exegetical notes
10:1-4 + after the Feast of the Tabernacles, Jesus stayed in the vicinity of Jerusalem in order to visit the towns and villages of Judea with His message; in order to prepare the inhabitants for His arrival, He sent a large number of disciples ahead of Him + the instructions given to the seventy-two were very much like those given to the Twelve when they were sent to tour Galilee (Matthew 9:35-10:16)...the preaching of the Kingdom and the healing of the sick + the Lord appointed seventy-two disciples and sent them out two-by-two...the purpose of the pairing was not merely to provide mutual comfort and support but also to give attested, binding testimony (in the mouth of two witnesses every word is established) regarding the response to their message by the hearers + the harvest is large but the workers are few; therefore Jesus encourages His disciples to plead with "the Lord of the harvest" that He would send out workers into His harvest field + the context for their missionary work would be quite challenging, for they would be sent out "like lambs among wolves" into a hostile and indifferent world (the parable of the sower and the seed -- Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23; Luke 8:4-8, 11-15 & the parable of the wedding banquet -- Matthew 22:1-14)...some would respond to their message with faith but others would respond with unbelief and opposition + they were not to take the standard provisions with them...the disciples would be provided for by the heavenly Father and He would supply their needs + they were not to greet anyone on the road in the traditional manner for oriental greetings were important, long and time-consuming...because of the urgency of the mission, they should not allow themselves to be delayed with extended greetings but were to quickly go and engage in the work that had been assigned to them by their Master Jesus 10:5-7 + when you enter a home say "shalom" (peace) -- a peace associated with the coming salvation of God -- the kind of peace that Jesus brought to the house of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) -- "today salvation has come to this house because this man, too is a son of Abraham...for the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost"; and if the hearer is a peaceful man, your peace will rest upon him + the disciples are instructed to stay and not move from house to house 10:8-12 + upon entering a town, the disciples are to eat what is set before them + the disciples are to heal the sick and to tell them that "the kingdom of God is near you" -- the healings are to be regarded as a sign of the presence of the kingdom; the royal reign of God is exercised in and through Christ and His disciples + if the town will not welcome them, they are to go into the street and say "even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you" as a witness and judgment upon their unbelief...because "the kingdom of God is near" yet they refused to believe that Good News and the salvation that it brings to those who believe + the fate of the people of Sodom had become proverbial -- it was a city that had shamelessly practiced vice and had been destroyed in God's righteous wrath; the point is that if there is no hope for Sodom, there is even less for a city that rejects the Gospel 10:13-15 + Jesus pronounces "woe to you" upon two villages because they failed to embrace the salvation that He brought into their midst + Tyre and Sidon, wealthy Phoenician cities (thirty-five and fifty miles away from Capernaum) were centers of wickedness yet both of them would have repented long ago, "sitting in sackcloth and ashes" -- sackcloth and ashes were regarded as a sign of repentance, mourning and sorrow -- an image of utter dejection and contrition + Capernaum, possibly viewing themselves to be special in God's sight because Jesus spend so much of His ministry in that place, would not fare well on the last day because they, like Chorazin and Beth-saida, refused to repent and believe -- Chorazin and Beth-saida had often heard Jesus and seen His miracles and yet did not accept His Gospel message 10:16 + the person who listens to the message of the disciple "listens to Me"; and the person who rejects the message rejects Jesus and the One who sent Him + the way in which the disciples are treated by the people is, in effect, the people's response to Jesus and to God -- to reject the messenger is to reject the message, along with the One who sent the messenger 10:17-20 + Jesus probably arranged with the disciples that, after a certain time, they would meet again at a fixed location...and we read that they came back joyfully to Him and gave Him their report of the fruit that they experienced from their Kingdom labors, noting especially that "even the demons submit to us in Your name" + Jesus helped them to understand why and how they were able to accomplish these things: He had given them the authority so that, as His messengers and agents, Satan's kingdom would be brought low and people would be rescued "from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of the Son" (Colossians 1:13-14) + that the demons were subject to the disciples is not so important as the fact that their own names were written in heaven -- in the Book of Life that contains the register of God's people 1: The pastor is, first and foremost, a disciple of Jesus Christ who has been chosen and called by Jesus to follow Him; as a result of that faith relationship he
...is an active student of God's Word[1] ...builds his life upon the words and practices of Jesus Christ[2] ...seeks to bear fruit, the kind of fruit that will last[3] ...is stamped and fashioned in the mold of Jesus Christ and is a living witness to Him[4] ...uses the gifts and abilities that Jesus has given him in order to prosper the Master's business of making disciples of all nations[5] 2: The pastor is one who is "above reproach" in his relationship with himself and with others "now a bishop is above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, an apt teacher, no drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and no lover of money. He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way; for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil; moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, or he may fall into reproach and the snare of the devil" (1 Timothy 3:2-7) "if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of being profligate or insubordinate. For a bishop, as God's steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, master of himself, upright, holy and self-controlled; he must hold firm to the sure word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to confute those who contradict it" (Titus 1:6-9) 3: The pastor knows His sheep who have been entrusted into his care and they know him; moreover, he genuinely loves and cares for the sheep 4: The pastor has a ministry to those who are not yet sheep of His sheep pen; for he is "to do the work of an evangelist" 5: The pastor is an overseer and equipper of the body of Christ, and of the ministry that the Holy Spirit seeks to accomplish through His people, in their evangelizing, edifying and missionary labors 6: The pastor teaches, exhorts and equips His people to be faithful stewards of the Gospel, of the Scriptures, and of His many physical blessings, so that they may be able to ...cultivate a biblical spirituality in their lives, a spirituality that consists of prayer (oratio); meditation upon God's Word (meditatio); and trials, struggles, and temptations (tentatio) ...test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1) ...always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence (1 Peter 3:15) ...be a blessing to the nations through their Gospel proclamation (Matthew 4:19; 13:3-9) and deeds of love/compassion within the body of Christ and to their neighbor of all kinds (Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 10:25-37) 7: The pastor is the overseer/officiant of the worship service and serves as the primary communicator of the Word through his preaching and teaching labors 8: The pastor is able to exegete the congregation, and community among whom he serves, and to understand the plurality of worldviews and designs for living that are being lived out in their core allegiances, beliefs, and values 9: The pastor administers the Word of God as "one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15) and administers the Sacraments according to their divine institution as a means of grace [6] 10: The pastor is a faithful and fruitful steward of the Word (Matthew 25:14-30) who is committed to, and actively engaged in, a lifetime of ...studying God's Word ...knowing the belief systems and cultural life ways of those people whom he seeks to reach with the Gospel ...discerning and constructing missiological bridges that communicate the Scriptures in the receptor's frame of reference (Romans 10:9-17; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23) [1] John 8:32-32, 47; 10:27-28 [2] Matthew 7:24-27 [3] Matthew 13:8; John 15:1-5, 16 [4] 2 Corinthians 3:2-3; Galatians 2:20 [5] Matthew 25:14-30; 1 Peter 4:10 [6] The sacraments are "visible signs of His grace" that reveal His heart and will -- that He is with us and that He is favorably inclined toward us (AE 1:248-249). |