Luke 10
EverettLuke 10:1-24
Jesus Exhorts the Other Disciples: He Sends Out the Seventy – In Luke 10:1-24 we have the story of Jesus sending out seventy of His disciples in order to train them to preach and minister to others regarding the Kingdom of God. This passage of Scripture places emphasis upon a person’s physical preparation to become a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. After their heart and attitude are right (Luke 9:51-56), and after they have set their mind and will to forsake all, if necessary, to follow Him (Luke 9:57-62), then they are ready to physically go out and do the work of the ministry. We observe that the story of Jesus sending out the seventy in Luke 10:1-24 is one of many passages in the Travel Narrative (Luke 9:51 to Luke 21:38) that is unique to Luke’s Gospel. The theme of the Travel Narrative will be on training of His disciples for the work of the ministry. While the other Evangelists omit this narrative material, this story of the seventy being sent out is an important part of this theme in Luke’s Gospel. Outline – Here is a proposed outline:
- Jesus Commissions Seventy Disciples — Luke 10:1-122. Jesus Rebukes the Unrepentant Cities — Luke 10:13-163. The Seventy Return Rejoicing — Luke 10:17-204. Jesus Rejoices Over the Success of the Disciples — Luke 10:21-24
Luke 10:13-16
Jesus Rebukes the Unrepentant Cities (Matthew 11:20-24) – In Luke 10:13-16 Jesus speaks woes upon those cities who have rejected the Good News of the Kingdom of God. Jesus was not just speaking to vent His feelings. He was actually talking to those cities in the spirit realm and setting in motion God’s judgment for that hour. Luke 10:13-16 actually belongs to the previous verses of Luk 10:10-13, in which Jesus is teaching His disciples how to respond when a city either received or rejects them. Luke 10:15 — Comments - Jesus’ words of judgment upon Capernaum appear to be taken from Isaiah 14:13; Isaiah 14:15. Isaiah 14:13-15, “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”
Luke 10:17-20
The Seventy Return Rejoicing – In Luke 10:17-20 we have the story of how the seventy disciples whom Jesus had sent out returned rejoicing at what God had done through them. Luke 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. Luke 10:17 — Comments – When Jesus sent forth the Twelve and the seventy to preach the Gospel and to heal the sick and cast out demons, He gave them His name. When the disciples spoke His name, they exercised all of the authority in His name. Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Luke 10:18 — Comments - The imperfect tense is used in the Greek verb “I beheld,” which can be translated, “I am beginning to see Satan as lightening fall from heaven.” This statement then means that Jesus says He is beginning to see the downfall of the kingdom of Satan upon earth as the Church goes forth to heal the sick and cast out demons. Jesus then corrects them in verse 20 so that they would not enter into pride over this new power they have been given. Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Luke 10:19 — “Behold, I give unto you power” - Word Study on “I give unto you” - Comments - The perfect tense is used in the Greek verb “I give,” which can be translated, “I have given unto you power.” Comments - This Greek tense reflects the fact that Jesus at an earlier point in time gave them the authority to use His name when casting out demons and healing the sick when He first commissioned them. The Greek perfect tense expresses action that started in the past and continues into the present. Word Study on “power” - The English word “power” is used two times in Luke 10:19. The first use is regarding the power that Jesus gave His disciples and the second occurrence refers to the power of demons. However, in the Greet text these are two entirely different words. The first word is ἐξουσία (G1849), which means, “privilege, force, capacity, competency, freedom, mastery” (Strong). The second word is δύναμις (G1411), which means, “power” (Strong). Comments - We know that God is all-powerful. However, we must not forget that Satan has limited power on this earth, which he uses to control and destroy men. Note: 1 John 4:4, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” Jesus is simply saying in Luke 10:19 that thru His name He has given to His church divine authority, which Kenneth Hagin defines as “delegated power.”[218] He has delegated to us all of the authority of Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus is delegating them authority to use the power that is in His name whenever and wherever they need it in proclaiming the Gospel. Therefore, although Satan does have limited power and he does exercise his power, we, as believers, have been delegated the use of God’s power and are easily able to overcome him. Kenneth Hagin gives the example of a police officer directing traffic. Although he himself does not have the power to physically stop the cars, he can simply raise his hands or blow a whistle and these powerful cars come to a stop. This is because the police officer has been delegated the power of the government which has authority over those people driving the cars.
In the same way, we are to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. We do this by taking the name of Jesus Christ and exercising our authority over the devil (Ephesians 6:10). [218] Kenneth Hagin, The Believer’s Authority (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Faith Library Publications, c1984, 1992), 7-8.Luke 10:19 — “to tread on serpents and scorpions” – Comments - Jesus and John the Baptist called the Pharisees and scribes “serpents” and “vipers,” referring to their demonic behaviour (Matthew 3:7; Matthew 23:33). However, the word “serpents” in this passage is a clear reference to demons. Matthew 3:7, “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Matthew 23:33, “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” Luke 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. Luke 10:20 — Comments - Why do we serve the Lord? We serve the Lord because we love Him, and we desire His fellowship rather than serving Him for personal benefits. Therefore, we can rejoice at all times, and not just when our circumstances are to our benefit. Note these insightful words from Frances J. Roberts: “Rejoice. Rejoice not so much in victories as in the fact that I am leading. Praise Me. Not so much for My blessings as for My love which prompts them. Serve Me with gladness, not for the ultimate nor present reward, but for the thrill of knowing that we labor together; that I stand beside thee in every enterprise however trivial.”[219] [219] Frances J. Roberts, Come Away My Beloved (Ojai, California: King’s Farspan, Inc., 1973), 121.Note that Philippians 4:4 does not say to rejoice in or victories or in our blessings. It tells us to rejoice “in the Lord.” Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” Satan accused Job of serving God for personal benefit rather than for his love towards God. Job 1:9-11, “Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.” Job 2:4-5, “And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.”
Luke 10:21-24
Jesus Rejoices Over the Success of the Disciples (Matthew 11:25-27; Matthew 13:16-17) – After Jesus debriefs His disciples upon their return, He rejoices in His heart over what they had done for the Kingdom of God and then blesses them. Luke 10:21 — Comments - In these last days before the coming of the Lord Jesus God is pouring out His Spirit upon the Church. One manifestation of this outpouring is when people laugh in the Spirit. It is a deep laughter that comes from within, from the Spirit of God. We find Jesus experiencing the same in Luke 10:21 as He rejoiced in the Spirit over the testimonies of His disciples who were casting out demons and healing the sick.
Luke 10:25-37
The Story of the Good Samaritan: Illustration of Loving Others With All of Our Hearts – In Luke 10:25-37 Jesus is approached by a lawyer who asks Him the true meaning of eternal life. When Jesus defined it as loving God and loving our neighbours, He felt the need to illustrate with the story of the Good Samaritan. This is an illustration of how to serve the Lord with our hearts. Proposed Allegory in the Story of the Good Samaritan - In the story of The Good Samaritan:
- The thieves (Luke 10:30) represent the devil and demons and their work through evil people to destroy lives.
- The traveling man could be any one traveling through this life without Jesus.
- The priest (Luke 10:31) can be some religious leader without love and time to care due to the religious duties of man’s doctrine.
- The Levite can be a layman who goes to church as a religious duty, but not out of love.
- The Samaritan does what Jesus does to a lost and dying man in his sins. a. He bound up his wounds - Jesus heals our hurts and scares. b. He poured oil and wine - The Holy spirit and the cleansing sins. c. To an inn - Jesus leads us to a church under the care of a pastor. In regards to verse 35, Jesus gives the Pastor what is needed to care for the sheep. One day the Lord will repay us for our work. Luke 10:27 — Comments - The Ten Commandments can be grouped into two sections. The first four commandments refer to our relationship to God, while the last six refer to our relationships with men. In the parallel passage in Mark 12:29-31, Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which was a very famous passage of Scripture referred to by the Jews as “The Shema.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” It was a passage of Scripture that every scribe knew by heart. Jesus was summarizing the first four commandments when He told the scribe to love the Lord thy God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. The first commandment refers to serving the Lord with our heart. The second commandment refers to serving the Lord with all of our soul, where our emotions, feelings and will exist. The third commandment refers to serving the Lord with all of our mind, and deals with the words of our mouth. The fourth commandment refers to serving the Lord with all of our strength, or bodies.
He then summarized the last six commandments when He said to love our neighbour as ourselves. Perhaps the difference between the soul and the mind would be that one emphasizes our thoughts and attitudes, while the other emphasizes our words that we speak. Thus, our soulish realm has a two-fold aspect of thoughts and confession. Luke 10:30 — Comments - Josephus described Judea during this period of history as a place of much insecurity, with “ten thousand other disorders” and “full of robberies.” “Now at this time there were ten thousand other disorders in Judea, which were like tumults, because a great number put themselves into a warlike posture, either out of hopes of gain to themselves, or out of enmity to the Jews….” (Antiquities 17.10.4) “And now Judea was full of robberies…” (Antiquities 17.10.8) Thus, this was a story to which many people could easily relate. Luke 10:31-32 — Comments – Justifications for Being a Good Samaritan - The priests and the Levites had plenty of Scriptures to justify themselves in not coming to the aid of a dying man. For examples, those who were under a Nazarite vow could not come near a dead body. Numbers 6:6, “All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.” The high priests could not approach a dead body, not even his kin. Leviticus 21:1, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:” Leviticus 21:10-11, “And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes; Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;” Even the common man became defiled when he touched a dead body so that he was not allowed to make an offering unto the Lord. Numbers 9:6-7, “And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in his appointed season among the children of Israel?” Numbers 19:11, “He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.” Numbers 19:13, “Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.” Numbers 19:16, “And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.”
Luke 10:38-17
Perseverance: Jesus Testifies of Striving to Enter Into Heaven – In Luke 10:38 to Luke 17:10 Jesus testifies of striving to enter into Heaven through perseverance. Outline: Note the proposed outline:
- Narrative: Jesus Demonstrates Perseverance — Luke 10:38 to Luke 13:212. Discourse: Jesus Teaches on Perseverance: — Luke 13:22 to Luke 17:10