X.
(1) What is described here is not the choice, but the mission of the Twelve. That selection had been made before (Luke 6:13), and the number at once suggested the thought that they represented the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28), and were as such to be His messengers to the whole people of the dispersion. The name Apostle (which He had given them before — Luke 6:13) signified literally “one who is sent;” but it had acquired in classical Greek a more specific meaning, as the “ambassador,” or “envoy,” of a state. According to our Lord’s teaching they were sent by Him, even as ‘He had been sent by the Father (John 20:21).
All manner of sickness. — See Note on Matthew 9:35. The repetition of the same words emphasises the delegation of authority.