Issachar_Luke10 - The Visual Bible Explorer Series

Chapter 10 Luke 10

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two (vv. 1-24)

After this the Lord chose another seventy-two men ^a and sent them out two by two, to go ahead of him to every town and place where he himself was about to go. ² He said to them, “There is a large harvest, but few workers to gather it in. Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest. ³ Go! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. ⁴ Don’t take a purse ^b or a beggar’s bag or shoes; ^c don’t stop to greet anyone on the road. ^{d 5} Whenever you go into a house, first say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ ⁶ If a peace-loving man lives there, let your greeting of peace remain on him; if not, take back your greeting of peace. ⁷ Stay in that same house, eating and drinking whatever they offer you, for a worker should be given his pay. Don’t move around from one house to another. ⁸ Whenever you go into a town and are made welcome, eat what is set before you, ⁹ heal the sick in that town, and say to the people there, ‘The Kingdom of God has come near you.’ ¹⁰ But whenever you go into a town and are not welcomed, go out in the streets and say, ¹¹ ‘Even the dust from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. But remember that the Kingdom of God has come near you!’ ¹² I assure you that on the Judgment Day God will show more mercy to Sodom e than to that town!
            ¹³ “How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! ^f How terrible for you too, Bethsaida! If the miracles which were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, ^g the people there would have long ago sat down, put on sackcloth, ^h and sprinkled ashes on themselves, to show that they had turned from their sins! ¹⁴ God will show more mercy on the Judgment Day to Tyre and Sidon than to you. ¹⁵ And as for you, Capernaum!ⁱ Did you want to lift yourself up to heaven? You will be thrown down to hell!”
         ¹⁶ Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
        ¹⁷ The seventy-two men came back in great joy. “Lord,” they said, “even the demons obeyed us when we gave them a command in your name!”
         ¹⁸ Jesus answered them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.^j ¹⁹ Listen! I have given you authority, so that you can walk on snakes and scorpions ^k and overcome all the power of the Enemy, and nothing will hurt you. ²⁰ But don’t be glad because the evil spirits obey you; rather be glad because your names are written in heaven.” ^l        ²¹ At that time Jesus was filled with joy by the Holy Spirit and said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth! I thank you because you have shown to the unlearned what you have hidden from the wise and learned. Yes, Father, this was how you were pleased to have it happen.
       ²² “My Father has given me all things. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
       ²³ Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said to them privately, “How fortunate you are to see the things you see! ²⁴ I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.”

Interesting Stuff:

^a This incident is recorded only in Luke. Here Jesus gave instructions similar to those he gave to the 12 when he first sent them out (see 9:1-6). Some manuscripts have ‘seventy men’.
^b This is their money bag (refer to chap 9, note b). They were to travel light, without all these items to hinder them.
^c This is not to mean that they were to go barefoot but that they were not to take an extra pair of sandals, the usual footwear that they wear.
^d The customary greetings in this part of the world were lengthy. Jesus was asking them not to stop along the way to visit and exchange lengthy greetings. Their mission was urgent.
^e Sodom, together with Gomorrah, was destroyed because of the great sin of her people (Ge 18:20; 19:24). Although Sodom was so sinful that God destroyed it, these people would be more accountable because they heard the gospel of the Kingdom of God and they rejected it.
^f Chorazin and Bethsaida (probably the home of Peter and Andrew) were located on the north end of the Sea of Galilee near Capernaum where Jesus concentrated his ministry.
^g Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities in Phoenicia, north of Galilee, which were often denounced by the Old Testament prophets for their worship of Baal. Jesus was saying that even these two pagan cities which had so proudy opposed God and His people would have repented if they had seen what Jesus had done.
^h Sackcloth was a rough black material made from the short hairs of camels and was worn to express grief or sorrow, and as a sign of mourning or repentance. Ashes also symbolised repentance or sorrow.
ⁱ Capernaum was not only Jesus’ base but he also performed many miracles there. Therefore the judgment on them for their pride in rejecting Jesus would be greater.
^j When the disciples exorcised demons, the forces of evil were shaken, symbolising the defeat of Satan himself.
^k The words ‘snakes and scorpions’ are not meant literally and most likely refer to evil spirits. The disciples were given authority not only over the evil spirits but also over the enemy himself, Satan. Nothing would hurt them because they would be protected by God.
^l The idea of the names of God’s faithful people being written down in heaven in a book is common in biblical writings (Ex 32:32- 33; Da 12:1). Their real ground for rejoicing should not be their victory over the spirits but that their names were recorded in heaven. Man’s salvation is more important than power to overcome the evil one.

Questions:

How many disciples did Jesus choose to send out (v. 1)?

Where did they go?

2. What did Jesus ask them to pray for before he sent them out (v. 2)?

3. What instructions did he give to them (vv. 4-11)?

4. Which were the towns that Jesus said would face a terrible judgment (vv. 13, 15)?

5. What reasons did Jesus give (vv. 13-16)?

6. Why were the disciples rejoicing when they came back (v. 17)?

7. What was Jesus’ response to them (vv. 18-20)?

What did Jesus mean when he said that he saw Satan fall like lightning?

What authority had Jesus given to them?

8. To whom had God shown His purposes and plans (v. 21)?

9. Describe the special relationship that Jesus had with God (v. 22).

10. Why were Jesus’ disciples considered fortunate to have seen all that was happening (vv. 23-24)?

Summary of Section:

Jesus chose another seventy-two men and sent them out two by two. He sent them ahead of him to every place where he himself was about to go.
He told them to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send more workers to gather in the harvest because there was a large harvest but the workers were few.
Jesus gave them the following instructions:
i) He was sending them out like lambs among wolves.
ii) They were not to take a purse, bag, or shoes.
iii) They were not to stop and greet anyone on the road.
iv) If they were welcomed into the house of a peace-loving man, they were to let their greeting of peace remain on the man. If not, they were to take back their greeting of peace.
v) They were to stay in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they were offered throughout their whole stay in that town.
vi) They were to heal the sick and to tell the people that the Kingdom of God had come near them.
vii) But if they were not welcomed in that town, they were to go out in the streets and shake the dust off their feet and remind the people that the Kingdom of God had come near them but they had rejected it. God would show more mercy to Sodom than to them on the Day of Judgment.
Jesus addressed the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida, telling them that they would be judged more severely by God than the Gentile towns of Tyre and Sidon. The people of those two towns would have repented if they had seen the miracles that were performed in Chorazin and Bethsaida.
Jesus also told the people of Capernaum that they would be judged for their pride in their rejection of him.
He told his disciples that whoever rejected them would be rejecting him and whoever rejected him would be rejecting God who sent him.
The seventy-two men came back rejoicing because they were successful in their mission for even the demons obeyed them.
Jesus responded by telling them that he saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. He told them that although he had given them authority to walk on snakes and scorpions and overcome Satan, and nothing would hurt them, yet they should rejoice more because their names were written in heaven.
At that time, Jesus was filled with joy by the Holy Spirit and thanked God for revealing to the unlearned, those who were simple and trusting, what He had hidden from the wise.
Jesus said that God was his Father and He had given him all things. No one knew who the Son was except the Father and no one knew the Father except Jesus and those to whom Jesus chose to reveal Him.
He then told the disciples that they were fortunate to have seen all these things which many prophets and kings wanted to see but were not given the privilege.

Nuggets of Wisdom

Luke records earlier in 9:1-6 how Jesus had given power and authority to the 12 apostles and sent them out to preach and heal. This second mission followed the same guidelines except that now the journey was towards Jerusalem and was marked by rejection and hostility. They were to travel in pairs for they were being sent like lambs among wolves.
According to the Septuagint, the first translation of the Hebrew OT into Greek, the number of nations thought to exist in the world was 72. Jesus’ choosing of the 72 men here could be symbolically pointing towards a future mission that would extend beyond the Jews to the rest of the world.
The ‘snakes and scorpions’ probably referred to the evil spirits. Jesus had given them all power and authority over Satan and his evil spirits but that was not as important as having their names written in heaven.
Jesus later addressed his disciples privately to explain to them that their privileged status in being able to ‘see’ was not due to any qualifications on their part. It was, firstly, because God had chosen to reveal to them (v. 21). And secondly, because they had gone out in the service of God under His authority and seen the Kingdom of God being manifest in their ministry.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan (vv. 25-37)

²⁵ A teacher of the Law came up and tried to trap Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”
²⁶ Jesus answered him, “What do the Scriptures say? How do you interpret them?”
²⁷ The man answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind’; m and ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ ”ⁿ²⁸ “You are right,” Jesus replied; “do this and you will live.”
²⁹ But the teacher of the Law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?”
³⁰ Jesus answered, ^o “There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho ^p when robbers attacked him, stripped him, and beat him up, leaving him half dead. ³¹ It so happened that a priest ^q was going down that road; but when he saw the man, he walked on by on the other side. ³² In the same way a Levite^r also came there, went over and looked at the man, and then walked on by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan ^s who was travelling that way came upon the man, and when he saw him, his heart was filled with pity. ³⁴ He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he put the man on his own animal and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two silver coins ^t and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Take care of him,’ he told the innkeeper, ‘and when I come back this way, I will pay you whatever else you spend on him.’ ”
³⁶And Jesus concluded, “In your opinion, which one of these three acted like a neighbour toward the man attacked by the robbers?” ^u³⁷ The teacher of the Law answered, “The one who was kind to him.” Jesus replied, “You go, then, and do the same.”

Interesting Stuff:

^m This is taken from Dt 6:5. It is a passage that formed the basis for Jewish life and worship in the home, synagogue and Temple.
ⁿThis is taken from Lev 19:18.
^o This parable of the Good Samaritan is found only in the Gospel of Luke.
^p The distance from Jerusalem to Jericho is about 24 km (15 miles), descending sharply towards the Jordan River just north of the Dead Sea. The road curved through rugged, rocky terrain where robbers could easily hide and attack defenceless travellers. It was considered especially dangerous.
^q Priests served in the Temple. Their highest duty was to offer sacrifices.
^r Levites assisted in the Temple services and order.
^s It is significant that Jesus commended not those serving God but a hated foreigner. Jews viewed Samaritans as half-breeds, both physically and spiritually (refer to ‘The Samaritans’, p. xiv). Samaritans and Jews were openly hostile to one another. To a Jew, there was no such person as a ‘good Samaritan’.
^t This was the Roman denarius (see chap 7:41). It was two days’ wages, which would keep a man up to two months in an inn.
^u The question asked by the teacher of the Law was now turned around by Jesus and became ‘Who proves he is the good neighbour?’

Questions:

What was the question asked by the teacher of the Law to Jesus (v. 25)?

2. What was his motive in asking Jesus that question (v.25)?

3. How did Jesus answer the question (v. 26)?

4. What was the teacher’s reply (v. 27)?

5. How did Jesus respond to his reply (v. 28)?

6. How did the teacher try to justify himself (v. 29)?

7. Relate the parable of the Good Samaritan.

8. What lesson did Jesus teach in the parable?

9. How did Jesus use the parable of the good Samaritan to answer the question posed by the teacher of the Law (vv. 30-37)?

10. Why did Jesus include a Samaritan in the parable?

Summary of Section:

A teacher of the Law tried to trap Jesus by asking him what he must do to receive eternal life.
Jesus asked him what the Scriptures said and how he interpreted them.
He answered that he must love God with all his heart, soul, strength and mind and he must love his neighbour as he loved himself.
Jesus told him that his answer was right and if he did that he would live. But the man wanted to justify himself and so he asked Jesus who his neighbour was.
Jesus answered him by telling him the following parable:
a. There was a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, beat him up and left him half dead.
b. A priest happened to walk by but when he saw the man, he continued walking by on the other side.
c. In the same way, a Levite also came by, went over to look at the man, and then walked off on the other side.
d. But a Samaritan who came by, saw the man and his heart was filled with pity. He went over to the man, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his animal and took him to an inn where he took care of him
e. The next day, the Samaritan gave two silver coins to the innkeeper. He asked the innkeeper to take care of the man and when he came back that way again, he would pay the innkeeper whatever else the innkeeper might spend on the man.
Jesus then asked the teacher of the Law which one of the three men acted like a neighbour towards the man who was attacked.
The teacher of the Law replied that it was the one who was kind to the man. Although he would not even say the word ‘Samaritan’, he was forced to acknowledge that the Samaritan showed his love in action and extended his kindness even to those who were hostile to him.
Then Jesus asked him to go and do likewise.

Nuggets of Wisdom

Although the teacher of the Law addressed Jesus respectfully as ‘Teacher’, his intent was to challenge and test Jesus. When Jesus agreed with his answers, he was not satisfied and wanted to justify himself. So he asked Jesus to explain who ‘his neighbour’ was, not so much to determine who he must show love to, but to determine the identity of those to whom he need not show love.
In Leviticus 19, love for neighbour is love for fellow Israelites, though it is also extended to those ‘aliens’ living among them who have embraced the covenant of their God. However, during this time, because of the Greek and Roman occupation of Judea, there were many living among the people of Israel who would not qualify as ‘neighbours’ to them.
Like other contemporary Jewish teachers, Jesus used a parable in order to explain a scriptural text, in this case Lev 19:18. Again Jesus used details which were true-to-life and which his hearers could identify with.
Jesus purposely left the man unidentified, so that stripped of his clothes and left half-dead, he appeared simply as a human being, a neighbour in need. What set apart the Samaritan from the priest and Levite was his compassion which led him to respond to a ‘neighbour’ in need. The care the Samaritan offered was not just out of moral duty but it arose out of a compassion that risked much more than required or expected. He stopped to assist someone he did not know on a dangerous road; gave of his own goods and money, not expecting any return; entered into a financial agreement with the innkeeper where he could be at risk of being cheated.
Jesus then countered the question of the teacher of the Law with a question of his own, shifting the focus from ‘Who is my neighbour?’ to ‘Who acted like a neighbour?’ The lawyer’s question would have focused on whether the wounded man possessed neighbourly status but Jesus’ parable shows that this was not the issue. By leaving the aside the identity of the man, Jesus was pointing out that anyone can be a neighbour.
Jesus’ point in the parable was therefore not focusing on who we should consider as our neighbour but that we are to be a neighbour to all, especially those in need. And acting like a neighbour means showing sacrificial love in action.
By agreeing with Jesus, the teacher of the Law was in fact answering his question about what is involved in receiving eternal life. But whether he responded to what Jesus called him to do is left unanswered by Luke.

Jesus Visits Mary and Martha (vv. 38-42)

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, he came to a village ^v where a woman named Martha welcomed him in her home. ³⁹ She had a sister named Mary, ^w who sat down at the feet of the Lord and listened to his teaching. ⁴⁰ Martha was upset over all the work she had to do, so she came and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!”
⁴¹ The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You are worried and troubled over so many things, ⁴² but just one is needed. Mary has chosen the right thing, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Interesting Stuff:

^v This was Bethany, about 3 km (2 miles) from Jerusalem (see Jn 11:1).
^w Mary took the role of a disciple, sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to his teaching. It was unusual for a woman in first-century Judaism to be accepted by a teacher as a disciple. Here we see again Jesus’ high regard for women and his breaking of all social rules in allowing them to become his disciples.

Questions:

What problem arose when Martha invited Jesus into her home (vv. 39-40)?

2. How did Martha react to the problem (v. 40)?

3. What was Jesus’ response to her (vv. 41-42)?

Summary of Section:

Jesus and his disciples came to a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
Martha had a sister named Mary who sat down at the feet of Jesus and listened to his teaching.
Martha was upset because of all the work that she had to do by herself. So she went to Jesus and asked whether he cared that her sister had left her to do all the work by herself. She wanted Jesus to ask Mary to help her.
Jesus replied tenderly to Martha that she was worried over too many things. Only one thing was needed. Mary, he said, had chosen the right thing, by sitting at his feet and listening to his teaching, and that would not be taken away from her.

Nuggets of Wisdom

This story is found only in the Gospel of Luke.
Mary is shown here as someone who had begun the journey of discipleship. ‘Sitting at the feet of the Lord’ signifies her submissiveness to Jesus, particularly her status as a disciple. Moreover, she was also listening to his teaching. For Luke, to listen to the Word is to have joined the road of discipleship in spite of the reality that during this period, the role of Jewish women was in the home rather than being engaged in study as a disciple of a rabbi.
Martha, on the other hand, is characterised as one who serves, normally a positive quality in Luke. However, in contrast to Mary, her service was marked by distractions and worry and a focus on herself rather than the Lord.
Jesus made the point here that waiting quietly to learn from him who is Lord is more important than being busy with what might be considered urgent things. Learning to sit at his feet in submission, to hear his word and to obey him, must take first place, even over loving service to other people.