Luke 10

Introduction

Last week we spent our time on the whole of chapter 9 which I said was about three main things: it was about power; and it was about suffering; and it was about glory.

It was about Christ’s power, because the Lord Jesus gave his Twelve Apostles the power and authority they needed to drive out demons and to heal the sick and to preach the good news of the kingdom. And we saw his power in the way he made a feast in the wilderness for the multitude who had followed him there. He multiplied a few loaves of bread and some fish so that there was more than enough for everyone. And we also saw his power in the way he easily drove out a demon from the demon-possessed boy.

But last week’s passage was also about suffering: his own suffering and the suffering of those who follow him. And so, after Peter confessed that the Lord Jesus is the Christ, God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King, he went on to speak about how he will suffer many things and be rejected by the religious authorities and killed. But afterwards he will also be raised. And then he went on to talk about how those who follow him must be prepared to take up their cross and to lose their life for his sake. The one who wants to save his life in this world by denying Christ will lose his life in the new and better world to come. But the one who loses his life in this world by confessing Christ will save his life in the new and better world to come. That person will have eternal life because he kept trusting in the only Saviour of the world. And the Lord also spoke about the cost of following him. Do you remember? Since he has nowhere to lay his head, since he has no home of his own, then following him is not for those who want an easy life. And we’re not to let anything or anyone stand in our way of following him. And we’re not to look back wistfully at our old life before we heard of Christ. We’re not to look back, but we’re to continue following him no matter what the cost.

But then last week’s passage was also about glory. When the Lord was transfigured on the mountain so that his appearance changed, it was a preview of the glory he now possesses in heaven as one of us. And therefore it was a preview of the glory we will share with him in the life to come when the Lord will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. And so, we will live with him in the glory to come forever and forever.

That was last week. Today we’re studying the whole of chapter 10 which begins with the Lord sending seventy-two others ahead of him. And then we have the parable of the Good Samaritan. And that’s followed by the short story of the Lord in the home of Mary and Martha.

Verses 1 to 24

We turn then to verses 1 to 24 and to the sending of the seventy-two. And this section can be divided into four parts: there’s the sending itself in verses 1 to 11. Then in verses 12 to 16 the Lord pronounced a woe on three towns. Then the seventy-two return in verses 17 to 20. And the section concludes with the Lord rejoicing through the Holy Spirit in verses 21 to 24.

We begin with the sending itself in verses 1 to 11. Luke tells us that the Lord appointed seventy-two others. In chapter 6 he appointed the Twelve Disciples and in chapter 9 he sent them to preach and to heal. Now he appoints seventy-two others. So, this is a distinct group. And he sent them out in pairs to go ahead of him to every town and place he was about to go. As God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King, he himself was going from place to place to proclaim and to provide freedom for his people from their sin and misery. And these seventy-two others have now been appointed and sent as his forerunners to prepare the way for him.

And even though there are seventy-two of them, more are needed. The harvest is plentiful, said the Lord, but the workers are few. When he mentions the harvest, he’s referring to what will happen at the end of this age, when Christ will gather together all his people as a farmer gathers his harvest; and he’ll bring them in to enjoy eternal life in his presence. The harvest is plentiful, because God has chosen for himself a great multitude from every nation to be with him forever. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. And so, more workers are needed to proclaim the good news of salvation so that all of God’s chosen people will hear and believe.

And so, the Lord told these seventy-two others to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out more workers. And that’s a prayer which we must be constantly asking. Since the end has not yet come, since the time of the harvest is still in the future, we must ask the Lord God to continue to send out more workers to proclaim the good news. And this is something we must all do urgently for our own denomination, because if you look at the back of The Presbyterian Herald where all the vacant churches are listed, you’ll see that there’s a massive number of vacancies. But there aren’t enough ministers. And so, we must pray to the Lord to raise up many more new ministers to proclaim the good news of the gospel on this island. And we must also pray that he’ll send out more and more preachers into the other nations to proclaim the same gospel message to all.

And the Lord made clear to the seventy-two others that the work is dangerous. It’s dangerous, because he’s sending them out as lambs among wolves. In other words, there are many who will attack them.

And as they go, they must always trust on the Lord to provide them with all that they need. And so, there’s no need to bring a purse and a bag and other provisions with them, because the Lord will provide. And he says that they’re not to greet anyone on the road. In other words, they’re not to dilly-dally. They’re not to get distracted. Keep going!

Where will they stay? The Lord makes clear that people will open their homes to them and will feed them. But don’t move from house to house, looking for better accommodation or a better welcome. Be content with what you’ve been offered.

And just as the Lord gave power and authority to the Apostles, so the Lord gave these seventy-two others power and authority to heal and to preach in his name about the kingdom. However, if a town does not welcome them, wipe the dust from that town off your feet as a sign that you want nothing more to do with them. Since they have rejected you, then you should reject them, because they have not believed the message that you proclaim that God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King has come to save them.

And in verse 12 the Lord declares that it will be more bearable for the people of Sodom than for the people of the town who rejected his messengers. Sodom is that wicked city which God destroyed in the days of Abraham and Lot. Do you remember? God rained down burning sulphur on Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them completely. And destroyed them, because the people of Sodom were very wicked. And God will surely condemn and punish them when the day of judgment comes. But if the judgment will be bad for the people of Sodom, it will be far worse for the people of those towns who heard about Christ the King and who rejected him.

And in verses 13 to 16 the Lord pronounced woes on the towns of Korazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum. He pronounces woes on them, because the people of these places heard about Christ the King, but they did not believe in him. And the Lord compares those places with Tyre and Sidon and Sodom, all of which are mentioned in the Old Testament. The people in those towns were wicked. But the Lord says that they would have repented and turned away from their wickedness if they had seen the miracles which Christ performed in Korazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum. On the other hand, the people of Korazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum saw the Lord’s miracles, which made clear that he is God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King. But instead of believing in him, they rejected him. And so, woe to you who heard about Christ, but who did not believe in Christ.

‘He who listens to you’, the Lord said to the seventy-two in verse 16, ‘listens to me.’ So, they are his representatives, his ambassadors. They have been sent in his name to proclaim his word. So, whoever listens to you is really listening to me, because I’m speaking to them through you. And therefore whoever rejects you is really rejecting me, because I’m speaking to them through you. And not only have they rejected me, says the Lord, but they have rejected the one who sent me, who is God the Father.

And so, Christ came to the people through these seventy-two others who were sent in his name. And Christ still comes to us. He comes to us in the preaching of his word Sunday by Sunday. And he calls on us to listen to his word and to believe his promises. And he promises forgiveness and peace and life to all who believe, and he warns of condemnation and punishment and death for all who do not believe.

The Lord sent out these seventy-two others in his name. And, according to verse 17, they returned with joy. They rejoiced, because even the demons submitted to them in his name. They saw for themselves what Christ was able to do through them. And since they said that even the demons submitted, then presumably the people submitted as well and believed their message. And the Lord replied and said to them that he saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. By these words, the Lord was making clear that what the seventy-two were able to accomplish in his name is another indication that Satan’s tyranny over the world is coming to an end. Ever since Adam’s fall, Satan has held the whole world under his power. But his power has now been broken, because of Christ the King who has come into the world to proclaim and provide freedom for his people and to rescue his people from Satan’s dominion. Just as David toppled Goliath to the ground, so the Lord Jesus has struck Satan with a deadly blow. And while Satan is still at work in the world, and he’s still able to blind the minds of many, his power over the nations has been broken and more and more men and women and boys and girls are being set free from his tyranny and they’re being added to Christ’s kingdom which is growing throughout the nations. And Christ’s kingdom will continue to grow until he comes again in glory and with power to destroy Satan completely and to restore this fallen world to what it was always meant to be. And Christ and his people will rule over it forever and forever.

By telling the seventy-two in verse 19 that he has given them authority to trample on snakes and scorpions, he probably means he has given them authority to crush evil. Snakes and scorpions represent Satan and all that is evil. And the Lord promised to protect his people from the evil one.

But then he also added in verse 20 that they should rejoice not so much in the power which Christ gave to them, but they should rejoice in their own salvation. Rejoice because their names are written in heaven. Their names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. And so, they will receive eternal life in the life to come. Rejoice in that.

And that’s something every believer can rejoice in. Christ has not given us the power and authority he gave to them. He has not given us the power and authority to heal the sick by miracles or to drive out demons. And Christ’s kingdom often seems very weak to us and many people do not see it or believe in it. They do not believe in Christ the King. But we can still rejoice before the Lord, because of our salvation which no one can ever take away from us.

And this section of the chapter ends with the Lord himself rejoicing. The Lord Jesus rejoiced and he praised his Father in heaven, because while God has hidden these things from some, he has nevertheless revealed these things to others. He’s hidden these things from the wise and learned; but he’s revealed these things to little children. In other words, he’s revealed these things to the little people, to the humble and lowly: to all those who humble themselves before the Lord and are ready to learn from him. And that means, when we come to church on Sundays to hear his word, we should come humbly. The proud — those who are full of their own importance and who think they know it all — will go away with nothing. But those who come to church humbly, ready to learn from the Saviour, will receive from the Lord all they need to hear and believe and do. And just as God the Father knows his Son, and just as the Son of God knows his Father in heaven, so God the Son will reveal his Father to those whom he chooses.

And do you know what that means? It means this: since we depend on God the Son to know God the Father, then that’s another reason for us to come to church with humility and not with pride. We must come humbly, because we depend on Christ to make God known to us.

Before we move on to the next section of this chapter, let me go back to the seventy-two. Why seventy-two? Is there any significance in that number? Some of the commentators say that it recalls Genesis 10 where Moses lists for us all the nations of the world which came from Noah’s sons. In the Greek version of the Old Testament, seventy-two nations are listed. Most English Bibles list seventy. And if you look at the little footnote in verse 1 of Luke 10, you’ll see that the number of others appointed by the Lord is either seventy-two or seventy.

And so, it’s possible that the Lord chose this number of others to go out in his name in order to match the number of nations in the world. And why would he do that? Perhaps it’s to foreshadow what will happen after his resurrection, because after his resurrection, his people were commanded to go and make disciples of all nations. They were to go to all the nations of the world to proclaim his name. And since they were to go to all the nations, then they needed to learn to love people in every nation. And that takes us to the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Verses 25 to 37

Luke tells us about this expert in the law who wanted to justify himself. That is, instead of relying on Christ and on what he has done for us for peace with God, he was relying on himself and his own good deeds. And since the law of the Lord commands us to love our neighbour as ourself, he wanted to know who exactly is his neighbour. If our neighbour is one of us, if he’s someone like me, if he’s my relative or my friend, or a close companion, then the expert in the law could probably claim that he had kept the law. He’d always been kind to his friends and relations.

But the Lord told him this parable to show us that our neighbour is not just a friend or relation. A neighbour is anyone who needs our help. And so, a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way, he was attacked by robbers who stripped him of clothes and beat him, before leaving him, half-dead on the road. Along comes a priest, who was also going down the road. That suggests he too was coming from Jerusalem, because people in those days talked about going up to Jerusalem. And so, going down from Jerusalem means going away from the city. This priest saw the man on the road and decided to pass by on the other side. Along comes a Levite. The Levites helped the priests in the temple. And this Levite was also going down the road. He too saw the man on the road. He too decided to pass by on the other side. The Lord doesn’t say why the priest and the Levite decided to pass by on the other side. But the reason doesn’t really matter. They point is that both of them failed to love their neighbour who needed their help.

Along comes a Samaritan. Samaritans were half Jews, because they were descended from Israelites who married Gentiles who had been sent to live in Israel at the time of the exile. In general, the Jews despised them. And so, the people who were listening to this parable weren’t expecting the Lord to say anything good about this Samaritan. However, the Lord surprised them, because he went on to say that the Samaritan, when he saw the man on the road, did not pass by on the other side as the priest did and as the Levite did. Instead he took pity on the man. That is, he had compassion on him. And he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. In those days, they poured oil to soften the wound and to ease the pain; and they poured wine to disinfect the wound. Then he put the injured man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he continued to care for him through the night. The next day, he gave money to the innkeeper to look after him. And he promised to return and to reimburse the innkeeper for any extra expense. And so, he provided the injured man with practical and costly help. And he also took a risk when he stopped to help him, because the robbers may have attacked him too. But none of that mattered to him, because here was a man who needed his help.

So, that’s the parable. After finishing it, the Lord asked the expert in the law which of the three men — the priest, the Levite or the Samaritan — was a neighbour to the man on the road? Which of those three men would you like to see if you were lying on the road? Which one was a good neighbour to the injured man?

The expert in the law answered, perhaps reluctantly, that the one who had mercy on the injured man and who helped him was the neighbour. And the Lord told the expert in the law: ‘Go and do likewise.’ So, the expert wanted to know who his neighbour is. And he was probably hoping that the Lord would say your neighbour is your friend or relative. So long as you’re kind to them, then you’re doing God’s will. And if that’s the case, then he can continue to look down and to hate Samaritans and all foreigners. But the Lord made clear that God’s will for us is for us to love and to show mercy to anyone who needs help. It doesn’t matter who they are or where they’ve come from or what their nationality is or their background. If they need help, then it is God’s will for you to help them.

And so, did you notice how the Lord changed the expert’s question? The expert in the law wanted to know, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ But the Lord expects us to ask ourselves, ‘Am I a good neighbour? Am I a good neighbour by being willing to help anyone who is in need?’

God has created for us a world which is filled with diversity. And that’s a good thing. That’s one of the things we enjoy about going on holiday, isn’t it? We go to a country which is different from our own. The weather is different. The buildings are different. The clothes are different. The people are different: they perhaps look different and they speak a different language and they have different mannerisms and habits and ways of doing things. And their food is different. And we enjoy trying these different foods and experiencing a different culture and being around different people. God has created a diverse world. If everywhere was the same, if there was uniformity everywhere, it would be dull and boring. But God filled the world with diversity.

Of course, even though we’re different, we’re also united. We’re united because we all come from Adam and we’re united because God made us all and he made us in his image. And God who made us commands us to love and serve one another.

However, as one theologian (H. Bavinck) has said, sin has turned differences into oppositions. Sin has turned differences into oppositions. In other words, instead of loving people who are different from ourselves, we often oppose them. And that’s because sin has disturbed every relationship. It has disturbed our relationship with God who made us. And it has also disturbed our relationship with one another. Instead of loving one another and serving one another, we hate one another and we resent one another. I suppose it begins in school, when a group of children gang up on the person in the class who is different from the others. It begins in school and it continues into adulthood. And instead of enjoying the rich diversity of the world, we are in conflict with one another.

Recently I was interviewed by a researcher who is researching security in places of worship. And she was telling me about mosques and synagogues in England which have had to install security doors and metal detectors and where the worshippers need the police to provide them with protection because they are regularly attacked. I suspect they’re hated, not so much for their religion, but because they’re probably immigrants to the country. And you may have heard about asylum seekers and immigrants who have come to Northern Ireland and who face all kinds of intimidation from people who do not want them to live here. And we then divide up the community so that one group of people live in one area and another group of people live in another area and we think the best thing to do is to avoid one another, because sin has turned differences into opposition and conflict. But this is not the way it’s supposed to be.

And the Lord our God calls us to love our neighbour as ourselves. Treat them as we would like to be treated. And who is our neighbour? It’s not just people like us. God calls us to love and serve anyone who needs our help. He calls us to be a good neighbour to everyone. God — who has shown love and mercy to us in Christ Jesus who gave up his life for us — calls us to show love and mercy to others, no matter who they are or where they have come from. And whatever good things we have received from God, we’re to use them for the good of others.

And, of course, that means that it’s better for us to be among other people: to live among them and to meet them and to be around them so that we have opportunity to love and serve them and to be a good neighbour to them. And therefore, we’re to do now what we will do forever and forever, because the new heavens and earth will also be a diverse place and it will be filled with people from every nation of the world. And all of us, drawn from every nation, will live together; and we’ll live with the Lord; and we’ll help one another to love and serve him always.

Verses 38 to 42

And so, we come to the final part of today’s chapter and the story of the Lord’s visit to the home of Mary and Martha. Martha thought she knew what the Lord required. She thought she knew what he wanted. But what he wanted from her was for her to do as Mary had done and to sit at the Lord’s feet and to listen to him and to learn from him.

And often we think that we know what the Lord requires from us. We think we know what his will is. But since we’re sinners, and since our hearts are often hard, we need to do as Mary did. When the Lord comes to us in the preaching of his word, we need to sit quietly and listen and learn from him as he teaches us from his word and shows us what his will is for us. And his will for us is to be a good neighbour to anyone who needs our help and to display love and mercy to them, just as God has shown love and mercy to us in Christ Jesus our King.