What is the meaning of Matthew 10:6?

Go

Jesus’ first word is a call to action. “Go” (Matthew 10:6) moves the disciples from classroom to mission field.

• Matthew 28:19 repeats the same verb: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.”

• Mark 16:15 echoes it: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

The Lord never leaves His followers idle; obedience means movement toward people who need Him.

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rather

The adverb narrows the assignment. The disciples might have assumed a wide-open itinerary, but Jesus redirects their steps.

• Acts 1:8 shows the pattern: Jerusalem first, then Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.

• Romans 1:16 underscores priority: the gospel is “first to the Jew, then to the Greek.”

“Rather” teaches that while the message is universal, God sometimes assigns specific targets for strategic reasons.

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to the lost sheep

Jesus paints a tender picture: people wandering, vulnerable, needing a shepherd.

• Isaiah 53:6 reminds us, “We all like sheep have gone astray.”

• Ezekiel 34:11-16 promises God Himself will search for His scattered sheep.

• Luke 15:4-7 tells of the shepherd leaving ninety-nine to rescue one lost sheep.

The phrase signals compassion, not condemnation. The mission is rescue, not merely recruitment.

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of Israel

The focus is the covenant people, descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

• Genesis 12:1-3 establishes Israel as the channel of blessing to all nations.

• Jeremiah 31:31 forecasts a new covenant “with the house of Israel.”

• Matthew 15:24 records Jesus saying, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Israel’s Messiah must first be offered to Israel; only then will the blessing overflow to the Gentiles (Romans 9:4-5).

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summary

Matthew 10:6 directs the disciples to an immediate, focused mission: actively obey (“Go”), embrace a God-given priority (“rather”), pursue the spiritually needy (“lost sheep”), and honor God’s covenant order (“of Israel”). By starting with Israel, Jesus affirms the Father’s faithful promises and sets the stage for the gospel’s eventual reach to every tribe and tongue.