Luke 10

1 And after these things, the Lord did appoint also other seventy, and sent them by twos before his face, to every city and place whither he himself was about to come,

2 then said he unto them, `The harvest indeed [is] abundant, but the workmen few; beseech ye then the Lord of the harvest, that He may put forth workmen to His harvest.

3 `Go away; lo, I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves;

4 carry no bag, no scrip, nor sandals; and salute no one on the way;

5 and into whatever house ye do enter, first say, Peace to this house;

6 and if indeed there may be there the son of peace, rest on it shall your peace; and if not so, upon you it shall turn back.

7 `And in that house remain, eating and drinking the things they have, for worthy [is] the workman of his hire; go not from house to house,

8 and into whatever city ye enter, and they may receive you, eat the things set before you,

9 and heal the ailing in it, and say to them, The reign of God hath come nigh to you.

10 `And into whatever city ye do enter, and they may not receive you, having gone forth to its broad places, say,

11 And the dust that hath cleaved to us, from your city, we do wipe off against you, but this know ye, that the reign of God hath come nigh to you;

12 and I say to you, that for Sodom in that day it shall be more tolerable than for that city.

13 `Wo to thee, Chorazin; wo to thee, Bethsaida; for if in Tyre and Sidon had been done the mighty works that were done in you, long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes, they had reformed;

14 but for Tyre and Sidon it shall be more tolerable in the judgment than for you.

15 `And thou, Capernaum, which unto the heaven wast exalted, unto hades thou shalt be brought down.

16 `He who is hearing you, doth hear me; and he who is putting you away, doth put me away; and he who is putting me away, doth put away Him who sent me.'

17 And the seventy turned back with joy, saying, `Sir, and the demons are being subjected to us in thy name;'

18 and he said to them, `I was beholding the Adversary, as lightning from the heaven having fallen;

19 lo, I give to you the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and on all the power of the enemy, and nothing by any means shall hurt you;

20 but, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subjected to you, but rejoice rather that your names were written in the heavens.'

21 In that hour was Jesus glad in the Spirit, and said, `I do confess to thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth, that Thou didst hide these things from wise men and understanding, and didst reveal them to babes; yes, Father, because so it became good pleasure before Thee.

22 `All things were delivered up to me by my Father, and no one doth know who the Son is, except the Father, and who the Father is, except the Son, and he to whom the Son may wish to reveal [Him].'

23 And having turned unto the disciples, he said, by themselves, `Happy the eyes that are perceiving what ye perceive;

24 for I say to you, that many prophets and kings did wish to see what ye perceive, and did not see, and to hear what ye hear, and did not hear.'

25 And lo, a certain lawyer stood up, trying him, and saying, `Teacher, what having done, life age-during shall I inherit?'

26 And he said unto him, `In the law what hath been written? how dost thou read?'

27 And he answering said, `Thou shalt love the Lord thy God out of all thy heart, and out of all thy soul, and out of all thy strength, and out of all thy understanding, and thy neighbour as thyself.'

28 And he said to him, `Rightly thou didst answer; this do, and thou shalt live.'

29 And he, willing to declare himself righteous, said unto Jesus, `And who is my neighbour?'

30 and Jesus having taken up [the word], said, `A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and having stripped him and inflicted blows, they went away, leaving [him] half dead.

31 `And by a coincidence a certain priest was going down in that way, and having seen him, he passed over on the opposite side;

32 and in like manner also, a Levite, having been about the place, having come and seen, passed over on the opposite side.

33 `But a certain Samaritan, journeying, came along him, and having seen him, he was moved with compassion,

34 and having come near, he bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, and having lifted him up on his own beast, he brought him to an inn, and was careful of him;

35 and on the morrow, going forth, taking out two denaries, he gave to the innkeeper, and said to him, Be careful of him, and whatever thou mayest spend more, I, in my coming again, will give back to thee.

36 `Who, then, of these three, seemeth to thee to have become neighbour of him who fell among the robbers?'

37 and he said, `He who did the kindness with him,' then Jesus said to him, `Be going on, and thou be doing in like manner.'

38 And it came to pass, in their going on, that he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman, by name Martha, did receive him into her house,

39 and she had also a sister, called Mary, who also, having seated herself beside the feet of Jesus, was hearing the word,

40 and Martha was distracted about much serving, and having stood by him, she said, `Sir, dost thou not care that my sister left me alone to serve? say then to her, that she may partake along with me.'

41 And Jesus answering said to her, `Martha, Martha, thou art anxious and disquieted about many things,

42 but of one thing there is need, and Mary the good part did choose, that shall not be taken away from her.'

Luke 10 Commentary

Chapter 10

Seventy disciples sent forth. (1-16) The blessedness of Christ's disciples. (17-24) The good Samaritan. (25-37) Jesus at the house of Martha and Mary. (38-42)

Verses 1-16 Christ sent the seventy disciples, two and two, that they might strengthen and encourage one another. The ministry of the gospel calls men to receive Christ as a Prince and a Saviour; and he will surely come in the power of his Spirit to all places whither he sends his faithful servants. But the doom of those who receive the grace of God in vain, will be very fearful Those who despise the faithful ministers of Christ, who think meanly of them, and look scornfully upon them, will be reckoned as despisers of God and Christ.

Verses 17-24 All our victories over Satan, are obtained by power derived from Jesus Christ, and he must have all the praise. But let us beware of spiritual pride, which has been the destruction of many. Our Lord rejoiced at the prospect of the salvation of many souls. It was fit that particular notice should be taken of that hour of joy; there were few such, for He was a man of sorrows: in that hour in which he saw Satan fall, and heard of the good success of his ministers, in that hour he rejoiced. He has ever resisted the proud, and given grace to the humble. The more simply dependent we are on the teaching, help, and blessing of the Son of God, the more we shall know both of the Father and of the Son; the more blessed we shall be in seeing the glory, and hearing the words of the Divine Saviour; and the more useful we shall be made in promoting his cause.

Verses 25-37 If we speak of eternal life, and the way to it, in a careless manner, we take the name of God in vain. No one will ever love God and his neighbour with any measure of pure, spiritual love, who is not made a partaker of converting grace. But the proud heart of man strives hard against these convictions. Christ gave an instance of a poor Jew in distress, relieved by a good Samaritan. This poor man fell among thieves, who left him about to die of his wounds. He was slighted by those who should have been his friends, and was cared for by a stranger, a Samaritan, of the nation which the Jews most despised and detested, and would have no dealings with. It is lamentable to observe how selfishness governs all ranks; how many excuses men will make to avoid trouble or expense in relieving others. But the true Christian has the law of love written in his heart. The Spirit of Christ dwells in him; Christ's image is renewed in his soul. The parable is a beautiful explanation of the law of loving our neighbour as ourselves, without regard to nation, party, or any other distinction. It also sets forth the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward sinful, miserable men. We were like this poor, distressed traveller. Satan, our enemy, has robbed us, and wounded us: such is the mischief sin has done us. The blessed Jesus had compassion on us. The believer considers that Jesus loved him, and gave his life for him, when an enemy and a rebel; and having shown him mercy, he bids him go and do likewise. It is the duty of us all , in our places, and according to our ability, to succour, help, and relieve all that are in distress and necessity.

Verses 38-42 A good sermon is not the worse for being preached in a house; and the visits of our friends should be so managed, as to make them turn to the good of their souls. Sitting at Christ's feet, signifies readiness to receive his word, and submission to the guidance of it. Martha was providing for the entertainment of Christ, and those that came with him. Here were respect to our Lord Jesus and right care of her household affairs. But there was something to be blamed. She was for much serving; plenty, variety, and exactness. Worldly business is a snare to us, when it hinders us from serving God, and getting good to our souls. What needless time is wasted, and expense often laid out, even in entertaining professors of the gospel! Though Martha was on this occasion faulty, yet she was a true believer, and in her general conduct did not neglect the one thing needful. The favour of God is needful to our happiness; the salvation of Christ is needful to our safety. Where this is attended to, all other things will be rightly pursued. Christ declared, Mary hath chosen the good part. For one thing is needful, this one thing that she has done, to give up herself to the guidance of Christ. The things of this life will be taken away from us, at the furthest, when we shall be taken away from them; but nothing shall separate from the love of Christ, and a part in that love. Men and devils cannot take it away from us, and God and Christ will not. Let us mind the one thing needful more diligently.