Today’s Gospel:  Luke 10:1-9

REFLECTION
In today’s Gospel, one dispensation was ending and another beginning. As God had appointed the 12 patriarchs to be the leaders of His earthly people, so now the Son of God was instituting a new era: He was replacing the old leaders with His own appointed men. To these the church of the future would look for guidance. As the patriarchs were commissioned to interpret the law: the apostles would similarly be authorized to interpret the word of Christ. Similarly, as the affairs of the earthly kingdom had more or less been managed by the council of 70, so the spread of the Gospel and the establishing of the new kingdom would begin to take shape as the new council of 70 began its mission. From all this we deduce but one thing - “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

This then was the burden of the commission: these men were to go forth with a message demanding new responsibilities of the people to whom they were to preach. It would no longer be sufficient for men to affirm they kept the law: much more was now being demanded by Christ. Nothing has been said about the identity of the new band of workers except that they were “other” than the original 12. There were men who, having responded to the claims of Christ, had lost their employment: there were some who had been excommunicated by the Jews. (See John 9:34.) What would have happened to these men? As in the case of the blind beggar, to return to his home was out of the question for his parents had already made their unfortunate decision not to confess allegiance to Jesus. The convert could not beg for he was no longer blind. No Jewish employer would offer work for this would have invited the attention of the Jewish leaders who had denounced the man. What then could the beggar do? How would he earn his living? There exists the possibility that with others of his type, he became one of the 70. This is mere speculation, but it would be very difficult to believe that Christ would be unconcerned about the man’s economic problems. That the 70 were sent forth in couples exhibits true wisdom. The road ahead would be rough; sometimes the reception would be chilling. Ecclesiastes 4:9 states, “Two are better than one,” and obviously the Lord believed the statement.

It should be remembered the countryside of Galilee had been well traversed by the disciple band; the people had received every chance to hear the Gospel and see the Savior. Now, the Lord planned to proceed to Jerusalem, and the time for the additional training of His servants was limited. Between His present location and Jerusalem were many villages. The area of the Trans-Jordan included many small places where the Good News had not been announced, and knowing this, the Lord intensified His efforts to reach the unreached. He intended to visit these places, and knowing the value of adequate preparation, commissioned the new preachers to go ahead in His name. This has always supplied inspiration for the missionary societies. Where the preacher goes, Christ follows; where Christ goes, the Kingdom is established.

The most important word in verse two is PRAY. The tasks ahead would be difficult whatever happened, but if the disciples forgot to pray, the work would be impossible. It should be noticed that the details of the commission, to some extent at least, followed the same order as set forth in the charge to the 12. Poverty would be their best advertisement; it advertised their complete and constant dependence upon God; and attracted people who desired to participate in the work of the kingdom. Some of the commands of the two commissions seem to be in opposition. “But be shod with sandals” (Mark 6:9) seems to be at variance with “Carry... no shoes” (Luke 10:4). The sandal was the simple protection for the sole of the foot, the flat piece of leather attached by thongs to the toes of the wearer. The shoe was a most expensive and elegant thing which covered the entire foot. The one indicated the owner to be a simple itinerant peasant; the other generally belonged to a man of means. The term “son of peace” was often expressed in Israel. A man who loved to go forth to battle was called “a son of war.” A man tired of life would be known as “a son of death” (2 Samuel 12:5). Wicked men were sometimes called “the children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). Therefore the son of peace would be a peace lover, a peace maker. He was kindly disposed; not argumentative, quarrelsome, embittered, evil. Such men were to be blessed with the benediction of peace. Christ had given peace to His followers; they in turn were authorized to pass this on to others. Within these homes the disciples were commanded to stay. It would be better to light one great fire, than to strike matches in 20 different homes! Quality was to be the key word in their ministry - not quantity. It must be remembered too that under law, certain foods were prohibited. The command “eat such things as are set before you” was surely the forerunner of that other statement, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Acts 10:15). Under law this would have been inadmissible; now, a whole new world was opening before the eyes of the disciples. The statement, “for the laborer is worthy of his hire” is interesting in that it is the only part of the Gospels quoted in the epistles. This suggests the Gospel of Luke had been finished prior to the time of Paul’s writing to Timothy. (See 1 Timothy 5:18.) The fact that of this, and the earlier statement, Paul says: “For the scripture saith,” suggests that Luke’s Gospel had already been recognized as an integral part of God’s revelation. Special attention should be afforded to the statement: “The Kingdom of God is come nigh you.” That this was to be said both to the favorably inclined and to the antagonists of the message indicates the Kingdom is intimately linked with the coming of Christ. There were people who welcomed the visitors; opened their homes to the preachers, fed them, listened to them, and even saw the sick being healed; yet even to them, the kingdom only came near. Entrance into the kingdom was secured by real faith in the Son of God and not by the friendliness exhibited toward those who preached the Gospel. It was planned that the kingdom should come nigh unto all men; all would have the chance to enter; but what they did with their opportunities was their responsibility.

Today’s Reading:  2 Tim 4:9-17

PRAYER
Lord, truly you are complete in the way you paved the way for your church.  Help us now to maximize what you have begun.  Help us to make your church grow.  In Jesus’ Name we pray.  Amen.