Matthew 9:35-10:42. This is the record of the very first ordination that ever took place among those who would serve as the foundational, living stones of Church, the lord's Apostles. In the fourth recorded sermon of Christ's ministry, He gave the ordination charge to His men before sending them out, in pairs, on their first mission venture without Him. To this point in His ministry, Jesus was doing everything (teaching, healing, preaching) on His own. His men were merely observers and learners, but not participators in His works. They needed to learn how to also become directly involved as "laborers" in the ministry of sowing seed and harvesting souls for the Kingdom of God. The Lord's time with them was getting short. They needed to have some "hands-on" training!
