DAY #109: Luke 10:17-37

The seventy-two disciples completed their mission to various towns and villages and returned with joy. They had seen tremendous results as they ministered in Jesus’ name and with his authority. They were elated by the victories they had witnessed—that even the demons had submitted to them in Jesus’ name. Probably they were able to heal demon-possessed people, and this thrilled them.

Such power and authority can be a heady experience, so the disciples were warned not to rejoice just because evil spirits had obeyed them. The main reason to rejoice was that their names were registered as citizens of heaven. Their ministry was not to become an experience of power leading to pride, but an experience of servanthood out of love for God and out of the desire for more people to join them in the Kingdom.

Jesus praised God, his Father, for making spiritual truth available to the childlike. Those who willingly submit themselves to God and do not depend upon their own wisdom will have the truth revealed to them. So often the wise and clever in this world refuse to submit themselves to God. They may not see their need for him, or they may think that their wisdom and learning have placed them in a separate class.

Jesus’ mission was to reveal God the Father to people. His words brought salvation down to earth. He explained God’s love through parables, teachings, and, most of all, his life. By examining Jesus’ actions, principles, and attitudes, those chosen by him are enabled to understand God more clearly. As used here, the word chooses does not refer to predestination; rather, it refers to Jesus’ divine status and authority to reveal saving knowledge to people.

Old Testament men of God such as David and the prophet Isaiah made many God-inspired predictions that Jesus fulfilled. As Peter later would write, these prophets wondered what their words meant and when they would be fulfilled (1 Peter 1:10-13). In Jesus’ words, they longed to see and hear what the disciples were seeing and hearing, but they could not. Despite their privileged positions as part of God’s people and God’s plan, many prophets and kings were not as blessed as this little band of disciples or all the “simple” people who came in faith to Jesus.

Jesus answered a legal expert of the law by telling a story. The rest of his listeners could easily picture this Jewish man who was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. The distance was about seventeen miles on a road that was notoriously dangerous because it curved through rocky and desolate terrain with many hiding places for bandits. As the listeners may have anticipated, the man in this story, who was traveling alone, was attacked and left half dead.

Jesus told a story about three different people, also traveling alone on this road. This priest served in the Temple and probably offered sacrifices. The Temple assistant also served in the Temple. Both of these servants of God saw the man lying there, but both passed by without helping. Perhaps it was concern over defilement, for a Jew would become “unclean” if he came into contact with a dead body. This would render him unable to worship. The man on the road may have appeared dead, so they did not want to risk defilement if there was nothing they could do. Either way, they deliberately refused to help.

The next person to come along was a despised Samaritan. Jews hated Samaritans, so when Jesus introduced this Samaritan man into the story, the Jewish listeners would not have expected him to help a Jewish man. But in great detail, Jesus described all that the Samaritan did for this man. This Samaritan is pictured as understanding what it meant to help someone in need, to be a neighbor, regardless of racial tensions.

Having finished the story, Jesus asked the expert in the law who had been a neighbor to the wounded man. The legal expert had no choice but to answer that the one who showed him mercy—the Samaritan—had been the true “neighbor.” The Samaritan traveler and the Jewish man were far apart in distance and spiritual heritage, but the Samaritan had loved his neighbor far better than the hurt man’s own religious leaders. Jesus said that the legal expert had answered correctly and should go and do the same. Jesus taught that love is shown by action, that it must not be limited by its object, and that at times it is costly.

SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
Matthew 25:34-40 (NLT)

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power." 1 Corinthians 4:20 (NIV)

Lord, help me be a man who cares for people and loves people with my actions. Lord, us be a church that puts our faith into practice by meeting the needs of those in our community and neighborhoods. Break our hearts with that which breaks your heart.