10:5-7
These verse expand on the earlier instructions to the twelve (Luke 9:4). “When you enter a house, first say ‘Peace to this house’”. We start with an attitude of peace and goodwill, expecting the best. Now if that house (and we can apply this to a group of people) accepts the blessing then the blessing of God will remain on that house. If they reject it then God’s peace will not rest on that house. We go as God’s emissaries. In 2 Cor 2:16 Paul says we to some we are the fragrance of life, to others the odour of death.
We are also to accept what is given to us. If people choose to bless us then we are to gratefully accept it, for it is God providing for us. Now, of course, there are those who exploit people. There were in the early church, and there are such people today, and the New Testament letters contain many warning against such behaviour. But we must not go to the other extreme. It is perfectly right and proper for a church to provide a reasonable living for its workers.
They were also to be settled, not going around from one place to another. We could extend this to say that we should not flit around from church to church, never settling. No church is perfect, you and I are not perfect, but we will only fulfil God’s will for our lives as imperfect members of an imperfect church.
10:8,9
There is a repeat of the instruction to eat what was set before them. Some of the areas they were going to would have a significant number of Gentiles living there, so possibly this instruction is about not being too fastidious about whether or not food met the strict Jewish dietary laws. They were to heal the sick and tell them that the kingdom of God is among them. So we see that miraculous healings were a normal part of mission. We also see that they are not just an end in themselves, they are a sign that the kingdom is among them.
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