_THE MISSION OF THE SEVENTY_ ‘The Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them forth two and two.’ Luke 10:1 In our Lord’s charge to the seventy observe:— I. THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER AND INTERCESSION.—This is the leading thought with which our Lord opens His address. Before He tells His amb... [ Continue Reading ]
_A CORDIAL SALUTATION_ ‘And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.’ Luke 10:5 Among the instructions delivered to the seventy was this instruction which was that without waiting to _ prove_ their entertainers they were to enter upon their quarters pleasantly, cheerfull... [ Continue Reading ]
_CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MESSAGE_ ‘Say unto them, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.’ Luke 10:9 It was a simple message that Christ entrusted to His earnest, expectant band of young field-preachers: ‘The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.’ Twice He repeated it in the final short epitome... [ Continue Reading ]
_A TRUE SENSE OF PROPORTION_ ‘And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.’ Luke 10:18 Let us seek honestly to imitate our Master, and look upon our world as He looked upon this earth, when as from a position in eternity He saw Satan fall from heaven. I. IF WE LOOK UPON... [ Continue Reading ]
_TEMPTATIONS OF A USEFUL LIFE_ ‘In this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.’ Luke 10:20 We always require to obey Christ’s command, to watch and pray lest we enter into temptation. Even our very duties may be a snare to... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE JOY OF THE LORD_ ‘In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit.’ Luke 10:21 What were the grounds of our Lord’s joy? I. THAT THE FATHER HAD PASSED BY THE WORLDLY-WISE AND PRUDENT, and had revealed the glorious things of the Gospel to those whom the world regarded as ‘babes’ in intellect, in power... [ Continue Reading ]
_PRIVILEGES AND RESPONSIBILITY_ ‘Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: for I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.’ Luke 10:23 The full signifi... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE FIRST AND GREAT COMMANDMENT_ ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.’ Luke 10:27 When we turn to consider the first and great commandment, we discover on all sides tendencies to partial, one-sided conceptions of the duty which it inculcates. But no condition can quit us of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE_ ‘Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.’ Luke 10:28 This was our Lord’s answer to the Jewish lawyer’s question, ‘What shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ I. PUT KNOWLEDGE INTO PRACTICE.—Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and thy neighbour as thyse... [ Continue Reading ]
_SELF JUSTIFICATION_ ‘But he, willing to justify himself, said …’ Luke 10:29 The lawyer said—then comes his own particular plea or excuse, to which we need pay little or no attention now, it was so completely and triumphantly answered by Jesus Christ. ‘He, willing to justify himself, said …’ What... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHARACTER_ ‘Who is my neighbour?’ Luke 10:29 The turning-point in the development of a character has an interest of its own. Whether these words represented the actual turning-point in the character of the man who questioned our Lord, we cannot be certain. He may have been led... [ Continue Reading ]
_A PICTURE OF BROTHERLY LOVE_ ‘And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves.” Luke 10:30 The parable shows us _ three things_ in answer to the lawyer’s question. I. HOW UNCOMMON IS LOVE TO OUR NEIGHBOUR.—We might have thought a Priest and Le... [ Continue Reading ]
_TAKE CARE OF HIM_ ‘Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.’ Luke 10:35 The parable of ‘the good Samaritan’ is familiar to us all; what is the deeper and mystic intention of each successive line of this picture? I. A REPRESENTATIVE MAN.—The ‘ce... [ Continue Reading ]
_GOD’S REPAYMENTS_ ‘Whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.’ Luke 10:35 There is part of our duty which is under special contract, quite defined—the ‘two-pence’ given, and the ‘two-pence’ to be laid out. But beyond the ‘two-pence’ there is more which is not so definit... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE WORKER AND THE WORK_ ‘Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.’ Luke 10:36 I. EACH HAS HIS SPECIAL WORK.—Every true child of God resembles our Ble... [ Continue Reading ]
_PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY_ ‘Go, and do thou likewise.’ Luke 10:37 The parable of the Good Samaritan has been so frequently, so fully, so effectively dealt with that there is no need to dwell upon its details or to attempt once more to develop its spiritual teaching. It is my purpose to show in what... [ Continue Reading ]
_THE TWO SISTERS_ ‘Now it came to pass, as they went, that He entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house,’ etc. Luke 10:38 This home of the two sisters is but the type of every Christian home, where Christ is or ought to be a perpetual guest, to b... [ Continue Reading ]