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In Chapter 10 we see Jesus no longer sends only the twelve disciples out,but now sends seventy disciples out to preach the good news of the kingdom, in every city and place that Jesus would go in after them
So these disciples are to prepare the way for Jesus. Just like all kings,the Kings servants go ahead of the King so that the people there may be ready to receive their King. He tells them the same rules as what were applied to the twelve disciples when they went out to the villages and cities. Jesus expands on what happens when a city or village will not receive them. Jesus in the true sense of prophets of God pronounces woes on the cities and villages who will not receive the message of the King. Two such places are singled out, Chorazin and Bethsaida. He makes startling claims when he says it will more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for Chorazin and Bethsaida. To Jewish ears to be said that a city full of homosexuals will be dealt with less severly than them must have angered them. But their unbelief of Gods message is a worse sin than all the sexual immorality of Sodom. Jesus says if the miracles done in these two towns were done in the gentile towns of Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago. Jesus is saying Jews who reject Gods message are worse than gentiles with all their filth and inpropriety. As such the Jews will suffer worse judgement than the gentiles because of their unbelief.
Immediatly afterward Jesus encourages the seventy disciples and tells them that the foe they are up against isn't invincible. Jesus says that he saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.So because Satan is the defeated foe they can go forth in the assurance that they will come to no harm from scorpions and snakes and also that they have authority over the powers of evil.Jesus rejoiced at that time that the things of the Kingdom were kept hidden from the wise and instead given to babes. It isn't revealed to people because of their education or status. He tells the disciples they are indeed blessed to see the powers of the age to come, because prophets longed to see these things happen in Israel and had not seen or heard what they have seen and heard.
It is in this context that a lawyer stands up to test Jesus. He asks what he must do to inherit eternal life? Jesus answers him with a question saying what is written in the law. The law in this context doesn't just mean Moses 5 books but the bible as they had it then. He answers with the summary of the law which says to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart soul and strength and mind and to love your neighbour as your self." Jesus tells him he has answered correctly. it is one thing to answer correctly but quite another thing to do it. So Jesus says go and do it and you will live. The lawyer obviously felt very uncomfortable with Jesus answer and immediatly tried to justify himself, by asking and who is my neighbour? Jesus responds by telling them them the story of a man who went from Jerusalem to Jericho. He fell among thieves and so was wounded and two so called men of God passed the Israelite by. One a priest the other a levite. Both of them failed to do what was required of them in Gods word. But a Samaritan who was considered by the Jews not to follow God in truth, who saved the man and did not pass him by. It was a perceived enemy of the Jews who showed the man mercy by treating his wounds and bandaging him up and then putting him up in an Inn to recuperate. Jesus then asks which of the three was his neighbour. The lawyer again answered correctly by saying the one who showed mercy to his enemy was his neighbour. Whereas the priest and levite prove themselves not to be neighbours even though the man is a fellow israelite. Jesus says to the man go and do likewise. This event is a prime example of why people have difficulty understanding the gospel in the gospels. They try to harmonise it with Pauls letters and find no joy. It would appear to be a contradiction of the teaching of justification by faith. But apparant contradictions aren't necessarily contradictions. It would appear that this man would be saved by keeping the law. But on closer inspection it isn't a live a good life and you'll go to heaven story. Also we see that the lawyer wasn't comfortable with doing it, as he tried to justify himself. He seems to know what the word says but isn't so sure he can do it. The thing is,if he could do it then he would have eternal life. But it seems his motive was rather to test Jesus orthodoxy than to know the truth. The thing is that this question is raised in the context of the preaching of the Kingdom of God. Jesus has just sent disciples out preaching the Kingdom which would include eternal life. Jesus has just said Jews who reject the message of the king are worse than gentiles. Jesus then said whoever knows the son knows the father and whoever knows the father knows the son in vs 22. So if the man is to love the Lord with all his soul mind and strength, he is to love Gods son the same way by accepting the message of the kingdom and acknowleding Jesus as Gods King and deliverer. We know from the rest of scripture that though many tried to keep Gods law they fell short and so couldn't love God with all their heart because they couldn't do the requirement. This is why Deuteronomy 30 speaks of the time when God would circumcise their hearts so that they could follow Him with all their hearts and souls. The time had now come where God would bring in the power to be obedient to Him and so live. To sum this up if the man was to love God with all his heart and soul, he would submit to Jesus as Gods Christ and live. We aren't told how the man responded. But we can see the man was caught out by his own question because he tried to justify himself. Loving God is not apart from believing Gods message and believing in Jesus as Gods Christ. To love God is to submit to His will and to believe His message of eternal life through Jesus in the Kingdom of God. |
