Luke 10

Luke 10:1

After spending time with His disciples, Jesus will now commission them for service. And as He does, we find in this chapter three clear priorities for life: We are to be ambassadors for Christ, neighbors like Christ, and lovers of Christ. I find the number seventy interesting, for, based on Genesis 10, the Jews held that all of the nations of the world were seventy in number. Thus, in appointing seventy disciples, it was as if Jesus was saying, “Go into all the worldinto every nation, region, country, and cultureand preach the Gospel.” As those who went before Him, the seventy were ambassadors of Christas was Paul (Eph_6:20), and as are we (2Co_5:20). The seventy were to declare Jesus’ first coming. We are to declare His soon return. Our call to be ambassadors is not only a high and privileged calling, but one with prophetic ramifications as well, for when war breaks out between nations, ambassadors are always called home. So, too, I am convinced that before God declares war on the world that rejected His Son, He will call us, His ambassadors, home.

Luke 10:2

Jesus sent the seventy not to sow seed, but to bring in the harvest. I have found that people are ripe for the picking a lot more often than we think. We have been given the opportunity and mandate to say to our family, friends, and neighbors, “Why don’t you open your heart to the Lord? You’ve got nothing to lose but hell. Could I lead you in prayer right now?” I think we have been intimidated by a lie from the Enemy, who whispers in our ear that people don’t want to get saved. Not true! The harvest is great. Ours is not only a privileged work, but it is a problematic work due, first of all, to the immensity of the task. Yes, the harvest is great, but so, too, the laborers are few. In this, Jesus paints a picture of massive fields ripe for plucking, but with only a few workers laboring. So what are we to do? We’re to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers into the field. And after following the injunction of verse Luk_10:2 to pray, don’t be surprised if you are then called to obey verse Luk_10:3to go! Pray for the Lord to harvest souls in your neighborhood, and guess who He’s going to call on to do it. Pray seriously for the area of the world to which your heart is drawn, and guess who He will send! Not only do we see the intensity of the task, but also the inevitability of the attack. When Satan sees you are serious about harvestingwhether it’s where you work, on your street, or across the seayou can be sure he will launch an attack against you. “I’m sending you as lambs,” Jesus said. Lambs are even more vulnerable than sheep. He didn’t say, “I’m sending you forth as hunters against the wolves,” or even, “I want you to be super-sheep marching militantly or organizing politically.” No, He simply said we are to be lambs walking in humility because in so doing, the reflection of Jesus can be seen most clearly.

Luke 10:4

Lastly, we see the immediacy of the call. “Don’t carry purse or money or shoes,” Jesus said. “Don’t stop and dialogue with people. Just get going. I will provide for you through people who open their doors to you.” We who are called to be ambassadors will never feel adequately prepared. But if you wait until you’re ready financially, educationally, or relationally, you’ll be sitting here ten years from now, for there will always be something saying, “Not now, not yet, not you.”

Luke 10:10

It’s not our responsibility to be successful. Our responsibility is simply to be faithful.

Luke 10:13

What miracles did Jesus do in Chorazin and Bethsaida? We don’t know. There is no record of Jesus doing wonders or miracles in those citieswhich validates what John said when he said the world itself couldn’t contain a record of all that Jesus did (Joh_21:25).

Luke 10:17

Whether you’re witnessing where you work, ministering at the convalescent hospital down the street, faithfully discipling your children, going across the oceanwhatever it might mean in your context, when you are doing what the Lord is calling you to do, although initially you went out with fear and worry, you’ll always return with joy. “I saw Satan fall like lightning.” What does this mean? It could be that Jesus was giving a word of witness. That is, it could be that He was telling His disciples that, as they were ministering and sharing, the kingdom of darkness was being beaten back, light was breaking forth, and Satan was falling down. More than a cliche, the primary meaning of binding Satan is not something we say verbally, but work we do practically. When we pronounce peace and heal the sick, when we share the gospel, help the hurting, and witness to those who are lostthat is when the Enemy is truly bound. Secondly, it could be that Jesus was giving His disciples a word of warning. That is, He could have been reminding them that it was when Lucifer was the worship leader of heaven, the anointed cherub, the most powerful of all created beings that he fell. It could be that Jesus was saying, “Be careful that pride doesn’t fill your heart, that ministry doesn’t become more important to you than I am.”

Luke 10:20

“Don’t rejoice about what you’re doing,” Jesus said to His disciplesand to us. “Rather, rejoice in what I’ve done on your behalf: that you’re saved, that I died for you, that I chose you as My bride.” It’s exciting to hear what miracles the Lord does in people’s lives, but the fact that Jesus chose to write our names in the book of life should in itself make us an ecstatic people.

Luke 10:21

Have you ever wished you lived in the days of Moseswhen you could see the Red Sea parting, the Egyptians drowning, the shekinah glory glowing? Have you ever wished you could live in the days of Elijah when fire came down from the sky and he rode a chariot into heaven? Jesus says, in effect, they wish they were us because we understand what they could only wonder about. They could only guess at the meaning of what they wrote, but we see the full picture because we see Jesus, and in Him everything comes together, everything makes sense.

Luke 10:25

Lawyers being scholars of the Old Testament law, seeing Jesus as a threat to the rules and regulations of Judaism, this lawyer wanted to trap Him.

Luke 10:26

To this one who was a scholar of the law, who lived under the law, who walked in the law, Jesus answered according to the Law.

Luke 10:27

In response, the lawyer quoted the Shemah of Deuteronomy 6. “Good answer,” Jesus said. This do, and thou shalt live. Such is the basis of the law. The problem is, we can’t. So we’re dead. Grace, on the other hand, says, “Livebe born againthen you’ll be able to do.”

Luke 10:29

People who are under the law invariably seek to justify themselves by comparing themselves with others. Two campers got out of their tent and began to pour their morning coffee, when suddenly one of them saw a huge black grizzly bear running their way. “Look at the grizzly!” he said. The other guy immediately dropped his cup and began to put on his tennis shoes. “If you think you can outrun a grizzly, you’re crazy,” said his friend. “I don’t have to,” the smarter of the two called out over his shoulder as he sprinted away. “All I have to do is outrun you!” That’s the way of the law. Religion says, “God will accept me into heaven if I’m just better than the next guy.” But that’s not what the law declares, for it says that whoever violates even one point breaks the whole law and is doomed and damned unless he receives the free gift of salvation from the One who paid for his sins completely on the Cross of Calvary. Religionists call for a definition of terms in their attempt to muddy the clarity and simplicity of the gospel.

Luke 10:30

Not only are we ambassadors for Christ, but we are to be neighbors like Christ. And in the account that follows, Jesus defines this further… Twenty miles long, dropping thirty-six hundred feet in elevation, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was widely known as “the Bloody Way” due to the great number of thieves who lay in wait thereupon to ambush unsuspecting travelers. This being the case, why was this man traveling that road alone? He was dumb, and thus a picture of us. We do dumb things; we go down dumb roads. And waiting to ambush us in our foolishness is the murderer Jesus identified as Satan (Joh_8:44). When we go our own way and fall into sin, although we remain alive physically, we’re actually half dead because we’re dead spiritually.

Luke 10:31

As those who called the shots and controlled the people, the priests were the politicians of the day. And perhaps this priest looked at the man by the side of the road and thought, That lazy welfare dependant has no one to blame but himself for being there in the gutter. Why doesn’t he pull himself up by his own bootstraps like I did? Is that how I feel? Do I see people lying on the street who have been beat up by the Enemy and think, Serves them right? Numbers 19 tells us that if a priest touched a dead man he would be unclean for seven days. So perhaps this priest was saying, “I’ve got ministry to tend, things to do. I can’t afford seven days off. My schedule is too full, my demands too many.” Either way, the priest’s heart was as far from the heart of the Father’s as it could be.

Luke 10:32

Even though the Levites would have been akin to the social workers of our day, after a closer look, this Levite passed by as wellperhaps worried that had he done otherwise, he would have been vulnerable to being attacked himself if the man who was beat up was simply a decoy to lure travelers into a place where they could be easily robbed.

Luke 10:33

Although they were avowed enemies, the Samaritan had compassion on the Jew. Someone wisely said that if we could read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each enough sorrow and suffering to disarm all of our hostility. I like that. Who is the Samaritan? It is the One who knew no sin, but who became sin. It is Jesus. He came to you and me who have been beaten up because of our sin and stupidity and had compassion on us. Each of us thinks his own sins are understandable but that the sins of others are preposterous. Not so with Jesus. He has compassion on us all.

Luke 10:34

Jesus comes to me and gives me oil and wine. Oil is a symbol of the Spirit, wine a symbol of blood. The Spirit provides power for success; the blood, provision for failure. The Samaritan elevated the traveler to the position he had enjoyed previouslyjust as Jesus became a Son of Man that we might become sons of God. Guess where Jesus takes people who have been beat up. He deposits them in our care as believers individually and as fellowships corporately.

Luke 10:35

After carrying him into the inn, the Samaritan said to the innkeeper, “Here’s money to take care of this man. If you need more, I’ll pay you back when I return.” This puts the innkeeper in an interesting place. Two pieces of silver were a significant amount of money in that day. If the innkeeper figured the Samaritan was not likely to return, he could dump the traveler on the street and use the silver to remodel his inn. That’s what a lot of us do. We’ve been blessed by the Lord with money, jobs, resources, abilities, and talents. And what do we do with them? Use them for our own gain. Or the innkeeper could have said, “I’ll take care of him until the two pence run out. Then, whether he’s healed or not, he’s out of here.” A lot of us do this as well. “We’ll use what You give us, Lord,” we say, “but don’t ask us to extend ourselves in faith. We’re not going to take on any new challenge or step into any new opportunity. We’ll give what You require, but once that’s given, that’s it because we’re not completely sure You’re coming back or that we’ll be repaid.” I have news for you: Jesus is coming back. And, based upon the Word of God, I promise you that anything you have spent above and beyond the two pence you have been given will be rewarded greatly. Not once in the next billion years to come will you regret that which you did not do for yourself because you cared for someone who was beat up, someone who was in need, someone who needed to grow in the ways of the Lord. What we will regret is that which we did not spend because we weren’t living as though the Samaritan was really coming back. The Lord has entrusted to us more than enough to take care of the half-dead people who come our way. The question is, will we release what He’s given us? Provision has already been made for every area. Will we let it go? Will we make the time? Will we expend the energy? Fellow innkeepers, I trust we will say to our Good Samaritan, “You’ve already given me the gifts and the goods to care for whoever You send my way. Therefore, I will do whatever it takes, knowing You are repaying even now.”

Luke 10:36

The thief on the Bloody Way saw the traveler as a numbskull to attack. The priest and Levite saw him as a nuisance to avoid. The Samaritan saw him as a neighbor to love. How do you see people? This story challenges me, blesses me, and convicts me all at the same time.

Luke 10:38

Ambassadors for Christ, neighbors like Christ, in Mary we see what it means to be a lover of Christ, for Mary is seen three times in the Gospelseach time at the feet of Jesus.

Luke 10:40

Martha is busy but not blessed. She’s busy and she’s bitter. I’ve been there. Maybe you have too.

Luke 10:41

When you hear your name spoken twice, take double heed! It’s as if Jesus was saying, “Martha, you’re fixing all kinds of courses. You’re preparing a big meal. But don’t you understand, I only want one thinga simple meal?” When I began to think on this, it caused me to wonder how often I give people what I want to give rather than what they really want. For example, if you know guests are coming to your house, do you find yourself busy, busy, busyonly to be exhausted when they arrive? People don’t care whether your windows are spotless or your floors waxed. What they care about is substance, peace, love. And those qualities can’t be nurtured if we’re spending all of our time frantically making sure there are no leaves on our lawn. What we do with Christ is infinitely more important than what we do for Him. You might be performing this duty, caring for that obligation, or involved in other numerous ministries. But in this passage, Jesus shows us that what we do with Him as a Friend is far more important than anything we could ever do for Him in service. Yes, we are ambassadors for Him. Yes, we are to look for opportunities to be a neighbor like Him. But our greatest call and highest privilege is to be a lover of Him.