Matthew 10:5-8
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Jesus' instruction to avoid the Samaritans highlights the deep, entrenched hostility between Jews and Samaritans at the time. This wasn't just a casual oversight; it was a strategic decision recognizing that such an encounter would likely create an immediate stumbling block for the Jewish people they were primarily sent to reach.
These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus is commissioning his twelve disciples for a specific mission, sending them out to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. This initial mission is deliberately restricted to the Jewish people, the "lost sheep of Israel," excluding Gentiles and Samaritans due to deeply ingrained historical animosity and God's strategic plan to reach the Jews first.
Jesus sends out his disciples for the first time on a crucial mission, but with a surprising restriction: 'Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans.' Why this immediate limitation?
A Strategic Beginning
This initial mission was specifically for the 'lost sheep of the house of Israel.' (Matthew 10:6). Jesus's ministry, and this first apostolic mission, was deeply rooted in his identity as the Messiah for Israel. The Gospel would later expand to the Gentiles and Samaritans, but the priority was to fulfill God's ancient covenant promises to His chosen people first.
The command to avoid Samaritans might seem harsh. What historical and religious animosity created such a deep chasm between Jews and Samaritans that Jesus would explicitly forbid his disciples from entering their cities?
A Legacy of Animosity
The relationship between Jews and Samaritans was fraught with centuries of tension and hostility, making them social and religious outcasts from the Jewish perspective.
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Understand the original words
ethnos · Greek Noun
All non-Jewish people; biblically, it refers to the nations of the world who were outside the covenant promises given to Israel prior to the gospel's expansion.
Samareitēs · Greek Noun
A people group living in the region between Galilee and Judea who were viewed with hostility by many Jews due to their mixed ethnic heritage and divergent religious practices.
probaton · Greek Noun
Refers to the people of God, often highlighting their vulnerability, straying from God's guidance, and their need for a Shepherd. In the context of Israel, it highlights their covenantal status but also their spiritual wandering.
apollumi · Greek Adjective/Participle
Refers to the state of being spiritually ruined or astray from God. It describes the condition of humanity separated from God, needing divine intervention for restoration.
basileia tou ouranou · Greek Noun
The sovereign reign and rule of God. It signifies the breaking in of God's redemptive power and authority into history, calling for repentance and submission.
engizo · Greek Verb/Adjective
A term denoting that an event or state is immediate, imminent, or has drawn very near. It indicates that the arrival of God's reign is no longer a distant future hope but a present reality.
therapeuo · Greek Verb
The exercise of divine power to restore health or wholeness to those suffering from physical or spiritual infirmity. It serves as a sign of the kingdom's arrival.
lepros · Greek Noun/Adjective
Refers to a state of ritual impurity under the Old Testament law. Cleansing represented the restoration of the individual to the community of God's people and the removing of signs of judgment or decay.
daimonion · Greek Noun
Spiritual beings, opposed to God, who influence or possess individuals. Casting them out demonstrates the superior authority of the kingdom of God over the powers of darkness.
This restriction on the apostles highlights the strategic, phased approach of God's redemptive plan: first to Israel, then to the Gentiles. It also underscores the deep-seated animosity between Jews and Samaritans, a tension Jesus would later overcome.
c. 722 BC
Assyrian Exile of Northern Kingdom
The Assyrian Empire conquers the Northern Kingdom of Israel, deporting many of its inhabitants and repopulating the region with foreigners, leading to a mixed religious and ethnic identity in Samaria.
c. 5th century BC
Rival Temple on Mount Gerizim
A rival Samaritan temple is built on Mount Gerizim, further solidifying the religious and social divide between Jews and Samaritans.
c. 129 BC
Destruction of Samaritan Temple
The Jewish leader John Hyrcanus destroys the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim, intensifying the bitter hatred between the two groups.
c. 30 AD
Jesus' Ministry in Samaria
Jesus Himself ministered in a Samaritan city, demonstrating a willingness to cross ethnic and religious barriers that His disciples were initially instructed to avoid.
c. 30 AD— this verse
Apostles' Initial Mission
Jesus directs His twelve apostles to focus their initial mission solely on the 'lost sheep of the house of Israel,' explicitly forbidding them from ministering to Gentiles or Samaritans.
c. 33 AD
Pentecost and the Holy Spirit
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost empowers the apostles and marks a turning point, after which their mission would expand beyond national boundaries.
c. 33-36 AD
Philip's Ministry in Samaria
Following Jesus' ascension, the Apostle Philip successfully evangelizes Samaria, showing the expansion of the Gospel message beyond its initial restricted scope.
This passage shows a similar commission given to the seventy disciples, but with a broader scope, highlighting the strategic, phased rollout of the Gospel message.
John 4:4-42Jesus' own interaction with the Samaritan woman and the subsequent revival in Sychar demonstrates that Samaritans were eventually recipients of the Gospel, showing God's eventual inclusivity beyond the initial limitations.
Acts 8:1-25Following persecution, the disciples scattered, and Philip boldly preached in Samaria, showing the expansion of the Gospel beyond the initial Jewish-only mission.
Romans 1:16This verse articulates the 'Gospel to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile' principle, providing the theological framework for the initial restricted mission outlined in Matthew 10:5.
Matthew 28:19This later, Great Commission commandment directly contrasts the earlier instruction, revealing the intended ultimate scope of the disciples' mission to all nations.
barnesMatthew 10:5: "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:"
Into the way of the Gentiles - That is, among the Gentiles, or nowhere but among the Jews. The full time for preaching the gospel to the Gentiles was not come. It was proper that it should be first preached to the Jews, the ancient covenant people of God, and the people among whom the Messiah was born. Afterward he gave them a charge t…
vincentMatthew 10:5: "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:"
Judas Iscariot (ὁ Ἰσκαριώτης)The article distinguishes him from others of the name of Judas (compare John 14:22). Iscariot is usually explained as a compound, meaning the man of Kerioth, with reference to his native town, which is given in Joshua (Joshua 15:25) as one of the uttermost cities of Judah toward the coast of Edom southwa…
Jesus' instruction to avoid the Samaritans highlights the deep, entrenched hostility between Jews and Samaritans at the time. This wasn't just a casual oversight; it was a strategic decision recognizing that such an encounter would likely create an immediate stumbling block for the Jewish people they were primarily sent to reach.
Jesus is commissioning his twelve disciples for a specific mission, sending them out to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. This initial mission is deliberately restricted to the Jewish people, the "lost sheep of Israel," excluding Gentiles and Samaritans due to deeply ingrained historical animosity and God's strategic plan to reach the Jews first.
Jesus is commissioning his twelve disciples for a specific mission, sending them out to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. This initial mission is deliberately restricted to the Jewish people, the "lost sheep of Israel," excluding Gentiles and Samaritans due to deeply ingrained historical animosity and God's strategic plan to reach the Jews first.
"These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’…" — Jesus' instruction to avoid the Samaritans highlights the deep, entrenched hostility between Jews and Samaritans at the time. This wasn't just a casual oversight; it was a strategic decision recogniz…
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Last reviewed October 2026
