But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
All Commentaries on Matthew 10:6 Go To Matthew 10
Gregory The Dialogist
AD 604
Isn’t it clear to all, dearly beloved, that our Redeemer came into the world for the salvation of the Gentiles? Yet when we behold Samaritans called daily to the faith, what did he mean when he sent his disciples to preach and said, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”? He wished that the proclamation be offered first to the Jews alone. Then it would be offered to the Gentiles. This conclusion we draw from the actual outcome of history. When the former were called but refused to be converted, the holy preachers would turn to the calling of the Gentiles as outsiders. So what happened to the Jews by way of example proved to be an increase of grace for the Gentiles. For there were at that time some from among the Jews who were to be called and some from among the Gentiles who were not to be called.
