Matthew 10:1-8 “And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”
Apparently, it was mostly the Apostles of our Lord who had the gifts and powers mentioned in this chapter, in verses 1 and 8. The Apostles were even given the power to raise the dead! Though we do not have these special gifts and powers today, we have been sent to do the most important work of all–preaching the gospel. We notice that the Apostles were sent first to minister only to Israel. National Israel has a special place in God’s heart, in His plan, and in prophecy. However, we are sent today to the whole world with the gospel message.