331st Post Jesus On Admonitions & Exhortations Con't. - Charging His Disciples Con't. Matthew 10: 5 - 15 Con't. 2nd Post.

Matthew 10: 5 - 15.
Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 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.
Jesus is telling the disciples where they could and could not go on their first journey alone. Jesus told them not to go to the Gentiles, because they were not believer's, and would be a hard group to witness to. Jesus told them not to go to Samaria either, these people were not considered by the Jews to one of them, even though they had the same roots as them. Samaritans had intermarried, and accepted pagan beliefs along with belief in God. This made them dangerous to the disciples, the Samaritans could cause them to stumble. Remember, this was before Jesus has died, and the Holy Spirit, has not been given yet. Jesus tells them to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. This is quite interesting, Jesus used the phrase "House of Israel." We don't know exactly where the disciples went on their journey, "House of Israel" could mean, stay only in the northern part of Israel, the area of the ten tribes. Or He could have meant the whole country of Israel, but only Jews in this area. Notice Jesus tells them to say the exact thing He Himself said when He started preaching, "The Kingdom of God is at Hand." Jesus commands them to do exactly what He is doing. This is the very thing He told the disciples of John (the Baptist), when they asked if Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus is making them ready to harvest the people.