CRITICAL NOTES
Luke 10:1. The mission of the seventy is peculiar to St. Luke. We need not be surprised at the silence of the other evangelists, as the office to which these men were called was not a permanent one. They were simply to prepare the people for Christ’s approaching visit, and as it were for His last appeal to them. The instructions given to them correspond to those given to the apostles (see Matthew 10), so far as concerns present duties. In contradistinction to the temporary character of the mission of the seventy is that of the apostles, which, as the above charge given to them, indicates “an office and ministry co-extensive with the world, both in space and duration” (Alford).
Seventy also—Rather, “seventy others,” i.e. in addition to the twelve. The number seventy may have had reference to the elders of Israel (Exodus 24:1; Numbers 11:16). Some MSS. read “seventy-two,” which has been conjectured to be a traditional correction to make the number correspond to that of the members of the Sanhedrim. Two and two.—For mutual helpfulness, as in the case of the twelve (Mark 6:7). Would come.—Rather, “was about to come” (R.V.).
Luke 10:2. Send forth.—The word in the original may imply the ideas of urgency and haste; it is literally “drive forth,” but may have lost this special force of meaning in course of time.
Luke 10:4. Neither purse, etc.—Cf. chap. Luke 9:1-6. Salute no man.—Not to waste time upon secondary matters. Cf. 2 Kings 4:29. Eastern salutations are, all from accounts, elaborate and ceremonious.
Luke 10:6. Son of peace.—I.e. one capable of receiving their message. “The meaning here is that the disciples were to communicate their message of peace, as the prophet of old was to communicate his message of warning (Ezekiel 3:17-21), to all, whether ‘worthy’ or not. And it is promised to them that even if their message falls on inattentive ears or stubborn hearts, yet it shall not be fruitless, since the duty performed shall bring peace to themselves—‘it shall turn to you again’ ” (Speaker’s Commentary).
Luke 10:8. City.—The previous instructions evidently had in view villages and detached houses. Eat such things, etc.—The reference probably is to the scruples felt by strict Jews about eating with the Samaritans. Our Lord had no such scruple: see John 4:8. St. Paul gives the precept a wider scope by extending it to food in the houses of Gentiles: see 1 Corinthians 10:27.
Luke 10:12. More tolerable.—The principle on which judgment proceeds is given in chap. Luke 12:47-48.
Luke 10:13. Woe unto thee, Chorazin, etc.—These words were evidently spoken by Christ more than once: we find them in another connection in Matthew 11:21-24. They derive more force here from having been spoken when Christ was at a distance away from them: the guilt they had incurred by rejecting Him was like a burden upon His mind. Chorazin has been identified with the ruined town two miles north of Capernaum (Tell Hum). There is no record in the Gospels, apart from these references, of Christ’s work in Chorazin. Bethsaida—on the western side of the Lake of Gennesaret, not far from Capernaum; the birthplace of Peter, Andrew, and Philip.
Luke 10:15. Capernaum exalted to heaven.—As being made the headquarters of Christ’s ministry. Hell.—In the original, Hades, as the antithesis to heaven; the lowest as contrasted with the highest position. A better reading (followed in the R.V.) is, “Shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? Thou shalt be brought down to Hades.”
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Luke 10:1-16
The Heralds of the King.—The true preparation for work for Christ is the clear sight and deep feeling of the immensity of the field, the consequent pressure of need, and the small supply of labourers. These seventy had but a few villages in a little strip of country. We have the world brought within arm’s length, by steam and electricity, by commerce and rule. Seventy messengers to the people of Southern Palestine in our Lord’s time was a far larger proportion than all Christian missionaries bear to the population of the world. Such a realisation of the immensity of the work will first send a man to prayer. God is the Lord of the harvest, and the fact that it is “His” is the strongest argument in the mouth of the faithful petitioner. Surely He will take means to secure His own property. The inspiration to go forth must come from Him; but, note, that the man who prays must be ready to go himself, if he is sent. To tell men that they are to be as sheep among wolves is strange encouragement to begin work with. But “I send you” is safety. He will take care of His servants going on His errands.
I. Outfit.—They are to travel light and to trust. This provision was expressly declared by Christ to apply only to the present case (chap. Luke 22:35); but the principle underlying it is of perpetual validity. They who would do Christ’s work must be unencumbered, and should be free from anxiety.
II. Conduct on the road.—Eastern salutations were and are long-winded affairs, and hollow to boot. Courtesy is not waste of time; but much conventionality has to be brushed aside when a man is in haste and pressed by some great duty. We ought to be misers of time in Christ’s service, and not allow social ceremonies to rob us of too much of it.
III. Lodgings and entertainment.—Christ’s emissary is not to pick out the best-looking house in the village, but take the first he comes to. A courteous greeting is in place there, and prepares the way for the message. An obvious desire for the welfare of those to whom we carry the gospel is the indispensable condition of success. We must win confidence for ourselves before we can win a higher trust for Jesus. But the messenger is not to expect that his greeting will always be taken as he meant it. “The son of peace,” of course, means one who has a nature akin to the peace invoked. Only such will receive the blessing. If the lips to which it is offered will not drink, it shall not be as water spilled on the ground, but will flow back to the source. No Christian work is lost. It produces reflex blessedness in the doer. Kindly feelings, even when spurned, warm the heart where they are kindled. Once in the house, the messenger is to stop there, whether the accommodation be good or bad. There must be a plain disregard of personal advantage, if any good is to be done. “The labourer is worthy of his hire”; but he has “no purse,” so he cannot take money; and if he gets enough to eat, so that he can work, he is to stay where he is, however plain the fare. If once the suspicion is raised that selfish motives actuate the messenger of Christ, he may as well stop work. If the labourer deserves his hire, it is equally true that the hire deserves labour, and binds to toil, not to indolence.
IV. The work to be done.—The power of miraculous healing is given, and the rousing message is to be delivered. Both work and word apply especially to the seventy, but both point to present duties. Care for physical well-being is part of the Christian’s work, and will help to get a hearing for his proper message, as medical missionaries have proved.
V. The responsibilities incurred by those who rejected the message.—The solemn command to leave the rejecting city with a last, repeated testimony closes this charge. Wiping off the dust of the city was meant to symbolise the rupture of all connection with it; but even after that the message was to be repeated, if, perchance, some might hear at that last moment. How the yearning of the Divine love speaks in that command! Unbelief makes no difference to the fact. The kingdom will come all the same, but the aspect of its coming changes. It no longer comes as a blessing, but as a foe. The seventy had but little time for their work; for Jesus was close behind them, and they had to leave unproductive fields more quickly than we are allowed to do. But even for us times occasionally come when we have to give up efforts, and try whether withdrawal may do more than continuance. The charge passes into the awful declarations of judgment, first on the rejecting city, and then on the seats of our Lord’s ministry in Galilee, which was now closed. Note the clear recognition of degrees in criminality and retribution, measured by degrees of light. Note the selection of the Gentile cities of worst fame: Sodom with her crimes, Tyre and Sidon—the very emblems, in the Prophets, of proud enmity to God. And these sties of lust and greed are to have a lighter doom than the cities of Israel. Why? Because to reject Christ is the worst of sins, containing in its most unmingled form the essence of all sin, and auguring such alienation and a version from the light as could only come from love of darkness. What must He have thought of Himself who said that not to accept Him was the sin deserving the deepest condemnation? Note, too, the deep pathos of this lament, drawn like a sob from the heart of Jesus. The Judge weeps over the criminals, but His tears do not make Him falter in His judgment. Though Christ would—did—give His life to avert the ruin, He cannot, when He sits on the great white throne, turn the sentence away from those who have dragged it down on themselves by turning away from Him, proclaimed in their unbelieving ears.—Maclaren.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luke 10:1-16
Luke 10:1-16. Lessons from the Seventy.
I. Unknown workers.—They were the first band of that vast army of unknown Christian workers whose names, though written in heaven, have been scarcely known and never preserved on earth.
II. Instructions for Christian workers.—
1. They were to go “two and two.” A hint that Christian workers should work in sympathy and harmony.
2. “Before His face.” All true Christian work is that of preparing the way for Christ. He must follow, or our work is vain.
3. Prayer for the work itself, especially for “labourers.” Do we thus pray daily? Or are we merely content with working ourselves, as though we could accomplish all?
4. Courage—still needed, for some will mock, others will misrepresent our aim, and question our sincerity and zeal.
5. Simplicity of aim. Christian workers have not to study their own pleasure or convenience or profit, but to work with a single eye to God’s glory in the salvation of souls.
III. The end of Christian work.—We cannot heal the sick, but we can discourage all which hurts the bodily health of man. The great end, however, is to bring nigh to men “the kingdom of God.”
IV. Some sources of consolation for workers.—
1. Success. Christ does not tell us not to value success, nor forbid us to rejoice at it; but He tells us not to rejoice in success as the result of our own efforts or gifts. Lest success should make us vain, He tells us that it is better to rejoice most of all in our relations to God, that by His mercy our “names are written in heaven.”
2. Safety. “Nothing shall by any means hurt you.” All things will work together for our good.
3. Christ as our refuge and support. He rejoices in our success. All things we need are in Him. He will make us see and hear things which many saint of old have in vain desired.—Taylor.
The Mission of the Seventy.—It is remarkable that the comparative abortiveness of the first evangelistic movement by the twelve did not prevent Jesus from repeating the experiment some time after on a still more extensive scale.
I. The motive of this second mission.—The motive was the same as in the case of the first, as were also the instructions to the missionaries. Jesus still felt deep compassion for the multitudes, and, hoping against hope, made a new attempt to save the lost sheep. He would have all men called at least to the fellowship of the kingdom, even though few should be chosen to it.
II. The results.—The immediate results were promising. Christ was gratified at this, albeit knowing from past experience, as well as by Divine insight, that the faith and repentance of many were only too likely to be evanescent as the early dew. When the seventy returned to report their great success, He hailed it as an omen of the downfall of Satan’s kingdom, and rejoiced in spirit.
III. Christ’s warning.—After congratulating His disciples on their success, and expressing His own satisfaction with the facts reported, Jesus spoke a warning word. He gave a timely caution against elation and vanity. It is a word in season to all who are very zealous in the work of evangelism, especially such as are crude in knowledge and grace. It hints at the possibility of their own spiritual health being injured by their very zeal in seeking the salvation of others. This may happen in many ways. Success may make the evangelists vain, and they may begin to sacrifice unto their own net. They may fall under the dominion of the devil through their very joy that he is subject unto them. They may despise those who have been less successful, or denounce them as deficient in zeal. They may fall into carnal security respecting their own spiritual state, deeming it impossible that anything can go wrong with those who are so devoted, and whom God has so greatly owned: an obvious as well as dangerous mistake; for Judas doubtless took part in the Galilæan mission, and, for aught we know, was as successful as his fellow-disciples in casting out devils. Graceless men may be employed for a season as agents in promoting the work of grace in the hearts of others. Usefulness does not necessarily imply goodness. Christ’s solemn warning is not meant to discourage or discountenance zeal, but suggest the need of watchfulness and self-examination.—Bruce.
The Need of the Mission.—There was need for such a mission, as the district on the east of Jordan had been little visited by Jesus hitherto. These men are sent as lambs among wolves, but two by two, for mutual support. Much is made here of the visible means they were to employ in their mission.
I. Their message was urgent.—“The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”
II. Their manner of life was the simplest.—“Remain, eating and drinking such things as they give.”
III. Their commission was authoritative—“They receive you not … it shall be more tolerable for Sodom.” This is a most impressive point. To hear the gospel preached is not only a great privilege, but a great responsibility.—Hastings.
The Character of the Mission.—Notice—
I. Its place in the Gospel.—The three “studies,” as we might call them, of the varieties of would-be ministers, are set, surely not by accident, immediately before the mission of the seventy.
II. The tenderness, the humanity, of the “two and two.”—If it were possible, we would always have it so. What strength, what comfort, is in the not solitary but sympathetic ministry! What have some of us not owed to the fellowship and the communion of a brother!
III. The destination of the seventy.—It is a parable for all ministers. The seventy were not Christ’s substitutes—they were His forerunners. They were not sent instead of Him—they were sent whither He would come. Has this trait of ministry been prominent in our own? There is a ministry—it is no imaginary thing—which has no feature in it of the precursorship of Jesus Christ. It has no note of the voice, “There cometh One after me.” There is more of parable still.
IV. The spirit of the seventy is a spirit of intentness.—“This one thing I do.” His heart is in his work. He has no time for salutations. “The King’s business requireth haste.” Despatch, not loitering—and, in order to this, a thorough faith in his message, a deep conviction of its truth, its urgency, and its power—the very opposite of that uncertainty, of that suspense, which the modern evangelist too often counts the proof of intelligence and wide reading, and an open mind. Thus intent upon one thing—
V. The messenger is not fastidious as to his quarters, his company, or his fare.—There is a lesson in all this for the ministry of our own age. How prone it is to resent and exaggerate inconveniences—to see the dark side, which there ever must be, of the place assigned, and of the circumstances surrounding! How rash, sometimes, is the first choice—how incessant, sometimes, the restlessness afterwards!
VI. The message.—
1. It is a message of peace. We are to bring peace into homes by bringing peace into hearts. All that vexing and harassing self-torture, which is, being interpreted, the heart at war with its God, and therefore at war with itself and with its brother—we bring the cure of it, and it is the very reason of our coming.
2. The other word put into our mouth is “kingdom”—God’s kingdom. To carry into a great lawless earth the idea of a rule and the tidings of a Ruler—to be witnesses to an order and a harmony, a will and a hand out of sight, so that we can tell not only of a rest after death, and a hope laid up in heaven, but even realise it now,—what an office, what a dignity, is this of Christ’s seventy, that they should go into homes, that they should commune with human beings, in the tone not of conjecture but of certainty, and as speaking not of remote possibilities but of instant and present realities concerning a kingdom that is already ruling over all and shall one day “come”—come into sight, and come in glory! This is the office of the evangelist of the nineteenth age, as it was of the seventy in the earliest.
VII. We are not overlooking the supernatural endowments of the seventy for their peculiar and exceptional mission. Miraculous gifts were then and are no longer the accompaniments of the ministerial office. What then? We go on our way unencumbered by what would be to us mere impediments and hindrances, diverting the eyes of men from the spiritual to the carnal, and contributing nothing to the real enterprise, which is the turning from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. These things are more than miracles; they are “signs” of Jesus Christ, finger-posts pointing to the invisible, coruscations of a world out of sight, of a kingdom “nigh” and “to come.”—Vaughan.
Luke 10:1. “Seventy.”—It may be that the number “seventy” had reference to the popular Jewish idea of there being that number of nations and languages in the world—an idea founded on the enumeration of nations in Genesis 10. In that case as the number of the apostles corresponds to that of the tribes of Israel, the choice of the seventy would prefigure the evangelisation of the world. “The seventy disciples are to be regarded as a net of love which the Lord threw out in Israel” (Riggenbach).
“Two and two before His face.”—It is remarkable how little stress has been laid on this statement. All we know, however, is—
I. Their errand; and—
II. The fact that they were held worthy, through their prompt and obedient discipleship to the Master, to be made forerunners of His own ministry.—On what they actually did or how they were received, on their after-history, there is absolute silence. But this single sentence contains two or three principles of the Christian life in man.
1. In order to the full reign of Christ anywhere there must be necessary preparation. All our approaches to religious truth, to spiritual power or holiness or peace, are gradual. The best are not best at once, any more than the very bad are worst at once.
2. All personal efforts for extending truth and increasing righteousness in the world are really parts of the Lord’s work, and are dependent on His spiritual power.—Huntington.
The Significance of the Number.—As the number of the twelve apostles appears to have reference to the number of the patriarchs, so do these seventy disciples recall the number of the elders who were called up into Mount Sinai to behold the wondrous vision of God, and to eat and drink in His presence—who, moreover, assisted Moses to govern the people.—Burgon.
“Two and two.”—As they were to bear witness of Christ, they would fulfil the legal requirement, “At the mouth of two or three witnesses,” etc. Where two are associated together in the name of Jesus, there is a “threefold cord which is not quickly broken” (see Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).
“Whither He Himself would come.”—The seventy were sent to prepare the inhabitants of towns and villages throughout the land for the coming of Christ. They were
(1) to give information concerning Him, and
(2) to excite longing for His presence: preparation of both mind and heart.
Luke 10:2. “The harvest truly is great.”
I. The inclination and desire of multitudes to hear Divine truth is God’s harvest.
II. It is only by manifold kinds of labour that this harvest can be gathered in.
III. Those only are effective workers who have been sent forth by the Lord of the harvest.
“Pray ye therefore.”—This we do when we intelligently say, “Thy kingdom come.” The very sending out of the seventy was of itself an answer to the prayer, which on the occasion of sending forth the twelve Jesus urged His disciples to offer.
Luke 10:3-9. Fireside Ministry.—These verses are the pith and substance of Christ’s counsels to “the seventy.” They were to go forth on a perilous but fruitful errand.
I. All really helpful human work must be rooted and grounded in loving friendship, and trust in the men it seeks to cleanse and ennoble.—Invite trust, win love, be not in a hurry, make your mission domestic, be sociable, friendly, and human. Stay long enough to gain affection and recognise brotherhood. This was our Lord’s own method.
II. The next stage is that of compassionate healing.—Supply physical aid to meet the acutest domestic need. Display brotherly pity in the form of restorative help to the afflicted. No one can fail to trace the luminous personality of the Master here. Christianity, like its Author, is essentially healing.
III. But the crowning service of man to man is the interpretation of life in the light of Divine ministration.—The missioners did not reach the climax of their work till they said, “The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.” To this sympathetic ministry of interpretation of the work of the Spirit of God every disciple of Christ has received an authoritative call, and by the earnest discharge of its various duties the demons of doubt and despair are driven off the field, and the kingdom of God is established and extended.—Clifford.
Luke 10:3-4. Freedom from Anxiety.—These messengers were
(1) to have no fears concerning their own personal safety;
(2) no anxieties with regard to the supply of their material necessities;
(3) the ground of their confidence was to be their trust in Him who had sent them forth (“I” in Luke 10:3 is emphatic).
Luke 10:4. Three Sins to be avoided.—Three forms of sin are to be specially avoided by the minister of Christ: avarice, luxury, and worldly anxiety.
Luke 10:4-5. Courtesy.
I. Courtesy is not to interfere with duty.
II. Courtesy is itself to be consecrated into duty (the salutation on entering a house).
Luke 10:5. “Peace.”—
1. The heart of the believer is filled by a peace which the world can neither give nor take away.
2. The desire of the believer is to make others partakers of this peace.
Luke 10:5-6. “Peace be to this house.”—The greeting of peace on the part of Christ’s messenger is like a magnet which draws to itself what is of the same nature with it. Even when it is not received the blessing comes back to the giver—like the dove to the Ark. The Spirit seeks what is akin to itself, and where that is wanting finds no abode.
Luke 10:6. “Son of peace.”—The formal benediction, like other means of grace, depends for its efficacy on the temper of those to whom it is given. The message of peace is not defeated even if it be rejected: the duty done in proclaiming it satisfies the conscience of the messenger and fills his heart with a deeper peace.
Luke 10:7. “The labourer,” etc.—What the minister of Christ receives for his sustenance is not an alms: the message he brings entitles him to it. The minister of Christ is
(1) neither to seek for great temporal prosperity,
(2) nor from a false shame to refuse adequate sustenance from those whom he serves in spiritual things.
Luke 10:10-12. Words of Menace.—These menacing words concerning the towns which, without regard to the signs of the times, would reject His messengers lead Jesus to speak of those cities which have for so long enjoyed His presence without profiting by it. In leaving their neighbourhood for ever He addresses to them the warning that follows (Luke 10:13-16).—Godet.
Luke 10:11. “Is come nigh unto you.”—The kingdom of God may come nigh to us, and yet we may be “far from the kingdom of God.” In the former case we may remain passive or may offer resistance; in the latter we begin to yield to the Divine attraction and to co-operate with God’s effort to save us.
Luke 10:12. “More tolerable … for Sodom.”—Cf. Lamentations 4:6: “For the iniquity of the daughter of My people is greater than the sin of Sodom” (R.V.).
Luke 10:12-13. “Sodom, Tyre, and Sidon.”—The inhabitants of these cities had been exceedingly debased by sensual indulgences, but in two points the inhabitants of the Galilæan cities were worse than them.
1. Their consciences were seared and hardened by resistance to spiritual influences.
2. Their hearts were ossified by religious self-complacency and conceit.
Luke 10:13. “Sitting in sackcloth,” etc.—After the manner of the older prophets Christ personifies Tyre and Sidon, and represents them as women clothed in sackcloth and besprinkled with ashes, and seated on the ground in sign of mourning.
Luke 10:13-15. Unrecorded labours of Christ.
I. Note the hint here given of the multiplicity of Christ’s labours: these were cities in which, as St. Matthew says, “most of His mighty works were done,” yet the Gospels preserve no record of any one of them. “Many other things Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that should be written” (John 21:25).
II. The extent of Divine omniscience.—Christ speaks as knowing not only what has happened and what will happen, but what would have happened.
Luke 10:14. “More tolerable.”—Some light is here cast upon the “intermediate state” of human souls. Temporal punishment had been inflicted on these guilty inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon; their final judgment was yet to come.
Luke 10:15. “Capernaum.”—The indignation of Jesus takes a deeper tone as He thinks of the city which had been most highly favoured, and upon which His teaching and mighty works had produced so little effect. He had been so identified with Capernaum that it was called His city (Matthew 9:1); He had made it the headquarters of His work, and had spared no pains to win its inhabitants to become His disciples. The responsibility incurred by refusal of His grace is proportioned to the greatness of love He had manifested.
Luke 10:16. The Disciples are Ambassadors of Christ.—As the disciples confined themselves to reproducing in their narratives the acts and teaching of Jesus, those who heard them virtually saw and heard Jesus Himself; the attitude, therefore, that was taken up towards the messengers was an attitude taken up towards Jesus Himself. In the same way as Jesus did that which the Father had shown Him, and taught that which He had received from the Father, acceptance or rejection of Him was equivalent to acceptance or rejection of God Himself: cf. Matthew 10:40-42, and John 13:20, where the same thought is applied to the ministry of the twelve; and 1 Thessalonians 4:8, where it is applied to the preachers of the gospel in general.—Godet.
“He that heareth you,” etc.—We, too, should see in the messengers who come to us in Christ’s stead (2 Corinthians 5:20), not the men, but the office.
The Office of the Ministry.—This is a remarkable commendation of the outward ministry.
I. Nothing ought to be a stronger encouragement to us to embrace the doctrine of the gospel than to learn that this is the highest worship of God, and a sacrifice of the sweetest odour, to hear Him speaking by human lips, and to yield subjection to His word, which is brought to us by men, in the same manner as if He were descending from heaven, or making known His will to us by angels.
II. Our confidence is established, and all doubt is removed, when we learn that the testimony of our salvation, when delivered to us by men whom God has sent, is not less worthy of credit than if His voice resounded from heaven.—Calvin.