Luke 10

Luke 10:1

C. The Seventy Sent Forth (10:1-16) 10:1-12 This is the only account in the Gospels of the Lord’s sending out the seventy disciples. It closely resembles the commissioning of the twelve in Matthew 10. However, there the disciples were sent into the northern areas, whereas the seventy are now being sent to the south along the route the Lord was following to Jerusalem. This mission was seemingly intended to prepare the way for the Lord in His journey from Caesarea Philippi in the north, through Galilee and Samaria, across the Jordan, south through Perea, then back across the Jordan to Jerusalem. While the ministry and office of the seventy was only temporary, nevertheless our Lord’s instructions to these men suggest many life principles which apply to Christians in every age. Some of these principles may be summarized as follows:

1. He sent them out two by two (v. 1). This suggests competent testimony. In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established (2Co_13:1).
2. The Lord’s servant should constantly pray that He will send out laborers into His harvest field (v. 2). The need is always greater than the supply of workers. In praying for laborers, we must be willing to go ourselves, obviously. Notice pray (v. 2), go (v. 3).
3. The disciples of Jesus are sent forth into a hostile environment (v. 3). They are, to outward appearances, like defenseless lambs among wolves. They cannot expect to be treated royally by the world, but rather to be persecuted and even killed.
4. Considerations of personal comfort are not to be permitted (v.4a). Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals. The money bag speaks of financial reserves. The knapsack suggests food reserves. The sandals may refer either to an extra pair, or to footgear affording extra comfort. All three speak of the poverty which, though having nothing, yet possesses all things and makes many rich (2Co_6:10).
5. Greet no one along the road (v. 4b). Christ’s servants are not to waste time on long, ceremonious greetings, such as were common in the East. While they should be courteous and civil, they must utilize their time in the glorious proclamation of the gospel rather than in profitless talk. There is not time for needless delays.
6. They should accept hospitality wherever it is offered to them (vv. 5, 6). If their initial greeting is favorably received, then the host is a son of peace. He is a man characterized by peace, and one who receives the message of peace. If the disciples are refused, they should not be discouraged; their peace will return to them again, that is, there has been no waste or loss, and others will receive it.
7. The disciples should remain in the same house that first offers lodging (v. 7). To move from house to house might characterize them as those who are shopping for the most luxurious accommodations, whereas they should live simply and gratefully.
8. They should not hesitate to eat whatever food and drink are offered to them (v. 7). As servants of the Lord, they are entitled to their upkeep.
9. Cities and towns take a position either for or against the Lord, just as individuals do (vv. 8, 9). If an area is receptive to the message, the disciples should preach there, accept its hospitality, and bring the blessings of the gospel to it. Christ’s servants should eat such things as are set before them, not being fastidious about their food or causing inconvenience in the home. After all, food is not the main thing in their lives. Towns which receive the Lord’s messengers still have their sin-sick inhabitants healed. Also the King draws very near to them (v. 9).
10. A town may reject the gospel and then be denied the privilege of hearing it again (vv. 10-12). There comes a time in God’s dealings when the message is heard for the last time. Men should not trifle with the gospel, because it may be withdrawn forever. Light rejected is light denied. Towns and villages which are privileged to hear the good news and which refuse it will be judged more severely than the city of Sodom. The greater the privilege, the greater the responsibility. 10:13, 14 As Jesus spoke these words, He was reminded of three cities of Galilee which had been more highly privileged than any others. They had seen Him perform His mighty miracles in their streets. They had heard His gracious teaching. Yet they utterly refused Him. If the miracles He had done in Chorazin and Bethsaida … had been done in ancient Tyre and Sidon, those sea-coast cities would have plunged themselves into the deepest repentance. Because the cities of Galilee were unmoved by Jesus’ works, their judgment would be more severe than that of Tyre and Sidon. As a matter of historical fact, Chorazin and Bethsaida have been so thoroughly destroyed that their exact location is not definitely known today. 10:15 Capernaum became the home town of Jesus after He moved from Nazareth. The city was exalted to heaven in privilege. But it despised its most notable Citizen and missed its day of opportunity. So it will be brought down to Hades in judgment. 10:16 Jesus closed His instructions to the seventy with a statement that they were His ambassadors. To reject them was to reject Him, and to refuse Him was to refuse God, the Father. Ryle comments: There is probably no stronger language than this in the New Testament about the dignity of a faithful minister’s office, and the guilt incurred by those who refuse to hear his message. It is language, we must remember, which is not addressed to the twelve apostles, but to seventy disciples, of whose name and subsequent history we know nothing. Scott remarks, To reject an ambassador, or to treat him with contempt, is an affront to the prince who commissioned and sent him, and whom he represents. The apostles and seventy disciples were the ambassadors and representatives of Christ; and they who rejected and despised them in fact rejected and despised Him.

Luke 10:17

D. The Seventy Return (10:17-24) 10:17, 18 As they returned from their mission, the seventy were elated that even the demons had been subject to them. Jesus’ reply may be understood in two ways. First it may mean that He saw in their success an earnest of the eventual fall of Satan … from heaven. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown paraphrase His words: I followed you on your mission, and watched its triumphs; while you were wondering at the subjection to you of demons in My Name, a grander spectacle was opening to My view; sudden as the darting of lightning from heaven to earth, lo! Satan was beheld falling from heaven. This fall of Satan is still future. He will be cast out of heaven by Michael and his angels (Rev_12:7-9). This will take place during the Tribulation Period, and prior to Christ’s Glorious Reign on earth. A second possible interpretation of Jesus’ words is as a warning against pride. It is as if He were saying: Yes, you are quite heady because even the demons have been subject to you. But just rememberpride is the parent sin. It was pride that resulted in the fall of Lucifer, and in his being cast out of heaven. See that you avoid this peril.10:19 The Lord had given His disciples authority against the forces of evil. They were granted immunity from harm during their mission. It is true of all God’s servants; they are protected. 10:20 Yet they were not to rejoice in their power over spirits, but rather in their own salvation. This is the only recorded instance when the Lord told His disciples not to rejoice. There are subtle dangers connected with success in Christian service, whereas the fact that our names are written in heaven reminds us of our infinite debt to God and His Son. It is safe to rejoice in salvation by grace. 10:21 Rejected by the mass of the people, Jesus looked upon His humble followers and rejoiced in the Spirit, thanking the Father for His matchless wisdom. The seventy were not the wise and prudent men of this world. They were not the intellectuals or the scholars. They were mere babes! But they were babes with faith, devotion, and unquestioning obedience. The intellectuals were too wise, too knowing, too clever for their own good. Their pride blinded them to the true worth of God’s beloved Son. It is through babes that God can work most effectively. Our Lord was happy for all those whom the Father had given to Him, and for this initial success of the seventy, which foretold the eventual downfall of Satan. 10:22 All things were delivered to the Son by His Father, whether things in heaven, on earth, or under the earth. God put the entire universe under the authority of His Son. No one knows who the Son is except the Father. There is mystery connected with the Incarnation that no one but the Father can fathom. How God could become Man and dwell in a human body is beyond the comprehension of the creature. No one knows who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

God too is above human understanding. The Son knows Him perfectly, and the Son has revealed Him to the weak, the base, and the despised people who have faith in Him (1Co_1:26-29). Those who have seen the Son have seen the Father. The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father has fully told forth the Father (Joh_1:18). Kelly says, The Son does reveal the Father; but man’s mind always breaks itself to pieces when he attempts to unravel the insoluble enigma of Christ’s personal glory.10:23, 24 Privately, the Lord told His disciples that they were living in a day of unprecedented privilege. Old Testament prophets and kings had desired to see the days of the Messiah, but had not seen them. The Lord Jesus here claims to be the One to whom the OT prophets looked forwardthe Messiah. The disciples were privileged to see the miracles and hear the teaching of the Hope of Israel.

Luke 10:25

E. The Lawyer and the Good Samaritan (10:25-37) 10:25 The lawyer, an expert in the teachings of the Law of Moses, was probably not sincere in his question. He was trying to trick the Savior, to put Him thoroughly to the test. Perhaps he thought that the Lord would repudiate the law. To him, Jesus was only a Teacher, and eternal life was something he could earn or merit. 10:26-28 The Lord took all this into consideration when He answered him. If the lawyer had been humble and penitent, the Savior would have answered him more directly. Under the circumstances, Jesus directed his attention to the law. What did the law demand? It demanded that man love the Lord supremely, and his neighbor as himself. Jesus told him that if he did this, he would live. At first, it might appear that the Lord was teaching salvation by law-keeping. Such was not the case. God never intended that anyone should ever be saved by keeping the law. The Ten Commandments were given to people who were already sinners. The purpose of the law is not to save from sin, but to produce the knowledge of sin. The function of the law is to show man what a guilty sinner he is. It is impossible for sinful man to love God with all his heart, and his neighbor as himself. If he could do this from birth to death, he would not need salvation. He would not be lost. But even then, his reward would only be long life on earth, not eternal life in heaven. As long as he lived sinlessly, he would go on living. Eternal life is only for sinners who acknowledge their lost condition and who are saved by God’s grace. Thus Jesus’ statement, Do this and you will live, was purely hypothetical. If His reference to the law had had its desired effect on the lawyer, he would have said, If that’s what God requires, then I’m lost, helpless, and hopeless. I cast myself on Your love and mercy. Save me by Your grace!10:29 Instead of that, he sought to justify himself. Why should he? No one had accused him. There was a consciousness of fault and his heart rose up in pride to resist. He asked, Who is my neighbor? It was an evasive tactic on his part. 10:30-35 It was in answer to that question that the Lord Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan. The details of the story are familiar. The robbery-victim (almost certainly a Jew) lay half dead on the road to Jericho. The Jewish priest and Levite refused to help; perhaps they feared it was a plot, or were afraid that they too might be robbed if they tarried. It was a hated Samaritan who came to the rescue, who applied first aid, who took the victim to an inn, and who made provision for his care. To the Samaritan, a Jew in need was his neighbor. 10:36, 37 Then the Savior asked the inescapable question. Which of the three proved neighbor to the helpless man? The one who showed mercy, of course. Yes, of course. Then the lawyer should go and do likewise. If a Samaritan could prove himself a true neighbor to a Jew by showing mercy to him, then all men are neighbors.It is not difficult for us to see in the priest and Levite a picture of the powerlessness of the law to help the dead sinner; the law commanded Love your neighbor as yourself but it did not give the power to obey.

Neither is it difficult to identify the good Samaritan with the Lord Jesus who came to where we were, saved us from our sins, and made full provision for us from earth to heaven and through all eternity. Priests and Levites may disappoint us but the Good Samaritan never does. The story of the good Samaritan had an unexpected twist to it. It started off to answer the question Who is my neighbor? But it ended by posing the question To whom do you prove yourself a neighbor?

Luke 10:38

F. Mary and Martha (10:38-42) 10:38-41 The Lord now centers His attention on the word of God and prayer as the two great means of blessing (10:38-11:54). Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word, while Martha was distracted by her preparations for the Royal Guest. Martha wanted the Lord to rebuke her sister for failing to help, but Jesus tenderly rebuked Martha for her fretfulness! 10:42 Our Lord prizes our affection above our service. Service may be tainted with pride and self-importance. Occupation with Himself is the one thing needful, that good part which will not be taken away. The Lord wants to convert us from Marthas into Marys, comments C. A. Coates, just as He wants to convert us from lawyers into neighbors.Charles R. Erdman writes: While the Master does appreciate all that we undertake for Him, He knows that our first need is to sit at His feet and learn His will; then in our tasks we shall be calm and peaceful and kindly, and at last our service may attain the perfectness of that of Mary when in a later scene she poured upon the feet of Jesus the ointment, the perfume of which still fills the world.