Luke 10

     10:1-16.  Just as he had sent out the twelve (9:1-6), so he here sends the seventy.  They went two by two from village to village to preach and heal.  Again, they were not to provide for themselves, nor greet anyone on the way (4).  That is, they were not to be distracted, but go in all haste and seriousness of purpose.  They were given great authority, and there was a strong element of impending judgment in their message.

     10:17-20.  Jesus uses serpents and scorpions (19) as a metaphor for evil spirits (20), but sometimes literal snakes and scorpions gave potency to the metaphor (Mark 16:18; Acts 28:5; Cf. Psalm 91:13; Rev.9:3).

     10:21-24.  Faith is the gift of God (21-22; Cf. Eph.2:8-9), the work of the Holy Trinity.  This teaching about things hidden from the wise, but revealed to babes, is the perfect lead-in to the testing questions of the lawyers (25).

     10:25-37.  “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”  (Luke 4:12 quoting Dt.6:16).  Israel had tested the Lord at Massah and Meribah, saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?” (Ex.17:7).  That is just what the lawyer wanted to know.  All the public miracles Jesus had done had not convinced him (13,24).  And he was probably thinking, “If this is the Christ, he will understand the Law as I do”.

     No good lawyer, then or now, will ask a test question to which he does not know the answer.  So Jesus tests the tester.  What does the Law say you must do to inherit life?  You are a lawyer.  How do you read it?  And the lawyer knew (27, quoting Dt.6:5 and Lev.19:18).  This is the sum of both tables of the Law.  Jesus has no new way to earn salvation (cf.Mt.19:17).  Love God, and love your neighbor.

     But the man, being a lawyer, knew that the application of the Law is not as simple as the knowledge of it.  What are the exact boundaries?  What is in the fine print?  Who is my neighbor?

     “The inquirer had tried to dodge the obvious, yet when disarmed by a story about the faults and virtues of others it becomes evident that he really does know what the duty is and how to find his ‘neighbor’.”  Bruce Hemphill.

     The lawyer didn’t need great technical knowledge of the Law.  He needed a heart of compassion (33).  The priest and the Levite in the story could not bring themselves to touch the man in his blood, as it would make them unclean.  They kept the outward ceremonial forms of the Law, but polluted themselves beyond measure, breaking the very heart and soul of the Law.  It was not they of whom Jesus said, “Go and do the same”.

     10:31.  “And by chance a certain priest,” etc.  Some deny chance altogether.  Some exalt it as the creator and determiner over all men and gods.  The second is the greater error, but as this verse shows, chance is a reality in the affairs of this world.  It was no plan or decision of the priests to encounter this wounded man, but many happenstances beyond his or anyone’s understanding.  Chance is a reality men deal with, but not so with God.  It is his obedient servant, his creature, under his law and provident sovereignty.  God is never caught off guard or taken by surprise, but works all things after the council of his will (Eph.1:11).   

     10:38-42.  The greatest service one can render to Jesus is to hear (obey) him (cf. Luke 9:35).