And into whatsoever city or town you shall enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till you go from there.
Read Chapter 10
George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
And there abide That is, stay in the same house as long as you remain in the same city; remove not from house to house, as it is said Luke x. 7, but be content with what you meet with. (Witham)
St. Chrysostom gives three reasons for this precept: 1st. that they might not afflict those whom they left; 2ndly. that the apostles might avoid the accusation of inconstancy; 3rdly. of gluttony also. (Baradicet.) Into whatsoever Lest the apostles should be induced to think, by what our Saviour had said in the preceding verse, viz. the workman is worthy that every door would be open for their entrance, he here tells them to inquire at their entry into any city, who amongst the inhabitants were worthy. (St. Chrysostom, hom. xxxiii.)
And since they could not be expected to know who in every city were worthy, they were to be informed of this by the report and opinion of the people, that so their dignity and great character of apostles might not be defamed by the bad characters of any who might re...
Entering a new town, the apostles were unable to know what kind of persons they were meeting. Therefore a host must be chosen according to his reputation and the judgment of his neighbors. Otherwise the dignity of the message preached might be tainted by the ill repute of the recipient. Since they must preach to all, only one host is to be chosen; and they are not to bestow favor on persons with whom they stay but to receive it. .
You are intentionally to seek out honorable persons. You are not then to move from house to house, looking constantly for better fare, which would vex those who would be receiving you and give you the reputation of gluttony and selfindulgence. This seems evident in his saying, “And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it, and stay with him until you depart.” The Gospel of Matthew, Homily
That is, it follows not, says He, from my saying, 'The workman is worthy of his meat,' that I have opened to you all men's doors: but herein also do I require you to use much circumspection. For this will profit you both in respect of your credit, and for your very maintenance. For if he is worthy, he will surely give you food; more especially when you ask nothing beyond mere necessaries.
And He not only requires them to seek out worthy persons, but also not to change house for house, whereby they would neither vex him that is receiving them, nor themselves get the character of gluttony and self-indulgence. For this He declared by saying, There abide till ye go thence. And this one may perceive from the other evangelists also. Luke 10:7
Do you see how He made them honorable by this also, and those that received them careful; by signifying that they rather are the gainers, both in honor, and in respect of advantage?
. He bids them not to go to just anyone lest they associate with those who are unworthy and so be slandered. But if they go only to the worthy, their needs will be met in full. He commands them to stay there and not move from one house to the next lest they be accused of being gluttons and appear to insult those who first received them.
