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Preaching to the Lost Sheep
Written by Warren |Posted on April 28, 2009 | Comments
“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.’” Matthew 10:5-6
In the context of Matthew 10, Jesus was instructing the disciples for the ministry preaching the Kingdom of God to the nation Israel. In this verse we see Jesus restricting the disciples to go to non-Jewish territory. Not that Jesus didn’t have compassion on them because prior to this event we see Jesus’ ministry on non-Jewish people (the centurion; the samaritan woman). But Jesus wanted the disciples to prioritize the lost sheep of Israel (the Jews) first before they would prioritize on ministering to the outside world. Later Christ did appoint the disciples to preach elsewhere. But before they do that, they need to preach within Israel first.
Jesus also gave out the instruction that if Israel doesn’t listen to the disciples, they should leave (Matthew 10:14). If they’re persecuted, they should flee to the next towns (Matthew 10:23). Christ’s instruction is clear: they should leave only if they are rejected; The disciples should only spread out to neighboring towns once they’re rejected. And we see the ultimate rejection on the crucifixion of Christ. After Jesus’ crucifixion, Jesus then instructed the disciples to preach the gospel to all the nations and not only to Jerusalem, Judea or Samaria (Matthew 28:19-20).
In evangelism, the Christian ought to preach first to his own household. The Christian would only preach elsewhere when he is rejected in his area. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed that it grows and spreads. It shouldn’t be skipping areas wherein it is subject to grow to. We don’t see a seed being planted in the garden and grew up in the streets. We see it rather growing in the area where it was originally planted. And that growth starts from the heart of the Christian. Just like Jesus’ sermon on judging others, before you preach to others, be convicted first (Matthew 7:4). The Christian cannot expect to produce converts if he dodges the messages of God from the beginning. The Christian ought to go rather to the “lost sheep of Israel” first before preaching to others even if that lost sheep is you.
