Matthew 10:8 Bible Study

Jesus Sends the Twelve and Commands Them to Give Freely

All right, we are going to be looking at Matthew 10 8. Please go ahead and turn there. I'll just be reading from the ESV Matthew 10 beginning in verse 5. These 12 Jesus sent out instructing them go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans.

But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and proclaim as you go saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick raise the dead cleanse lepers cast out demons you received without paying give without pay.

Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts no bag for your journey or two tunics or sandals or a staff for the laborer deserves his food and whatever town or village you enter find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart as You enter the house greet it and if the house is worthy let your peace come upon it.

But if it is not worthy Let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly I say to you it will be more bearable on the day of judgment For the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Amen. Now I'm going to be teaching from an article I wrote Back in 2023 apparently called Does Jesus command to freely give apply today? Frequently when we appeal to this passage people say that was just for the first disciples.

Doesn't mean that we still need to freely give today like to argue that it does mean that we should freely give today. Also, if you search online There is a debate I did a long time ago. That was moderated by Keith Foskey with Steve Cavallaro Who's a Presbyterian pastor in Arizona?

I believe on this topic and this was uh, I thought it was a really good debate. It was not um, it wasn't really a formal debate. But it it ended up being like that in the way that it was supposed to be an informal discussion.

But the way Foskey moderated ended up functioning very much like a formal debate. I thought it went Really? Well, if you go and you look at that, that was a that was a good debate. This was before Foskey did his denominational videos, you know the The the different denominations videos where he wears the pink shirt and pretend pretends to be a Methodist, you know stuff like that so It does not have many views but.

But yeah, if if we were to do that debate again I imagine it would get a lot of views because he's grown a lot in popularity since having done the denominational video comedy videos but In Matthew 10h, he says freely you receive freely give or you receive without paying give without pay in some translations.

Descriptive Scripture Is Still Instructive

So why is it that this should apply today? A lot of people will say that Descriptive passages should not be read Prescriptively, right you have to care whether or not it's descriptive or prescriptive.

This is one of the things that I find a little difficult because on one hand I Like it that people are armed with simple sayings in order to defend themselves from misinterpretations of the Bible. People can end up taking descriptive passages making them prescriptive in the way that they were not meant to be however, all of Scripture is prescriptive all of Scripture is God-breathed is useful for instruction for conviction for correction for training and righteousness.

That the man of God may be complete equipped for every good work every scripture so even even descriptive passages for example Acts 2 42 says that the early church that they devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching to the fellowship to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Does that not describe what we ought to be now you could look at Acts 2. See that there's a mass baptism happen seeing that people are speaking in tongues. See other things there and say oh, well, that's just for the early church.

So therefore This Acts chapter 2 does not apply to us. No, this is this is. The beginning of the church is instructive to us and how we might do things now. Yeah, that mean doesn't mean that every single Description is something that we're to be emulating but Is that not supposed to be instructive for how we are to think of ourselves and even practice as a church?

Even if and by instructive, I don't mean you take this practice and therefore you practice it. You know, we're all supposed to be speaking in tongues because they were speaking in tongues or anything like that.

But it is supposed to be instructive to us and Jeremiah 13 1 the Lord tells Jeremiah to buy a loincloth. That does not mean that you have to go buy a loincloth, but this passage is still giving for instruction.

Jesus frequently said have you not read and I think this is Something we need to take into account and have you not read if you come to a passage and you don't have any applications for your own life.

You haven't you haven't plumbed its depths. People think that the safe approach is to not take scripture too far. Yes, you can take the scripture too far but not going far enough is not a safer ditch as not a Lot of people think that okay.

Well, there's two ditches. And so let's err on the side of this. No, they're both deep ditches. You don't want to be in either one. So I would like to deal with several objections. That people would raise.

To the idea that Matthew 10 8 freely you receive freely give applies to us now. The reason I'm doing it this way and not starting off with the positive case. It's because I think the burden of proof lies on the other side the burden of proof lies on those who would say that freely.

Objection 1: Freely Giving Applies to Miracles and Preaching

Give doesn't mean that we should freely give so let's just start off with the objections and leave the positive case for later. Objection number one freely give only applies to miracles not preaching or teaching.

So to read this verse again Heal the sick raise the dead cleanse lepers cast out demons. You receive without paying give without pay. Well, it does sound like it's talking about miracles, right. And it is Verse 7 said and proclaim as you go saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand the kingdom of heaven at Hand that proclamation is part of what has to be freely given.

No one in their right mind would look at this and say well Jesus was just talking about miracles and he would have been perfectly fine with the disciples charging to Tell them about the nature of the kingdom of heaven.

No one's going to argue that clearly you receive without pay without paying give without pay. Applies to the proclamation of the kingdom of heaven at well as well. Now there were a lot. It's interesting if you go and you try to find a lot of 17th century resources.

Which if you're in a reformed church you care a lot about the 17th century. You want to see whether or not people in the 1600s cared or what they said about this? You will find that a lot of them actually say this they say that this is only This was only for the first disciples.

The reason why is because they were typically at Interacting with Quakers and Anabaptists. Who argued that ministers shouldn't be salaried and they would appeal the Quakers and the Anabaptists would appeal to Matthew 10 8 and so the simple response in the 1700s was this was something that was particularly for the first disciples however in as much as you look at those 17th century Puritans and They have a purpose beyond just interacting with the Anabaptists and the Quakers.

They were willing to explain the ways that it does apply and so I find that interesting that they go to that quick explanation to To reject the Quakers and Anabaptists, but are willing to describe things in more detail later one one example is one I have in the book the doctrine of simony.

Let me see so Ralph Cudworth finished Perkins William Perkins his Commentary on Galatians because he died before it was finished. Ralph Cudworth said that the command in Matthew 10 8 is supposed to be understood of the working miracles.

This was for the first disciples and then Later he says in the very same discourse the very same discourse he says that the Word of God should not be put to sale because that which God has freely given ought not to be sold basely and Then later in that same passage he connected that selling to simony appealing to Peter's condemnation of Simon Magus.

So it's interesting how on one hand. He says this is talking about miracles. This is for the first disciples, but then almost immediately after he's willing to use that same language things which are freely given should not be sold basely and This is simony.

Well, he doesn't use the word simony, but he connects it to the sin of Simon Magus. So just because you find one of these 17th century authors. Saying that this was just for the first disciples and this is about miracles does not mean that they're really denying it.

So absolutely they were willing to understand it more more broadly as well. Okay objection to freely give only applies to the first mission not to subsequent ones and that is a yeah, that is the Thing that I was just mentioning that it only applies to the first mission.

Objection 2: The First Mission Models Later Missions

Okay, so the first objection was about miracles. This one is about it being the first mission. Well, is this not the prototypical mission? You know, it's not just the first mission. It's the prototypical mission.

It is designed to be instructive for the missions that would come later. So later on when Jesus sends out this the 70 or in the ESV the 72 doesn't he say same things? Take no money bag, etc. Let me read a little of that.

Then Jesus asked them. This is from Luke. But then Jesus asked them when I sent you out without purse or bag or sandals. Did you lack anything nothing? They answered now. However, he told them The one with a purse should take it likewise a bag and the one without a sword should sell his cloak and buy one.

Think a lot of people have trouble understanding what's going on there. So before he told them take no purse now, he tells them to take a purse. What does that mean. Well in the first mission. They are supposed to give freely yet at the same time they're supposed to expect support from those who are the lost sheep of the house of Israel, right the the Worthy man or the house of peace as it's described in Matthew and Luke but Here as they're going to go out further outside of the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

They are supposed to take a money bag. Why take a money bag. Because they're not supposed to expect to be provided for. It's not that they're permitted to sell in either case, but the first case they're supposed to expect support second case.

They've got to take their own money because they're not going to get support from from the wicked and they should not be Charging in that case. They should not be asking for support from the from the Gentiles.

So in this prototypical mission think about the different things. Maybe you've heard many sermons applying this passage to you and your evangelism shaking the dust from your feet. Be wise as serpents, but as innocent as doves.

Do not fear man. All those things. How could we say? Oh, no, that was just for the first disciples. You don't have to be as innocent as a dove. You don't have to be as wise as a serpent. You don't you there's never a case where you would need to shake the dust off your feet.

Everyone understands that this is supposed to be instructive. The command to freely give is instructive as well. You could say well raise the dead is only for the first mission but Naturally. It's easy to understand that these special moves of the Spirit are blessing that first mission.

Right the disciples come back and Jesus tells them do not rejoice that the spirits are subject to you. But rejoice that your names are written in heaven. It's easy to see in Acts 2 that the tongues of fire the Blessing of the Spirit as they are speaking in tongues.

There are special ways that God is blessing this first mission this first Formation of the church and we can recognize that those are unique without saying that absolutely everything else would be unique.

Those things that can be emulated ought to be emulated and have a reason to be emulated. They should. Jeremy Taylor an Anglican divine said that to say that freely give only applies to the first mission.

Because the surrounding commands are temporal is like saying that the Sabbath must still be on a Saturday because the other nine commands Surrounding the fourth are eternal now. That was me paraphrasing that was in a direct quote.

But do you see what he's saying? A lot of people would say, okay. Well, the Sabbath still has to be on Saturday because all the commands around it are eternal. That that would be foolish. So it's also foolish to say that the command to freely give Must be just temporal because the command to raise the dead is was just for them or the command to Heal lepers or cast out demons was for the first disciples.

It doesn't work that way. All right objection 3 Freely give only applies to missions to the lost not to teaching the saved. That's a that's a common one and I you probably heard that in the debate, right?

Objection 3: Freely Giving Applies to the Lost and the Saved

Well, if someone who didn't have the gospel were to come and ask me for the gospel, I wouldn't charge. But teaching other believers that's kind of the implication that's going on and you'll hear that said pretty expressly but teaching other believers.

It's not the same issue because they already have the gospel. In verse 6 she has said go rather to the lost sheep of Israel now, you could call this you could say this is lost sheep so. See, that's why saying don't don't charge is because these are lost sheep.

But these are the visible people of God. These are the ones who have been entrusted with the oracles of God according to Romans 3 2. These are ones who had the gospel preached beforehand to Abraham according to Galatians 3 8.

Undoubtedly many of these people were trusting in the Messiah and waiting for him. They were awaiting the consolation of Israel now. Yes, this is good news that they did not have yet. The kingdom of heaven is at hand but Are we really supposed to believe that every single one of these people had Had no work of the Spirit in them did not truly know the Lord that there was no one in Israel of whom that was the case.

Jesus sent out the first disciples to a mixed people not to a not to a completely unbelieving people. Objection number four freely give only applies to the gospel. Not all biblical teaching. Okay, so they say this is just about the gospel.

Objection 4: Freely Giving Applies to All Biblical Teaching

This isn't about other scriptural teaching and I was trying to draw that out in the debate too because You can tell that's what's going on. We saying I wouldn't sell the gospel, but it's okay to sell teaching.

Well, are these really to be distinguished and it's interesting because Tanner in that debate agrees with me that all Scriptural teaching is properly gospel teaching so there was never really a resolution there, but Let me walk you some of the through some of the texts that talk about this.

And this is a yeah, this is certainly something dear to my heart that changes the way that I've thought about scripture ever since learning these things and Yeah, when I found this just opened a whole Just wide window into how to understand scripture.

All Scripture Finds Its Fulfillment in Christ

And if you've not seen this before maybe it would for you to First Corinthians 2 2 says I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I'm going to change my Change some things here.

Let's see. Okay, and then in Acts 20. In Acts 20 26 or 27 He says that if he had neglected to teach the whole counsel of God blood would be on his hands. When he was in Corinth and he was only teaching Christ in him crucified.

Did he have blood on his hands because he wasn't teaching the whole counsel of God. The whole counsel of God all of Scripture understood rightly refers to Christ in him crucified. Those two go together now if you don't.

If that's not obvious to you and it look very likely isn't for many people. When you walk through the the Old Testament and you see the times when the New Testament Interprets the Old Testament. You will find that Repeatedly time after time after time they take passages that you wouldn't think of as referring to the Messiah and saying this refers to the Messiah.

The Apostles understood all these things as referring to Jesus Christ and They were not breathing in new meaning to the Old Testament that wasn't there already. They were showing the meaning that was having been taught by Jesus how to interpret Scripture about Jesus as is explained in Luke 24.

This is the final chapter of Luke as Jesus is instructing his disciples. Jesus said to them. These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you. Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses the prophets and the Psalms.

This by the way is the only time in Scripture I know of that it it speaks of the threefold division of the Old Testament. I don't. I don't think there's anywhere else that that does that. Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures and he told them this is what is written.

The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and in his name. Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all the nations beginning in Jerusalem. That's what's written in Scripture that the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead.

Colossians 125. Paul says that he became a minister to make the Word of God fully known and then two verses later. What does he say that he makes fully known? What does he proclaim? Christ. If the Word the Word of God is fully known in Jesus Christ.

Turn to Hebrews chapter 5 the division between Hebrews 5 and 6. I think this will be helpful. Verse 12 of Hebrews 5 for though by this time you ought to be teachers. You need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God you need milk.

Not solid food for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness. Since he is a child child, but solid food is for the mature. For those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

What is the milk and what is the solid food? A lot of people will say well the milk is the gospel and Then solid food is additional things beyond the gospel. I Believe this is exactly reversed exactly reversed that the meat is the gospel and There are other things that Someone might know apart from the gospel.

That are the milk. Verse 1 of chapter 6 says therefore Let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity not laying in a foundation of repentance from dead works of faith Toward God and of instruction about washings the laying on of hands the resurrection of dead and eternal judgment.

These will and this we will do if God permits. So when he talks about a foundation of repentance laying on of hands Washings stuff like that. These are things that someone can understand as Sort of these elementary things if you think of elements in physics and chemistry coming together into molecules.

You can understand them without their connections. But that isn't fully understanding them. That's that's just milk even resurrection from the dead is milk. If you do not understand it in Jesus Christ, the meat is understanding it in Jesus Christ.

And what is the context? Why does he stop to tell them that they need milk? And so he's got to start force-feeding the meat to get them to be able to digest the stuff. What is it that he was going to talk about?

It was Melchizedek. He's telling them that Melchizedek. They can't understand Melchizedek because they don't understand meat and So what is the meat once we finally get to chapter 7 and he resumes his discourse?

It's how Melchizedek points to Christ. It's only once you understand these things in Christ in the context of the gospel that they become meat. So it's not that the gospel is the milk and Then the meat is other things in addition to the gospel.

The milk are scriptural truths understood prior to contextualization in the gospel and Then once you understand them in light of Christ in light of the gospel, that is when they become meat. Melchizedek Just reading through Genesis and not not getting what it's pointing to is milk.

Melchizedek understanding him in Hebrews 7 in light of Jesus Christ is meat. So someone who says okay, well I'll give the gospel for free, but then I'll give other things higher level things. That I'm going to charge for is Misunderstanding the nature of milk and meat.

It's the other way around the If you're teaching distinct things that that was the foundational stuff. It's just entirely reversed. All right. Let's move on to positive cases positive case number one.

Positive Case 1: Freely Received Truth Must Be Freely Given

The motivation to freely give is Eternal and applies to all biblical wisdom. Okay Jesus did not just say freely give he said freely you receive freely give. He gives a reason that still applies to us today.

It's not like they had the first disciples freely received and we haven't we have also freely received. Therefore we should also freely give. Jeremy Taylor again that Anglican divine who explained the that this has to be still in effect.

Can't just be about the first disciples. He says there is in this command something that is spiritual of and of an eternal decency rectitude in proportion. Freely you receive freely give this is this is clearly a principle that lasts Beyond just the first disciples because it comes with a reason that lasts beyond the first disciples.

By the way, Jeremy Taylor his work was Uh describing how to interpret scripture. It wasn't specifically on Matthew 10. He just decided to use that as an example and explaining how one should interpret scripture.

Figure out which parts Were just about that time which parts apply to us. And it applies to all scriptural revelation. You've heard me teach on first corinthians 2 12 through 13 this weekend or I said weekend, but uh past two days.

We have not received the spirit of the world. But the spirit who is from god that we may understand what god has freely given us. And this is what we speak not in words taught us by human wisdom, but words taught by the spirit.

Expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. Okay, so that is telling us that the The words that the spirit teaches which is all of scripture. Are things freely given and they are things that come with his power.

All right, and think about the the other things in Matthew 10. Why is it that we are supposed to be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves? Because we are still sheep in the midst of wolves. Why is it that we should still Anticipate persecution because the disciple is still not greater than his teacher.

Why should we still not fear man? Because man still Cannot destroy the soul. And we are still of more value than sparrows. Likewise, why should we still freely give. Because we have still freely received right all these other passages that people are willing to apply today.

It's because each one has a reason that applies today and freely give has a reason that still applies today. We have freely received. All right, positive case number two. The rest of the new testament confirms that ministers must freely give.

Positive Case 2: The New Testament Calls Ministers to Give Freely

I'll just read uh well I'll read these. What then is my reward that in preaching the gospel? I may offer it free of charge and so not use up my rights in preaching it first corinthians 9 18. Was it a sin for me to humble myself in order to exalt you because I preached the gospel of god to you free of charge.

2 corinthians 11 7. For we are not like so many others who peddle the word of god on the contrary in christ. We speak before god with sincerity as men sent from god. 2 corinthians 2 17. For they went out on behalf of the name accepting nothing from the gentiles.

Therefore we ought to support such men that we may be fellow workers for the truth. Third john 7 through 8 many verses that talk about this as is something that's come up in each of these debates. I've tried to stay focused on a passage and uh.

But then people will usually bring out in the q a there's there's so many more there's so many more. So it's not just that this one passage says that it's there's so many passages. Positive case number three history confirms that freely give Was not a temporary ethic first of all Jesus I believe he's just affirming.

Positive Case 3: Christian History Preserves the Free Teaching Ethic

Well, maybe just is not the right way of saying but he's affirming the rabbinical ethic that existed at the time. If you look in the talmud uh, it interprets different passages in the old testament this way specifically deuteronomy 4 5 you can.

Look, and there's a number of interpretations that that suggest that All teaching of the bible should be given freely Deuteronomy 4 5 just as I teach you for free without payment. So too you also shall teach for free.

Uh, that is the that is a um Paraphrase interpretation of deuteronomy 5 4 that is in the talmud uh. And that is I I don't know how to pronounce these but netarim uh 37 a 0 .2 and then Bekarot 29a .8 likewise interprets deuteronomy 4 5 as saying just as I learned from god for free.

So too you learn from me for free. Right, let me go ahead and look up the passage. It might be just disappointing how far away deuteronomy 4 5 is from that. But this is this is the rabbinical interpretation.

See I have taught you statutes and rules. As the lord my god commanded me that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Now it doesn't talk about freely receiving freely giving but given that rabbis would understand it this way.

And say that teaching should only be given freely and jesus is saying this it would be understood that he's. It would be understood in that context. In fact, they had you know a number of rules about this.

Okay. Well, what if you're just teaching the hebrew alphabet, you know, that might be okay. But then one and using scripture teaching the hebrew alphabet that would be okay, but then Actually teaching the scripture itself not something you could charge for.

Yeah, I didn't talk about this much in the book. But this doctrine of simony, you know, it exists in rabbinical literature, too. Of course, they wouldn't call it simony because that's a christian narrative, uh, but still all right, uh the didache likely a first century text uh.

Uses matthew heavily talks about worker being worthy of his food. Says let every apostle when he comes to you be received as the lord. But he shall not abide more than a single day or if there be need a second likewise.

But if he abides three days, he is a false prophet and when he departs let the apostle receive nothing except bread. Until he finds shelter, but if he asks money, he is a false prophet. And whoever shall say in the spirit give me silver or anything else.

You shall not listen to him. Yeah, and even later, uh, it was interesting. I I Was surprised that I had written this so long ago and I said in this article read gregory the great huss Wycliffe or countless others that wrote against simony and you'll see that they almost universally appealed to matthew 10 8 uh, I didn't realize I had been Reading and writing or reading about this for so long, but I have you know, I I named my son Wycliffe uh after I had read Wycliffe's book on simony and how old is he now four?

Yeah, he's four so yeah, it's been a while and Yeah, i'm really glad that i've gotten to dig into it much more. So if we've had all different kinds of things be sold that we understand shouldn't be uh.

Yeah, why would we keep doing this? Pew rents, etc. Okay positive case number four the nature of christian the christian message requires us to freely give Isaiah 55 one come all you who are thirsty come to the waters and you without money come by and eat come by wine and Milk without money and without cost and then revelation 22 17 ends with that.

Positive Case 4: The Christian Message Is Freely Offered

The spirit and the bride say come let the one who hears says Say come let the one who is thirsty come the one who desires the water of life drink freely. Now the bible ends with this very thought. This is the nature of the message that it is free.

This is kind of the whole point. This is what the gospel is all about as that martin luther quote. I read earlier said To tamper with that is to tamper with the the message itself. So let us embrace the command of matthew 10 8 at face value.

Let us truly reflect the radical grace and generosity of our god just as we have freely received. Let us freely give amen.