Luke 10v1 24 Bible study

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The Gospel of Luke Chapter 10:1-24 Seventy-Two Disciples Sent Out 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.

The Lord chose seventy-two (some manuscripts have seventy) of His disciples, sending them in pairs to every town or village which he himself was planning to visit shortly.

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.

In comparison to the number of people in each town, this spread-out group of seventy-two was a mere handful. Jesus is aware of the extent of the approaching task: there is a great harvest of people to be gathered into his kingdom through the preaching of the gospel but insufficient labourers. So Jesus instructs them to pray that God might send more labourers into the harvest fields of the gospel.

10:3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs surrounded by wolves.

As he sends them out, Jesus recognizes the fierce opposition which they are likely to encounter. The servants of the gospel are not to engage in political violence for their cause , but to follow the example of their king, who is a Lamb, and by their behaviour influence others for him.

10:4 Do not carry a money bag, a traveller’s bag, or sandals, and greet no one on the road.

Just as Jesus had earlier instructed the twelve so now he tells these ‘evangelists’ not to take money, food, or any other provisions with them. The mission was to be an exercise of faith from first to last. It was also to be their greatest priority and they were not to be distracted from it by getting into idle conversation with anyone.

10:5-6 Whenever you enter a house, first say, 'May peace be on this house!' And if a peace-loving person is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you.

The first thing the evangelists were to do when entering a house in which they had ben offered hospitality was to give the household the greeting of peace. The peace of God would rest upon the house of anyone who was prepared to accept the gospel of peace and its messengers, but God’s peace could no longer abide where the gospel was ultimately rejected.

10:7-8 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. Whenever you enter a town and the people welcome you, eat what is set before you.

The evangelists were to remain with a family which welcomed them and their message, and Jesus himself authorises them to accept whatever hospitality they are offered without paying for it. His words, ‘the worker deserves his pay’ indicate that sowing spiritual seed among the people was sufficient employment to justify their receive maintenance from others whilst they worked. In addition, they were not to allow their own scruples about what they could or could not eat to be allowed to upset or alienate their hosts; they were to eat whatever was placed before them.

10:9 Heal the sick in that town and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come upon you!'

With these words Jesus imparts his authority to heal to his evangelists. If Jesus says ‘heal the sick;’ then you will find yourself able to heal the sick. Yet the healing was not to occur in isolation; with the miracles they were to proclaim that the Kingdom of God, the day of salvation in Jesus, was at hand.

10:10-11 But whenever you enter a town and the people do not welcome you, go into its streets and say, '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.'

If the evangelists and their message were rejected in any town, they were not to take revenge themselves; instead they were go publicly denounce that town by the symbolic action of wiping the dust from their feet—they were not responsible for the rejection of the people, since they had faithfully proclaimed the kingdom to them.

10:12-14 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town! "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. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you!

Judgment for the gospel rejecting town s was to be left in the hands of God. Jesus warns that in the Day of Judgment, God’s punishment on the towns that reject him would be worse than that which was poured out on the evil city of Sodom. He singles out Chorazin and Bethsaida which had already received his own witness and that of the miracles which he had done in them. If these same miracles had been done in the Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon they would have soon repented and shown it by wearing sackcloth and sprinkling ashes over their heads. Even so, the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida had not repented, and so on Judgment Day their punishment would be worse than that given to those who had not received such a witness.

10:15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to Hades!

Capernaum had perhaps been the most privileged town of all, as the Lord Jesus Christ had stayed there often, preaching and healing al the sick of the town. But greater privilege brings greater responsibility and after all he had done for them, those rejected Jesus’ message would go to hell.

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."

After this aside, illustrating how severe the judgement would be for those who rejected his messengers, Jesus explains to them why such should be the case. They were being sent out as his ambassadors; any rejection of them and their message was a rejection of him, and the rejection of Jesus Christ is the rejection of God who sent Him.

A Good Report 10:17 Then the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!"

The seventy-two returned from their mission to report to Jesus. They were full of joy, as they had experienced many miracles, with even demons obeying them as they cast them out in his Name.

10:18 So he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

The Lord Jesus Christ did not consider this a remarkable thing; he knew it would be so, for from his place in eternity he had watched Satan and his angels cast out of 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.

The anointing which Jesus had given to his messengers clothed them with power and authority over the enemy in every way and protect from all harm which Satan might purpose against them. This was indeed as foretaste of what would come after Pentecost, where every believer would be similarly endued with the Holy Spirit (1 John 4:4; Isa. 54:17; 2 Tim. 4:18; Romans 16:20) 10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names stand written in heaven."

Yet despite all of this power, through which even the demons are subject to us, we have something far greater to rejoice about – Jesus has saved our souls and our names are written in heaven, in the Lambs Book of Life (Heb. 12:23).

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 is here praising God for revealing himself to the disciples. The learned men of earth had not been able to discover the truths of God's kingdom for themselves, but God has revealed them to those who are childlike, unskilled and untaught; simply because it pleased God to do so (1 Cor. 1:27).

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."

Here is perhaps the fullest Lukan expression of the deity of Christ which presents the equality between the Father and Son in Trinitarian terms. Everything that belongs to God has been entrusted to the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18; Heb. 1:2). No one can truly know the son but the Father and no one knows the Father except the son. God is so great that only God may fully know God, and so this verse implies eternal, all-powerful uncreated unity of being between Father and son.

10:23-24 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 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.

He turned to His disciples and privately told them that those who see the things that have seen are blessed, for they could see Jesus himself, hear his teaching and witness his miracles. Soon they were even to witness his death and resurrection and the inauguration of his kingdom. Many prophets and kings had waited in anticipation for this day of salvation, but they were not privileged to see it. Even though God had spoken to them, and through them, they had not fully understood the scriptures or seen them fulfilled in the way that the disciples of Jesus were now witnessing (Heb. 11:13 and Heb. 11:39). © Derek Williams & Mathew Bartlett 2014. Bible Studies Online UK www.biblestudiesonline.org.uk You may copy, print or distribute our studies freely in any form, just so long as you make no charges. Sign up today for our FREE monthly Bible study magazine “Living Word” Scriptures taken from the NET Bible www.bible.org