Matthew 10:1-4 1And after calling to himself his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits in order to cast them out and heal every disease and every affliction. 2These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Right after proclaiming the great harvest and the need for workers, Jesus gave a special calling to twelve of his followers. The participle calling is in the rare middle voice indicating that Jesus called them to himself. He gathered them around himself for a special mission. The term “disciple” means a follower who learns from a teacher or master. These twelve men would spend the next several years learning from Jesus as they followed him around. They would become the core group of leaders who would take the message of Jesus to the world and train others. Their primary mission would become to make more disciples who would follow Jesus’ teachings (28:19-20).
Jesus passed on to them his own authority (28:18) to carry on his mission. Again, Matthew records the keyword authority (exousian). Authority is his Gospel is always associated with Jesus. Jesus has authority over unclean spirits, every disease, and every affliction, and so he can pass on this authority to his follows who are enabled to do this same ministry in his name because they are doing it with his authority. Any authority that a disciple has is derived from the authority of the Master.
Many traditions have emerged about each of the twelve disciples named in this list. The list is organized into pairs. Some of these pairs are brothers, such as Peter and Andres, James and John. The Bible does not give enough evidence to determine why the other disciples are paired. Simon and Judas may have shared some similarities in their zeal. Little is said in the New Testament about most of the disciples, but each made a commitment to follow Jesus for many years, learning to live by faith in him.
This passage is not so concerned about describing each disciple but about their mission, which was to do what Jesus did. They would be empowered to do the same ministry as Jesus. People would take notice of what they did, and so, they must follow Kingdom ethics found in the Sermon on the Mount lest their miracle-working abilities go to their heads and they think too highly of themselves. Disciples must always remember that their authority comes from the Master.
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