Matthew 10:11-15 11And into whatever town or village you enter, ask someone in it who is worthy; and remain there until you depart. 12And as you enter the house, greet it. 13And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to yourself. 14And whoever might not receive you or listen to your words, when you come out of the house or the town, shake off the dust from your feet. 15Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
Jesus continues to give directions to his disciples whom he sent out with his authority to preach and heal. This is the strategy they were to use whenever they entered a new city, town, village, or home. First, they needed to find a worthy person to stay with. They key idea is to find what is mean by worthy (axios). The clue is in verse 14, which gives the opposite of this worthiness. Someone who is worthy welcomes the disciples into their home and listens to their words. There will be times when people do not welcome disciples, and so such people will miss out on the pronouncement of peace on the home.
Another important aspect of the disciples’ strategy was to pronounce peace upon those who received them. To grant peace is a form of blessing granted through a special prayer for the home. Such blessings were significant in the thinking and experience of ancient people of that culture, just as casting a curse was taken seriously. Peace (eirēnē) in the Bible is one of the greatest experiences and goals of humanity. Peace addresses one of the greatest human needs of alienation from God, one another, and nature. Chaos, friction, brokenness, and doubt plague all of us at some point. Jesus called peacemakers blessed because they model the peace God our Father offers (5:9). To offer peace to a home includes extended the peace offered by God and the blessing of ending the struggle to find meaning, purpose, and reconciliation in the world. The gospel brings this peace.
Sadly, not everyone accepts the word of the gospel and thereby misses out on receiving the blessing of peace. Such persons are worse off than the sad and depraved ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which experienced destruction by fire (Genesis 19). There is a warning of judgment behind the words Jesus gives here. People are blinded by their own pursuits and deceived by the false promises of peace in the world. The only true and everlasting peace comes through Jesus Christ. This was the core message the disciples were to share with people.
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