1And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

 2Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

 3Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

 4Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

 5These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

 6But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

 7And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

 8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

 9Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,

 10Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.

 11And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.

 12And when ye come into an house, salute it.

 13And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

 14And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

 15Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

 16Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Jesus sends the Disciples out on their first mission.  They are to go to the House of Israel. He came to his own first and then the message was to be bought to the Gentiles after his death.  He instructs them to preach that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and to heal the sick and cast out devils.  Whatever city will not receive them they are to shake off the dust from that city and move to the next city.  Whoever doesn’t receive the message will answer for it on Judgment Day.  They are instructed to be as cunning as serpents but as innocent as doves.

We have the same mission today.  To preach the gospel to whoever will receive it, if they refuse the message of God they will answer for it, we have done our part.  We are to be wise but blameless in our witness to the world.

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