10:1 This is Matthew's first reference to Jesus' 12 disciples, though here He implied their previous identity as a group. He "summoned"(Gr. proskaleo) these men as a king commands His subjects. He who had all authority now delegated some of it to this select group of disciples. Perhaps Jesus chose 12 close disciples because Israel consisted of 12 tribes.
"As soon as he [Jesus] remarked that number, every Jew of any spiritual penetration must have scented a Messianic programme.'"425
If Israel had accepted Jesus, these 12 disciples probably would have become Israel's leaders in the messianic kingdom. As it turned out, they became leaders of the church.
Until now, there is no evidence that Jesus' disciples could cast out demons and heal the sick. This was new power He delegated to them for the mission on which He would shortly send them. This ability is a clear demonstration of Jesus' unique greatness.
"This was without a precedent in Jewish history. Not even Moses or Elijah had given miraculous powers to their disciples. Elijah had been allowed to transmit his powers to Elisha, but only when he himself was removed from the earth."426
10:2-4 The 12 special disciples now received the title "apostles."This word, apostolosin Greek, comes from the verb apostellomeaning "to send."This was not a technical term until Jesus made it such. It continued to refer generally to people sent out with the Christian message such as Barnabas (Acts 14:4, 14; Rom. 16:7; 2 Cor. 2:18; 8:23; Phil. 2:25). It referred to any messenger (John 13:16) and even to Jesus (Heb. 3:1). Paul became an apostle who received his commission directly from the Lord as the 12 special disciples had. This is the only place Matthew used the word "apostle."He probably used it here because Jesus proceeded to prepare to send these 12 men on a special mission to the Israelites (vv. 5-42).
Lists of the 12 Apostles occur in Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16; and Acts 1:13 as well as here. Comparing the four lists we note that there appear to have been three groups of four disciples each. Peter, Philip, and James the son of Alphaeus seem to have been the leaders of the groups.
| Matt. 10:2-4 | Mark 3:16-19 | Luke 6:14-16 | Acts 1:13 |
1. | Simon Peter | Simon Peter | Simon Peter | Peter |
2. | Andrew | James | Andrew | John |
3. | James | John | James | James |
4. | John | Andrew | John | Andrew |
5. | Philip | Philip | Philip | Philip |
6. | Bartholomew | Bartholomew | Bartholomew | Thomas |
7. | Thomas | Matthew | Matthew | Bartholomew |
8. | Matthew | Thomas | Thomas | Matthew |
9. | James, son of Alphaeus | James, son of Alphaeus | James, son of Alphaeus | James, son of Alphaeus |
10. | Thaddaeus | Thaddaeus | Judas, son or brother of James | Judas, son or brother of James |
11. | Simon the Cananaean | Simon the Cananaean | Simon the Zealot | Simon the Zealot |
12. | Judas Iscariot | Judas Iscariot | Judas Iscariot | |
Peter's name occurs first here as in all the other lists probably because he was the "first among equals."Matthew may also have listed him first because he became the apostle to the Jews.427James' name occurs before his brother John's probably because James was older. Matthew described himself humbly as "the tax-gatherer."Thaddaeus and Judas the son or brother of James seem to be two names for the same man, and Simon the Cananaean seems to have been the same person as Simon the Zealot. The Zealots constituted a political party in Israel that sought to throw off the Roman yoke. "Cananaean"is the Aramaic form of "Zealot"and does not refer to the land of Canaan. "Iscariot"may mean "of Kerioth,"the name of two Palestinian villages, or "the dyer,"his possible occupation. It may be a transliteration of the Latin sicarius, a Zealot-like movement.428Some scholars believe it means "false one"and comes from the Aramaic seqarmeaning "falsehood."429These men became Jesus' main agents in carrying out His mission, though Judas, of course, proved to be a hypocritical disciple.
Probably Matthew described the Twelve in pairs because they went out in pairs (Mark 6:7).430
