“These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:”
These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans. The mission's first limitation surprises readers who know the great commission of Matthew 28:19 — go to all nations. The restriction to Israel in this initial mission is not the final word but the first chapter: Israel must be offered the kingdom first (Romans 1:16 — to the Jew first and also to the Greek). The limited mission to Israel during Jesus' earthly ministry will give way to the unlimited mission after the resurrection. The Samaritan restriction reflects the historical Jewish-Samaritan tension; Jesus will himself engage Samaritans in John 4, and the disciples will be sent to Samaria in Acts 1:8.
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