Luke 10:7
“Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house.
Worthy of his wages. Those who proclaim the gospel ought to get their living from the gospel (1 Cor. 9:14). These are the instructions Jesus gave when he sent out the Twelve (Matt. 10:9–14). He repeats them here to the seventy (Luke 10:1). Paul also gave these instructions to Timothy (1 Tim. 5:18).
Jesus’ own ministry was funded by the support of many (see entry for Luke 8:3). Although the One who fed 5000 and who turned water into wine hardly needed financial support, he received it to give us an example to follow. It is not the unbelieving Gentiles who fund gospel ministers. It is the Body of Christ (e.g., Rom. 15:24, 2 Cor. 1:16, 1 Tim. 5:18, Tit. 3:13).
Luke 10:13
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
(a) Woe does not mean “God will punish you!” It’s an expression of distress or deep sorrow. When Jesus says, “Woe to those who are pregnant and nursing babies in those days” (Matt. 24:19), he’s expressing grief.
(b) Chorazin or Korazim, stood on a hill about two miles north of Capernaum. Jesus performed many miracles there.
(c) Bethsaida, the home town of Philip, Andrew and Peter (John 1:44), was located on the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee. It was about four miles northeast of Capernaum.
(d) Repented. To repent means to change your mind. In context, it means changing your mind about Christ and the goodness of God (Rom. 2:4). “Change your unbelieving mind and believe the glad tidings of God’s grace and forgiveness” (see Mark 1:15). Jesus is talking about people who heard the gospel but refused to believe it.
Luke 10:15
“And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!
Hades; see entry for Matt. 16:18.
Luke 10:22
“All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal him.”
(a) All things. All of creation including the heavens and the earth (Eph. 1:10, 22).
(b) My Father… the Father; see entry for Luke 2:49.
Luke 10:24
for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.”
(a) Prophets and kings such as Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, David, Solomon, and Hezekiah longed to see the Messiah and the coming of God’s kingdom. In short, they longed to see Jesus.
(b) You see… you hear. We who live this side of the cross are privileged indeed for we have a clearer revelation of God’s redemptive plan and grace than the Old Testament prophets (see also Matt. 11:11).
(c) Did not see… did not hear. They knew that God had a redemption plan that involved a Messiah, but they never lived to see him or hear the good news of the kingdom.
Luke 10:25
And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
(a) A lawyer. Jesus is teaching when an expert in the Law of Moses stands up to get his attention. The lawyer asks a couple of questions, and Jesus responds by telling the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
This well-known parable is surprisingly contentious. “It’s all allegory,” said the Church Fathers. “Everything represents something else.” “No, it’s not allegory,” said the Reformers. “It’s simply about being kind to others.” If there is one parable that has attracted more than its share of controversy, it’s this one.
(b) Test him. The lawyer has come to quiz Jesus on his understanding of the law. Perhaps his motive is to trap Jesus. More likely, he is seeking assurance that his own performance is good enough to merit eternal life.
(c) What shall I do to inherit eternal life? The answer, of course, is that there is nothing you can do to inherit eternal life—it’s an inheritance. You only get it when someone dies, and Someone did. But this is not the answer the lawyer has in mind. He believes that eternal life is a reward given to those who keep the Law of Moses, which is bad news for the lawyer because nobody can keep the law.
The same question was put to Jesus by a wealthy Jewish official (Matt. 19:16, Mark 10:17, Luke 18:18).
(d) Inherit eternal life. Eternal life is an inheritance to receive, not a wage to be earned, and in Christ we have it. In Christ we are heirs of salvation (Heb. 1:14), heirs of eternal life (Matt. 19:29, Mark 10:17, Eph. 1:14, Tit. 3:7), and heirs of a blessed and gracious life (1 Pet. 3:7, 9).
See entry for Inheritance.
(e) Eternal life. We are not born immortal (Rom. 2:6–8, Eph. 2:1). Eternal life is a gift we receive when we come to Christ. The moment you put your faith in Christ, you crossed over from death to life, and you shall never perish (John 5:24). Eternal life is not merely endless life; eternal life is divine life. Eternal life is living forever in union with Jesus; see entry for John 3:15.
Luke 10:26
And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?”
(a) What is written in the law? Knowing the lawyer has come to test him with the law, Jesus responds with a question of his own. He does not say, “Here’s what you must do,” but “What does the law tell you to do?”
(b) The law refers to the Law of Moses—the commandments, ordinances, punishments, and ceremonial observances given to the nation of Israel through Moses (Jos. 8:31). This law is sometimes called the law of commandments (Eph. 2:15) or the law of the Jews (Acts 25:8).
See entry for The Law.
Luke 10:27
And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
(a) Love the Lord. The lawyer gives a textbook answer straight out of the Law of Moses.
Under the old law-keeping covenant, you were commanded to love the Lord your God with all your heart (Deut. 6:5, 10:12). The flow was from you to the Lord. But in the new covenant of grace, we love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). It is because we know the love of Christ (Eph. 3:19) that we can walk in his love (Eph. 5:2), keep ourselves in his love (Jude 1:21), and remain in his love (John 15:9, 10, 1 John 4:12, 16).
(b) Soul. Your soul is that part of you that contains your personality, memories, and intentions. It is that part of you that thinks, feels, and remembers.
(c) Love your neighbor. This law, which comes from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18), was quoted by Jesus himself on occasion (Matt. 19:19, 22:39, Mark 12:31). It is sometimes called the royal law because loving others fulfills all the other laws. See entry for Jas. 2:8.
(d) As yourself. The old command to “Love others as yourself” can be contrasted with Christ’s exhortation to “Love others as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Under the old covenant, you provided the love and whatever else was needed to fulfill the law. But in the new covenant, we can love others because of the love we have received from God (1 John 4:19).
Luke 10:28
And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”
(a) Correctly. From a law-keeping perspective, the lawyer’s response was a model answer. It was identical to one Christ gave to another lawyer (Matt. 22:37–39).
(b) Do this. With these two words, Jesus shatters the lawyer’s self-righteousness. The problem is, he can’t do this. Nobody can keep the law perfectly every day of their life. “Do this and live” can be read as “Fail to do this and die.” Those who live by the law are heading for disaster because the law does not impart life but death (2 Cor. 3:7).
Luke 10:29
But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
(a) Justify himself. The lawyer has a good understanding of the law, but his conscience is uneasy. “I love God, and I love some people some of the time. But do I really love my neighbor?” In his heart of hearts, he knows he has not kept the law, so he looks for a loophole. He wants to find a way to make the law more doable.
(b) Who is my neighbor? The lawyer is not really interested in his neighbors. What he wants to know is whether he has done enough to secure eternal life (see Luke 10:25). “Have I passed the neighbor test? What’s the cutoff mark?” His questions are ones we all wrestle with: Am I good enough for God? Will I be saved? Will I inherit eternal life? Jesus answers these questions with a story—the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
Luke 10:30
Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.
(a) A man. The traveler foolishly journeys alone on a dangerous road and is beaten and left for dead. Augustine said the traveler represented Adam, who chose the path of independence and suffered for it. We might say he represents fallen humanity. Having gone our own way, we were ambushed by sin and left for dead. Without God in this world, we are dead in our transgressions and without hope (Eph. 2:5, 12).
(b) Jerusalem to Jericho. The downhill route from Jerusalem to Jericho was a little under twenty miles. It was a full day’s walk through dry and rocky country that was a known haunt of brigands. In his commentary on Isaiah, Jerome of Stridon (c. 342–42) referred to the road between these cities as “the bloody way,” on account of the many robberies and murders committed there.
(c) Robbers. These murderous thugs represent sin and Satan, whose aim is to rob, kill, and destroy humanity. Sin has left humanity bruised, beaten, and mortally wounded (Rom. 6:23).
(d) Stripped him. Just as sin left Adam naked and ashamed (Gen. 3:7, 10), sin has robbed us of our God-given glory.
(e) Half dead. A man who is half dead is incapable of saving himself.
Luke 10:31–32
“And by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
(a) Priest. The priest and the Levite pass by the wounded man but do nothing to help. The priest represents religion, which promises to help but fails to deliver, while the Levite represents the law, which exposes our failings but doesn’t lift a finger to help. Those who look to religion and law-keeping for salvation will be disappointed, for neither has the power to overcome sin or raise the dead.
(b) Levite. The Levites were keepers of the law. They were entrusted with preserving, teaching, and administering the Law of Moses (Deut. 31:9, 33:8–10). All priests were Levites (descendants of Levi), but not all Levites were priests. Only Levites who were born of Aaron’s line could serve as priests. Ordinary Levites served as assistants to the priests and took care of the temple.
(c) The other side. The priest and the Levite cannot claim to have missed the fallen traveler, for they went out of their way to avoid him. Perhaps they thought the man was dead and unclean (Num. 19:11). Maybe they thought he was a Gentile. More likely, they were afraid. Alone in robber country, they dared not stop, not even to help a fellow man dying on the road.
Luke 10:33
“But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,
(a) Samaritan. Help for the half-dead traveler arrives in an unexpected form.
By casting a Samaritan as the hero, Jesus strikes at a deep-rooted prejudice. The Jews hated the mixed-race Samaritans even more than they hated the Gentiles, and they avoided them like the plague (John 4:9). To view a Samaritan as a neighbor was unthinkable. Jesus knew this hatred firsthand, for angry Jews had once called him a Samaritan (John 8:48). Yet, instead of rejecting the insult, he redeemed it.
In the parable, the Son of Man reveals himself as the Good Samaritan who saw us in our plight and came to our aid. Humanity was wounded and dying on the road, but Jesus came to rescue us.
(b) Felt compassion. To have compassion is to identify with someone in their suffering. Compassion is that wrenching, deep-felt love that overcomes our fearful inertia and compels us to act. Compassion causes us to say, “I will not leave them in this condition.” The priest and the Levite may have felt pity for the traveler, but only the Samaritan had compassion.
(c) Compassion. The original verb splagchnizomai appears a dozen times in the New Testament, and it is always associated with the divine compassion revealed in Jesus Christ. Jesus felt compassion for the distressed and the dispirited (Matt. 9:36, Mark 6:34) as well as the sick (Matt. 14:14, 20:34, Mark 1:41), the hungry (Matt. 15:32, Mark 8:2), the oppressed (Mark 9:22), and the bereaved (Luke 7:13).
Compassion features prominently in several of Jesus’ parables. It’s seen in the king who forgives his slave’s enormous debt (Matt. 18:27), the father who runs to embrace his prodigal son (Luke 15:20), and the Samaritan who cares for a wounded stranger (Luke 10:33). It’s also seen in the shepherd who searches for his lost sheep (Luke 15:3–6) and the banquet host who throws open his doors to the poor and the homeless (Luke 14:21–23).
See entry for Compassion.
Luke 10:34
and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
(a) Wounds. Binding the man’s wounds saved his life. In the same way, Jesus heals our hurts and restores our souls. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Ps. 147:3).
(b) Oil and wine are poured on the wounds to reduce the risk of inflammation and infection. Some say that the oil represents the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who convinces us of our righteousness (John 16:10), while the wine represents the new covenant of grace.
(c) Beast. The Good Samaritan lifts the wounded man and carries him to safety. In the same way, Christ raises us from the dead so that we might walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4, 8:11).
(d) Inn. The inn is a refuge where the hurting are healed and travelers find rest, safety, and food. It represents the church—the house of grace—where broken people encounter the restoring love of God.
(e) Took care of him. Jesus is both the Good Samaritan and the Good Shepherd who rescues and cares for his lost sheep (Luke 15:4, John 10:11). He picks us up out of the dust and lays us on a bed of healing. He restores our souls (Ps. 23:1–3). The law commands us to work, but Jesus invites us to rest (Matt. 11:29).
Luke 10:35
“On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’
(a) On the next day. The Samaritan stays with the traveler through the night. His presence brings comfort and reassurance to the wounded man.
(b) Two denarii were equivalent to two days’ wages (see Matt. 20:2). The denarii symbolize the grace that God daily provides to meet our needs (Matt. 6:31–33).
(c) The innkeeper knows the Good Samaritan and shares his compassion for the wounded traveler. He represents the true minister of the gospel—one who knows the Lord and has his heart for the lost and the hurting.
(d) Take care of him. True ministers feed and care for the sheep (1 Pet. 5:2).
(e) Whatever more you spend. Jesus promises to meet our needs for today and all our tomorrows.
(f) When I return. Just as the Samaritan departs but promises to return, so Jesus has left the earth with the assurance that he will come again (Matt. 16:27, 25:31).
(g) I will repay you. When Christ returns, those who have ministered in his name will be rewarded (1 Cor. 3:14, 2 John 1:8).
See entry for Eternal Rewards
Luke 10:36
“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”
(a) Neighbor. Jesus is our heavenly “neighbor” who found us beside the road, had compassion for us, and rescued us.
(b) The man who fell represents fallen humanity; see entry for Luke 10:30.
(c) Robbers; see entry for Luke 10:30.
Luke 10:37
And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
(a) The one who showed mercy. His Jewish prejudice prevents the lawyer from naming the Samaritan.
(b) Mercy. In showing mercy, the Samaritan reveals the heart of God. God is rich in mercy (Eph. 2:4). He is the Father of all mercies (2 Cor. 1:3), and his great mercy gives us new life (1 Pet. 1:3).
(c) Go and do. The Parable of the Good Samaritan, like the stories of the Prodigal Son and the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, can be read two ways, depending on whom you identify with. If you see yourself as the fallen traveler, you will read it as a parable of grace. You will say, “Thank you, Lord, for being the true Good Samaritan who rescued me.” Your takeaway will be, “Go and reveal the Good Samaritan by showing mercy to the lost and the hurting.”
But if you identify with the Good Samaritan—that is, you see yourself as an essentially good person who does good works—you will read it as a parable of law. Your takeaway will be, “Go and show mercy to everyone, even your enemies.” And you will fail, because they’re your enemies. Like the nervous lawyer looking for loopholes, you will worry that your good works are not good enough to merit eternal life. Which they aren’t.
Some well-meaning preachers may urge you to “be like Jesus,” but none of us is like Jesus. We all fall short. But the Parable of the Good Samaritan reveals that Jesus accepts us as he finds us. He heals our hurts and lifts us up. Like the fallen traveler, we don’t have to do anything except receive his mercy and grace.
If this message of receiving is hard to grasp, consider what Jesus did next. After telling the parable, he went to Bethany to visit Martha and Mary. One sister toiled while the other sat at his feet and received, and Jesus praised the latter for choosing the thing that mattered most (Luke 10:38–42).
The life Christ offers is not something to earn but a gift to receive. We will either receive it like the wounded traveler, or we won’t take it at all.
Luke 10:38
Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.
(a) Village. Bethany, a village about two miles from Jerusalem (see entry for John 11:18).
(b) Martha was the sister of Lazarus and Mary. All three were disciples of Christ. Martha had faith in Jesus the Son of God (John 11:27), and Jesus loved her (John 11:5). Martha was servant-hearted (John 12:2), but her attention to her duties sometimes distracted her from more important things (Luke 10:40).
(c) Her home suggests that Martha was the elder sibling (John 11:5). See also the entry for John 12:2.
Luke 10:39
She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word.
(a) Mary of Bethany is remembered for anointing the feet of Jesus (John 12:3), but her more significant deed was sitting at the feet of Jesus.
Mary of Bethany crossed an ancient line. She stepped across the threshold, entered the front room where the men normally sat, and placed herself at the Lord’s feet, like a disciple. Any other rabbi would have blanched and waited for her to leave. But Jesus commended her courageous act and encouraged Martha to follow her example (Luke 10:42).
Mary was one of six women named Mary in the New Testament; see entry for Matt. 1:18.
(b) Seated at the Lord’s feet. Jesus discipled women. He welcomed them into his circle and trained them, something that would have been unthinkable to the rabbis and sages. Teaching women was a waste of time, said Rabbi Eliezer. “It would be better to burn the words of the law than teach them to women.”
When Jesus outlined the qualifications of a disciple (see Luke 9:23), he made no restrictions for gender. Although Socrates and a few others made noises about educating women, Jesus actually did it. As a true pioneer of women’s education, he took them on as disciples and trained them. If women enjoy equal educational opportunities today, it’s because Jesus and those who followed him refused to conform to a sexist system that denied women the right to learn.
Luke 10:40
But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”
(a) Martha was distracted. Martha was doing a good work. She was literally serving the Lord. But her good work was a dead work because it distracted her from the better work of receiving from Jesus.
Martha’s priorities were misplaced and consequently she became stressed and upset. She did not realize that Jesus did not come be served but to serve (Matt. 20:28). The one who fed 5000 had little need of Martha’s cooking.
(b) Do you not care? Many hard-working Christians have gotten angry with the Lord because their tanks are empty.
(c) Tell her to help me. In Martha’s plea we hear echoes of the prodigal’s elder brother. “I am out here slaving for you, while you’re relaxing in there with that lazy bones sister of mine.” If Jesus was any other guest, Martha would have a case. It’s not fair for one person to do all the work. But Jesus is no ordinary guest, and her sister made the better choice (see next verse).
Luke 10:41–42
But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
(a) Worried and bothered. Being worried and bothered about many things is a sign that your life is out of balance. God wants you to live carefree and untroubled by worry. He wants you to cast your cares on him knowing that he cares for you (1 Pet. 5:7).
(b) Many things compete for our attention and it is easy to become burdened and distracted. The only way to stay healthy and sane is to keep the main thing the main thing. Like Mary, we need to choose the good part.
(c) Chosen the good part. Martha chose to serve while Mary chose to sit and Mary made the better choice.
When it comes to serving people, it is more blessed to give than receive (Acts 20:35). But when it comes to the Lord, we are more blessed when we receive from the abundance of his grace. God is a Giver (Matt. 7:11, John 3:16, Rom. 8:32, Jas. 1:5, 17). When we allow God to be God and impart his love and grace into our lives, we are empowered to bless others with the grace we have received. Martha was a giver, while Mary was a receiver and this made all the difference.
(d) One thing is necessary. Receiving from Jesus is priority number one.
Contrary to what some believe, the one thing that is necessary is not serving the Lord like Martha; it is receiving from the Lord like Mary. The one thing that is essential is receiving life from the Author of Life. It is trusting in his finished work and resting in his righteousness.
What about loving and serving others? We cannot love unless we have received the love he has for us (1 John 4:19). Nor can we forgive unless we have received his forgiveness (Eph. 4:32). And we cannot serve, unless he has first served us. We cannot give what we have not received.
Jesus does not call for a balance between works and rest. There is no balance. When it comes to grace there is only the restful posture of faith. We dare not insult the Giver by bringing offerings and sacrifices that we have slaved for. His gifts are not for sale. They are freely received or they are not received at all.
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