The Gospel Of Luke
Chapter 10
(V1-3) Sothe first question has to be how many were sent 70 or 72 ? and the answer is no one knows for sure as in the original Greek is written as 70 but with “duo” in brackets translated “two” and this has lead many newer translation to say 72. I personally think it was 70 but as they were sent in duo or two that’s where we get the confusion. Also 70 fits much better with other biblical numbers such as
- Seventy elders who went up with Moses on Sinai and saw the glory of God Exodus 24
- Seventy members of the Sanhedrin and Jesus showed He was established a new order
- Seventy translators of the Hebrew Bible into Greek in the Septuagint
Jesus knew that the time was short before His crucifixion, and that there were still many villages that had not yet heard His message. Jesus turned to this larger group of His disciples to be His messengers, to prepare these places ahead of Him.
The harvest is great- Can you picture the distress of a farmer when he sees his fields golden with harvest, and there are no servants to gather that harvest in? It was such an agony that filled the heart of Jesus as He looked out on His harvest field
(V4-8) First Jesus told them to pray; then He told them to go; then He told them how to go. Jesus gave the seventy specific instructions that were to display a particular attitude for their work in representing Jesus and His message.
They were not to be distracted either by material concerns -Do not take a money or bag or extra sandals
They were not to be distracted by standard customs of that time -Do not greet anyone on the road
NOTE- In biblical and now days in middle east when two travellers meet on a road its normal to sit and talk for well over an hour before moving on again.
The customs of that time meant that they would likely stay in the home of hospitable people inns, if available, were often houses of prostitution and so were unsuitable for godly messengers. They were instructed to bring a blessing of peace to each house, if the home would receive it.
(V9) The healing was important because it showed that the Kingdom of God had come with power as everyone expected it would, yet the power was evident in acts of mercy and kindness which was not expected. This meant that the healing was a part of their preaching, as they described what the kingdom of God was about from what Jesus had taught and shown them.
The Kingdom of God is near you now – This ancient Greek word engiken can mean “arrived” in the sense of already present.
(V10-16) Jesus told His disciples to publicly say this in the streets of any city that rejected the seventy messengers and their message. It was important that those cities knew the price of rejecting Jesus and His kingdom.
I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day – The cities of Sodom and Tyre and Sidon were notoriously sinful. Jesus said that the cities that rejected His message were in more trouble before God than these, because they saw a greater work of God than any of those sinful cities did; yet they still rejected Him.
The more we hear God’s truth and the more we see Him move, the more we are accountable for. Since the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum had received such convincing signs, they were held to greater account for what they have seen.
NOTE – The Bible never specifically mentions Jesus’ miracles in Chorazin. This is an indication that the Gospels give us sketches of Jesus’ life, not full biographies.
(V17-19) Note that all seventy returned safely as not one of the lambs had been eaten by the wolves.
even the demons obey us when we use your name! – If welook at the instructions Jesus gave these seventy , Jesus hadn’t told them to go and cast out demons like He did with the twelve disciples in Chapter 9. Therefore, we could regard this as an unexpected blessing.
I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning – Here Jesus spoke of Satan’s first fall, from glorified to ungodly.
Fall like lightning from heaven doesn’t mean that Satan literally fell from heaven, but that his fall was as dramatic and sudden as a bolt of lightning from heaven, remember that in most ancient languages heaven and sky are the same word. So I think Jesus here was more talking about the speed of Satan demise into sin. So by remembering the fall of Satan, Jesus also warned them against pride. After all, if Satan could fall like lightning from his place of high status and privilege, so could they.
(V20) It wasn’t wrong for them to rejoice in the success of their service; but they must have a greater joy in a greater miracle – the promise of their own salvation.
(V21-22) Jesus was genuinely excited. Literally, the ancient Greek says He was thrilled , this is the only occasion in the gospels where it is specifically said that Jesus rejoiced.
God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise.1 Corinthians 1:27-29
(V23-24) The disciples lived in a unique time, and it was good for them to realized that it was a special blessing for them to be part of the work of the Messiah. The great men of the Old Testament would have longed to see Jesus’ ministry and to minister for Him. Just think how King David would have loved to see Jesus do the things He did, and how Isaiah would have loved to be taught by Jesus
(V25-29) The idea behind the ancient Greek word for tested isn’t necessarily mean or evil. This may have been a sincere question from a sincere seeker.
What should I do to inherit eternal life? – The Biblical understanding of eternal life doesn’t necessarily refer to duration of life, because every person is immortal, either in heaven or hell. It doesn’t refer to a life that begins only when we die. Eternal life is a particular quality of life; a life that comes from God, and a life we can have right now.
Jesus here seemed mildly sarcastic, ‘What does the Law say?’ In other words, ‘You are the lawyer who interprets the Law; you tell me what it says?
“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.” – With typical lawyer talk here he has taken sections from Deut 6:4-5 and Lev 19:18
The lawyer measured himself against both commands. He figured that he obeyed the first command well enough, but his keeping of the second commandment depended on how one defined “neighbour.”
(1) His first and perhaps greatest mistake was in assuming that he had fulfilled the first commandment. When we really consider what the words mean, then who can honestly say they have love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind? It is easy for us to be distracted in any one of these areas even when we worship on Sundays.
(2) His second mistake was in thinking that he could fulfil the commandment to love God with all he had and still possibly not fulfil the command to love his neighbour.
If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 1st John 4:20
(3) His third mistake was in the way that he wanted to decide who was his neighbour. If only our friends and family are our neighbours, then perhaps this man fulfilled it his own way.
(4) His forth mistake was NEVER get into a bible argument with the man who wrote it !
The Good Samaritan Parable
(V30-35) A Jewish man was travelling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. – The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was infamous for crime and robbery. It wasn’t surprising to Jesus’ listeners that He set the story on this particular road. People seldom attempted the Jerusalem to Jericho road alone if they were carrying goods or valuables. Seeking safety in numbers, they travelled in convoys or caravans.
By chance a priest came along – The priest and the Levite (Temple assistant) saw their Jewish brother lying in his terrible condition – but neither of them did anything. They both passed by on the other side.
Priest and Levite are mentioned here, partly because they were the most frequent travellers on this road, and partly to show that these were whom, because the nature of their jobs, were most obliged to perform works of mercy; and from whom a person in distress had a right to expect immediate help and comfort; and their conduct here was a breach of their religious laws.
Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him – When Jesus’ listeners heard about the priest and the Levite, they probably expected Jesus to say next that a common Jewish man came and helped. If that happened, this story would be another way Jesus showed the corruption of the religious leaders in that day. But Jesus shocked them by saying that the man who helped was a Samaritan.Generally speaking, Jews and Samaritans despised each other both racially and religiously. The culture gave the Samaritan plenty of reasons to hate this Jewish man and pass him by.
NOTE- Some rabbis taught that a Jew was forbidden to help a Gentile woman who was in distress giving birth; because if they succeeded, all they did was to help one more Gentile come into the world. They often thought that Samaritans were worse than other Gentiles were.
Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him – Instead of passing by, the Samaritan loved him sacrificially. He didn’t wait to be asked; to see the need right in front of him was enough to make him do something. He also gave freely of both his time and his resources.
The wine, containing alcohol, had an antiseptic effect on the man’s wounds. The oil helped to soothe the wounds, easing the pain. To put the man on his own donkeymeant that the Samaritan himself walked.
There are many ways that the Samaritan was like Jesus.
- The Samaritan was an outsider, despised by many.
- The Samaritan came after others failed to meet the need.
- The Samaritan came before it was too late.
- The Samaritan came with everything necessary.
- The Samaritan came right to the afflicted man.
- The Samaritan gave tender care.
- The Samaritan provided for future needs.
(V36-37) The lawyer knew who the true neighbour was; yet he could not bring himself to say the name “Samaritan.”
Yes, now go and do the same – At this point we presume the lawyer sat down embarrassed at being shown up by Jesus. But this was wrong as Jesus would never do something like that. What he should have said was ” I don’t live like that ! No one can ? “ and then Jesus could have told him that with the help of Jesus and the work that He was on His way to do on the cross, that it was okay that as Jesus had lived like that and He alone could cover us with His own grace that would be enough.
Again we never found out if the lawyer turned to Jesus perhaps at a later date but we can now if we want, and have the same saving amazing grace that He offers to all.
(V38-40) Martha and Mary, along with their brother Lazarus, were two dear friends of Jesus who lived in Bethany (slightly less than 2 miles from Jerusalem). It’s easy to imagine that Martha wanted everything perfect when Jesus came to visit.
Martha did nothing wrong in working hard for Jesus – that was good. Her problem was that she became distracted. She was distracted from Jesus.
(V41-42) We can almost sense the love in Jesus’ voice as He said this. Martha did good – she wanted to serve Jesus; but she had not added the one thing worth being concerned about. The Bible speaks of one thing – gaining eternal life with Jesus in the Kingdom of God .
The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. – Psalm 27:4
When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. – Luke 18:22
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.- Philippians 3:13-1
- There are people like Mary: Those who know how to serve and also sit at Jesus’ feet
- There are people like Martha: Those who work real hard, and with the best intention serve God, but without adding the one thing to remember to focus on Jesus and it results in anger
- There are people who don’t do either. They are not even in the house with Jesus, for they are too busy with their own lives
AMEN
SUNDAY (evening) SERMON
6/2/15
INTRODUCTION
25 One day a lawyer stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
So first things first this is not a lawyer as we know today in the Bible a lawyer or a scribe is an expert in Biblical laws all 613 of them. And he would also have memorised most of the Old Testament.
Next thing is DONT ever test Jesus or try to catch Him out with a biblical question as you will lose.
But let’s look at what he is asking “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
Now in biblical time people were always asking this, how do I get into Heaven ? And it’s a shame that more people don’t still ask it to day.
Now Jesus being Jesus answered his question with Question of his own.
26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
Basically He said you’re the lawyer so what does the law say.
Now as the lawyer had made a point of standing up to make sure everyone could see him and now it backfired and he had to give the best answer possible so answered by combining Deut 6:4-5 and Lev 19:18 and said
“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”
“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
Now at this point it should have been enough, the lawyer had asked a question and Jesus had answered him, done, But the lawyer still wasn’t happy and being a lawyer looked for a loop hole, so then asked his next question
29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”
See the lawyer was still wanting to win the argument. And so he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” He jumped over the loving God part. “I’m okay with God, he was saying in effect. I’m okay with God, there’s nothing there I need to deal with and I’m okay with my neighbour unless,”, “You have another definition of my neighbour.”
You see to Jew in Biblical times his neighbour was his fellow Israelites as they were Gods children the chosen ones picked by God himself and they alone would get eternal life,
Jesus at that point could have just written him off. He could have said, “Well, I can see that your pride will keep you out of My Father’s House and just left him standing there.
But we always have to remember, the compassion of Jesus. And even though this lawyer has rejected the Lord’s attempt to bring conviction to his heart, Jesus is still willing to give him another opportunity.
So now we get to see Jesus doing personal evangelism a one to one conversation as He is trying to save a soul. Normally when we read parables in the bible they would have been spoken to a large group of listeners, but Jesus takes the time to address this man’s personal issues and we can all learn from his story.
————————————————————————————————————————–
Parable of the good Samaritan
Verse 30-37
The Good Samaritan is one of Jesus’ most popular parables. The story of the Good Samaritan is so well known even to non Christians that it has become a common phrase used for acts of kindness.
And sometimes our familiarity may cause us to think we know what the story really is about and what it means. And, I think, we may have missed the point of this story.
Oh, we all know the story, but it’s the point of the story and the reason Jesus told it.
Now for most people, It’s just a nice story, about helping someone in need.
That’s not really the point.
This is really a story about how one inherits eternal life, because that is the question that the lawyer asked in the first place.
————————————————————————————————————————
30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was travelling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
The road from Jerusalem to Jericho is eighteen miles long, and descends about 3,500 feet. About two miles out from Jerusalem it passes through the village of Bethany and this is where we believe Jesus was telling this story.
Jerusalem was where the Temple was located, the centre of the priesthood. The priests were the highest class of the Levites and they were helped by thousands of other Levites who served under them doing work like keeping the altar fire going, lighting the incense, and playing musical instruments.
A bit like, Michael and Callum being in charge in church but we have the band and cleaning team, Sunday school teachers etc all to help and support the church
Now when they were not on duty, many of these priests and temple workers lived in Jericho, which had become a commuter town of Jerusalem. They often travelled this road between Jerusalem and Jericho.
Travel in those days could be dangerous, and one stretch of the Jericho road was known as the “Adummim which translates as the blood pass,” because so many people were robbed and killed there, and this was where Jesus set the scene for his parable so people knew exactly where he was talking about.
A group of highwaymen pounced on the man. They didn’t just rob him, follow this, they stripped him. I mean, they didn’t just take his wallet, phone, credit cards etc they took everything. They stripped him and left him naked. And they “beat him” the term for “beat” here has the idea of repeated blows and they left him half dead. We would say today he was in critical condition.
Obviously this man in the story is in desperate need for help in this kind of condition on a lonely road. There could be a lot of time pass before anybody came along and there was no guarantee that someone would find him or help him.
31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.32 A Temple assistantwalked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
Now when first hearing this the Jews would have had a glimmer of hope. He says in verse 31, “ By chance a priest came along.” This is good news, here comes a priest, a servant of God, one who spoke to God for people, one who was full of spiritual goodness. He would know that Leviticus 19:34 says that if you see a stranger in need, you do whatever it takes to help them, worse than that, he would have taught this to others, he would have known what God expected of him.
Then a temple assistant a Levite, he also knew the laws, was suppose to be closer to God than an average Jew, but he also passed on the other side.
Now to look at from the priest and Levites point of view we have to remember that Jews had some crazy laws. One of which was staying ritually clean, so they might have thought that this poor man was dead on the road and if they touched him they themselves would have become unclean and there by unable to do their duties at the temple. But if they were going down the hill they would have been leaving Jerusalem and would have finished their time serving in the temple. Which is perhaps worse as they should have been filled with the spirit on the way home. Perhaps they were just frightened as this was a scary road and this might have been a trick to get them over so they would have gotten attacked.
In the priest and Levite the lawyer saw the picture of his own life, for he saw in them those who knew the law, but did not practice it.
There may have been many excuses for the neglect of the wounded man: danger, fear of becoming unclean or just too busy. It’s all too easy to walk past the homeless person in the street.
33 “Then a hated Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.
A hated Samaritan is kinda a understatement as the Jews and the Samaritans had a hatred for each other that went back over 1000 years. You see originally they were the same nation but they had a civil war and split into two countries the northern kingdom called Israel and the southern called Judea and this is where we get the name Jew from. Anyway eventually the northern kingdom of Israel gave up on God and started to intermarry with pagans until eventually they were a kind of half Jew have pagan who didn’t want to worship at Jerusalem, and set up their own temple. And the Jews thought that these people had it all were part of the chosen race of Gods children but threw it all away and were now some sort of half breed. To give you a modern day example if you can imagine that the Samaritan was a German WW2 Nazi, it kind of gives you the idea.
The hatred ran so deep that if a Jew travelled from north to south, or south to north, the easy way would be to go through Samaria. But they never did, they went around the outside of Samaria as they wouldn’t even put the dirt of Samaria on their shoes.
The remarkable thing was that Jesus, when He went on that journey He said He “must needs go through Samaria.” and now we have the great story of how He met the woman at the well
34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.
The Samaritan then takes centre stage in the story and here comes the main point. Notice how this man loves. First of all, he saw him, verse 33, and then he felt compassion. This is where it all begins. And so verse 34 says, “Going over to him.” It simply means he went up to where he was. This is the first thing he does. You can just see him in the story, there bending over the man. And he discovered that the man was severely wounded, the Greek word is “trauma.” And remember that the man was naked, so the Samaritan ripped his own clothing using them for bandages.
Now in Biblical times everyone used to carry their own wine to drink as the water was so dirty, and oil was for cooking and this would have been part of his travel pack
So he soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine. Wine was used because of its as an antiseptic and to sanitize and clean his wounds and oil was used, to soften the bruises.
This is amazing. This is not a minimal care. This is maximum. Compassion led him to come and examine and then he bandaged up his wounds. Then he poured oil and wine. Then he put him on his own beast. And then he brought him. We don’t know how far away the place was, but he walks while the injured man is draped over the animal. Takes him to an inn, while he was holding the man on to make sure he doesn’t come off. Well he finally gets him to an inn now this was not a Holiday Inn as we know it, This would be the lowest level. Inns were meagre places at best. They were places of prostitution and robbery. You really didn’t want to be in one of those places unless you had no choice.
But there was no choice here. He took him to an inn which would be a place that he could find a mat to lie on and some water and some food and some rest.
35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
“The next day” This shows that the Samaritan stayed with the injured man all night giving him 24 hour care and attention never left his side. “On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, “Take care of him.” Wanting to go on his journey he now put him in the care of an innkeeper, gives him two denarii.
Now as I said, it’s not a fancy place, but it’s a place of shelter and food and rest. Some of the book I read say that an inn would cost one-twelfth of a denarii, which would mean this would be about 3 weeks’ worth room and board.
That’s pretty amazing, pretty generous. Never met the man, a total stranger, doesn’t know how he got in the condition he got into, doesn’t ask how he got into that condition, it doesn’t matter.
All that matters was here was a man whose heart was so full of love that when somebody came across his path, it didn’t matter who he was, there was never a question of “Is he my neighbour ” The only issue was how can I love that man to the full extent of his need?
Now he has now opened himself to getting conned. He’s left an open account. And he’s saying, “I’m going to where I need to go, and you spend whatever you need to spend, give him whatever he needs for a full recovery. And when I come back, I’ll pay you for that.
Now what comes across in this? Generosity, would you say? More than generosity? This is sort of over the top, would you say? You say, “Well, I saw a homeless guy once and I gave him a couple of quid .” Think that deserves applause?
Did you ever see a stranger in need, somebody you didn’t know, better yet somebody who was your arch-enemy and you went over, ministered to all his needs, gave him everything he needed, stayed with him, took him somewhere, put him to bed, fed him, stayed all night to make sure that he was recovering appropriately, then paid for his care for up to two months and said if it’s more than this, when I come back I’ll give you all the rest? Have you ever done that for anybody?
Well there is someone you would do that for, and it’s you.
That’s how we care for ourselves, isn’t it? Give me whatever I need. Whatever I need, get me to the best doctor; get me to the best place. Get me the best care I can get. Take care of me as long as I need it. We buy insurance policies. We do whatever we need to assure ourselves the best care. This is over the top for a stranger, over the top for an enemy.
You might do this for a family member because you love them.
But we’re not talking about family; we’re talking about a stranger.
Now you might say some people have done some amazing things for strangers just like this.
That’s not the issue. The issue is, have you your whole life loved strangers like this?
Of course not,.
This is about limitless love, see. This is about a man who said I will care for this man with no limit. I will love this man though he is my enemy and stranger to me.
Whatever it is that this man needs, I will give to this man. He has an open account. When I come back, you just tell me what it took and I’ll take care of it.
Let me tell you something. That’s what it takes all the time to earn your way into God’s kingdom. Anybody qualify?
No. That’s the point.
36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbour to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. 37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
Can I add something? “And you, if you do that, will earn eternal life.” Only the catch is: You have to always do that, if you fail even one time that’s it you can’t get into heaven.
You can’t and you don’t and you never will love like this.
There may be a rare occasion when you love like this. But what Jesus is saying here is a limitless love toward everybody, and that is beyond our capability. We love ourselves like this. We don’t love others like this.
And he’s giving this lawyer one more opportunity to say, “Jesus, I…I don’t love like that. I can’t love like that. I never will love like that. I’ll never get in the Kingdom, if that’s what’s required.
And there stood Jesus before him, ready to offer him mercy, ready to offer him grace, ready to offer him forgiveness if he only would repent and admit what he knew was true.
We cannot ever work our way into Heaven, we will never be able to reach the perfection that God requires for entry, We need Jesus who did love like this to allow us through His sacrifice on the cross to let us in.
Amen