The Gospel According to Saint Luke
Luke 10
Chapter X · Vol. IV, pp. 172–177
1 Christ sendeth out the seventy disciples to work miracles, and to preach: 17 they return with joy; Christ showeth them wherein to rejoice: 21 thanketh his Father for his grace: 23 magnifieth the happy estate of his church: 25 teacheth the lawyer how to attain eternal life, and to take every one for his neighbour that needeth his mercy: 41 reprehendeth Martha, and commendeth Mary her sister.
1 After thesea things the Lord appointed other bseventy1 also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
2 Therefore said he unto them, cThe harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the dLord of the harvest, that ehe would send forth labourers into his harvest.2
A.M. cir. 4036. A.D. cir. 32.
c Mat.9.37,38. Jn.4.35. Zec.10.2; 11.4,7,11. Ac.16.9,10; 18.10. 1 Co.3.9. 1 Ti.5.17.
d 1 Co.12.28. Ac.20.28; 13.2; 16.6,7.
e Je.3.15. Ep.4.11-13. Ac.ii.-xix. 2 Th.3.1.
2 'The discourse addressed to the seventy is in substance the same as that to the twelve, as the similarity of their errand would lead us to suppose it would be. But there is, as Stier has well remarked, this weighty difference. The discourse in Mat. x., in its three great divisions, speaks plainly of an office founded, and a ministry appointed, which was to involve a work, and embrace consequences, coextensive, both in space and duration, with the world. Here we have no such prospective view unfolded. The whole discourse is confined to the first division there, and relates entirely to present duties' (Alford).—P.
3 Gog your ways: hbehold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
g Mat.10.5-42. Mar.6.7-13. ch.9.1-6.
h Mat.10.16; 7.15. Ac.20.29,30. Ca.2.15. Eze.2.3.
4 Carryi neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.3
i Mat.10.9,10. Mar.6.8. ch.9.3. Mat.6.31. Phi.4.6. 2 Ti.4.2. 2 Ki.4.29. Ge.24.33,56. Pr.4.25.
3 This prohibition does not imply any renunciation of the courtesies of life, but merely those vain, fulsome, and tedious ceremonies by which eastern manners often consume precious time to no purpose.—C.
6 And if the kson of peace4 be there, your peace shall lrest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.
7 Andn in the same house5 remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. oGo not from house to house.
8 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:
9 And pheal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, qThe kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
10 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,
11 Evenr the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding,s be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
13 Woeu unto thee, Chorazin!6 woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which have been done in you, they had a great while ago vrepented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
u Mat.11.20-24. Eze.3.6,7, with Is.xxiii. Eze.xxvi.-xxviii.
6 See note on Mat.11.21.—C.
14 Butx it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.
x ch.12.47,48. Am.3.2. He.6.4-8; 10.26-31. 2 Pe.2.20-22.
15 And thou, Capernaum, ywhich art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.
y Ge.11.4. De.1.28. Is.14.13-15. Eze.26.20; 31.18; 32.18,23. Je.51.53. Am.9.2,3. La.4.6. Mat.11.23,24. ch.12.48.
16 Hez that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me.
17 And the aseventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
19 Behold, cI give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20 Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you;7 but rather rejoice, because dyour names are written in heaven.Cited in WCF 3.8
A.M. cir. 4036. A.D. cir. 32.
7 It is a natural tendency for man to glory in the exercise and exhibition of power, whether that power is inherent or conferred. The apostles and disciples of our Lord sometimes showed a disposition to glory in their success. This arises from pride, and may result in neglect of the real work which God had committed to them. Against all such feelings Christ here solemnly warns them.—P.
d Ex.32.32. Ps.69.28. Is.4.3. He.12.23. Da.12.1. Phi.4.3. Re.13.8; 20.12; 21.27.
21 In that hour Jesus erejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, gLord of heaven and earth, that thou hhast hid these things8 from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.
e ch.15.6,9,24,32. Is.62.5. Zep.3.17.
h See Mat.11.25; 13.13. Ps.25.8,9,14. Is.29.14; 32.4; 44.18. 1 Co.1.19,21,26; 2.6,7. 2 Co.3.14; 4.3.
8 Thou hast hid these things. Not as being jealous of their wisdom and prudence—nor arbitrary, though sovereign in his discoveries and gifts, but these things were hid from those who, 'professing themselves wise, became fools,' who 'loved darkness rather than light,' and who 'did not like to retain God in their knowledge, wherefore God gave them over to a reprobate mind,' Ro.1.22,28.—C.
22 iAll9 things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
i Mat.11.27; 28.18. Ps.8.8. He.2.8. Jn.1.18; 3.35; 5.27; 6.44,46; 10.15; 13.3; 14.8,9; 17.2. 1 Co.15.27. Ep.1.21,22. Phi.2.9-11.
9 Many ancient copies add these words: And turning to his disciples, he said.
23 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, jBlessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:
j Mat.13.16,17; 16.16,17. ch.2.30. Jn.20.29.
24 For I tell you, kthat 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.
k 1 Pe.1.10.
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, lMaster, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
27 And he answering said, oThou 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 neighbour as thyself.Cited in WLC 93, 102, 157
o De.6.5; 10.12; 30.6. Pr.23.26. Mat.22.37,39. Mar.12.30,31. 1 Ti.1.5. 1 Co.xiii. Le.19.18. Ro.13.9. Ga.5.14. Ja.2.8. 1 Jn.3.18.
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho,1 and rfell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 Ands by chance there came down a certain priest2 that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
s Ps.38.11; 142.4. Ac.4.12. Je.3.23,24. Ro.3.19,20; 8.3; 9.31,32; 10.3. Ga.3.21,22; 4.24. He.10.1,2; 7.19; 9.9.
2 Not less than 12,000 priests and Levites resided at Jericho, who, being required in their courses to attend the temple, would frequently pass that way—which renders it more than probable that our Lord spoke not a parable, but recited a reality.—C.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and tlooked on him, and passed by on the other side.3
33 But a certain uSamaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he vhad compassion on him,Cited in WLC 135
34 And went to him, and xbound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an yinn, and took care of him.Cited in WLC 135
35 And on the morrow, when he departed, he took out two pence,4 and gave them to zthe host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and awhatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
A.M. cir. 4036. A.D. cir. 32.
4 Fifteen pence sterling, Mat.20.2.
z 1 Co.12.28; 4.1,2. Ep.4.11.
a ch.14.14. Pr.19.17. 2 Co.3.5. 1 Co.15.58. 2 Ti.4.7,8.
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37 And he said, bHe that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, cGo, and do thou likewise.
38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village:5 and a certain woman, named dMartha, received him into her house.6
d Jn.11.1-45; 12.1-3. Mat.26.6,7.
6 The village here referred to was undoubtedly Bethany, and Martha and Mary were the sisters of Lazarus. The time when this incident occurred cannot be definitely fixed.—P.
40 But Martha was gcumbered7 about much serving, and came to him and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art hcareful8 and troubled9 about many things:
h ch.21.34; 8.14. Mar.4.19. Mat.6.26-34. Phi.4.6. 1 Pe.5.7.
8 Careful. 'Anxiously careful.'—C.
9 Troubled. 'Disturbed, hurried.'—C.
42 But ione thing is needful:1 and Mary hath chosen that jgood part, which shall not be taken away from her.
i ch.18.22. Ps.27.4; 73.25; 142.5. Ec.12.13. Mar.8.36. 1 Co.13.3. Jn.3.3,5. 2 Co.5.17. Ga.6.15; 5.6. Mat.16.16.
1 Theophylact, Basil, and Dr. A. Clarke understand by 'one thing' 'one dish.' But this statement does not accord with our Saviour's method of feeding the multitudes with both bread and fish. By the 'one thing,' therefore, must be understood the knowledge of Jesus—the salvation of the soul.—C.
j Ps.16.5,6. Is.45.17; 55.3. Jn.17.3. Ps.73.24-26; 142.5. 1 Jn.5.12.
Notes
Ver. 30-37. In allusion, this wounded man may be viewed as an emblem of a lost sinner, to whom neither moral nor ceremonial laws can afford relief, and whom Jesus alone can tenderly pity and save by means of his gospel. But the real scope of the parable is to show that whatever provocations we have met with, we ought cordially to love, and kindly to help and relieve, our very enemies, even when their own professed friends overlook them.
Ver. 2. The labourers furnish the true emblem of a genuine minister of the gospel. The labourer must be early, punctual, attentive to his employer's orders; diligent, patient, and faithful?. sleep but to gain fresh strength for new employment. May the Lord send forth many such to reap and to gather in his harvest! C.
Ver. 11. We do wipe off against you. Rather, 'we do wipe off for you;' the act not implying a threat, such as the Authorized Version seems to convey, but visibly to represent their disinterestedness; as if they had said, 'we came not for yours—no, not even to a particle of your dust, which we thus wipe off and leave with you—but we came for you, that by grace we might translate you to that heavenly kingdom of which we are the messengers.' C.
Ver. 18. Like lightning. Visibly, swiftly, portentously, destructively. The destructive throes of Satan, when falling from his throne in the world he had usurped and governed, may be well illustrated by his efforts to destroy some of those miserable demoniacs from whom he was cast out, Mar. 9. 20, 22; Lu. 9. 42.—The word heaven is not merely applied to the place and state of glory, 2 Co. 5. 1, 2, but also to the powers and dignities of this world, Is. 13. 10, 13, comp. with ver. 19; see also note on Mat. 24. 29, 30. The meaning therefore seems to be that our Lord saw Satan, either in his own person or in the persons of his angels, falling from that supremacy over the world which he had so long usurped. He saw him actually beginning to fall, and, prophetically, he saw him totally fallen before the preaching of the gospel. C.
Ver. 19. The promise, 'nothing shall by any means hurt you,' being expounded by comparison with such scriptures as Mat. 10. 16-22, and by the actual history of the apostles, will be seen to insure, not exemption from temporal, but from spiritual injury; and the superiority conferred 'over all the power of the enemy' (Satan) seems to lead to the conclusion that by 'serpents and scorpions' are here to be understood, not the animals so named, but satanic agents, more poisonous to the soul than they to the body. That the promise of exemption from the power of serpents may, however, be also literally understood, is manifest from Mar. 16. 18; Ac. 28. 3, 5. C.
Ver. 33. Samaritan. The object of our Lord in selecting a Samaritan was to show how a people whom the Jews hated and despised were capable of kind and generous actions, that thereby he might soften down national prejudices, and prepare the way for the union of all nations under one King. C.
Ver. 37. Go and do likewise. That is, neighbour includes not merely our friends by the ties of nature or grace—two points the lawyer never questioned; but also every one, friend or stranger, countryman or alien, who may stand in any need of our aid, and whom we have the means and the opportunity to serve. C.
Reflections.—Great are the difficulties of faithful gospel ministers, and proportionate their assistance. Alas! that so few should be laborious, skilful, and faithful, or successful! If their authority, qualifications, help, and success depend wholly on Christ, with what earnestness should their ministrations be attended to and improved! and cheerfully ought their hearers to provide them a subsistence. Ministers ought to appear altogether disentangled from carnal cares and pursuits. And dreadful is their case who reject a purely-preached gospel and the faithful preachers of it. Happy is it to be instrumental in advancing the kingdom of Christ, and depressing that of Satan. But more so to be enrolled in heaven, as the loving people of God and heirs of his glory. How exhilarating are the views of that divine grace which, by the almighty influence of the Holy Ghost, God bestows on all the world the saving blessings and distinguished honours of the new kingdom! But it is absurd for men to seek righteousness and life by a law which they can never fulfil; or to attempt reducing the broad law of God to the standard of their own heart and life. Never ought any to inquire concerning eternal salvation from a captious or even curious intention, but with the most serious concern. And it is comely when love to God and to men streams powerfully through every action of life, and the miseries of strangers and enemies awaken our tender compassion. Never should ministers or others make visits without leaving a savour of Christ behind them. Everywhere they should labour to render men wise unto salvation. And no secular cares should ever hinder spiritual concern. Thrice happy are they who have the saving knowledge of, and an interest in, Christ! If once we have this, neither none but ourselves can deprive us of it; and Jesus will encourage our solicitous care about it, and seek our eternal possession of it.