Luke 10
The Mission of the Seventy-Two
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.
Jesus had other disciples besides His inner twelve. There was no television in that day. Therefore, Jesus sent His disciples into every town and village. The purpose was to announce the arrival of Jesus as a guest speaker in their town.
Mormons brainwash their teenagers with Mormon doctrine. Then, they send them out as missionaries two by two. They use this verse to justify their method. This is not a Bible doctrine on Mormon teenage ministry. It is just the method that Jesus chose to use during this time period.
10:2 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.
Modern preachers misuse this verse to recruit modern evangelists. There were not enough workers in the days of Jesus to spread the good news.
10:3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs surrounded by wolves.
Jesus sent these 72 disciples out into the satanic world system to preach the gospel. They were lambs among wolves. The wolves were those of Satan who wanted to devour the sheep. Jesus was the Good Shepherd protecting the sheep. Sheep have no fangs, no claws, no sharp teeth, no body armor, no size, no strength, no intelligence, nor fast legs to escape or defend themselves. Their only defense against the wolf was a good shepherd.
10:4 Do not carry a money bag, a traveler’s bag, or sandals, and greet no one on the road.
God was to provide all of their needs.
10:5 Whenever you enter a house, first say, ‘May peace be on this house!’ 10:6 And if a peace-loving person is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you.
The 72 were to bring a message of peace. If hospitality was provided, then divine peace was returned to the household. Those who accepted the message would provide hospitality for Jesus and His disciples.
10:7 Stay in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, for the worker deserves his pay. Do not move around from house to house. 10:8 Whenever you enter a town and the people welcome you, eat what is set before you.
If a believer provided hospitality, then the disciples were to accept it as their pay for bringing the gospel to them.
10:9 Heal the sick in that town and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come upon you!’
The disciples were to heal the sick to authenticate that their message was from God. They were to announce that the Messianic kingdom was near.
10:10 But whenever you enter a town and the people do not welcome you, go into its streets and say, 10:11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.’
When the Jews left a Gentile city, they shook the dust off of their feet to symbolize that the Gentiles were nothing but dirty Gentile dogs whom God had rejected. The Jewish cities that rejected the gospel were to be treated as dirty Gentile dogs.
10:12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town!
The Jewish cities that rejected Jesus were given more light than Sodom and Gomorrah. Therefore, their degree of eternal punishment will be greater than that of Sodom and Gomorrah. Light creates responsibility.
10:13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
Chorazin and Bethsaida saw the miracles of the disciples and they still rejected the message. If Jesus would have performed miracles in the Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon, then they would have repented and turned to God.
10:14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you! 10:15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to Hades!
Chorazin and Bethsaida received more light, so their eternal punishment will be greater than that of Tyre and Sidon. Capernaum was the headquarters of Jesus, yet they rejected Jesus. Their punishment will also be greater.
10:16 “The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
No one will listen to Jesus or His disciples unless the Holy Spirit awakens their dead spirit.
10:17 Then the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!”
The 72 returned with a good report. Demons attempted to stop their messages, but they were unable to do so.
10:18 So he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
When Satan led 1/3 of the angels in rebellion against God, Satan and his angels lost their abode in heaven. They were kicked down to the earth’s atmosphere. They still have access to God, because in the Book of Job, God called all good and bad angels to assemble in heaven.
10:19 Look, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and on the full force of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you.
God is not talking to the modern day church. He was talking to the 72 disciples. These 72 disciples were immortal until this task was accomplished.
10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names stand written in heaven.”
The reason that the 72 should rejoice is that they were lucky enough to receive the efficacious call of God. They were called to salvation before the foundations of the world were created. They were predestined to perform this service for God. Therefore, they should not rejoice in their successful ministry, but in the One who chose them for this ministry.
10:21 On that same occasion Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will.
Jesus praised God the Father for illuminating this information to the 72 disciples.
10:22 All things have been given to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides to reveal him.”
God the Father gave God the Son all authority in heaven and earth. God the Father and God the Son know each other. No one else can know God the Father or God the Son unless the information is divinely revealed to them. This is the doctrine of illumination. God reveals Himself only to those whom H e elected before the foundation of the world. This illumination is called the efficacious call of God. No one can ever know God unless this call is made to them.
10:23 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
The disciples were blessed by God, because they were illuminated to see the miracles and hear the teachings of Jesus.
10:24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
Many of the kings and prophets dreamed to see the Messiah, but they all died. The disciples were fortunate, because God raised them up and illuminated their minds so that they could see and hear the Messiah.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
10:25 Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
The rabbi believed that all Jews received eternal life. They believed that Abraham stood at the gate and pulled all Jews into the Kingdom of God. Notice that the scribe called Jesus “teacher” instead of “Lord”. His question was not sincere.
10:26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?”
Jesus did not refer to the man-made Oral Law. Instead, he always turned his listeners back to the written Law of God. Like a good rabbi, Jesus answered a question with a question.
10:27 The expert answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
The scribe quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.
10:28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
The scribe answered correctly. He did not recite works salvation. Anyone who loves the Lord with all of their heart is trusting in God for salvation.
10:29 But the expert, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
The expert was not sincere. He should have told Jesus that he was not able to do this.
10:30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead.
The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was 17 descending miles of dangerous travel. Robbers often hid behind the steep, winding rocks.
10:31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, but when he saw the injured man he passed by on the other side.
A priest taught others to love their neighbor, but the priest refused to help his Jewish brother.
10:32 So too a Levite, when he came up to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
Levites were descendants of Levi but not of Aaron. They assisted the priests in the temple. The Levites taught others to love their neighbor, but this Levite refused to help his Jewish brother.
10:33 But a Samaritan who was traveling came to where the injured man was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him.
The Samaritans were Jews who intermarried with Gentiles during the days of the Assyrian Captivity. They were hated by the Jews because of their mixed Jewish and Gentile ancestry.
10:34 He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
The despised Samaritan was the only one who took the time to bandage up the injured traveler.
10:35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.’
The Samaritan even paid for room and board.
10:36 Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 10:37 The expert in religious law said, “The one who showed mercy to him.” So Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
The scribe was commanded to live his life not like the pompous priests, but like the neighborly Samaritan. Jesus was condemning the racism between Jews and Samaritans.
Jesus and Martha
10:38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest.
When visiting Jerusalem, Jesus often spent the night with friends in Bethany. Lazarus, Martha, and Mary were brother and sisters who often offered their hospitality to Jesus.
10:39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said.
Mary loved to hear Jesus teach about the kingdom of God.
10:40 But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.”
Martha was angry that her sister had left her to do all of the work.
10:41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, 10:42 but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”
When God-in-the-flesh visits your home, it is not the time to clean up the house. It is time to listen to the teachings of the Creator God.