THE LOST SHEEP OF ISREAL
Monday, 25th July 2016
Matthew 10:1-8 (NKJV)
And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.
2. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
3. Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
4, Simon the Cananite and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
5. These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.
6. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
8. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
In this passage I am amazed at the specific instructions that Jesus gave the disciples – not to go among the Gentiles nor enter into any of the cities of the Samaritans. He sent them to the “lost sheep of Israel” – to the lost brethren; to see to it that the gospel was carried to them. We more fully appreciate today’s reading when we consider the lukewarm attitude with which some of us treat the salvation and redemption of our family members and friends. We go with so much zeal and commitment to organise crusades and revival meetings in cities and villages but almost abandon our spiritual duty towards our immediate family, relations and those neighbours in our environment.
This is a call for us all to, as a matter of urgency, take the gospel to our friends, relations, family members and neighbours. This will mean that we will also commit ourselves to prayers continuously until their salvation is secured. Let us be challenged to make necessary sacrifice for the gospel even as we remember the lives and times of all those who died in the course of preaching this gospel, more especially, St. James the Apostle, whose death we commemorate today.
Prayer: Father, please give me passion for the souls of those close to me.