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Scripture Reading: Luke 9:1-62; 10:1-24
According to the Gospel of Luke, the Man-Savior’s ministry on earth was in two sections. The first section was accomplished in Galilee (4:14—9:50). This section concludes with the Lord’s unveiling His death the second time and with a word that exposes the naturalness of His disciples. The second section of the Man-Savior’s ministry takes place on the way from Galilee to Jerusalem (9:51—19:27). The first section of His ministry covered twenty-six matters. As we shall see, thirty-seven matters are covered in the second section. The first matter in this section is the Man-Savior’s being rejected by the Samaritans (Luke 9:51-56).
Luke 9:51 says, “And it came about, when the days were being fulfilled for His being taken up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.” The Man-Savior had been ministering for over three years in the despised region of Galilee, far from the holy temple and the holy city, the place where He must die for the accomplishment of God’s eternal plan. As the Lamb of God (John 1:29), it was necessary for the Lord to be offered to God at Mount Moriah, which is Mount Zion, where Abraham offered Isaac and enjoyed God’s provision of a ram as a substitute for his son (Gen. 22:2, 9-14) and where the temple was built in Jerusalem (2 Chron. 3:1). It must be there that He would be delivered, according to the counsel determined by the Trinity of the Godhead (Acts 2:23), to the Jewish leaders (Mark 9:31; 10:33), and there be rejected by them as the builders of God’s building (Acts 4:11). It should also be there that He would be crucified according to the Roman style of punishment (John 18:31-32; 19:6, 14-15) to fulfill the type concerning the kind of death He would die (Num. 21:8-9; John 3:14). Moreover, that very year was the year that Messiah (Christ) should be cut off (killed) according to Daniel’s prophecy (Dan. 9:24-26). Furthermore, as the Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7) He must be killed in the month of the Passover (Exo. 12:1-11). Hence, He must go to Jerusalem (Mark 10:33; 11:1, 11, 15, 27; John 12:12) before the Passover (John 12:1; Mark 14:1), so that He might die there on the day of the Passover (Mark 14:12-17; John 18:28) at both the place and the time foreordained by God.
We have pointed out that, according to Luke 9:51, the Lord “steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.” Verses 52 and 53 say, “And He sent messengers before His face. And having gone, they entered into a village of the Samaritans to prepare for Him. And they did not receive Him, because He was going with His face toward Jerusalem.” Here we see that the Man-Savior was rejected by the Samaritans.
There was no way the Lord Jesus could go from Galilee to Jerusalem without passing through Samaria. The Samaritans were part Gentile and part Jewish. The Jews absolutely rejected them and refused to consider them part of the holy people. The Samaritans were offended by this and did not think well regarding the Jews. Realizing the situation, the Lord knew that it was difficult for Him and those with Him to pass through Samaria. More than seventy others were journeying with Him. This is proved by the fact that in 10:1 He “appointed seventy others, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to come” (10:1).
Since the Lord sent out these seventy, it may have been that even more were following Him on the way through Samaria to Jerusalem.
In 9:52 the Lord sent messengers before Him. These messengers entered into a village of the Samaritans to prepare for the Lord. However, the Samaritans would not receive Him. Because the Lord was rejected by the Samaritans, there was no way for Him and His followers to stay in that village. It was necessary for them to go to some other village.
Seeing that the Samaritans had rejected the Man-Savior, “the disciples, James and John, said, Lord, do You want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” (v. 54). Some manuscripts add to this verse the words “as also Elijah did.” The Lord turned to these disciples and rebuked them. It seems that the Lord might have been telling them, “Don’t you know that we are proclaiming the jubilee? The jubilee is not a matter of calling down fire to consume people. Instead of telling fire to come down from heaven, we are bringing peace to others.”
In Mark 3:17 the Lord gave to John and James “the name, Boanerges, which is, sons of thunder.” “Boanerges” comes from Aramaic. This name was added to James and John because of their impetuosity. Their impetuous word in Luke 9:54 was contrary to the virtue and morality of the Savior whom they accompanied.
John, one of the sons of thunder, also spoke an impetuous word in Luke 9:49: “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him, because he does not follow with us.” This impetuous action on the part of John was also contrary to the virtue of the Man-Savior. John’s attitude was like that of Joshua in Numbers 11:28.
Luke 9:55 says, “But He turned and rebuked them.” The following doubtful reading appears in a few manuscripts: “and said, You do not know what kind of spirit you are of.” This word, which shows the high morality of the Man-Savior, is found only in Luke.
Luke 9:56 says simply, “And they went into another village.” A few manuscripts add this doubtful reading at the end of verse 56: “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”
In 9:57-62 the Man-Savior instructs people how to follow Him. Verse 57 says, “And as they went along the road, someone said to Him, I will follow You wherever you go.” The Lord Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of heaven have roosting places, but the Son of Man has nowhere that He may lay His head.” The one in verse 57 was one of the scribes (Matt. 8:19), who used to live comfortably. He saw crowds being attracted to the Savior (Matt. 8:18) and wanted to follow Him out of curiosity, without counting the cost. This was the reason the Man-Savior answered him in such a way as to cause him to consider the cost. The Savior cautioned him by pointing out that, although crowds were attracted to Him He had nowhere to rest. This indicates that it would cost considerable suffering to the one in verse 57 to follow the Lord.
In 9:58 the Lord pointed out specifically that He had nowhere to lay His head. Here we see that the Savior’s human life was a life of suffering. At His birth there was no room in the inn for Him to lie down (2:7). In His marvelous ministry there was likewise no place for Him to rest. Suffering, therefore, is a sign of His human life (2:12).
In 9:57 and 58 we see that those who want to follow the Lord Jesus out of curiosity do not know the cost of following Him. To be sure, the scribe in verse 57 did not know what it would cost him to follow the Lord. Hence the Savior warned this one that following Him would cost him much suffering.
In 9:59 the Man-Savior said to another one, “Follow Me. But he said, Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” This one was called by the Savior to follow Him, but he considered his duty to his dead father and would not follow Him immediately. Hence, the Savior encouraged him to pay the price that he might become a follower in His great commission to publish the kingdom of God (v. 60).
The answer of the one who asked to first go and bury his father indicates that he overly considered the cost of following the Man-Savior. This was the reason the Lord answered him in the way of encouraging him to follow Him and set aside his considerations of the cost and to leave the burial of his father to others.
In 9:60 the Lord went on to say to the one addressed in the previous verse, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and publish the kingdom of God.” This word indicates that the burying one was spiritually dead (John 5:25; Eph. 2:1) and the one to be buried was physically dead. To engage in such a burial was to do a dead work. However, to publish the kingdom of God is a living deed, a deed that makes the dead alive to enter into the kingdom of God.
Luke 9:61 says, “And another also said, I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-by to those in my home.” The Greek words rendered “say good-by” may also be rendered “take leave of.” In verse 62 the Lord said to this one, “No one putting his hand on a plow and looking at the things behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” The third one volunteered to follow the Savior, but he would not do it before bidding farewell to his family. Hence, the Man-Savior warned this one not to let anything hold him back from the kingdom of God.
In verse 62 the Lord speaks of not putting one’s hand on the plow and looking back. Plowing requires one to concentrate all his attention on the line plowed. Just a little distraction, to say nothing of looking back, may lead the plower off the straight line. To follow the Savior requires us to forget everything else and to press straight forward for the kingdom of God.
Why does Luke insert an account of three cases of following the Lord Jesus in 9:57-62? The reason is that the Lord had been rejected by the Samaritans. Although the Samaritans had rejected the Man-Savior, certain people still were willing to follow Him. Therefore, at this juncture the Lord dealt with three different kinds of cases of those who would follow Him.
We may say that the entire world today is like the region of Samaria in that the world utterly rejects the Man-Savior. Nevertheless, in the midst of the world’s rejection of the Lord, some are willing to follow Him. In the first case, narrated in 9:57 and 58, we see that following the Lord is not an easy matter. Rather, if we would follow Him, we must be ready for the cost. In the second case, described in 9:59-60, we see that following the Lord requires us to sacrifice our dead father in order that we may proclaim the kingdom of God, that is, proclaim the jubilee. Then in the last case, seen in 9:61 and 62, we realize that we cannot look backward or be held back by anything if we are to follow the Lord. Following Him requires that we go straight ahead.
In 10:1-24 we see that the Lord appointed seventy disciples to spread His ministry. The three cases in 9:57-62 were actually a preparation for this. After this preparation, the Lord appointed the seventy to spread the jubilee.
We have seen that in 9:1-9 the Lord spread His ministry through the twelve apostles. That was in Galilee. But now, on the way from Galilee to Jerusalem and through Samaria, the need was much greater. Therefore, the Lord appointed seventy and sent them to spread the jubilee. Concerning this, 10:1 says, “Now after these things, the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to come.” The Savior appointed seventy disciples to share His ministry, even as Moses appointed seventy elders to share his burden as God charged him (Num. 11:16-17; Exo. 24:1, 9). The fact that He sent them out two by two indicates that they were sent out as witnesses (Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16).
Luke 10:2 says, “And He said to them, The harvest indeed is vast, but the workers are few; therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest that He would thrust out workers into His harvest.” In His economy God has a plan to accomplish. But this plan still requires His people to beseech, that is, to pray about it. In answering their prayer, the Lord will accomplish what they have prayed concerning His plan. In particular, here the Lord tells the disciples to beseech the Lord of the harvest. The word “harvest” indicates that the kingdom of God is established with things of life that can grow and multiply. Furthermore, the title “the Lord of the harvest” indicates that the Lord is the One who owns the crop.
The way the Lord sent out the seventy in 10:1-24 is very similar to the way He sent out the twelve in 9:1-9. The Lord considered the time of this sending to be the time of jubilee, and in the jubilee no one will be short of anything. This was the reason the Lord charged the seventy not to carry anything for their need. Rather, they were to stay where they were received and eat whatever was set before them (vv. 7-8).
In 10:5 and 6 we have an important word concerning peace: “And into whatever house you enter, first say, Peace to this house. And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon it; but if not, it shall return upon you.” In these verses the word “peace” is crucial. The Lord even uses the expression “son of peace.” The main thing in the jubilee is peace. We should greet others in peace, and they should greet us with peace. If the one we greet is a son of peace, our peace will remain with him. But if he is not a son of peace, our peace will return upon us.
In 10:10-16 we see the seriousness of rejecting the one sent by the Man-Savior. Regarding a city that rejects the Lord’s sent ones, He says, “I say to you that it will be more tolerable for Sodom in that day than for that city.” This indicates that the punishment of God’s judgment is in varying degrees. To reject the Lord’s sent ones will cause more punishment than the sin of Sodom.
