Day 101: Matthew 10:5–10

You have received free of charge; give free of charge (v. 8).

Up until now, the Twelve had watched Christ at work and had witnessed His miracles, but they had not yet been empowered to exercise those wonders. I don’t imagine the disciples expected to do anything but watch. But they were about to receive a very special welcome to the wild world of Jesus Christ. Jesus called the disciples together and gave them “power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases” (Luke 9:1). Then He sent them out to preach and heal. He told them to take along no provisions but to stay where the people welcomed them.

Wouldn’t you love to have eavesdropped on the conversations between the disciples as they prepared to go out? Like us, I’m not sure they had a clue what they had been given. They had the privilege to be the closest earthly companions to the Son of God. They were chosen to witness the most remarkable phenomenon in all human history: the Word made flesh and dwelling among us. They broke bread with Him, laughed with Him, and talked Scripture with Him. They knew the sound of His breathing when He slept. They knew His favorite foods. They watched Him heal the sick, deliver the demon-possessed, and raise the dead. If they had never received another thing, they had been granted a privilege beyond all others. But Christ didn’t stop there. He also gave them power and authority.

Christ’s words in Matthew 10:8 should inspire us to pour out our lives like drink offerings for the rest of our days. “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” The word for “freely” is dorean, meaning “freely, gratis, as a free gift.” I think you might be very interested to see another way this same Greek word is translated into English.

In John 15:25 Jesus said, “They hated me without reason.” The phrase “for no reason” is translated from the same word, dorean. What does that tell you about the things we’ve received from Christ? Unreasonable grace! Nothing is reasonable about the love of God or the gifts He so freely gives! Like me, I know you’ve received freely from God in ways you can’t begin to count, but has that unreasonable grace caused you to freely give of yourself to others recently?