Father or Mother. No Kind Act Lost.

He had called unto him his twelve disciples. Compare Mr 3:13-19 Lu 9:1-6. The twelve had already been called, and had attended the Lord for some time. They were now commissioned and sent forth as apostles. This must be connected directly with the last three verses of the preceding chapter, which should belong to Chapter 10.

He gave them power. To do the same kind of works of mercy which Jesus had done, and thus to carry out his mission. Works of mercy and love are inseparable from the true preaching of the gospel.

Wesley's Notes

10:1 His twelve disciples - Hence it appears that he had already chosen out of his disciples, those whom he afterward termed apostles. The number seems to have relation to the twelve patriarchs, and the twelve tribes of Israel. Mark 3:14; 6:7; Luke 6:13; 9:1.

King James Translators' Notes

against: or, over

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 10

Mt 10:1-5. Mission of the Twelve Apostles. ( = Mr 6:7-13; Lu 9:1-6).

The last three verses of the ninth chapter form the proper introduction to the Mission of the Twelve, as is evident from the remarkable fact that the Mission of the Seventy was prefaced by the very same words. (See on [1251]Lu 10:2).

1. And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power-The word signifies both "power," and "authority" or "right." Even if it were not evident that here both ideas are included, we find both words expressly used in the parallel passage of Luke (Lu 9:1)-"He gave them power and authority"-in other words, He both qualified and authorized them.

against-or "over."

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

10:1-4 The word apostle signifies messenger; they were Christ's messengers, sent forth to proclaim his kingdom. Christ gave them power to heal all manner of sickness. In the grace of the gospel there is a slave for every sore, a remedy for every malady. There is no spiritual disease, but there is power in Christ for the cure of it. There names are recorded, and it is their honour; yet they had more reason to rejoice that their names were written in heaven, while the high and mighty names of the great ones of the earth are buried in the dust.