Luke 10:3-4

Vers. 3, 4. “ Go your ways; behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. ” They are to set out just as they are, weak and utterly unprovided. The first characteristic of the messengers of Jesus is confidence. Jesus, who gives them their mission (ἐγώ is certainly authentic), charges Himself with the task of defending them and of providing for their wants. ῾Υποδήματα, change of sandals; this is proved by the verb βαστάζειν, to carry a burden.

It is difficult to understand the object of the last words. Are they meant to indicate haste, as in 2 Kings 4:29 ? But the journey of Jesus Himself has nothing hurried about it. Does He mean to forbid them, as some have thought, to seek the favour of men? But the words by the way would be superfluous. Jesus rather means that they must travel like men absorbed by one supreme interest, which will not permit them to lose their time in idle ceremonies. It is well known how complicated and tedious eastern salutations are. The domestic hearth is the place where they are to deliver their message. A tranquillity reigns there which is appropriate to so serious a subject. The following verses readily fall in with this idea.