It is intriguing to read through Jesus' work as depicted in Matthew 9 and 10. Mind you, this book was written by a tax collector, perhaps someone with a like-mindedness as an accounting. Things need to be neat and thorough. So, I'm sure that the words chosen were done so with care. Did Jesus heal these people because He was on a rampage, His mission, or was it really through faith. What if Jesus encountered someone who had just too little faith. Did He pass them by? Or were these people just lucky, being in the right place at the right time while Jesus was making a point? Each account is brief, almost like Matthew was keeping a blog. Why did he ask the blind men not to tell of His miracle? Surely, people already knew of His power. And were people really believing or did they go to Jesus for selfish reasons?

As He commissioned His disciples, there are some interesting points: He did not send them to the Gentiles but focused the efforts on the Israelites; He instructed them not to carry "baggage", but that things will be provided; be as shrewd (clever discerning awareness and hardheaded acumen) as snakes and as innocent as doves