Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Matthew 10:1 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 1. 1And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Gives the twelve authority over unclean spirits and every disease.
Twelve names, including the betrayer
This verse is one part of that explanation in Matthew 10:1–10:4. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Matthew 10:1–10:4
Read Matthew 10:1 with 10:1–10:4. In isolation, this verse's contribution—gives the twelve authority over unclean spirits and every disease—can be detached from its speaker, audience, narrative or teaching sequence, and outcome. The complete unit establishes: Jesus gives the twelve authority over unclean spirits and disease, then Matthew names the group including fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, and Judas who betrays him.
Follow the Context
- Jesus gives the twelve authority over unclean spirits and disease, then Matthew names the group including fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, and Judas who betrays him.
- The list symbolizes Israel's twelve tribes and names a particular apostolic group; authority in this mission is not a transferable license for unaccountable miracle or exorcism claims.
- This commission does not make leaders immune from review, validate unverified healers, stigmatize illness, or erase Judas's responsibility and the others' failures.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
This verse does not detach its specific contribution—gives the twelve authority over unclean spirits and every disease—from the complete unit or override the unit's explicit boundary: This commission does not make leaders immune from review, validate unverified healers, stigmatize illness, or erase Judas's responsibility and the others' failures.
What Remains True
Jesus gives the twelve authority over unclean spirits and disease, then Matthew names the group including fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, and Judas who betrays him. Matthew 10:1's proportionate contribution is this: Gives the twelve authority over unclean spirits and every disease.
Teach It Back
Explain how Matthew 10:1 gives the twelve authority over unclean spirits and every disease. Then identify its speaker or narrator, first Jewish and scriptural setting, one affected person, the material uncertainty, and the specific conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Matthew 10:1–10:4 — Jesus authorizes and names the twelveSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Matthew 10:1–10:4, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control without treating one edition as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file data/sblgnt/text/Matt.txt, Matthew 10:1–10:4
Open the Matthew Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for the expressions actually discussed in this thought unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data TAGNT rows for Matthew 10:1–10:4
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Matthew with Translators' and Textual Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, historical, Jewish-background, and Synoptic notes for this unit.
Exact location: NET Bible Matthew PDF, printed pp. 1808-1867, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 10:1–10:4
Open source ↗open university bible study course
The Gospel of Matthew Course and Study Guides
Harold W. Attridge and Michal Beth Dinkler
Yale Bible Study, Yale Divinity School, current 2026 online edition
Supports: Critical literary orientation with source, setting, historical, and theological judgments retained as interpretations.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, course unit 'Mighty Deeds,' Matthew 9-11 study guide
Open source ↗open seminary bible study course
Matthew Course
James L. Boyce; revised by Kristofer Phan Coffman
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2023 revision
Supports: Whole-book orientation and unit placement, including visible uncertainty about authorship, date, setting, and purpose.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Matthew course, 'Summary,' 'Outline,' 'Background,' 'Introductory Issues,' 'Theological Themes,' and passage index entry for Matthew 10:1–10:4
Open source ↗open confessional commentary
Matthew
Douglas Sean O'Donnell
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, current 2026 online edition
Supports: One complete confessional reading checked against the text, critical scholarship, and Jewish-context controls.
Exact location: O'Donnell, online Matthew commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Matthew 10:1–10:4
Open source ↗scholarly annotated translation
Matthew, in The Jewish Annotated New Testament
Aaron M. Gale; edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler
Aaron M. Gale, Matthew introduction and annotations, print pp. 1-54; related essays and sidebars in The Jewish Annotated New Testament, first edition.
Supports: Jewish setting, Scripture, Torah debate, named groups, practices, and anti-Judaism control at the passage address.
Exact location: Gale, Matthew introduction and verse-addressed annotations, first-edition print pp. 1-54, exact annotation at Matthew 10:1–10:4
Open source ↗