“And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. . . And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:1,7-8

Recently our Pastor Steve preached an awesome sermon on Matthew 10:6-8 involving Jesus sending his disciples out and challenging them to freely give what they had received to those they minister to. The question is, What was it they were being freely given that they could then freely give?

Jesus had just led the disciples through a number of powerful healing experiences where He had exercised power to heal and restore. He then goes on to instruct the disciples to go out and freely give what they have been freely given.The premise was/is that there is a direct correlation between what Jesus had freely given to the Disciples that would then be freely given from them to those whom they minister to. That would be a pretty safe assumption to make when interpreting/deciphering these scriptures.

So, if you are looking for a one to one correlation, what was the “it” that was received to then be given?

Pastor noted that even as Jesus healed and restored, the disciples were not the recipients of that healing so that was not what they received to then be given. He taught that it was likely what Jesus healed the Disciples of, that they would in turn freely heal others from. For instance, Peter had anger issues, Jesus could freely forgive and heal Peter and Peter could then turn around and freely forgive/ heal others of their anger issues.

This is an awesome teaching point for Christ-Followers. What God has healed us of is likely the most powerful thing we could then reach out with understanding and compassion to heal others. This is a tremendous example of God’s ability to take that which was intended for evil to use for His good.

He Gave Them Power

Without taking ANYTHING away from the truth in that message, I would only include my belief that there is another possible direct correlation that could be made between what Jesus had freely given to the Disciples to be freely given to those whom they ministered.

When Jesus speaks of “Freely you have received” what might He be referring to? Looking back a few verses to Matthew 10:1 it says that Jesus gathered his disciples together and “He gave them power”. The Greek word here for gave is Didomi and it is the same word used when Jesus then tells his disciples to “freely give.”

So, what is it Jesus freely gave in order that his disciples could freely give to others? I would make the case that it could be “Power”. But, the word Jesus used here is not the power we most often think of in the Greek – Dunamis representing God’s enormous strength and awesome ability.

The word Jesus uses here is Exousia which more closely translates to Authority. Jesus was extending his “authority” as the Son of God to His disciples so that they would be empowered to preach and to heal.

Some of you who have been following my blog might say, “Wait a minute, Dave! In the past, you stated your opinion that while on Earth, Jesus had emptied himself of His Godly powers (Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence) and only was empowered by the Holy Spirit and led by the Father?”

That is truly what I believe.  But, my “opinion” is that even while emptying himself of his Godly powers, Jesus never gave up his authority.

Edward VIII became king of the England following the death of his father, George V, but ruled for less than a year. He abdicated the throne in order to marry the American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. By abdicating, Edward gave up all the power of the throne as well as his authority as King.

Jesus, came down to become a man, emptied himself of his Godly powers (Philippians 2:7) but did not abdicate his authority. Jesus was, is and will always be the Son of God and has always maintained his authority even while a man walking the earth.

• Matthew 7:29 – For he taught them as one having authority (exousia), and not as the scribes.
• John 17:2 – “For you granted him authority (exousia) over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.
• Matthew 28:18 – Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority (exousia) in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

So, the stream of thought in Matthew 10 could be interpreted to be this:

1. Jesus gave authority to save and to heal to the disciples
2. The disciples freely received the authority to save and to heal.
3. The disciples were now empowered to make disciples and to freely give the authority to save and to heal.

Jesus freely gave – the disciples freely received – The disciples freely gave

Just this past Sunday, Pastor Dan highlighted an example of the Disciples turning around to freely give what they have received. It’s found in Acts 3:6 – Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have (possess) I give (Didomi) you: In the name (power) of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

I’m confident that Jesus freely gives. But, the question that comes to my mind is, Am I freely receiving so that I can freely give?

There are a host of scriptures that identify the authority we have in Christ. Authority to do amazing things that we could never have the right or the power to do in our own strength. Even to bring healing for that which we have been healed of.

Honestly, I’m quite certain I don’t come near to realizing the full authority we have in Christ over the things of this world – authority over sickness, evil and death – the things that are intended to rob, kill and destroy people. Those things that stand in the way of the saving work of Jesus Christ to enjoy a relationship with God and the abundant life He spoke of.

Ultimately, the power/authority is not the focus of Jesus’ purpose. Those are the means to an end that people would be restored to an intimate/eternal relationship with the living God.

Jesus said this in Luke 10:19-20 — “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Today let’s pray and ponder about the power/authority Jesus wants to give us. Whatever that is, let’s receive it and . . .

“Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:8b