Matthew 10:13

Then he continues with the effect both on the good and on the wicked. And if the house is worthy... We can say that such a house will obtain a blessing. Hence the apostles or bishops in first turning toward the people say, "Peace be …

And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you.

"And when ye come into a house, salute it, saying, Peace be unto this house. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you." By "salutation" and "peace" understand "blessing," …

And if the house be worthy,.... If the family, and particularly the master of it, appeared to be civil, courteous, friendly, and hospitable, upon such a salutation, and ready to receive and embrace them, and provide for them, let your peace come upon it, or it shall come upon it; the imperative for the future, which is not unusual; and so read the Syriac and Vulgate Latin.

If the house be worthy - of it, God shall give them the peace you wish them. If not, he shall give you what they refuse. The same will be the case, when we pray for them that are not worthy.

Concerning the sufferings they were to undergo. They are told what they should suffer, and from whom; counsels are given them what course to take when persecuted, and encouragements to bear up cheerfully under their sufferings,

They went abroad they knew not whither, uninvited, unexpected, knowing none, and known of none; the land of their nativity was to them a strange land; what rule must they go by? what course must they take? Christ would not send them out without full instructions, and here they are. They are here directed how to conduct themselves toward those that were strangers to them;

If that house be worthy - If that family be proper for a preacher to lodge in, and the master be ready to embrace the message of salvation. Your peace - The blessings you have prayed for shall come upon the family: God will prosper them in their bodies, souls, and substance. But if it be not worthy - As above explained. Let your peace - The blessings prayed for, return to you. Προς υμας επιϚραφητω, it shall turn back upon yourselves. They shall get nothing, and you shall have an increase.

This chapter is one of peculiar solemnity. Here is the record of the first ordination which ever took place in the Church of Christ. The Lord Jesus chooses and sends forth the twelve apostles. Here is an account of the first charge ever delivered to newly ordained Christian ministers. The Lord Jesus himself delivers it. Never was there so important an ordination! Never was there so solemn a charge! There are three lessons which stand out prominently on the face of the first fifteen verses of this chapter. Let us take them in order.

This was the ancient salutation of the East, and it prevails to this day. But from the lips of Christ and His messengers, it means something far higher, both in the gift and the giving of it, than in the current salutation.

This chapter is one of peculiar solemnity. Here is the record of the first ordination which ever took place in the Church of Christ. The Lord Jesus chooses and sends forth the twelve apostles. Here is an account of the first charge ever delivered to newly ordained Christian ministers. The Lord Jesus himself delivers it. Never was there so important an ordination! Never was there so solemn a charge! There are three lessons which stand out prominently on the face of the first fifteen verses of this chapter. Let us take them in order. We are taught in the first place, that all ministers are not necessarily good men. We see our Lord choosing a Judas Iscariot to be one of his apostles. We cannot doubt that he who knew all hearts knew well the characters of the men whom he chose; and he includes in the list of his apostles one who was a traitor! We shall do well to bear in mind this fact. Orders do not confer the saving grace of the Holy Ghost: ordained men are not necessarily converted. We are not to regard them as infallible, either in doctrine or in practice; we are not to make popes or idols of them, and insensibly to put them in Christ’s place. We are to regard them as men of like passions with ourselves, to the same infirmities, and daily requiring the same grace. We are not to think it impossible for them to do very bad things; or to expect them to be above the reach of harm from flattery, covetousness, and the world. We are to prove their teaching by the Word of God, and to follow them so far as they follow Christ, but no further. Above all, we ought to pray for them that they may be successors, not of Judas Iscariot, but of James and John. It is a serious responsibility to be a minister of the Gospel! Ministers need many prayers. We are taught in the next place, that the great work of a minister of Christ is to do good.