matthew 10

well, i wrote a little about it yesterday, so i thought i would share some thoughts about it today.  matthew 10.  the 12 apostles and sending them out!  now, if you stumbled on this and have not read my post about 'mike' on my other blog, you should go read them first and then come back here and read this.

i tend to lean towards the Jesus that came to seek and save that which was lost, the Jesus that didnt come to coddle insiders, but came for outsiders.  the Jesus that was the friend of sinners...you know, that Jesus.  we are down!  i love that Jesus...mostly b/c i like hanging around lost people more than "church" people, probably because i have been a lost person for much longer than i have a "church" person. (not sure why i keep on putting quotes around church???).  

so, when i read this the other day...one thing stood out to me.   verse 5 says this, these twelve 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. ..."  

up until this time in the book of matthew, Jesus had called the first two disciples, called matthew, been teaching (sermon on the mount), healing people all of that stuff that Jesus does...then i view this as like a commissioning service.  he is giving authority and power to his 12 apostles and sending them out with specific instructions.  

where are they going to?  Go nowhere among the Gentiles (that is most of us!) but go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (the jews).  but...but.... i thought Jesus was about the outsiders?  guess i was wrong...

then Jesus goes onto give them these encouraging and comforting words... 

and these words bother me the most... i am running short on time, so i can not un-pack this...but wow!  i get the feeling Jesus isn't really concerned with my comfortable little world...