Luke 10-11

[wolfpurplemoon]

Jesus sends another 72 men out to spread his message ahead of him.

I've heard the story of the good Samaritan before, it does make the other guys who passed the mugged man without helping seem incredibly heartless. It might be tough to intercede on behalf of a stranger you see being mugged for fear of your own life, but it is not forgiveable to ignore an obviously injured man on the side of the road.

Comments

[wolfpurplemoon]

Um, thanks, except I'm a girl...

Sorry.

[americasreich.livejournal.com]

Didn't think about it.

[zteccc.livejournal.com]

Chapter 10
Jesus sends 72 "other" disciples (not the 12 apostles that he sent in Luke 9) ahead of his approach to Jerusalem. The disciples have power over demons through the name (authority) of Jesus because of their faith in Jesus (compare to Luke 9:37-43).

Verses 20-24 Rejoice that your names are written in Heaven. Jesus says that it is greater that the disciples have salvation than that they can accomplish anything on Earth. Yes, they could heal and cast out demons, but these are temporal things, salvation is eternal.

Jesus and God's wills are the same (verse 22).

The disciples are blessed to see the fulfillment of prophecy in Jesus.

Samaritans were reviled by the Jews. Although in the midst of Judea, the people of Samaria were considered to be evil people. Part of this, no doubt, is because Samaria had been the capital of the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and was associated with idolatry and corruption that was the hallmark of the rulers of Israel. Jesus however presents examples of Jewish priests and Levites of the day. They put on the appearance of goodness and piety in their occupations, but neglect the intent of the Law in practice where the Samaritan, not being anything other than a common man, helps his neighbor.

The expert in the law that speaks with Jesus would have been another rabbi or perhaps even a Pharisee who wasn't completely antagonistic to Jesus, it appears that Jesus made an impression.

Verses 38-42
Martha was focused on all of the busy work that she thought was important, while Mary realized that the work would always be there and wasn't near as important as focusing on Jesus. We do this in life. We scurry around trying to make things perfect down to the smallest detail and in this business, we rarely rest and take in what God has to offer. We miss out on the important things in life, including God, because we worry.

Chapter 11
Verses 5-13 We have a parable of a person asking for food at midnight. Even though he wakes his friend, he is eventually given what he seeks. Jesus says that we will be given what we seek. If we seek bread, we get bread. Some of us seek not what we need, but what we want, even it it is unhealthy for us.

If we set out seeking to prove a point, all of the evidence we encounter appears to prove the point. Scientists know this to be true, and true scientists know that they must enter their research without a preconceived notion of what they will find so that their preconceptions don't ruin their research. When reading the scripture, are we doing so with preconceptions (either for or against God)?

Verses 33-36 The "eye" which is the lamp of your body can also be translated as your conscience, which is perhaps a better (if not as traditional) translation. If your conscience is doing what it needs to do, then your body is full of light. People often ignore their conscience (what they know is right from their heart) in favor of laws, regulations, rules and even peer pressure. We don't want to look foolish, so we do what our friends do or what the rules say even though we know that it isn't really the right thing.

-- Jeff

[americasreich.livejournal.com]

Beautiful.

[zteccc.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I try my best. It helps to have encouragement.

-- Jeff