Sources

This summary of travel advice comes from two sources: Mark and Q. Luke 9:3-5 is based on Mark's brief warnings to travel light, stay put and leave if unwelcome. Luke 10:2-12 gives a longer version, containing specific details for a campaign to proclaim the closeness of God's rule. Matt 10:1-16 has elements of both versions, so scholars usually conclude that Matthew conflated Mark and Q.

The two lists could be combined because they follow the same basic outline: (a) journey, (b) lodging and (c) departure. In Mark the only mention of mission is in the narrative frame. Q's speech adds more religious sayings: an opening invocation, pastoral duties, and a closing prophetic warning.

Q's sequence is probably clearest in Luke 10.  Matthew separates the invocation (Matt 9:37 // Luke 10:2) from the rest of the speech and arranges the instructions somewhat differently. Yet Luke also may have edited Q. The saying in Luke 10:8-9 is paralleled in Thomas, but not Matthew. Thus, either Luke added it to Q or Matthew dropped it.

Stages of tradition

The differences in detail between versions show that these instructions could easily be revised. For instance, Mark (6:9a) advises travelers to wear sandals; Q (Matt 10:10//Luke 10:4) tells them not to take sandals. Q's version is probably earlier, since it it is less practical. Terrain in the area was rocky and most roads unpaved. Sandals were generally used for long journeys. Mark's advice suits extended missions between distant cities like those described in Acts. Matthew and Luke probably reflect an earlier Q saying meant for short trips between local villages. The issue of footwear seems minor, but it shows how experience reshapes tradition.

Social setting

There has been heated debate about the origin of these instructions. Some scholars point to them as evidence that Jesus and his disciples were wandering beggars. Other scholars view them as Jesus' plans for a few short missions to nearby Galilean villages. Still others hold that they were created after Jesus as guidelines for spreading the new Christian movement. In general, scholars are agreed that these instructions are based on traditions older than Mark or Q. Opinion divides, however, on whether any of them can be traced back to Jesus.

Matt 9:37-38	Luke 10:2-3	Thom 73
37 Then he said to them,	2 He would say to them,	Jesus said:
"The crop is good,	"The crop is good,	"The crop is huge
but there	but there	but the workers
are few	are few	are few,
to harvest it.	to harvest it.
38 So beg	So beg	So beg
the harvest boss	the harvest boss	the boss
to dispatch workers	to dispatch workers	to send workers
to the fields."	to the fields.	to the fields."
Matt 10:16	3 Get going;	2 Clem 5:2
16 "Look,	look,	2 For the Master said:
I'm sending you out	I'm sending you out	"You shall be
like sheep	like lambs	like lambs
to a pack of wolves."	into a pack of wolves."	in the midst of wolves."

Mixed metaphors

Luke's mission speech starts with a pair of sayings that describe "sending" in graphic rural images. Otherwise, they have nothing in common. The first (Luke 10:2) is a farm-worker's plea for help to gather grain in from the field; the second (Luke 10:3), a shepherd's warning to a flock going out to pasture. These ideas are distinct from each other and are easily located elsewhere. Matthew quotes the harvest saying before the mission speech; the sheep analogy only at the end. Each is echoed separately in other sources.

It is not certain where Q placed the second saying. Q creates groups of unrelated sayings by a catchword like "send" more often than Luke.  Yet Luke's command of dismissal before the lamb metaphor would serve better at the end of the speech, where it is recorded by Matthew.

Attribution

Harvest is great	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 10:2 Matt 9:37-38 John 4:35b,38 Thom 73		12 9 0 12	6 9 6 6	21 21 24 21	61 61 70 61	23 22 12 23	black black black black
Lambs and wolves
Luke 10:3 Matt 10:16a 2 Clem 5:2		0 3 0	12 9 9	21 21 19	67 67 72	15 16 13	black black black

These sayings draw on common rural experience and biblical imagery. There is no dramatic twist to distinguish the speaker as Jesus. The harvest saying was widely ascribed to him. But the image was familiar from prophetic tradition (Jer 2:3, Joel 3:13) and used by Christian missionaries like Paul without citing Jesus (Rom 1:13). Besides, a request for someone else to intercede with "the lord" is more characteristic of Christian writers than of Jesus.

Likewise, the idea of lambs associating with wolves is based on a classic prophecy (Isa 11:6). And this imagery came readily to Christian pastors like Paul (Acts 20:28-29). Thus, most of the Fellows voted not to include these sayings on the list of things that Jesus probably said.

For the Road

Mark 6:8-9	Luke 9:3	Mark 10:4	Matt 10:9-10
8 And he instructed	3 He said
them	to them:
not to	"Don't
take anything	carry anything	4 "Carry	9 "Don't get gold or
			silver or copper coins
on the way,	on the way:	no purse,	for spending money,
except a staff;	neither staff;		[see below]
no bread
no knapsack,	nor knapsack,	no knapsack	10 don't take a knapsack
			for the road
no	neither bread
spending money;	nor money;		[see Matt 10:9 above]
9 but to wear		[see below]	[see below]
sandals,
and to wear
no more than	no one
	is to take
one shirt.	two shirts."		or two shirts,
[see above]		no sandals.	or sandals,
[see Mark 6:8 above]	[see above]		or a staff;..."
		Don't greet
		anyone
		on the road."

Sources of prohibitions

This is a startling set of instructions to the travelers since it is basically a list of things-not-to-take with them. Mark 6:8-9//Matt10:9-10//Luke 10:4 agree that the emissaries are to take no knapsack (in which to carry provisions) and are to go penniless, without money belt or purse. Yet, Matthew and Luke also prohibit sandals, while Mark advises travelers to wear them. Bare feet were not uncommon; and Hellenistic Cynic philosophers, who went about teaching, made a point of going unshod. But given the rough terrain of Galilee, people going any distance usually wore sandals. Mark's version allows for longer trips than Q and, so, is probably later.

Matthew and Luke (9:3) also prohibit a staff; Mark makes an exception. The staff is useful to cross rough terrain, as hikers ancient and modern attest. Here, again, Mark has probably modified an older tradition to make travel more practical. However, Luke 10:4 does not mention a staff. If Luke 10 reflects Q, it is unclear whether staffs were excluded by Q.

Luke also prohibits carrying food (9:3) and stopping to socialize (10:4). In the ancient Mediterranean world, failure to greet a fellow traveler could be taken as an insult and a sign of hostility. Since Matthew omits these restrictions, it is not certain that they were in Q.

Attribution

On the road	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 9:3 Luke 10:4a Luke 10:4b Matt 10:10a Mark 6:8-9		4 0 0 4 5	48 35 26 43 32	30 39 48 30 36	17 26 26 22 27	46 36 33 43 38	grey grey grey grey grey

It is generally agreed that the travel instructions in Matthew and Luke exhibit few pragmatic considerations and therefore reflect primitive tradition better than Mark. Stringent regulations that restricted the scope of Christian expansion are more likely to have been relaxed than invented at a later date. Opinion in the Jesus seminar was divided, however, over whether these stringent prohibitions were characteristic of Jesus. Many Fellows held that advice against provisions was in line with the simple life-style Jesus generally advocated (see notes on Luke 12:22-31//Matt 6:25-33 below). Others took the view that such restrictions, particularly those in Luke, are not compatible with Jesus' reputation for tolerance and socializing (see notes on Luke 7:34//Matt 11:18 above).

The question dividing the group was whether these radical instructions came from Jesus or were created for the limited travel of the first itinerant Christian preachers. In either case, the variation in details suggests that each evangelist has modified tradition on this or that point. Thus, the Fellows agree that none of these sayings can be traced directly to Jesus.

Accommodations

Matt 10:10-13	Luke 10:5-9	Mark 6:10
10 "...for the worker	[see Luke 10:7 above]
deserves to be fed.
11 Whichever town
or village you enter,
find one
who is deserving;
stay there
until you leave.
12 When you enter	5 "Whenever you enter	"Whenever you enter
a house,	a house,	someone's house,
greet it.	first say
	'Peace to this house.'
13 If the house	6 If peaceful people
is deserving,	live there,
give it
your peace blessing,	your peace
	will rest on them.
but if it is unworthy,	But if not,
withdraw	it will return to you.
your peace blessing.
	7 Stay at that house,	stay there
	eating and drinking
	whatever they provide,
[see Matt 10:10 above]	for workers
	deserve their wages.
[see Matt 10:11 above]	do not move
	from house to house.	until you leave town.''
		Thom 14:4
	8 Whenever you enter	4 "When you go
	a town	into any region
		and walk about
		in the countryside,
	and they welcome you,	when people take you in,
	eat whatever	eat what
	they offer you.	they serve you
	9 Cure the sick	and care for the sick
	there	among them."
	and tell them,
	'For you God's empire
	has arrived.'"

Elements

The core of all versions of the mission speech is instruction on accommodations.  Mark was concerned with only one point, Matthew and Luke cover several. Their lists are almost the same, but in a different order. Such flexibility reveals separate sayings that are only loosely related. Four items, and possibly a fifth, were probably already linked in Q:

• A rule for lodging: Wherever you stop, stay put. Mark 6:10//Luke 9:4 also present this vague principle by itself. Luke 10:7//Matt 10:11 paraphrase it and relate it to other instructions, including:

• A rule of etiquette, advising guests to extend a greeting before entering a house. Luke 10:5 reflects the customary Jewish greeting, "Shalom"; Matt 10:12 does not specify a formula.

• Assurance that even a rejected proclamation of peace is not wasted (Luke 10:6//Matt 10:13). The idea that words return to the speaker if not deserved is quite primitive.

• A proverb about a worker's right to compensation (Luke 10:7b//Matt 10:10b). For Luke the payment is wages; for Matthew, food. Both versions are cited by Christian writers in other contexts without reference to Jesus (1 Cor 9:14; 1 Tim 5:18; Did 13:1-2). Although Matthew refers to food, he does not mention the saying about eating that Luke uses to introduce this proverb:

• Instruction to eat whatever the host provides (Luke 10:7a). Similar advice is given in the next verse.  Matthew may have omitted this advice because it allowed accepting food that is not kosher, in violation of Jewish dietary regulations (Matt 5:18-19). Or Luke may have added it to allow table fellowship with non-Jews (note Acts 10:9-16). Since this instruction goes well with Q passages that are open to Gentiles (see Luke 7:1-10//Matt 8:5-13 above) and critical of Jewish restrictions (see Q 11:39-41), scholars tend to think it was in Q. At any rate, Thom 14:4 provides independent evidence that this part of the tradition is old.

Luke's cluster on accommodations ends with a general description of the emissaries' activities (10:9). Thom 14:4 also refers to cures, but not to a message about God's reign. Both themes appear in Matthew's mission speech (Matt 10:7-8), but near the beginning instead of the end, as in Luke. These elements can be credited to Q, even though the sequence there is not quite certain.

Attribution

Peace to house	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 10:5b-6a Matt 10:13a		10 5	19 19	43 33	28 43	37 29	grey grey
Peace return
Luke 10:6b-7a Matt 10:13b		5 5	19 15	33 30	43 50	29 25	grey black
Stay in house
Luke 9:4 Luke 10:7a Luke 10:7b Matt 10:10b-12 Mark 6:10		5 25 5 0 5	19 31 10 10 19	38 19 43 38 33	38 25 42 52 43	30 52 25 19 29	grey pink grey black grey
Laborers' pay
Luke 10:7b Matt 10:10b 1 Cor 9:14 1 Tim 5:18b Did 13:1-2		0 0 0 0 0	0 0 0 0 0	0 0 0 0 0	99 99 99 99 99	00 00 00 00 00	black black black black black
Eat in town
Luke 10:8 Thom 14:4a		0 8	14 56	19 16	67 20	16 51	black pink
Heal in town
Luke 10:9 Thom 14:4b		0 8	14 8	19 25	67 58	16 22	black black

The majority of the Fellows voted gray or black on most of the items in this cluster with good reason. The contents of this section have obviously been expanded and revised several times. The absence of explicit commands to cure and preach in Mark's parallel indicates that these may not be older than Q's edition.  In other votes, the Fellows overwhelmingly agreed that Jesus himself proclaimed God's rule and performed exorcisms. But anyone who knew this could have instructed others to do likewise. Since Luke 10:9//Matt 10:7-8 lack the characteristics of sayings that clearly come from Jesus, most Fellows thought these verses should not be included among things Jesus probably said.

Items such as the instruction to greet a host and the proverb about a worker's compensation are commonplaces in any culture. Jesus certainly did not invent these principles; and even if he used them, they reveal nothing distinctive about him. Some Fellows thought the verses on peace were close enough to Jesus' views on tolerance (Luke 6:27-35//Matt 5:38-48) to vote red or pink. Yet, this advice is congenial rather than startling. Thus, most Fellows did not trace it to Jesus.

The command to stay put is more striking and better attested, with independent versions in both Mark and Q. But it stands in sharp contrast to the previous saying (Luke 9:58//Matt 8:20) about the human with no place to stay. It could even have been created to modify the stringency of this saying and reduce criticism of Christian preachers who kept moving. Thom 14:4 addresses such itinerants without restricting their movement.

In fact, Thom 14:4 and Luke 10:7 contain the only command in this cluster that most Fellows were confident in tracing to Jesus: Eat whatever you are served. This is radical advice for those living in a Jewish world with its strict dietary regulations. Jesus himself was accused of eating with "sinners"---with non- observant Jews---according to both Mark (2:16) and Q (Luke 7:34//Matt 11:19). Thus, this provocative aphorism probably fits Jesus' own practice. On the other hand, in Acts 10:14, long after the crucifixion, Peter does not seem to aware of this instruction. Instead, he has to learn it anew. Some scholars take this passage as evidence that permission to eat any food was a decision of the early Christian community, which Q has put on the lips of Jesus. Nonetheless, evidence that this injunction came from Jesus in some form is strong enough for most Fellows to agree that it should be included in the data base.

Departure

Matt 10:14-15	Luke 10:10-12	Luke 9:5	Mark 6:11
14 "And	10 "But	5 "And	11 "And
if anyone	whenever	whenever	whatever
	you enter a town		place
will not	and they don't	they do not	does not
welcome you,	welcome you,	welcome you,	welcome you,
	go out
	into its streets
or listen	and		or listen
to your words,	say,		to you,
as you are going out		leave	get out
of that house			of there
or town		the town	and
shake the dust	11 'Even the dust		shake the dust
	of your town
off your feet.	that sticks to our feet,	off your feet	off your feet
	we wipe off
		in witness	in witness
	against you.'	against them."	against them."
	But know this:
	the empire of God *
	is arriving.
14 Let me tell you,	12 I'm telling you,
	on that day
the land of Sodom	Sodom
and Gomorrah
will be better off	will be better off
on judgment day
than that town."	than that town."

* See cameo essay on the empire of God

Symbolism

The act of shaking dust from the feet is a graphic Jewish gesture of disassociation. What was shaken off was usually foreign soil. Used here against Jewish towns that did not accept Jesus' followers, it has prophetic connotations, symbolizing the separation of the Christian movement from Judaism. This is less explicit in Mark than Q, where unfavorable comparison with the lot of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19) is especially ominous.

Attribution

Shake dust off	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 10:10-12 Matt 10:14-15 Mark 6:1 Luke 9:5		0 5 0 0	14 5 9 9	19 24 24 24	67 66 67 67	16 16 14 14	black black black black

Since this passage refers to Jewish rejection of Jesus' disciples, most scholars hold that it probably reflects their frustration over the failure of their mission among Jewish towns, long after the crucifixion. Few fellows of the seminar thought that it was based on anything Jesus thought, much less said.