College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Luke 10 - Introduction
Butler's Comments
Chapter Ten
THE SON OF MAN EVANGELIZING AND EDIFYING
IDEAS TO INVESTIGATE:
1.
If Jesus had twelve disciples helping Him, why did He need seventy more (Luke 10:1-12)?
2.
How could the compassionate Jesus condemn whole cities (Luke 10:13-15)?
3.
When did Satan fall and what did it involve (Luke 10:18)?
4.
What has God hidden from the wise and understanding (Luke 10:21-22)?
5.
Does the Old Testament Law really command the Jew to love his neighbor as he loves himself (Luke 10:25-28)?
6.
Is being like the Good Samaritan all there is to inheriting eternal life (Luke 10:29-37)?
7.
What is the one thing that was needful (Luke 10:38-42)?
THE CONDEMNATION, CHALLENGE AND COMPASSION OF THE KING
By Paul T. ButlerOBC Chapel, 10-24-78
INTRODUCTION
I.
POINT IN TIME OF JESUS-' MINISTRY
A.
Some time after the Second Passover (2nd year of ministry)
1.
He has returned to Galilee
2.
He has healed many
3.
Named the 12 apostles
4.
Delivered the sermon on the mount
5.
Raised widow's son from the dead
B.
Question from John Baptist probably precipitated His focusing on the refusal of these cities to recognize Him as the Messiah.
1.
Jesus is now in Capernaum
2.
Chorazin was about 2 miles north of Capernaum (which was on the coast of Galilee [Sea]). It is mentioned only here in Jesus-' condemnation (and in Luke 10:1-42another time of condemnation). It was probably an important city being at the northern most end of the land of Palestine of the 1st century. Trade routes and military garrisons were probably there. It ceased to be inhabited by the time of Eusebius (250 A.D.). It lasted only about 200 years after Jesus-' condemnation of it. Only a few carved stones remain today.
3.
Bethsaida (Julius); east of the Jordan, near the river's entry into the Sea of Galilee. The tetrarch Philip raised it to the rank of city and called it Julius in honor of the daughter of Augustus Caesar, Julia. (If there is only one Bethsaida, instead of two, this is the one.) Some think there was another Bethsaidaa suburb, as it were, of Capernaum. Whatever the case, neither can be found except for a few ruins of a road. Probably a place of much activity in the fishing business (the name means: house of fishing).
4.
Capernaum: It was a customs station; the residence of a high officer of the king (Matthew 9:9; John 4:46); occupied by a detachment of Roman soldiers, whose commander built the Jews a synagogue at his own expense. By the time of Josephus (40 or 50 years after Jesus) Capernaum was of such small significance, J. called it a village.
Capernaum seems to have exalted itself and this became the cause of its rejection of Jesus.
DISCUSSION
I.
CONDEMNATION (Luke 11:20-24)
A.
Jesus walked the streets of these cities, esp. Capernaum, and so did His disciples.
1.
He had His ministerial headquarters there
2.
He had healed a nobleman's son (by remote control from Cana)
3.
He had healed a man let down through a roof and forgave his sins
4.
He had given the disciples a miraculous catch of fish and called the four fishermen
5.
He healed many of all kinds of ills
6.
Cast out a demon from a man on the sabbath in a synagogue
7.
Healed Peter's mother-in-law
8.
The whole city came to the door that evening for healing and He healed many again.
9.
Healed the centurion's servant.
Later, He:
10.
Stilled the tempest near the city of Capernaum
11.
Raised Jairus-' daughter
12.
Healed woman with flow of blood
13.
Healed two blind men and a dumb demoniac
Some of Jesus-' greatest sermons were delivered in this area:
1.
Sermon on the Mount could have had some of their citizens attending
2.
Sermon on the Bread of Life
3.
Sermon on Human Traditions (Matthew 15:1-39)
4.
Sermon on True Greatness; Stumbling-blocks, Mistreatment and Forgiveness
B.
Would Jesus condemn?
1.
Oneidizein means to blame, charge, accuse, rebuke, justifiably.
2.
Jesus condemned more often than some want to acknowledge. Most want to think of Jesus as always positivealways encouraging-always forgiving, even indulging those who do not agree with Him.
3.
Jesus condemned: Matthew 7:21-23; (here in Matthew 11:1-30); Matthew 23:1 ff.; Matthew 12:22-42; John 3:36; John 8:42-47; John 9:35-41; John 12:31, etc.
4.
It was predicted by the Old Testament prophets that the Messiah would come to condemn and judge (Isaiah 11:1-9, esp. Isaiah 11:4; Malachi 3:1 f.; Daniel 2:1-49; Daniel 7:1-28; Daniel 11:1-45; Micah 5:1-15; Zechariah 9:9 f.).
5.
Practically every parable Jesus told has a condemnation at the end.
6.
By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the letters of the apostles contain much condemnation.
7.
Paul even told Timothy, to reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering.
THIS KIND OF JESUS WOULD NOT BE RECOGNIZED IN THE CITIES AND FARMS OF AMERICA TODAY!
AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHY HE WAS NOT RECOGNIZED IN THE CITIES AND VILLAGES OF THAT DAY!
WHO WANTS A MESSIAH THAT DEMANDS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND CONDEMNS YOU IF YOU DON-'T PRODUCE IT!
A CHRIST WHO DEMANDS NOTHING, CONDEMNS NOTHING AND SAVES NO ONE.
C.
Revelation teaches it and reason demands it.
1.
God cannot be reduced to a vacillating, flaccid, spineless compromiser.
2.
If your God doesn-'t condemn unbelief and unrighteousness, He cannot praise and reward faith and holiness. If God does not hate and judge evil, He cannot love and preserve truth and goodness.
THAT GOES FOR HIS SON, JESUS, FOR HIS PROPOSITIONAL WORD, THE BIBLE, AND FOR THE MESSENGERS AND PREACHERS OF HIS WORD!
3.
This is what the Hebrew people could not and would not acceptthis absolute faithfulness of Jehovah to act according to His nature.
THEY WANTED GOD TO CONDEMN AND JUDGE THEIR ENEMIES. BUT TO INDULGE THEM IN THEIR PAGANISM.
4.
Where do you stand in your concept of Jesus? Have you accepted Him as an indulgent, compromising Savior?
Is this the cause for the lack of commitment and holy living in the church today? Why have so many Christians compromised their confession by their public lives todaybecause they have reduced Jesus to a non-condemning, never-judging Savior.
5.
J. B. Phillips, in, Your God Is Too Small, says some people's concept of the meek and mild Jesus makes their God too small.
Of the epithets that could be applied to Christ this seems one of the least appropriate. it conjures up to our minds a picture of someone who wouldn-'t say -boo-' to the proverbial goose; someone who would let sleeping dogs lie and avoid trouble wherever possible.
Christ might well be called meek. but mild, never!
We hear, or read, of someone who was a real saint: he never saw any harm in anyone and never spoke a word against anyone all his life. If this really is Christian saintliness then Jesus Christ was not saint. It is true that He taught men not to sit in judgment upon one another, but He never suggested that they should turn a blind eye to evil or pretend that other people were faultless.
People who have such a totally sentimental concept of Jesus meek and mild find their actions, and even their thoughts, inhibited by a false consideration of what is loving.
They can neither use their critical faculties nor speak the plain truth nor meet their fellow man naturally for fear they sin against the meek and mild god. The love they attempt to exhibit toward others is all too often a pathetic travesty of the real thing.
For, like other sentimentalists, the meek and mild god is in reality cruel.
I like the way Abraham Heschel says it in his book, The Prophets, pp. 64-66: Indifference to evil is more insidious than evil itself. all prophecy is one great exclamation: God is not indifferent to evil!. There is no divine anger for anger's sake. Its meaning is. to bring about repentance. so that beyond justice and anger lies the mystery of compassion.
D.
The condemnation is very simply directed toward misappropriation of opportunities and privileges, the most evil form of unbelief.
1.
Jesus never condemned anyone for failing to use an opportunity they never had.
2.
But He certainly had His severest judgment upon those who had opportunities and privileges and deliberately chose not to use them for the kingdom.
3.
Jesus wrote 7 letters to 7 specific churches. Most of them were condemned for failing privileges and opportunities.
HE DIDN-'T CONDEMN THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT POWERFUL, RICH, LARGE, FAMOUS.
HE CONDEMNED THEM BECAUSE THEY DID NOT LIVE ACCORDING TO THE TRUTH THEY KNEW!
4.
If Jesus walked in San Francisco, and New York, and Dallas today, would He condemn them?
If He walked in Joplin, or your home town today, would He condemn it?
If He walked in the halls of Dennis, Boatman, or your dorm would He condemn it?
ARE YOU LIVING ACCORDING TO THE OPPORTUNITIES AND PRIVILEGES YOU HAVE? WOULD OTHERS, LIVING IN YOUR PRIVILEGES, HAVE REPENTED LONG AGO?
5.
The one time Jesus is said to have been angry (Mark 3:5) it was because men failed to see the Sabbath as an opportunity to use for mercy and good works. God made the Sabbath as an opportunity. they preserved it. God has made this place (OBC) as an opportunity for you. what are you doing? Really studying to learn or just to get credits and a degree? THAT IS A PERVERSION OF OPPORTUNITY JUST AS SURELY AS THE PHARISEES!
Daniel Webster, scholar, statesman, Bible-believer was once asked, What is the most sobering, searching thought that ever entered your mind? Without a moment's hesitation, the great orator and educator said, My personal accountability to God!
II.
CHALLENGE (or CONVERSION. but conversion is really a correction of our allegiance and thought processes)
A.
To Realism (Luke 11:25-27)
1.
Men must be left free to make their own choices. Jesus allowed these cities to choose, even against His divine wisdom and supernatural power.
2.
He did not force them to accept Him; He did not psyche them into acting against reason and will.
(Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler: Jesus would not even so much as appear before Herod when summoned; and when He was taken by force, answered Herod not a word!)
3.
The realistic picture of the Bible is that many are called out but few are chosen; the majority of men will not be saved!
4.
Even the Son of God apparently failed where He did His most extensive works.
5.
But the success of His ministry is measured by the Father's standardsnot by man'S.
JESUS IS ANYTHING BUT BEATEN AND DEFEATED. He does not cry out in ego-deflation; His image does not suffer; He does not quit the ministry, because of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum!
JESUS WAS REALISTIC. YOU MUST BE TOO! JESUS TAUGHT OTHERS TO COUNT THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP. YOU MUST TOO! DON-'T PROMISE EASE AND INDULGENCE WHERE CHRIST HAS DEMANDED HARDSHIP AND REALISM!
IF YOU ARE LIVING IN A WORLD OF MAKE-BELIEVE, FANTASY, PSYCHE ABOUT LIFE AND CHRISTIANITY. YOU-'D BETTER CORRECT!
B.
To Rejoice
1.
The Lord had failed to win over those cities wherein most of His labor had been expended, and yet He gives thanks!
2.
It is not the expression of stoicism or resignation
3.
The word in Luke 11:25 is exomologoumai primarily means, I acknowledge and its secondary meaning is to praise.
Jesus is really saying, I make acknowledgement with praise.
4.
Jesus is acknowledging and praising the Father that the refusal of these cities to accept His discipleship gives evidence, God's plan for saving the teachable was working.
SOME OF US, WHEN GREAT MASSES DO NOT RESPOND TO THE TRUTH, GET DISCOURAGED, BEGIN TO DOUBT THE POWER OF THE WORD, START TO COMPROMISE BY USING UNETHICAL, SHALLOW AND PAGAN METHODS AND MESSAGES TO COMPENSATE.
5.
Harold Fowler, Matthew, Vol. II, pg. 556, says, The things which caused the Lord Jesus to rejoice and give thanks, should give us reason to reflect upon what pleases us. His strange thanksgiving challenges us to inquire into our easy satisfaction with those irrelevant, superficial symbols of success.
IF YOU DO YOUR BEST, IF YOU ARE FAITHFUL TO PREACH THE WHOLE COUNSEL OF GOD IN YOUR MINISTRY, AND THE VISIBLE RESULTS ARE LIKE THOSE OF JESUS, REJOICE, GOD IS STILL YOUR FATHER AS HE WAS HIS.
TEMPORARY SET BACKS, HOWEVER HEARTBREAKING CANNOT DEFEAT GOD!
Rejoice that God's plan of salvation leaves man autonomous and does not turn man into an unthinking, unfeeling, unwilling robot or thing.
Rejoice that God is interested in quality as well as quantity. not just quantity without regard to quality.
WHAT DO YOU REJOICE ABOUT? WHEN DO YOU REJOICE? ONLY WHEN THINGS WORK THE WAY MEN HAVE CATEGORIZED AND STANDARDIZED? YOU-'D BETTER CORRECT THAT!
C.
To Recreation
1.
Jesus-' response to the rejection of the cities is a challenge to childlikeness.
2.
It is the Father's gracious will that only those who are babes will accept His Son and His salvation.
3.
Jesus will make it unequivocally a condition of kingdom citizenship later (Matthew 18:1-35).. unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
4.
Harold Fowler's characterization of babe
a.
honest enough to admit he does not know everything
b.
openness and willingness to learn from anyone
c.
able to distinguish truth from error, the precious from the worthless
d.
those who evaluate by the evidence and do not distort the evidence to suit their own preconceptions and rationalizations.
e.
acknowledge that their lives are unmanageable without a Father's guidance.
5.
Reveal is the crucial issue in recreation or regeneration. What men are willing to have told to them by God is the issue; as opposed to what men think they already know and refuse to let anyone tell them.
If men believe they already know all there is to know that is significant about life here and hereafter, then revelation to them is impossible.
Regeneration or recreation is not determined by how you feelit is determined by whether you believe and obey God's revelation or not! Feeling may be a consequence of regeneration, but it does not prove regeneration. Surrender of the mind and will to the revelation of God produces regeneration.
The people in the area of these three cities wanted Jesus to heal them and make their bodies feel goodto feed them and make their stomachs feel goodto entertain them with miracles and charge up their emotions, but they did not want to surrender to His teachings in their everyday living, or accept His vicarious death for their sins.
HAVE YOU REALLY ACCEPTED THE REVELATION THAT JESUS DIED FOR YOUR SINS. OR ARE YOU TRYING TO WORK YOUR WAY INTO HEAVEN?! HAVE YOU ACCEPTED THE REVELATION OF GOD FOR YOUR RELATIONSHIPS TO YOUR FELLOW MAN. TOWARD HUMAN INSTITUTIONS. FOR YOUR MARRIAGE?
WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT THE REVEALED WILL OF GOD ABOUT YOUR LIFE AS A DISCIPLE (LEARNER), A MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL, A MISSIONARY.. ? I mean what it says in the Bible!
You don-'t have to wait for a call. you are called by the gospel.
You don-'t have to wait for a vision of the lost. that vision is in the Bible.
You don-'t have to wait for a challenge or a commission. they are in the Bible.
ARE YOU LETTING GOD TELL YOU. OR DO YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT YOU OUGHT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE AND HOW IT SHOULD BE RUN?
If you are waiting for another revelation. if you think somehow Christ should come back from above or below or wherever He is and say something else. THEN YOU DON-'T KNOW WHAT Romans 10:1-21 says.
THE WORD OF FAITH. THE REVELATION OF GOD. ALL THERE IS UNTO SALVATION. IS NEAR YOU. IN YOUR VERY PRESENCE. IN THE APOSTOLIC MESSAGE! JUST AS SURELY AS JESUS WALKED IN THE PRESENCE OF THOSE CITIES, HIS SPIRIT IS HERE, ALL AROUND YOU, IN YOU, THROUGH HIS WORD.
III.
COMPASSION (Luke 11:28-30)
A.
First, look at who offers rest.
1.
Have you noticed all through this text the audaciousness of this itinerant Hebrew rabbi? He claims the authority to pronounce judgment on whole cities! He claims the exclusive right and power to reveal God to whomever He chooses and however He chooses!
2.
Now, He claims the power to give to anyone who wants, rest for troubled, burdened and weary psyches.
a.
He will give what Solomon and millions like him could not find in pleasure, wisdom, possessions, great works, entertainment (see Ecclesiastes 2:23. his mind did not rest).
b.
He claims to do what psychiatry, philosophy, governments of all kinds, science, and religion has not been able to do. MONEY, POWER, INDULGENCE, MYSTICISM, STOICISM, ASCETICISM HAVE ALL BEEN TRIED AND FOUND WANTING. TRIED OVER AND OVER AND OVER, IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES AND ALL TIMES. STILL WANTING.
And this Hebrew teacher offers it! What audacityto claim to provide the most sought after and unattained goal known to the human race!
EITHER HE IS GOD, OR THE WORLD'S MOST PREPOSTEROUS CHARLATAN.
B.
What is it He offers?
1.
Rest! Vines, Expos. Dict. says, Christ's rest is not a rest from work, but in work. not the rest of inactivity but of the harmonious working of all the faculties and affections. because each has found in God the ideal sphere for its satisfaction and development.
2.
It is the rest the Old Testament prophets predicted would be found in the Messiah and His kingdom.
3.
It is the rest the writer of Hebrews says the Hebrew Christians were then entering into (Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16). (And they weren-'t exactly sitting back relaxing in their rocking chairs!)
4.
It is a rest of yoked discipleship that refreshes the soul. actually it is a new birth! a regeneration!
5.
THERE IS NO REAL REST WITHOUT THE WORK OF CHRIST. CHRIST CANNOT GIVE YOU HIS DIVINE COMPASSION UNLESS YOU TAKE HIS YOKE UPON YOU.
IF YOU THINK YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO CHRIST MEANS EASY LIVING. SELF-INDULGENCE, CESSATION OF STRUGGLE, OR HAVING EVERYTHING DONE FOR YOU. YOU DON-'T KNOW WHAT REST IS!
THERE IS NO REAL COMPASSION WITHOUT WORK. YOU CANNOT BE COMPASSIONATE TOWARD SOMEONE BY TAKING AWAY ALL THEIR LABOR. YOU MAY HELP, ENCOURAGE, BUT TO TAKE AWAY WORK TAKES AWAY DIGNITY, PURPOSE, SATISFACTION, FULFILLMENT, IDENTITY!
THIS IS WHERE THE SOCIALISTIC, BIG-BROTHER, GOVERNMENT FAILS! WELFARE, TRUE WELFARE INVOLVES WORK!
EVEN THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A STRENGTHENER. NOT A SUPERNATURAL GENIE TO WORK YOU A MIRACLE EVERY TIME YOU COME UP AGAINST A STRUGGLE, OR AN UNPLEASANT TASK IN YOUR DISCIPLESHIP!
THE ONLY WAY YOU ARE GOING TO FIND REST IS IN DOING THE WORK OF GOD. YOU MIGHT AS WELL MARK THAT DOWN IN YOUR LITTLE BLACK BOOK AND BOW YOUR BACK AND GET WITH IT!
WE TALK ABOUT SOCIAL UNREST, POLITICAL UNREST, RESTLESS PEOPLE.. IT ISN-'T THAT THEY AREN-'T TRYING TO FIND REST AND PEACE. BUT THEY ARE NOT DOING THE WORK OF GOD!
THEY ARE NOT YOKED TO CHRIST. JESUS CHRIST WAS THE MOST RESTED, PEACEFUL BEING EVER TO WALK THIS EARTH. AND HE WAS THE MOST PERFECTLY YOKED TO GOD PERSON WHO EVER WALKED HERE TOO!
HIS REST IS HIS YOKE, AND HIS YOKE IS CHRESTOS, (TRANSLATED GENTLE) MEANS PRIMARILY, FIT FOR USE, GOOD, PURPOSEFUL..
O.K., SO YOU HAVE BEEN HERE, HOW LONG IS IT NOW? A MONTH, A YEAR, TWO YEARS, THREE. AND YOU STILL HAVEN-'T FOUND REST AND PEACE FOR YOUR SOUL!
HAVE YOU FOUND THE YOKE OF CHRIST'S PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE? DO YOU HAVE HIS AIMS AND GOALS FOR LIVING? HAVE YOU MADE A FIRM DECISION TO SURRENDER TO BEING YOKED TO HIS PURPOSE?
WHAT IS HIS PURPOSE? GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL THE NATIONS..
THAT IS WHY HE DIED! THAT IS WHY HE ROSE AGAIN! THAT IS WHY HE INSTITUTED THE CHURCH! THAT IS WHY HE REVEALED THE NEW TESTAMENT AND CAUSED IT TO BE RECORDED AND PRESERVED! THAT IS WHY HE MADE THE MESSAGE AVAILABLE TO YOU SO YOU MIGHT BECOME A DISCIPLE!
THAT IS WHY HE HAS SUSTAINED OZARK BIBLE COLLEGE FOR 36 YEARS. THAT IS WHY WE ARE HERE AT THIS VERY MOMENT. THERE IS NO OTHER REASON FOR US TO BE HERE!
CONCLUSION
I.
THE CONDEMNATION OF THE KING IS SURE AND CERTAIN UPON ALL WHO WILFULLY REJECT AND SPURN OPPORTUNITIES.
This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light..
A.
Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man..
B.
The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
C.
Yes, perfect love casts out fear.. THE FEAR OF PUNISHMENT, BUT NOT THE FEAR OF GOD!
D.
Even the New Testament has much to insist about the fear of God.
1.
... rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in Hell..
2.
Christian slaves were to serve their masters in the fear of the Lord (Colossians 3:22).
3.
Paul wrote, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men (2 Corinthians 5:11).
4.
He also wrote, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.. (Philippians 2:12).
5.
Even the perfect Son, was heard for His godly fear (Hebrews 5:7).
6.
Part of the eternal gospel is to fear God and give Him glory (Revelation 14:7).
IN COMPARING OUR OPPORTUNITIES AND PRIVILEGES WITH THOSE OF THESE GALILEAN CITIES. WE HAD BETTER HAVE SOME GODLY FEAR. THE MEN AND WOMEN OF MOSCOW OR PEKING. OR THE VILLAGES OF RHODESIA AND INDIA MAY STAND IN THE JUDGMENT AND CONDEMN US!
The world has had too much of the indulgent grandfather in the sky God and the willy-nilly, weak kneed Jesus preached. Even the church has forgotten Jesus-' threat to make war against her if she does not repent (Revelation 2:16).
II.
THE KING'S CHALLENGE IS INFINITELY HIGH, DEEP, WIDE!
A.
His challenge is rebirth
1.
See things and people as God sees them realistically.
2.
Rejoice in the way God has chosen to make Himself known to man. rejoice that the kingdom of God and the revelation of God cannot be usurped and manipulated by the sophisticated, self-made, independent-of-God wisemen.
3.
Surrender to a child-like relationship with Christ. let His revealed Word be your only rule of faith and practice.
B.
His challenge is that you allow His Word in you to conform you to the image of His Son.
HIS CHALLENGE IS THAT OF BUILDING CHARACTER. HOLY, TRUE, HONEST, INDUSTRIOUS, SERVING, LOVING CHARACTER.
THE CHALLENGE IS NOT TO DISCOVER A CURE FOR CANCER, SIT IN THE OVAL OFFICE, HIT 850 HOME RUNS IN A YEAR, OR BECOME GREATER THAN ELVIS..
NO, THE CHALLENGE IS MUCH GREATER, MUCH HIGHER. AND IT IS YOURS AND MINE.. IT IS TO BE A PARTICIPANT IN THE REDEMPTIVE WORK OF ALMIGHTY GOD WHICH HE DETERMINED BEFORE THE DAWN OF TIME AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT ETERNITY!
III.
THE COMPASSION OF THE KING IS PERFECT!
A.
He offers what all men and women seek. He promises what most never find. REST, REAL REST!
B.
HE PROMISES PURPOSE, FUFILLMENT, SATISFACTION, WHOLENESS.
THEN WHY ARE SO MANY CHRISTIANS SO RESTLESS, FRUSTRATED, FRAGMENTED?
BECAUSE THEY HAVEN-'T PUT THEIR NECK TO THE YOKE OF CHRIST.. THEY HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR À HEAVENLY BOSOM, AS PHILLIPS SAYS, INSTEAD OF A HEAVENLY YOKE!
Phillips says, His (Christ'S) understanding and sympathy were always at the disposal of those who needed Him, yet the general impression of his personality in the Gospels is of One who was leading men on to fuller understanding and maturity. So far from encouraging them to escape life He came to bring, in His own words, -life more abundant,-' and in the end He left His followers to carry out a task that might have daunted the stoutest heart. Original Christianity had certainly no taint of escapism.
The little orphaned, son-of-a-slave, George Washington Carver was teaching at Iowa State University when he got a letter from Booker T. Washington, president of a struggling Negro college.
I cannot offer you money, position, or fame,. the first two you have. The last, from the place you now occupy, you will no doubt achieve. These things I now ask you to give up. I offer you in their place workhard, hard workthe task of bringing a people from degradation, poverty, and waste to full manhood.
Of course, Mr. Carver took Booker T'S offer, and the rest is history.
During the years Mr. Carver worked so long and hard and made so many great scientific discoveries he was offered what would now be millions of dollars in salaries to work for Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and many, many others. But Carver, chose to live in the South, living in relative poverty, wearing the same suit for forty years, forgetting to cash salary checks, forgetting everything but his complete dedication to helping his people.
Many people argued with him that he could help his people if he had all that money Edison and Ford offered him, He always answered, If I had all that money I might forget about my people.
And on his tombstone were carved fitting words: He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world.
What are you doing with your opportunities. Jesus invites: Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. and you will find rest (purpose) for your soul.
Applebury's Comments
CHAPTER TEN
Outline
A.
Luke told about the mission of the Seventy (Luke 10:1-24).
1.
Their appointment and work (Luke 10:1-16).
a)
The circumstances (Luke 10:1-2).
(1)
Jesus appointed seventy others (in addition to the twelve).
(2)
He sent them out two by two.
(3)
He sent them to the cities where He was soon to come.
(4)
He reminded them of two things:
(a)
The harvest was great, the laborers few.
(b)
They were going forth as lambs in the midst of wolves.
b)
The instruction for their journey (Luke 10:4-11).
(1)
Take no purse, traveling bag, or shoes. (2) Don-'t stop to greet people along the way. (3) Greet those into whose house you enter; if you are not welcomed, your greeting will return to you.
(4)
Accept such hospitality as may be offered, for the laborer is worthy of his hire; but do not go from house to house.
(5)
Heal the sick and say, The kingdom of God has come near you.
(6)
Where you may be rejected say, The dust from our feet, we wipe off against you, but know that the kingdom of God has come near.
c)
The judgment on those cities that reject them (Luke 10:12-16).
(1)
It will be more tolerable in the Day of Judgment for Sodom.
(2)
Woe to Chorazen and Bethsaida; if the mighty works done in these cities had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented.
(3)
It will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the Judgment.
(4)
Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades.
(5)
Why? He who hears you hears me; he who rejects you rejects me and him who sent me.
2.
Their return and report to Jesus (Luke 10:17-20).
a)
The demons were subject to them in His name.
b)
He said, I was observing Satan as he fell like lightning from heaven.
c)
They were not to rejoice over their power which He had given, but over the fact that their names were written in heaven.
3.
The prayer of Jesus at that time (Luke 10:21-24).
a)
He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit over the things the Father had revealed.
b)
The Father is known by the Son and him to whom the Son reveals Him.
c)
His disciples are to be congratulated on seeing what many prophets and kings desired to see.
B.
Luke reported the incident that led to Jesus-' telling the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).
1.
A lawyer asked Jesus a question to embarrass Him (Luke 10:25-29).
a)
The question: Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
b)
Jesus answered by asking, What is written in the law? How does it read to you?
c)
The lawyer answered, quoting from the Law of Moses, -Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself.
d)
Jesus said, You have answered correctly; do this and you shall live.
e)
But the embarrassed lawyer said, And who is my neighbor?
2.
Jesus answered his question by telling the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37).
a)
A man going from Jerusalem to Jericho fell among robbers who beat him and left him half dead.
b)
A priest and a Levite happened along but ignored it.
c)
A Samaritan came by and gave him aid, and took to the inn where he cared for him.
d)
He arranged for further care for which he promised to pay when he came again.
e)
Jesus-' question requiring the lawyer to answer his own question, Which of the three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?
f)
He answered, He who showed mercy on him.
g)
Jesus said, You go and do likewise.
C.
Luke told of Jesus-' visit to the home of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42).
1.
Martha welcomed Him into her home; Mary, her sister, sat at His feet listening to Him.
2.
Martha complained, Lord, doesn-'t it concern you that my sister has been leaving me to serve alone? Tell her to help me.
3.
The Lord said, Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted about many things.
4.
Then He added, One thing is needed; Mary has chosen the good part which shall not be taken away from her.
Summary
In addition to selecting, instructing and sending out the twelve apostles, Jesus appointed seventy others to go with the message of the kingdom of God into all the villages where He was about to come. The harvest was great, the laborers were few.
Their task was urgent; they would be working among their own people; they, therefore, were to make no elaborate preparations for this journey. There was but little time to get the work done.
On their return they reported to Jesus that the demons had been subject to them in His name. But He said, I was observing as Satan fell like lightning from heaven. Instead of rejoicing over their power to cast out demons, they were to rejoice that their names were written in heaven. Jesus Himself rejoiced in the Holy Spirit that the Father had revealed these things to men who trusted Him.
The victories of Jesus were of various kinds. A lawyer challenged Him with the question, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Because they were living under the Law of Moses, Jesus said, How does the Law of Moses read to you? But the lawyer persisted, Who is my neighbor? Then Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan. The meaning of neighbor was made plain. Jesus said, You go and do likewise.
Jesus-' journeys took Him to many places. The details of these trips are not always given. The visit to the home of Martha and Mary gives a fleeting glimpse of an important teaching situation. Mary had chosen to sit at His feet and learn from Him; this privilege was not to be taken from her.
Questions
1.
Why did Jesus appoint the Seventy?
2.
What did He do for them before sending them out?
3.
What does the Bible teach about the value of organization?
4.
What can be done to enlist a larger number of church members in the Lord's work?
5.
Should we pray for workers today?
6.
In what ways does the sending of the Seventy help us to prepare for the work of evangelism today?
7.
What dangers were they to face?
8.
Why were they not to salute men on their way?
9.
What greeting were they to give those who invited them into their homes?
10.
What were they to do if they were rejected?
11.
How were they to conduct themselves in the homes where they were to stay?
12.
What does the New Testament teach about support for those who work in the gospel?
13.
Why would it be more tolerable in the judgment for Sodom than for the cities of Jesus-' time?
14.
What is meant by the expression, The kingdom of God is come near you?
15.
What are the various ways in which Jesus-' remarks about Satan are stated?
16.
What did His remark mean?
17.
Why say that Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit?
18.
For what did Jesus thank the Father?
19.
What did Jesus mean by the statement that no one knows who the Son is except the Father?
20.
Why did Jesus say, Blessed are your eyes?
21.
Who else had desired to see what the disciples were seeing?
22.
What are the similarities and differences in the stories of the lawyer and of the Rich Young Ruler?
23.
How did Jesus get the lawyer to answer His own question?
24.
Why didn-'t He give a direct answer?
25.
How does the lawyer's answer summarize the whole law?
26.
Why didn-'t the apostles give the same answer on the Day of Pentecost?
27.
Why had the lawyer asked the question in the first place?
28.
Why was he embarrassed at the turn of events?
29.
Why did he ask, Who is my neighbor?
30.
How does the story of the Good Samaritan answer his question?
31.
What did Jesus tell him to do?
32.
Where was the home of Martha and Mary?
33.
Why did Luke omit some of the details about the journeys of Jesus?
34.
What was Martha's problem?
35.
What is the one thing needful?
36.
Why was Mary not to be denied the part she had chosen?