Reflections on Luke 10

 

Luke 10 (Contemporary English Version)

1. Later the Lord chose seventy-two other followers and sent them out two by two to every town and village where he was about to go.
   
2. He said to them: A large crop is in the fields, but there are only a few workers. Ask the Lord in charge of the harvest to send out workers to bring it in.
   
3. Now go, but remember, I am sending you like lambs into a pack of wolves.
   
4. Don't take along a moneybag or a traveling bag or sandals. And don't waste time greeting people on the road.
   
5. As soon as you enter a home, say, "God bless this home with peace."
   
6. If the people living there are peace-loving, your prayer for peace will bless them. But if they are not peace-loving, your prayer will return to you.
   
7. Stay with the same family, eating and drinking whatever they give you, because workers are worth what they earn. Don't move around from house to house.
   
8. If the people of a town welcome you, eat whatever they offer.
   
9. Heal their sick and say, "God's kingdom will soon be here!"
   
10. But if the people of a town refuse to welcome you, go out into the street and say,
    
11. "We are shaking the dust from our feet as a warning to you. And you can be sure that God's kingdom will soon be here!"
    
12. I tell you that on the day of judgment the people of Sodom will get off easier than the people of that town!
    
13. You people of Chorazin are in for trouble! You people of Bethsaida are also in for trouble! If the miracles that took place in your towns had happened in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have turned to God long ago. They would have dressed in sackcloth and put ashes on their heads.
    
14. On the day of judgment the people of Tyre and Sidon will get off easier than you will.
    
15. People of Capernaum, do you think you will be honored in heaven? Well, you will go down to hell!
    
16. My followers, whoever listens to you is listening to me. Anyone who says "No" to you is saying "No" to me. And anyone who says "No" to me is really saying "No" to the one who sent me.
    
17. When the seventy-two followers returned, they were excited and said, "Lord, even the demons obeyed when we spoke in your name!"
    
18. Jesus told them: I saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.
    
19. I have given you the power to trample on snakes and scorpions and to defeat the power of your enemy Satan. Nothing can harm you.
    
20. But don't be happy because evil spirits obey you. Be happy that your names are written in heaven!
    
21. At that same time, Jesus felt the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, and he said: My Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I am grateful that you hid all this from wise and educated people and showed it to ordinary people. Yes, Father, that is what pleased you.
    
22. My Father has given me everything, and he is the only one who knows the Son. The only one who really knows the Father is the Son. But the Son wants to tell others about the Father, so that they can know him too.
    
23. Jesus then turned to his disciples and said to them in private, "You are really blessed to see what you see!
    
24. Many prophets and kings were eager to see what you see and to hear what you hear. But I tell you that they did not see or hear."
    
25. An expert in the Law of Moses stood up and asked Jesus a question to see what he would say. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to have eternal life?"
    
26. Jesus answered, "What is written in the Scriptures? How do you understand them?"
    
27. The man replied, "The Scriptures say, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.' They also say, 'Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself.' "
    
28. Jesus said, "You have given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life."
    
29. But the man wanted to show that he knew what he was talking about. So he asked Jesus, "Who are my neighbors?"
    
30. Jesus replied: As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, robbers attacked him and grabbed everything he had. They beat him up and ran off, leaving him half dead.
    
31. A priest happened to be going down the same road. But when he saw the man, he walked by on the other side.
    
32. Later a temple helper came to the same place. But when he saw the man who had been beaten up, he also went by on the other side.
    
33. A man from Samaria then came traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him
    
34. and went over to him. He treated his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.
    
35. The next morning he gave the innkeeper two silver coins and said, "Please take care of the man. If you spend more than this on him, I will pay you when I return."
    
36. Then Jesus asked, "Which one of these three people was a real neighbor to the man who was beaten up by robbers?"
    
37. The teacher answered, "The one who showed pity." Jesus said, "Go and do the same!"
    
38. The Lord and his disciples were traveling along and came to a village. When they got there, a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
    
39. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down in front of the Lord and was listening to what he said.
    
40. Martha was worried about all that had to be done. Finally, she went to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it bother you that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!"
    
41. The Lord answered, "Martha, Martha! You are worried and upset about so many things,
    
42. but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken away from her."
    

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    Luke covers three settings in chapter 10. The sending of 70 followers into towns and places where Jesus intended to go, testing of Jesus by an expert of the law, and a visit by Jesus in the home of Martha and Mary.

    
    

    In the first setting, Jesus commissioned 70 followers to go out in pairs in advance to His visits to certain towns and places.  Though they were assigned to "Heal the sick who are there, and tell them, 'The kingdom of God has come near you.'" (10:9), their primary purpose was to discover what places were open to receiving Jesus. Those that were not open were to be condemned. The followers were to be totally dependent on support from those who received their  message, and hospitality was an indication that people had received both them and their message. In going out, those sent were to pray "to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." (10:2) They were obviously a partial answer to that prayer, but it was also evidently a prayer for future workers who would carry on the work. 

    
    

    This setting can serve as an example for those today who go into a new area to introduce the gospel. Seek empowerment by the Holy Spirit in going and pray that others will join in the work. Be dependent on those who will receive the gospel both for personal support and for furtherance of the gospel. If none are found who will receive you and your gospel message, move on. Great joy can be found in serving Christ and experiencing His power to enable us in the work, but our greatest joy is "that your names are written in heaven." (10:20) 

    
    

    We are not told where Jesus was when events in the second setting of this chapter occurred. It followed the sending out of the 70 and their return to Jesus to report the outcome of their assignments. We are only told that "an expert in the law stood up to test Him." (10:25) The question was, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (10:25) Rather than give an answer that might be challenged, Jesus took the man to scripture and the law of which he was supposedly an expert. "What is written in the law?" Jesus asked the man. He answered correctly in saying to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." (10:27) Jesus then struck at the real issue in saying, "Do this and you will live." Knowing scripture is not the answer to the question of eternal life. It is obedience that is the issue.

    
    

    The man reponded to Jesus in a manner typical of many. He tried to justify his lack of obedience. Though the man may have thought himself smart in questioning Jesus further saying, "And who is my neighbor?" he only condemned himself further. Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan pointed out that he was asking the wrong question. Rather than asking "who is my neighbor?" the question should be, "whose neighbor am I?" And the answer Jesus gave to that question through the parable was that he should be a neighbor to anyone who was in need. Following the parable, Jesus turned the question back on the man by asking who had proved to be a neighbor. He had no choice but to say it was the one who had showed mercy even though he was a Samaritan and despised by this Jewish man and even though he condemned himself with his answer. He obviously was not fulfilling the law.

    
    

    The third setting of the chapter placed Jesus in the home of the sisters Mary and Martha in the village of Bethany. While Martha busied herself with the tasks of hospitality, Mary sat at Jesus' feet listening intently to what He said. When Martha, irritated that Mary did not help her, asked Jesus to reprimand Mary for not helping, He told her that while Martha worried about many things, Mary had chosen the one thing that is necessary. Business with hospitality is not bad or wrong but it should not be to the exclusion of sitting at Jesus' feet.