Mt 10:7-15
[Jesus said to the Twelve,] 7“As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. 9Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; 10no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. 11Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. 12As you enter a house, wish it peace. 13If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. 14Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. 15Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”
The Kingdom Of Heaven Is At Hand: After exhorting his disciples to beseech the master of the harvest for more laborers, Jesus provides the initial answer to the prayer. From his followers, Jesus chooses a group of twelve to whom he gives the power to expel demons and heal diseases. The twelve are called apostles. An apostle (Greek apostolos, from apostello, “send”) is one who is sent, an official representative charged with a commission. The designation emphasizes the authorization of the sender rather than the content of the commission.
Jesus, in fact, is the apostle of God (Mk 9:37). Just as he has been sent by the Father and given authority to proclaim the kingdom, so now he empowers and sends the twelve to do what he does. Whoever receives them receives Jesus and the Father (Mt 10:40).
The apostles are sent to Israel, especially to its lost sheep—the poor and the disabled, the oppressed and the marginalized. These ‘am ha-’ares (“people of the land”) are special to Jesus and the Father, and they are to receive preferential, though not exclusive, treatment from the apostles. The core of the apostles’ message is the same as Jesus’ proclamation at the beginning of his Galilean ministry: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (cf Mt 4:17).