2BeLikeChrist Bible Commentary - Luke Chapter 10
Commentary - Luke Chapter 10
Luke 10:1-2
Luk 10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.
Luk 10:2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
At the beginning of chapter 9, Jesus sent the 12 Apostles out to preach about theKingdom of Heaven.
Chapter 10 opens with Jesus selecting 72 additional men to be preachers.
He sent these men ahead of Him to the towns He was planning to visit.
They were sent in pairs.
Their work was pictured as a harvest.
The harvest was ready and abundant but there were few laborers to do the work.
News about the Kingdom of Heaven needed to be proclaimed everywhere but there were few who were willing to work and make the sacrifices Jesus talked about in 9:57-62.
Jesus instructed the 72 to pray that God would send workers to join them.
APPLICATION:
We should pray for the same thing.
Ask God to use us and others to spread the message of the Kingdom of Heaven throughout the world.
APPLICATION:
We would be wise to work in pairs too.
Having a partner provides encouragement, counsel, and boldness.
Luke 10:3
Luk 10:3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
Sheep are peaceful animals. When was the last time you heard about a sheep killing someone? Probably never!
The message of the coming Kingdom was to be proclaimed with a gentle spirit.
Jesus warned His Apostles that although they were to be gentle and loving, they would encounter wolves (enemies) who would resort to violent and dishonest means to destroy them and the message they preached.
Luke 10:4-12
Luk 10:4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.
Luk 10:5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’
Luk 10:6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
Luk 10:7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.
Luk 10:8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you.
Luk 10:9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
Luk 10:10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say,
Luk 10:11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
Luk 10:12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
These instructions were very similar to those given to the 12 Apostles in the last chapter.
The 72 did not need to concern themselves with taking provisions with them on their journey.
God was going to provide for them through the hospitality of strangers.
They weren’t going to need a moneybag, knapsack, or sandals.
When Jesus said, “no sandals”, He may have meant they were not to carry an extra pair of sandals in addition to those on their feet.
But it is possible He meant for them to have no sandals at all because even those were to be provided for them providentially on the way.
APPLICATION:
It is hard to set out to complete a task without knowing exactly how all the pieces will fall into place.
It requires a great deal of faith to trust that God will provide for you.
But if God promises He will, He will!
They were to seek provision and shelter in private houses.
When they approached a house, they were to bless it with the words, “Peace be to this house.”
If the owner of the house was a “son of peace,” their blessing was to remain over the house.
I understand the “son of peace” to be someone who was friendly to the gospel message.
If the owner of the house wasn’t a “son of peace” the blessing was to be retracted because the house would find no peace while they rejected the gospel of God.
They were then to seek shelter elsewhere.
When they found a welcoming home, they were to remain in the house and accept whatever provision was given to them.
They weren’t to go from “house to house.”
They were to be content with what God provided.
They may have been tempted to go around from house to house to get better food, or maybe the bed was uncomfortable where they were staying, or to find a house in a nicer part of town, or to try to hit up every house to benefit from as much charity as possible.
Jesus wanted them to stay where God put them.
They were to preach the same message the 12 Apostles preached on their journey, “The Kingdom of God has come near to you” (Luk 10:9).
We discussed the practice of wiping dust off feet in the last chapter, but I will include it here as well.
This custom’s precise meaning is never explained in the Bible but the context in which it was to be performed can help us understand its meaning.
The disciples may have been told to do this as a sign of their blamelessness.
The disciples went to the town and preached the gospel…
They asked for nothing in return.
When rejected by the citizens they were to wipe the dust off their feet to symbolize they had taken nothing from the people and would not even take the dust of the town away.
No one would be able to accuse them of preaching for some kind of personal gain.
It’s also possible this was a sign of the town’s wickedness.
The disciples went to the town and preached the gospel…
If the citizens rejected the message, the disciples were to symbolically cleanse their feet of the wickedness of the city, a wickedness so pervasive it was even in their dust.
A final possibility is that this was a sign of future judgement.
The disciples went to a town and preached the gospel…
The citizens rejected their preaching.
The dust of the city which had clung to the feet of the preachers was to be left in the city to testify against its inhabitants on Judgement Day.
On Judgement day, none of the inhabitants of those towns will be able to say, “God, you never gave us a chance,” because the dust of their city will testify against them.
This practice is mentioned elsewhere in the Bible.
Paul and Barnabas did this when they were kicked out of Antioch in Pisidia.
Act 13:51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium.
Jesus concluded with a stern warning to the cities that would reject His disciples.
Judgement day would be worse for them than for the city of Sodom.
Sodom was an extremely wicked city that God destroyed with “sulfur and fire” (see Genesis 18-19).
Luke 10:13-15
Luk 10:13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
Luk 10:14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.
Luk 10:15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.
Jesus had already seen how many Jews responded negatively to the message of the Kingdom and He knew many more would reject His message in the future.
In this text, He gives a very firm rebuke to the inhabitants of the cities who had rejected His message and miracles.
He specifically targeted the towns around Galilee.
These towns had the unique privilege of witnessing more of Jesus’ miracles and hearing more of Jesus’ words than any other city in the world.
If anyone had seen sufficient evidence to come to faith, they had.
Yet they turned their eyes away from the truth.
Chorazin and Bethsaida were condemned first and Jesus said their judgement would be worse than cities like Tyre and Sidon.
Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities. Their inhabitants weren’t anticipating a Messiah figure, but Jesus said they would have repented of their sins and turned to God if the same miracles had been performed there.
In ancient times, wearing sackcloth and putting ashes on your head was a sign of deep mourning.
Sackcloth was a coarse fabric probably made from goats’ hair.
It wouldn’t have been very comfortable. Imagine wearing a burlap sack as clothing.
In what appears to be an even more fierce rebuke, Jesus denounced Capernaum, His place of residence.
The residents of Capernaum had probably witnessed even more miracles and heard even more preaching than the citizens of Chorizan and Bethsaida.
Jesus compared their judgement to a city notorious for wickedness, Sodom.
Even Sodom would have repented if they had witnessed the work going on in Capernaum.
Because of their obstinance, Capernaum would receive an even harsher punishment than the one received by one of the world’s most wicked cities.
Luke 10:16
Luk 10:16 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
It is easy to take it personally when someone rejects the gospel we proclaim, but Jesus wanted the disciples to know those who rejected the message were actually rejecting Him and His Father.
The ones who accepted the message preached by the disciples were accepting Christ and God.
APPLICATION:
We are messengers who spread Jesus’ message around the world.
We shouldn’t take personal offense when someone rejects the gospel.
Nor should we boast in pride when someone accepts the gospel.
It is God’s message and the offense or honor belongs to Him.
Luke 10:17-20
Luk 10:17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
Luk 10:18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Luk 10:19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
Luk 10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
After some time, the 72 disciples returned to Jesus amazed at what they were able to accomplish by His power.
They specifically mentioned their ability to cast out demons.
Jesus’ response has been the subject of a great deal of curiosity.
He said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
What did Jesus mean by this?
Let’s discuss two interpretations (these two interpretations partially overlap).
1. The first interpretation is that Jesus was referring to the original fall of Satan.
Although we don’t know a great deal about the origins of Satan, there are some passages in the scriptures that suggest he was cast out of God’s presence for some wickedness/rebellion committed in the past.
Jesus and His Father had thrown down Satan in the past and Their power had not lessoned.
The name of Jesus was still sufficient to banish wickedness.
2. The second interpretation is less literal.
It interprets Satan falling like lightning to mean Jesus was observing the power of Satan being cast down from its exalted place as the 72 disciples worked.
Satan had assumed an exalted position in the world as a result of the Jewish nation turning their back on God and the Gentile nations being consumed with idolatry.
Satan had been exalted as if to Heaven.
But Jesus observed his defeat at the hands of the 72, which ultimately, was only a foreshadowing of the complete defeat of Satan at Jesus’ hands.
Jesus had enabled the disciples to tread on the power of the devil.
They were given all they needed to defend themselves against Satan’s tricks.
He that can control Satan and his hosts that can be present to guard from all their machinations, see all their plans, and destroy all their designs, must be clothed with no less than almighty power (Barnes).
Jesus told the disciples to rejoice, not because they had been given power over the demons, but because their names were written in heaven.
They were to rejoice because they were on God’s side, the winning side.
They would not be among those who are cast down into the lake of fire (Mat 25:41).
They wouldn’t join Legion in the abyss (Luk 8:31).
They were not to rejoice in their ability to cast out the demons that inhabited their world.
They were to rejoice that they were citizens of a better country.
They had won a small victory against the forces of Satan.
But one day, Jesus would claim total victory and they would be welcomed into heaven, a city where the gates are never breached by evil.
Luke 10:21
Luk 10:21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
Jesus directed this statement to God rather than the disciples.
It was a statement of thanks for the way God had designed the gospel.
The simplicity and humility of the gospel message was hidden in plain sight from those who believed themselves too wise to accept it.
Jesus wasn’t using “wise” and “understanding” to refer to genuine wisdom and insight.
Anyone who was genuinely wise would have looked at Jesus’ life and deeds and accepted His message.
Jesus used these terms in a sarcastic way.
He was talking about people who thought they were wise but were actually fools.
In the immediate context, this would refer to people like the Jewish religious leaders.
The Scribes, Sadducees, and Pharisees, all believed themselves too sophisticated for the simple preaching of the Jew from Nazareth.
They expected a Savior with a little more flourish, a little more formal training, a little more like them.
When they didn’t get it, they wrote Jesus off as a drunkard who didn’t know anything about the Jewish God (Luk 7:34).
The humble, the “little children,” those who were willing to learn, those who didn’t think too much of themselves, were the ones who accepted the gospel message.
Jesus rejoiced and thanked God for designing the gospel the way He did.
The courts of many kingdoms are filled with proud, self-exalting people.
Not so in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Luke 10:22
Luk 10:22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
God had entrusted everything to His Son, Jesus.
The unity between the Father and Son was so perfect that God’s eternal plan to save mankind along with many other things were put in Jesus’ trust.
Jesus and God were/are united in the greatest degree.
Jesus was claiming to be something more than a man.
The only way humans know Jesus is because God sent Jesus down to earth.
The only way humans know God is because Jesus revealed God’s character to us.
This was God’s plan and He worked in unison with Jesus to accomplish it.
Luke 10:23-24
Luk 10:23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
Luk 10:24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
It was a privilege for the disciples and anyone alive at that time to get to observe the united work of God and Jesus being completed on the earth.
There were many prophets, kings, and people who loved God who longed to see the day of the Messiah but never had the chance.
We are privileged to live after the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus so we can look back and understand God’s saving plan.
Luke 10:25-29
Luk 10:25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luk 10:26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
Luk 10:27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
Luk 10:28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
Luk 10:29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
A “lawyer” in Jesus’ day wouldn’t have filled the same legal role as a modern day “lawyer.”
A “lawyer” in the 1st Century Jewish community was an individual trained to understand and interpret the Old Testament Law of God.
This man would have been considered a religious expert.
Perhaps believing himself very skillful with these issues, he stood up and tested/challenged Jesus with a religious question.
“Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
A somewhat open-ended question.
Jesus met his question with a question.
“What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
Jesus asked him to answer his own question.
He was the “expert” in the Law.
The lawyer responded with what Jesus called the greatest commands in the Old Testament scriptures (Matthew 22:37-39).
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
A person is to give all their faculties in devotion to God.
To love God supremely and to love those He created and loves.
This was the right answer.
Jesus told Him he answered correctly.
If this lawyer always followed through with living out those words, he would have eternal life, he would be “saved.”
The lawyer could have stopped there and let the conversation go, but the text says he asked a follow up question in an attempt to “justify himself.”
The text leads us to believe he did this in an attempt to prove to himself and others that he had kept the Law.
That he was blameless and worthy of eternal life.
This is where he made his mistake.
Jesus was about to tell him a story that would expose his sinfulness and the sinfulness of many Jews.
Here was a man who knew the Law of God, but was about to learn he hadn’t been keeping it as well as he thought.
Here was a man who thought his own righteousness was enough to earn him eternal life.
He was seeking to “justify himself,” but Jesus was about to show him his inability to do that very thing.
And if he couldn’t justify himself, he wasn’t going to “inherit eternal life.”
APPLICATION:
The Bible teaches us we are all guilty of sin.
We all do things we shouldn’t.
We don’t keep God’s commands as well as we should.
None of us can stand before God and make a compelling case that we deserve eternal life.
This man thought he could, but when he pressed the issue, the words of Christ exposed him.
The same will be true for us.
We may think we are pretty good people.
But if we really want to find out…
If we ask Jesus and seek His insights about who we really are…
The words of Jesus (written down for us in the Bible) will expose us.
This is why Jesus came to the earth.
Our own righteousness and goodness aren’t that great.
We aren’t worthy to inherit eternal life.
So, Jesus, who was righteous and good, out of love, sacrificed Himself to give us eternal life.
Luke 10:30-35
Luk 10:30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.
Luk 10:31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
Luk 10:34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
Luk 10:35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
To answer the lawyer’s question, Jesus told him a story.
A man was travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho.
I think it is implied that this man was a Jew.
During Jesus’ time, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was notoriously dangerous.
“The ravines, the almost inaccessible cliffs, the caverns, furnish admirable lurking-places for robbers. They can rush forth unexpectedly upon their victims, and escape as soon almost beyond the possibility of pursuit” (Hackett, Illustrations of Scripture).
The man in Jesus’ story was jumped, beaten up, and robbed.
As the man lay in the road half-dead, another man approached.
The man was a Jewish priest.
When the priest saw the beaten man, he walked to the other side of the road to avoid him.
He wasn’t interested in helping.
Following the priest, a Levite came along.
He wasn’t interested in helping the half-dead man either.
He too passed by on the other side of the road.
It should be noted, both the priest and the Levite were from the tribe of Levi.
Levi was a special tribe among the Jews that had dedicated themselves to carrying out religious duties.
These men really should have known the Old Testament command quoted by the lawyer, “You shall love… your neighbor as yourself” (verse 27).
Whether they knew it or not, they didn’t practice it.
APPLICATION:
This would be a good spot to stop and reflect.
Are there any commands of God you know but don’t practice?
Finally, a Samaritan man came along on the road.
As we’ve mentioned in a previous chapter, the Jews and the Samaritans didn’t like each other.
There was a lot of pent up anger between their countrymen that often spilled over into violence.
The Samaritans practiced a similar, but modified, version of the Old Testament Law kept by the Jews.
So, as Jesus was telling this story, as soon as He mentioned a Samaritan, the people probably would have turned up their noses.
This wasn’t a man who they would have looked at favorably.
If their minds were left to fill in the rest of the story, the Samaritan wouldn’t have helped the half-dead man either.
But Jesus didn’t think like the average Jewish man.
The Samaritan was the only one who stopped to help.
Compassion filled him when he saw the beaten man.
He bound up his wounds, allowed him to ride on his animal, brought him to an inn, and paid the bill for his care.
Jesus asked the lawyer which of the three men had followed the principle found in the Law and played the part of a neighbor to the robbery victim?
The lawyer responded with the obvious answer.
“The one who showed him mercy.”
The Samaritan was a neighbor to the Jew.
Jesus told the lawyer to go and do likewise.
He was to be a neighbor to anyone in need of compassion and mercy.
He had a neighborly responsibility to anyone in need, even a Samaritan.
He probably asked his question thinking he only had a responsibility to other Jews.
But using a story and the lawyer’s own words, Jesus convicted him otherwise.
SIDE NOTE:
If Jesus had come out in verse 29 and said, “everyone is your neighbor, even the Samaritans,” the lesson wouldn’t have been as convicting/powerful.
There is a difference between proclaiming something to be true vs. leading people to a conclusion through the pathways of their own mind.
Jesus led this man to a conclusion he never would have reached without the guidance of a master teacher.
APPLICATION:
Stories can lower our defenses and the defenses of others and have powerful convicting power.
You can observe this multiple times in the Bible, but the one that stands out most to me is the story Nathan told David about the little ewe lamb (2 Samuel 12:1-7).
APPLICATION:
This story is a statement against prejudice of all kinds.
If the Jews and Samaritans were to be neighbors to one another, so should all people, no matter what cultural tensions exist.
APPLICATION:
We are to be neighbors to those who don’t share our faith.
The Jews and Samaritans were far apart on several religious issues.
How can we ever hope to show someone the love of Christ if we walk by them on the other side of the road in their time of need?
Being a neighbor to someone who doesn’t know Jesus may be your best opportunity to reach them.
APPLICATION:
Being a neighbor may cost you.
It may cost you time or money or both (like the Samaritan).
But if we really believe we are just managing the Lord’s money, it shouldn’t be an issue.
Luke 10:38
Luk 10:38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.
Bethany was the name of the village where Martha lived.
We know this from John 11:1
Joh 11:1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Martha had a brother named Lazarus and a sister named Mary (John 11:19).
Luke 10:39-42
Luk 10:39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his
teaching.
Luk 10:40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
Luk 10:41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
Luk 10:42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Martha welcomed Jesus and those who accompanied Him into their home and began serving them.
Imagine having 13 house guests (minimum).
It would be a lot of work.
Martha became frustrated because her sister, Mary, was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to Him teach instead of assisting her with the work.
She actually went up to Jesus and asked Him to make Mary help her.
In her mind, being a good host was very important.
Certainly, serving your guests is a good thing.
The fact that Martha troubled Jesus with this issue indicates it was a big deal to her, and it shows us her mind was focused on physical things.
Mary’s mind, however, was focused on something entirely different.
She wanted to know about spiritual things.
She wanted to know about them so badly she ignored the household duties typically assigned to her.
In response to Martha’s request, Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
There were many things Martha could have chosen to do in that moment.
She chose to concern herself with household affairs to the point of anxiety.
There were many things Mary could have chosen to do in that moment.
She chose to sit down and hear the words of eternal life.
In that moment, they both honored Jesus.
Martha brought Jesus physical food.
Mary went to Jesus for spiritual food (the good portion).
Between the two, Mary was wiser.
In an eternal perspective, Mary had chosen what was necessary for her soul.
Physical food can keep you alive for a while, but spiritual food is necessary for the long-term (eternity).
If you run out of physical food but have spiritual nourishment, you’ll be alright.
Jesus told Martha He would not deprive Mary of the greater nourishment so she could serve the fleeting nourishment of physical food to her guests.
APPLICATION:
We can get caught up doing good work but not necessary work.
You’ve probably seen humanitarian organizations that provide food, water, and medical care to needy people around the world.
Those are good things.
But we can’t allow good things to overwhelm us to the point of ignoring what is necessary.
Keeping a person alive a few more years with better food, water, and medical care is great, but every person will die eventually.
We need to make sure we are using the “good” to communicate the “necessary” message of the gospel.
