Day 289: Why did Jesus send the Disciples “Only to the Lost Sheep of Israel?” (Matthew 10:6)

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. (Matthew 10:5-6)

Through the Bible: Matthew 10

In Matthew 10, Jesus sends the Twelve disciples out on their first preaching mission. Actually, since they are specifically being sent out, let’s call them apostles this time (Day 282: Are Disciples and Apostles the Same Thing?

Luke 9:1–5 and Mark 6:7–13 are the parallel passages to Matthew 10. All three describe the same mission with only minor variations—Mark notes that the apostles went out two by two and that they preached repentance. But only Matthew includes Jesus’ specific instruction to avoid Gentiles and Samaritans.

What’s that all about?

We’ve talked before about how Matthew is the most Jewish of the four gospels (See Day 276), so it’s tempting to see this as Matthew’s bias poking through, especially since the Roman John Mark and the Gentile Luke omit this part of Jesus’ instruction from their accounts.

This won’t be the only time Matthew uses this phrase about the lost sheep of Israel. Matthew 15:21-30 and Mark 7:24-30 both tell the story of a Canaanite woman who begged Jesus to cast a demon out of her daughter (Mark calls her a Syrophoenician woman). But only Matthew records Jesus saying to the woman “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24).

It might be tempting to see this as Matthew’s own bias showing through—especially since the Roman John Mark and the Gentile Luke omit this detail. But if we hold to the authority of Scripture, we must assume God intended Matthew to record this particular emphasis for a reason. Here are three possible reasons:

1. Preparing the Disciples

One possible reason for Jesus’ instruction that His disciples avoid Gentile and Samaritan towns is that they weren’t ready for it. They may have still had too much of their own prejudices and biases in the mix. Look what happens, for example, when Jesus does send messengers ahead of Him to a Samaritan town. The town rejected Jesus, and James and John jump at the chance to call down fire from heaven to consume them (see Luke 9:51-56). What if Jesus had not been there to tell them to cool their jets?

2. Strategic Prioritizing

There’s also a practical, strategic reason to consider. As the folks at GotQuestions explain:

Every ministry must have priorities, and Christ’s ministry was no exception. When Jesus sent His disciples to preach the good news of the kingdom, He expressly told them, “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” (Matthew 10:5-6). Jesus did not forbid their preaching to all Gentiles; He did, however, narrow their focus to the areas which should be most receptive—those who knew the Law and were expecting the Messiah. Paul, in his missionary journeys, followed the same priority of preaching to the Jews first (Romans 1:16).

GotQuestions.org

3. Fulfilling Prophecy

Jesus’ focus on Israel first also fulfills the covenant promise that the Messiah would come through and to Israel (Isaiah 49:6). The plan was never to exclude Gentiles, but to reach them through Israel.

But Does it Really Matter?

At the end of the day, Scripture doesn’t give a reason for Jesus telling His disciples not to go to the towns of Gentiles and Samaritans, but I praise God for how little this matters. Even Jesus’ harsh-sounding word to the Canaanite woman is not the end of the story. Her daughter was healed. And His command to the apostles in Matthew 10:5-6 was reversed by His command in Acts 1:8, when He told them they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Praise God that while the gospel is for the Jew first, it is also for the Gentiles (Romans 1:16)! If you are reading this as a non-Jewish Christian, you have been grafted in to the tree (Romans 11:11-31). Thanks be to God!

What began as a mission to the lost sheep of Israel has become a message for the whole world. The Shepherd has gathered us all—Jew and Gentile alike—into one flock.

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