OUR FATHER WHO OFFERS SALVATION TO THOSE WHO WOULD WILLINGLY ACCEPT IT

The Lord's instructions to His disciples continued in Matthew chapter 10 verses 11 - 15 with guidance on how to interact with jusrisdictions they came to in their travels.

11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. 12 And when you go into a household, greet it. 13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

These were the observances given to the disciples when they arrived at a settlement;

• Ask around for who could host them
• Once accepted, remain in that dwelling
• When entering the household, greet it
• If worthy, let peace be on it
• If not worthy, retract peace
• If rejected, shake the dust from the feet

When arriving at a city or town to bring the news of the kingdom, the disciples would need a place to stay for the duration of their mission.

They were to ask about a place to stay and when a person accepted to host them, that person was a worthy person. Even if it were a humble household, their hospitality towards God's people would make them worthy.

The disciples were instructed to remain at the house that first welcomed them because after they began ministering and the miraculous power they carried became known, the people of the settlement would start vying to host them to gain proximity to the ministers.

The ones who accepted them first were the ones the Lord wanted to have the priviledge of hosting them for the duration of their stay.

When they were ministering from door to door, they were to greet each household and if their greeting was received, then the peace and goodwill of the disciples could be placed upon that household. If the household reacted negatively to the greeting, the disciples could rescind their peace and goodwill and proceed to the next house.

These steps sifted for the people to whom the good news of the kingdom would be delivered to.

The towns that refused to recieve the carriers of the message or refused to heed their words were going to be subject to a harsher judgement than Sodom and Gomorrah because a message of goodwill and peace was offered to them and they rejected it while that offer was not made to Sodom and Gomorrah and yet they were judged.

Amen.

12