Jesus first explained the sphere and nature of the apostles' temporary ministry to Israel.
10:5-6 The apostles were to limit their ministry to the Jews living in Galilee. They were not to go north or east into Gentile territory nor south where the Samaritans predominated. The Samaritans were only partially Jewish racially. They were the descendants of the poorest of the Jews, whom the Assyrians left in the Promised Land when they took the Northern Kingdom into captivity, and the Gentiles whom the Assyrians imported. Religiously they only accepted the Pentateuch as authoritative.
The apostles were to go specifically to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, a term that described all the Jews (Isa. 53:6; Jer. 50:6; Ezek. 34). The designation highlights the needy character of the Jews. Jesus sent them to the Jews exclusively to do three things. They would announce the appearance of a Jewish Messiah, announce a Jewish kingdom, and provide signs to Jews who required them as proof of divine authorization. Jesus did not need the additional opposition that would come from Gentiles and Samaritans. He would have to deal with enough of that from the Jews. His kingdom would be a universal one, but at this stage of His ministry Jesus wanted to offer it to the Jews first. We have already noted that Jesus had restricted His ministry primarily but not exclusively to Jews (8:1-13).
10:7-8 The apostles were to herald the same message that John (3:2) and Jesus proclaimed (4:17, 23; 9:35). They were to be itinerant preachers, as these men had been.432The absence of "repent"here should not be a problem since, as we have pointed out, repentance was not a separate step in preparation but a way of describing adequate preparation.
"If the Jewish nation could be brought to repentance, the new age would dawn; see Ac. iii. 19f., Jo. iv. 22."433
It was at hand, namely imminent. It had not yet begun. The powers the apostles had would impress their Jewish hearers with God's authentication of their message (cf. 12:28). That was the purpose of signs throughout the Old and New Testaments.434
Matthew had not mentioned raising the dead and cleansing lepers previously (v. 1). The disciples were not to charge for their services because what they had received had not cost them anything.
