Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 10:7
And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
The kingdom of heaven is at hand – Or, more literally, the reign of heaven, or of God, draws near. See the notes at Mat 3:2.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mat 10:7
And as ye go, preach.
Preaching and going
I. Who are to preach?
II. What are they to preach? The kingdom of heaven. etc. Then we must speak of the King. Tell them He is King of grief, grace, and glory.
III. When are they to preach? As ye go.
1. We are always on the go in this busy world.
2. As ye go-travelling.
3. While you are walking.
4. As long as you live.
IV. Where are we to preach? Go not into the way of the Gentiles, etc. To kith and kin first.
V. Why are we to preach? Freely ye have received. (T. Spurgeon.)
Preaching first to our own kith and kin
Do you remember how it was with Samson? He found honey in the carcase of the lion which he had himself destroyed; and when he found the honey he, like a very sensible man, took of it and did eat; and he went along eating, with his hands full of honey. I do not know whether he had not time to eat it all up before he got to the end of the journey; but I am inclined to think that he was not so selfish as to wish to keep it all to himself. At all events, we read that when he got to the house of his father and of his mother he gave them of the honey, and they did eat. Hast thou found honey? Have it not to thyself? Take it home to those who have it not. And, Saviour, there is no honey that drops from earthly honeycombs like Thy love-sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. (H. W. Beecher.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. And as ye go, preach] , and as you proceed, proclaim like heralds – make this proclamation wherever ye go, and while ye are journeying. Preach and travel; and, as ye travel, preach-proclaim salvation to all you meet. Wherever the ministers of Christ go, they find lost, ruined souls; and, wherever they find them, they should proclaim Jesus, and his power to save. For an explanation of the word proclaim or preach, See Clarke on Mt 3:1.
From this commission we learn what the grand subject of apostolic preaching was – THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND! This was the great message. “They preached,” says Quesnel, “to establish the faith; the kingdom, to animate the hope; of heaven, to inspire the love of heavenly things, and the contempt of earthly; which is at hand, that men may prepare for it without delay.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In these words he gives them power,
1. To preach the gospel.
2. To confirm the doctrine they preached to be of God by miraculous operations, healing the sick, cleansing lepers, raising the dead, casting out devils.
He bids them
go preach, Khrussete, Cry like heralds; something like Isaiahs commission, Isa 58:1, Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet. He teacheth them what should be the sum of their sermons,
The kingdom of heaven is at hand; the same thing which John Baptist preached, Mat 3:2, which Christ preached, Mar 1:15, and which he directed the seventy to preach, Luk 10:9; not that they were to use no other words, but that all the words they used were to have this tendency, to declare that the time was now come, when God had fulfilled his promise of the Messiah, who was setting up his kingdom in the world, and to whose laws they were to be obedient. This doctrine they were to confirm by miracles, which he gives them a charge they should work freely, without receiving any reward for them, that the miracles being used to their private profit, might not lose their end, which was the confirmation of their doctrine.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. And as ye go, preach, saying, Thekingdom of heaven is at hand(See on Mt3:2).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And as ye go,…. Through the cities of Judea, and the streets thereof, from one city to another, from place to place; for these were itinerant preachers, who were not to abide long in any place, but to move about, that the Gospel might be spread all over the land, and the lost sheep in every corner be sought out and found.
Preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This was to be the subject matter of their ministry, which they were to proclaim aloud in every place; and which is expressed in the same words with which John the Baptist, and Christ himself, began their ministry,
Mt 3:2 which shows the entire harmony, and strict agreement, there were between them: for the meaning of the phrase;
see Gill “Mt 3:2”. The Cambridge copy reads, “repent, for the kingdom”, &c.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
As ye go, preach ( ). Present participle and present imperative. They were itinerant preachers on a “preaching tour,” heralds () proclaiming good news. The summary message is the same as that of the Baptist (3:2) that first startled the country, “the kingdom of heaven has drawn nigh.” He echoed it up and down the Jordan Valley. They are to shake Galilee with it as Jesus had done (4:17). That same amazing message is needed today. But “the apprentice apostles” (Bruce) could tell not a little about the King of the Kingdom who was with them.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And as ye go, preach, saying,” (proeuomenoi de kerussete legontes) “And wherever you go you are repeatedly to preach that;” As itinerant, missionary, witnessing workers they were to go continually or repeatedly preaching, telling their hearers that: Luk 9:2; Mr 4:17; Act 17:3; Act 20:21; Act 20:25.
2) “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (hoti engiken he basilela ton ouranon) “The kingdom of heaven has drawn near,” has come to confront you, Mat 3:2; Mat 4:17. They were to prepare men to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and His New Covenant form of worship and service as a way of religious order to replace or supplant the Mosaic law order of rites and ceremonies.
The phrase “kingdom of heaven” used by Matthew only, is used restrictedly, exclusively, and definitively to refer, not to the sum total of the redeemed, as erroneously held by protestantism, but to the saved, baptized, and committed disciples of Jesus Christ, called His church, His bride and His house, Mat 16:18; Act 20:28; Joh 3:28-29; Mr 13:34,35; 1Ti 3:15; Heb 3:1-6.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
7. Preach, saying This is the preaching, (571) I spoke of, by which Christ intended to arouse the minds of the nation to expect an approaching redemption. The kingdom of heaven is at hand For the kingdom of heaven Luke substitutes the kingdom of God; but the meaning is the same. It was to inform the Jews, first, that they owed their restoration to divine agency, and not to the kindness of men; secondly, that under the reign of God their condition would be prosperous; and, thirdly, that the happiness which had been promised to them was not earthly and fading, but heavenly and eternal.
(571) “ La predication, ou publication;” — “the preaching, or publication.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) Preachi.e., proclaimact as heralds, as elsewhere. The repetition of the self-same words as had described first the Baptists teaching and then our Lords, seems to suggest that this was actually a formula of proclamation. The two envoys of the King were to enter into town or village, and there, standing in the gate, to announce that His kingdom had come near, and then, when this had drawn crowds to listen, to call men to the repentance without which they could not enter it.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. As ye go Our Lord here implies that they would continually extend their missionary travels. They were to be true itinerants, travelling after they had preached, and preaching as they travelled.
The kingdom of heaven A kingdom which is the opposite of the kingdoms of this world, and still more of the kingdom of hell. Of this kingdom the crown prince is Messiah. When, therefore, they proclaimed the approach of this kingdom, they of course implied the Messiah’s coming.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingly Rule of Heaven is at hand’.”
And as they go out the twelve are to preach ‘The Kingly Rule of Heaven is at hand’. But while the words are the same, this is not the same message as that of John. For John was looking ahead to a Kingly Rule that was about to break in, but was still in the future, a Kingly Rule that would arrive in the coming of the Coming One for Whom he was preparing the way. But these are proclaiming that the Coming One is now here, and that men can now enter under the Kingly Rule of Heaven by responding to the One Who Has Come. The Kingly Rule of Heaven is at hand, and if they respond it can be theirs. For to enter under the Kingly Rule of Heaven is to come into the position of submission to the King, Whom God has proclaimed both at His birth (Mat 1:23; Mat 2:2), and after His baptism (Mat 3:17), Who is manifesting that Kingly Rule by His power over evil spirits (Mat 12:28) and Who is now establishing His Kingly Rule prior to being enthroned in Heaven (Act 2:36). This was how kings were established in those days. First they were acclaimed, then they established their position, often by force, and then when they were finally recognised by sufficient people they were enthroned. In the same way Jesus has been acclaimed and is now establishing His position preparatory to His enthronement (Mat 28:18).
We have already been told how to enter the Kingly Rule of Heaven. It is not just by saying, ‘Lord, Lord’. That is, of course necessary, but equally necessary is it to recognise that this then involves a commitment to do, and a genuineness in doing, the will of His Father Who is in Heaven (Mat 7:21). To acknowledge His Kingly Rule and not to obey His will is a contradiction in terms. Thus in the Day that is coming the question will be whether they were ‘known’ (acknowledged personally as His) by the King, something revealed by whether they had heard His words and done them (Mat 7:22-27).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The message itself and the accompanying signs:
v. 7. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
v. 8. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils. Freely ye have received, freely give. While on your missionary journey, preach; preaching the first and foremost duty and necessity. Its subject: The kingdom of the heavens is even now at hand. In the person of the lowly Nazarene, Jesus Christ, all the types and prophecies are fulfilled. He that accepts Him in faith has the Kingdom, is a member of the Kingdom. So perform your work as heralds, from house to house. And whenever it was necessary, they were empowered to confirm the Word with signs following, Mar 16:20. Not only should ordinary sicknesses yield to their authority, but even the uncleanness of the lepers. Even the power to call the dead back to life and to control evil spirits was entrusted to them. Circumstances may not have required the use of all these miracles in any one city or town, and it is likely that the apostles did not raise any people from the dead before Christ Himself arose from the dead. There is also some probability that, at that time, their faith was not yet strong enough to perform the greatest miracle, Mat 17:20. But so far as Christ’s commission to them was concerned, they received all the authority necessary to back up their preaching with such works as must be accepted as proof positive for their divine mission. But this power was not to be for hire, not to be sold for money.
Miracles
The simple belief in the miracles of the Bible which characterized the early centuries of the Christian Church, and which, during the Middle Ages, was, by false analogy, expanded into a credulousness that placed the so-called acts of the saints, spurious inventions of a superstitious age, on a level with the great deeds of God, has long since been declared impossible under modern conditions. Beginning about three centuries ago, the enemies of the Bible have been increasingly active, until at the present time, both without and within the Church, the miraculous element in the Bible is being discarded.
The objections to the Bible account of miracles and therefore to the miracles themselves may be divided into two classes, the radical and the conservative. The first class denies the possibility of miracles outright, without excuse or apology. It has been stated that miracles are violations of the laws of nature, although the statement concedes the existence of a law-maker whose right to suspend laws as well as to make them should be unquestioned. It is declared that miracles are excluded by the uniformity of nature, although experience itself is alterable and indefinite. The critics have said that the human mind is turning away from miracles, that the whole body of modern sciences yields the immense result that there is no supernatural. The miraculous stories are said to be the creations of a credulous and superstitious age. It is argued that it requires no mental effort to cut out of the New Testament the miraculous element. So-called scholars “have examined, in the scientific spirit, our Bible, and at every step they have found the record of miracles mythical or legendary, always incredible as fact. They believe that miracles do not occur, that they never have occurred, that they never will occur. The miraculous element, so it is more and more widely held, is the constant and spurious accompaniment, in ancient times, of every great religious movement. ” One critic asks, with reference to the resurrection of Christ: “Is the testimony sufficient to show that a man thoroughly dead… came back to life, passed through closed doors, and ascended into the sky?” And he adds: “I cannot speak for others, but most certainly I cannot believe such monstrous facts on such evidence.”
The conservative class of critics desires to save the Bible, such remnants as they still concede to be true, by arguing that miracles need not be believed, that they are not necessary for the truth of Scriptures and of the Christian faith. Most of the Old Testament miracles are explained away by declaring that they are mere poetical ornamentation and have no fundamental connection with the story. We might possess, they say, the miracles of the Lord without possessing the Lord Himself; does it not follow that we might lose the miracles of the Lord and still retain Him? It is frankly stated that the apologist of the present time has an interest in minimizing the miraculousness of miracles, and making them appear as natural as possible. The present temper of the religious public would seem to be to naturalize not only miracles, but the whole spiritual world.
In view of these facts, it is essential, first of all, to know what a miracle is. The following definition is generally accepted: “A miracle is an event making known to the senses the presence of a personal power above the physical and human plane, working towards a moral end. ” Under this explanation, which includes miracles, signs, and wonders, we may divide them into three classes. There are the miracles of the constant revelation of God in nature and history, the many evidences of supernatural intervention. There are the miracles or occurrences within the ordinary course of nature, which, nevertheless, human strength and wisdom cannot accomplish without the creative and providential power of God, including all the physiological changes within living organisms due to life. There are the miracles or phenomena outside of nature’s course and known laws, brought about by a deliberate suspension of the physical order of the universe, including both the miracles of Scripture and the many cases of supernatural preservation.
To deny the existence of miracles in nature about us is to deny the evidence of all the senses and the results of centuries of research. And to deny the miracles of Scripture is to deny the veracity of the entire Bible-account, for it is impossible to divorce the miraculous from the Christian religion, since all true religion is a miracle. That the Old Testament contains but few miracle stories, and that these are confined to Exodus and the lives of Elisha and Elijah, as has been stated, is so manifestly untrue that a reference to the Bible is sufficient as refutation. To separate the miraculous element from the Gospel-accounts, is to take away the essence of the Gospel-narrative. The miracles of Jesus were seals, credentials, because they were signs, essential features, of His mission. If we remove all references to miracles, the gospels lie before us in ruins.
As for the necessity of miracles, the fact that the Lord found them so ought to be sufficient warrant for their happening. The Gospel arose from witnessing miracles and is a record and explanation of these facts. If the resurrection of Jesus had been a delusion, it would have shared the fate of all delusions in being short-lived. And all the other miracles are credible, because they are associated with the miracle of the resurrection. The Christian religion was introduced into the midst of its enemies by means of the miraculous. Thus the miracles are the sign and seal of divine approbation. God would not have sanctioned such a series if they had been falsehoods. And no magicians could have performed them. The miracles were made in defense of a religion of the most perfect righteousness and universal truth, to stand forever in evidence of the unblemished beauty of Christ’s moral character and of the divine call of His disciples. It is sufficient for us to know that He thereby revealed His glory, Joh 1:14; Joh 2:11, and that the miracles of the New Testament were recorded that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing we might have life through His name, Joh 20:31.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 10:7. Preach, saying, &c. The original word is , which is derived from a herald, and signifies “proclaim, with that ardour and zeal which becomes my heralds.” Probably they were to make this proclamation with a loud voice, as they passed through the streets of the towns which they visited, as Jonah declared his message to Nineveh. See Jon 3:4 and Doddridge.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Ver. 7. The kingdom of heaven is at hand ] Repent therefore. Men will do much for a kingdom. And nothing less than a kingdom, and that of heaven, can buy men out of their sweet sins. How many hear we daily making answer to the motion of this heavenly kingdom offered them by God, as the olive and vine did in Jotham’s parable! Shall I leave my fat and sweet sins, to reign, though with God? a And yet every man must be either a king or a captive; reign in heaven, or roar for ever in hell. And this the apostles were bidden, wherever they came, to preach; not to sing mass, which is the chief office of priest among the Papists. And for the people, they are taught to believe that the mass only is a work of duty; but the going to sermons a matter of convenience, and such as is left free to men’s leisures and opportunities, without imputation of sin.
a At Paris, ut vivat regnetque beatus, cogi posse negat.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
7. ] This announcement shews the preparatory nature of this first apostolic mission. Compare, shewing the difference of their ultimate message to the world, Col 1:26-28 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 10:7 . , as ye go, keep preaching; participle and finite verb, both present. Preaching first in the Master’s thoughts, if not in the evangelist’s (Mat 10:1 ). . .: the theme is, of course, the kingdom longed for by all, constantly on the lips of Jesus. The message is: It has come nigh to you and is here. Very general, but much more, it may be taken for granted, was said. The apprentice apostles could as yet make no intelligent theoretic statement concerning the Kingdom , but they could tell not a little about the King , the Master who sent them, the chief object of interest doubtless for all receptive souls. It was a house mission (not in synagogue) on which they were sent (Mat 10:12 ). They were to live as guests in selected dwellings, two in one, and two in another, for a time, and their preaching would take the form of familiar conversation on what they had seen and heard Jesus do and say. They would talk by the hour, healing acts would be very occasional, one or two in a village.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
preach = herald. Greek. kerusso. See App-121.
The kingdom of heaven. See App-114.
heaven = the heavens. See note on Mat 6:9, Mat 6:10.
is at hand = is drawn nigh. Compare Mat 4:17.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
7.] This announcement shews the preparatory nature of this first apostolic mission. Compare, shewing the difference of their ultimate message to the world, Col 1:26-28.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 10:7. , as ye go) Answering to (go ye), in Mat 10:6.-, preach ye) Here were the disciples going forth like students in theology, who practise the rudiments of the ministry and perform the functions of curates, and afterwards return to receive further instruction.[455]-, is at hand) This was to be the burden and sum of their discourses;[456] cf. Mar 6:12.
[455] They themselves, in fact, were as yet destitute of perfect knowledge of Jesus Christ, who not until afterwards instructed them more distinctly concerning His passion, death, and resurrection. In the meantime, their preaching, confirmed as it was by very many miracles, prepared the minds of men, so as that they subsequently, without difficulty, yielded themselves up to obey Him, on His advent among them, of whom the hope had been presented to them by this preparatory announcement. Comp. Mat 10:23.-Harm., p. 293.
[456] Which exhorted to repentance.-V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
preach: Mat 4:17, Mat 11:1, Isa 61:1, Joh 3:2, Mar 6:12, Luk 9:60, Luk 16:16, Act 4:2
The: Mat 3:2, Mat 11:11, Mat 11:12, Mat 21:31, Mat 21:43, Mat 23:13, Luk 9:2, Luk 9:6, Luk 10:9-11, Act 10:25, Act 28:31
Reciprocal: Rth 2:8 – abide Mat 4:23 – healing Mat 22:3 – sent Mat 24:14 – this Mar 1:15 – the kingdom Joh 16:4 – that when Act 20:25 – preaching
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
10:7
At this time the kingdom of heaven was at hand, which shows it was near but not yet in existence as a fact. Hence we know that John the Baptist (who was then dead) did not set up the kingdom as some people teach today.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 10:7. And as ye go preach, proclaim, announce. The matter of their preaching was the approach of the kingdom of heaven (comp. Mat 3:2; Mat 4:17). Their mission was preparatory; the gospel tells of a kingdom already come. As yet they were not instructed to proclaim the King, but were sent rather to announce the kingdom (Mat 10:7), to teach men its nature, and to prove it at hand by their miracles. If men had faith in the words of the Apostles, they would soon come to Jesus to be taught by Him. (Andrews.)
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, 1. The duty enjoined the apostles in order to the bringing home of lost souls to Christ, and that is, preaching; As ye go, preach.
Note thence, That the plain and persuasive preaching of the gospel, is the special mean appointed by Christ for the salvation of lost sinners.
Observe, 2. The doctrine they are enjoined to preach, namely, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand; that is, that the promised Messiah was come, and had set up his kindom in the world, and expected their obedience to his laws.
Where note, How that the preaching of John, of Christ, and his apostles, was one and the same; namely, the doctrine of repentance: repent, say they all, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; that is, the time of the Messiah’s appearing, which has been so long expected, is now come.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mat 10:7-8. And as ye go, preach , proclaim, namely, with ardour and zeal, as becomes my heralds. The word is derived from , a herald. Probably, says Doddridge, they were to make this proclamation with a loud voice, as they passed through the streets of the towns they went to, as Jonah delivered his message to Nineveh. The kingdom of heaven is at hand , hath approached. Publish everywhere the glad tidings of the approach of the Messiahs kingdom, promised by the prophets. Properly speaking, the kingdom of heaven, or gospel kingdom, did not begin till the Jewish dispensation was abolished, and therefore the apostles, in our Lords time, and even our Lord himself, preached the approach only, and not the actual existence of that kingdom. But though the apostles were directed to preach the approach of this kingdom, they did not yet fully understand its nature, that it was not to be a temporal, but a spiritual kingdom, consisting in the dominion of truth and grace, of righteousness, peace, and joy within men. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, &c. Perform all these miraculous cures in confirmation of your mission, to prove to men the certain truth and unspeakable importance of your message. Freely ye have received All things; in particular the power of working miracles: freely give Exert that power wherever you come, and that in a manner honourable to yourselves and me: scorn the thought of making any gain of those for whom these works of mercy and power are performed. That this clause relates to the miraculous cures which the apostles were empowered to perform, and not to the stated offices of the apostolical function, is evident from Luk 10:7, where our Lord, in giving a like commission to the seventy, bid them eat and drink what was set before them, because the labourer was worthy of his hire. Nay, in this very charge, no sooner did he order the apostles to give freely, than he forbade them to provide gold, &c., because the labourer, says he, is worthy of his meat, plainly insinuating that while they were preaching the gospel, they had a right to a maintenance from those who enjoyed the benefit of their labours, and should in the course of the divine providence be supplied with all things necessary.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 7
We observe that they were not to say that Jesus was the Messiah; this fact was very slowly and cautiously made known until after the Savior’s resurrection. They were to say that the kingdom of heaven was at hand.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
10:7 {2} And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
(2) The sum of the gospel, or preaching of the apostles.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The apostles were to herald the same message that John (Mat 3:2) and Jesus proclaimed (Mat 4:17; Mat 4:23; Mat 9:35). They were to be itinerant preachers, as these men had been. [Note: Cf. Plummer, p. 149.] The 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." [Note: M’Neile, p. 134.]
The kingdom 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. Mat 12:28). That was the purpose of signs throughout the Old and New Testaments. [Note: See Thomas R. Edgar, "The Cessation of the Sign Gifts," Bibliotheca Sacra 145:580 (October-December 1988):371-86.]
Matthew had not mentioned raising the dead and cleansing lepers previously (Mat 10:1). The disciples were to offer their services free of charge because the good news they had received had not cost them anything.