Jesus' Words Only

Jesus' Matt 10:10 Instruction on Seeking To Stay With One Worthy

Incidentally, while Jesus told the apostles not to take wages for preaching / teaching, Jesus also talked of the principle of fulfilling the law of hospitality (from Leviticus and Deteronomy) as a means of supporting oneself in evangelism. You could go to a  new town, and seek out someone worthy to stay with. You would be given free room and board, but in return you were expected to do chores -- clean the house, feed the animals, clean the barn, etc. You could also earn wages. So when Jesus says the "workman is worthy of his labor" in the same context, Jesus means you there earn the right to the lodging / food and wages by fulfilling the duty of a guest -- a well-known principle from that era. You were thus not being authorized to charge for any preaching / teaching, but you had to be even self-supporting during evangelical trips.

Grimshaw explains Jesus in Matthew 10:10 is alluding to this principle of hospitality derived from the Mosaic Law wherein:

"the household provides hospitality for sojourners traveling through who might stop for a day or several days on their journey....The sojourner is expected to support the household in exchange for his protection and provision. That support may have been in the form of a hired laborer. As a sojourner labors for the household so they become part of the household economy. In return for their labor, they receive wages and also share in the produce of the sabbatical year (Lev 25:6) as well as receive foodstuffs as part of the household economy. The sojourner turned laborer has the right to gleanings, either those of the field or the vine. Lev 19:10, 23:22, Deut 24:19-21.” (James P. Grimshaw, The Matthean Community and the World: An Analysis of Matthew’s Food Exchange (2008) at 107.)