Luke 10:5

The Bible says in Luke 10:5-12, “And into whatever house you enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. And into whatsoever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come near unto you. But into whatsoever city you enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaves on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be you sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come near unto you. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.”

In these instructions that Jesus gave to those who went to spread the gospel, Jesus wanted to make sure that they were prepared. First, He wanted to make sure that they went with the right attitude. When they visited any home, Jesus told them to say, “Peace be to this house.” They were not to approach people as antagonists or competitors, but they were to bring peace and offer peace. It should be easy to do for those who represent the Prince of Peace. There are certainly a lot of homes without peace. The answer is Jesus.

In Luke 10:7 Jesus emphasized the importance of preachers being supported materially by those who benefit from their preaching. Jesus said, “The laborer is worthy of his hire.” If someone labors in order to bring you the Word of God and in order to help supply your spiritual needs, then you should contribute to take care of their material needs. This is a principle that is emphasized again and again in the scriptures. The Apostle Paul wrote in I Cor. 9:14, “Even so has the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.” Paul quoted Deuteronomy and quoted Jesus when Paul wrote in I Timothy 5:18, “For the scripture says, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treads out the corn. And, the laborer is worthy of his reward.”

When God calls someone and sends someone to preach the gospel, God has promised that person that their material needs will be furnished through the believers who benefit spiritually from the work of the one who is called of God. That’s the principle that should apply. That’s the way it should happen. That’s the revealed will of God. Of course, things may not always work out that way. Paul worked as a tent maker for a time in order to support himself while in the presence of the spiritually weak Corinthians.

God does not promise that the one who is called to preach shall be made rich. God only promises that his needs shall be met. The one who is called to preach must be easily satisfied from a material standpoint. That’s what Christ meant in Luke 10:7 when He told the seventy that once they were received into a certain house to “remain” in that house and not look for another, and that’s why Jesus told them to eat and drink whatever things were given them. They would emphasize the spiritual and therefore not get side-tracked by the pursuit of the material.

Jesus sent the seventy to preach the kingdom of God. He told them when they entered a house to bring peace to the house. He gave them a spiritual message for people who had spiritual needs. But Jesus made it clear that the seventy should also be concerned for the physical needs of those to whom they took the gospel. You cannot say that you care about someone’s soul if you do not also care about their life on this earth. And so Jesus told the seventy in Luke 10:9 to “heal the sick.” There are many sicknesses that will be healed once the gospel is received and sins are repented of. Of course, not all of the sorrows of this life will be taken away. The greatest benefit of the gospel will be the message of life after death. In Luke 10:9 after Jesus told the seventy to bring healing to the sick, Jesus also told them to say, “The kingdom of God is come near to you.” Because of Jesus when we enter the Kingdom of God finally and forever the sicknesses and all the other sorrows of life will be taken away.

The seventy had a wonderful message to take to the people, just like preachers of the gospel do in our day. But everyone makes their own choice. Even though we are called of God and sent by God, some may reject our message. Sadly enough, many may reject our message. Then what do we do? How should we react after we have poured out our hearts to those who in turn are ungrateful? Jesus made it very clear what to do when He told the seventy to say to those who reject them and their message, “Even the very dust of your city, which cleaves on us, we do wipe off against you.” In other words, forget it and go your way. Perhaps there is another city or another group of people who will hear.

Everyone must make his own decision. Give the Word of God to those to whom God sends you, and if they make a decision to not accept God, then go away from them. Do not make the mistake of debating the truth. Offer the truth and declare the truth, but do not debate or argue. The servant of the Lord must know how to handle rejection, because when you offer the gospel in this world rejection is certainly one of the things that you will experience. Jesus Himself was rejected. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” One way to handle rejection is to forget the past and do what Jesus said to do: to wipe off the dust of your feet against them and to go on to the next person or the next city. Look forward instead of behind. Develop the ability to forget that which is past.

Remember you are not the judge. There is a Judge, and everyone will stand before Him one day. If someone rejects the gospel, they have not rejected you. They have rejected the great eternal God, and it will be a horrible day for them when they stand before God and are shown once for all how great was the opportunity that they threw away. They may reject the message of the gospel now, but for all eternity they will remember with the torment and anguish of their souls how it might have been if only they had listened to you. If someone rejects the gospel that you give them it’s not the end of the story. It will all be remembered one day. That’s what Jesus was talking about when He said in Luke 10:12, “But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.”

There is a principle that Jesus refers to here concerning the judgment that we should all remember. The measure of your responsibility is the measure of your opportunity. You will not be judged and punished for that which you could not do, but you will be judged very certainly for that which you could have done but did not. That will especially be the case for those who hear the gospel and reject it. Sometimes people ask the question concerning the eternal judgment of those who never hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. But in this passage in Luke chapter 10 Jesus addresses what He evidently considers to be a more important issue: what will happen to those who do have an opportunity and yet fail to repent?

Notice what Jesus said to the people and cities of His day who heard His teachings and who saw Him while He was on the earth and yet did not repent. Jesus said in Luke 10:13-16, “Woe unto thee Chorazin! 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 repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you. And thou Capernaum, which are exalted to heaven, shall be thrust down to hell.”

According to Jesus, there is a judgment coming, and one of the consequences of that judgment will be hell. Why will people go to hell? Again we look at the words of Jesus and we see that the thing that Jesus said that would cause people to go to hell is the failure to repent. Everyone sins. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” The remedy to the problem of your sins is to repent. If you repent and turn to Jesus, you will find forgiveness and eternal life. If you do not repent, then you have the judgment and hell that await you.

Of course, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The Father sent the Son into the world to die for the sins of the world so that all could be forgiven, if they repent. The Father has also sent others into the world like the seventy in order to tell the wonderful message of the love of God through Christ. Those who bring the gospel do not speak of themselves. They speak on behalf of the One who sent them. And so Jesus said in Luke 10:16, “He that hears you hears me; and he that despises you despises me; and he that despises me despises him that sent me.” What you hear and what you listen to will make all the difference in the world. In order to be saved you must hear the gospel and you must be willing to listen to it. “How shall they believe except they hear?” If you walk in fellowship with the Lord and are a witness in this world, the people of the world will have the same attitude towards you that they have towards God and towards Christ. Don’t be surprised by it. Remember it puts you in a position of strength. If you stand with God, even if many people despise you and oppose you, you stand in the strength and power of God. They have no power at all.

The seventy experienced the strength and power of God that rested on them when they went out with the gospel to a lost world. The Bible says in Luke 10:17, “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.” Obviously the seventy were amazed and overjoyed at the power of God that rested on them. At least they understood why they had such power. They understood the true source of the power. They knew that it did not come from themselves, but it came from the name of Jesus Christ. Their power did not come from their own abilities. The power was directly associated with the name of Jesus. They believed in the name, they used the name, they proclaimed and uplifted the name of Jesus. And because of it the devils were subject unto them.

In spite of the truth in what the seventy had to say, Jesus saw a danger in their attitude. Great things were accomplished. The power of God was revealed. The name of Christ was honored. The forces of evil were vanquished. At first Jesus encouraged the seventy to remember the power of God and how they could count on it in the battle of good against evil. The Bible says in Luke 10:18-19, “And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightening fall from heaven. Behold, I 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.”

The seventy saw that they had power over the demons through the name of Jesus. And then Jesus emphasizes even more just how much power they have. Jesus revealed that Satan himself is already a defeated foe. Satan is a loser. His doom is sealed. Those who serve Christ have nothing to fear. They are in a battle, but the final victory in the battle is assured. There is nothing to fear when we walk with the Lord. Even through the valley of the shadow of death His staff will protect us. Nothing can harm us because God is the giver of life and the sustainer of it. God makes the final decision of who will be harmed and who will die. The devil does not make those decisions. That’s why Jesus said, “Nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

Jesus wanted to inspire the seventy and the other disciples to have confidence and strength and faith, but Jesus also wanted to make sure that they stayed thankful for the most important things. Jesus said in Luke 10:20, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, that your names are written in heaven.” What makes a person a Christian? How does a person get to heaven? How does a person avoid judgment and hell? These are the important questions, and the answer to all of them is: the forgiveness of sins. No matter what God accomplishes through you, and no matter what gifts and abilities you have, and no matter how many times or in how many ways you see the power of God manifest, the thing to be thankful for is that your name is written in heaven. You deserve to be in hell for eternity, but instead you will be in heaven through Christ. Every day and many times during the day you should look to God and be thankful to Him for the forgiveness of sins that it is in Christ Jesus. Without it you would be lost forever. Be careful about what makes you happy and be careful about what brings you joy. Remember that Jesus said to the seventy, “Rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

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