Mt 10:1-7
The Twelve: The obvious significance of the “Twelve” for Matthew stems from the Old Testament twelve tribes of Israel. In scenes from the Infancy Narratives and in the five sermons that Jesus preaches, Matthew continually echoes the story of Moses. Just as Moses led the twelve tribes from slavery to freedom, Jesus, the new Moses, continues the pilgrimage to freedom with the Twelve. Jesus calls all people, especially Israel, into the kingdom.
The Twelve, according to Matthew, share the same authority as Jesus. They are able to exorcise and to cure. They, however, do not teach until after Jesus’ resurrection (cf Mt 28:20).
After the Twelve are named, Jesus begins the second of his five sermons. Commonly referred to as the missionary discourse, this deals with the activity of the disciples (vv 5-15) but then moves quickly into the missionary activity of the Church during the time between the resurrection and the second coming of Christ.
The first bit of instruction given by Jesus points the Twelve toward “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (v 6). This theme is in keeping with Jesus’ own mission (cf 15:24).
The message with which the Twelve are entrusted (v 7) is the same as that of John the Baptist (3:2) and Jesus (4:17). In Matthew, then, there is a continuity of the proclamation from one generation to the next. What was handed on to Jesus by the Baptizer, was, in turn, passed on to the Twelve, and is now the responsibility of every authentic follower of Jesus.