Mark 6:10

ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς. Mt. omits this imperf., which may be conversational, or may mean that this direction was repeated. Mk perhaps regards this as the earliest Christian missionary experiment, and hence records these directions as being of importance.

Ὅπου ἐάν. All three Evangelists record that the household first selected was not to be changed for one that seemed to be more eligible. “Go not from house to house” was said to the Seventy-two (Luke 10:7); and that is the meaning here. Calvin points out that forbidding change of domicile would prevent lingering in any one place. The Apostles would not like to become burdensome to their entertainers. Didache xi. 5 limits the stay to two days; see also Mark 12:2. The right to hospitality is recognized 1 Corinthians 9:14; and this use of a hospitable house as a missionary centre is the germ of ἡ κατʼ οἶκον αὐτῶν ἐκκλησία (Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15; Philemon 1:2).