(Luke 10:1 NASB) Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them two and two ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.
Luke 10:1: Why did Yeshua send out seventy others? It does point out the enormity of the number of people that had to be reached in a short period of time. Yeshua says in verse 9 that they will be able to heal others. Therefore, they have the Spirit of the Father. But why is He sending out seventy?
The reason being is that Yeshua is the Prophet like Moses. In the day of Moses, there were seventy “others” who had the Spirit of the Father poured upon them and they were prophesying (saying the Words of the Father), the same way Moses was doing (Num. 11:16-17, 24-25).
(Luke 10:2 NASB) And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
(Luke 10:3 NASB) “Go your ways; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
Luke 10:3: The time is short because Yeshua is on His way back to Jerusalem to be killed. He is telling them that the harvest is plentiful, but there are few chosen to send out as laborers.
They are being sent out as lambs in the midst of wolves. He is going to tell them to give the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom out to the people whether they listen or not. This is similar to what was told Ezekiel (Ezek. 2:3-7).
(Luke 10:4 NASB) “Carry no purse, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way.
Luke 10:4: They did not have time to be cordial and visit with others.
(Luke 10:5 NASB) “And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’
(Luke 10:6 NASB) “And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you.
(Luke 10:7 NASB) “And 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.
Luke 10:7: Since they could not be burdened with carrying any supplies, they were to rely on the graciousness of those they encounter for food and shelter. Apparently the Father will provide some people in each city that they stay in that will embrace their message (Jer. 3:14-15). To those who embrace that message, they are to give them the message of “peace.”
(Luke 10:8 NASB) “And whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you;
(Luke 10:9 NASB) and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
Luke 10:9: The other seventy were to eat what is set before them and heal those in their midst. They were to give them the message of the Gospel of the Kingdom.
(Luke 10:10 NASB) “But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say,
(Luke 10:11 NASB) ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
Luke 10:11: If the city rejects them and the message of the Kingdom, they are to wipe off the dust from their feet and tell them that the kingdom of Elohim has come near to them.
Yeshua told them that they were to go to those that received the message of the kingdom and grant them with the blessing of peace and to heal their sick. If they would not receive them, they would not receive a blessing or healing.
This is exactly what Elohim told Isaiah would happen when He returns to them (Isa. 57:16-21).
(Luke 10:12 NASB) “I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.
Luke 10:12: For those cities that reject the message of the Kingdom, their judgement will be greater than that of Sodom. Sodom was destroyed by fire and brimstone from heaven. This judgment is described in Genesis 19.
(Luke 10:13 NASB) “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.
(Luke 10:14 NASB) “But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment, than for you.
Luke 10:14: The cities of Bethsaida and Chorazin were cursed because they rejected the message of the kingdom and the miracles that prove the authenticity of the message.
As a matter of fact, the city of Bethsaida hated Yeshua so much that He was not going to perform any more miracles there. Yeshua took a blind man out of that village in order to heal him (Mark 8:22-25).
(Luke 10:15 NASB) “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!
Luke 10:15: Capernaum will be brought down to the grave. Bethsaida, Chorazim, and Capernaum were all in the same geographical area north of the sea of Galilee.
(Luke 10:16 NASB) “The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
Luke 10:16: Since they were all given the Spirit of the Father, the words they spoke were the Words of the Father. If they rejected the message, they were not just rejecting the messenger, but they were rejecting the Words of the Father even though they were performing miracles in their midst. The same thing happened to Moses (Num. 14:2,11, 16:8).
(Luke 10:17 NASB) And the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
(Luke 10:18 NASB) And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.
Luke 10:18: This is not Yeshua giving a dissertation of Satan being cast out of heaven when he allegedly became prideful as he was covering the throne of the Father. That is silly. The passage must be kept in context.
The seventy came back with joy that the demons were even subject to them in His name (character). Yeshua said He was watching the power of Satan being defeated through his demons being cast out. The power of Satan and the demons were subject to them because they had the Spirit of the Father and they were speaking the Words of the Father.
(Luke 10:19 NASB) “Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you.
(Luke 10:20 NASB) “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
Luke 10:20: They were given authority to tread upon snakes and scorpions and all the power of the enemy. This was prophesied to happen with the appearance of the Kingdom (Isa. 11:8-10).
Yeshua tells them not to rejoice in their power over Satan, but to rejoice that their names are recorded as being a part of the Kingdom (Isa. 4:3, Ezek. 13:9, Dan. 12:1-2). The Book of Life is the record of the names of the righteous who will be a part of the Kingdom of Israel forever (Rev. 21:23-27).
(Luke 10:21 NASB) At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight.
Luke 10:21: Yeshua was praising the Father for not revealing the Kingdom to the alleged “wise and intelligent.” This was prophesied in the Tanakh (Isa. 29:13-14).
He has revealed the kingdom to babes. David praised the Father for this also (Psalm 8:1-2).
(Luke 10:22 NASB) “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.”
Luke 10:22: This is a strong statement of predestination. No one knows who the Son is, except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son will to reveal Him (1 John 5:20-21).
(Luke 10:23 NASB) And turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see,
(Luke 10:24 NASB) 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.”
Luke 10:24: The prophets and kings of Elohim in the past wished to see the coming Kingdom and hear that it was at hand, but they did not (Heb. 11:13, 39).
(Luke 10:25 NASB) And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
(Luke 10:26 NASB) And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?”
(Luke 10:27 NASB) And he answered and said, “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.”
Luke 10:27: A certain lawyer, or possibly a scribe, was trying to test Yeshua by asking Him how to inherit eternal life (which is to be a part of the Kingdom that He and His disciples had been speaking of). Yeshua told him to see what is written in the Torah and asked him, “How does it read to you?”
The lawyer answered by quoting Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18.
Another lawyer once asked Him “What is the greatest commandment?” Yeshua responded with these two commandments and by saying that all of Torah depends upon these two commandments (Matt. 22:35-40). Those two commandments summarize the whole duty of man. The way to do those two things is described in the rest of the Torah.
(Luke 10:28 NASB) And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS, AND YOU WILL LIVE.”
Luke 10:28: Yeshua was, once again, speaking the Words of the Father. It is through His Torah that we “will live,” or have life (Lev. 18:5, Neh. 9:29, Ezek. 20:11). Yeshua is affirming that obedience to His Father’s Torah is the only way to have eternal life.
(Luke 10:29 NASB) But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Luke 10:29: The text states that this man wished to justify himself. He knew the answer to the question he first asked, but did not know the answer as to “Who is his neighbor?” This man wanted to know who it is that he must love. Yeshua is going to answer him with a parable.
(Luke 10:30 NASB) Jesus replied and said, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went off leaving him half dead.
Luke 10:30: The road from Jerusalem to Jericho is a winding road that steeply descends through rocky places where robbers could easily hide.
(Luke 10:31 NASB) “And by chance a certain priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
(Luke 10:32 NASB) “And likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
Luke 10:32: A certain priest and a certain Levite were each separately traveling down that road and both ignored the dying man.
(Luke 10:33 NASB) “But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,
Luke 10:33: The Samaritans were descendants of colonists whom the Assyrian kings placed in the northern kingdom after the defeat of the northern kingdom. They were enemies of Judah that tried to prevent them from rebuilding Jerusalem in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Many were also involved in pagan worship and were despised by the people of Judah.
(Luke 10:34 NASB) 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.
(Luke 10:35 NASB) “And 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.’
Luke 10:35: Two denarii was the equivalent of two days wages for the average working man. The Samaritan took good care of the Israelite who was dying on the side of the road. This is in accordance with Torah (Ex. 23:4-5, Prov. 25:21-22).
(Luke 10:36 NASB) “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”
(Luke 10:37 NASB) And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
Luke 10:37: The one who proved to be the neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands was the one who obeyed the Torah, the Samaritan. Yeshua told the man to do the same.
We are to love our neighbor, the one who loves the Torah of the Father, even if we have something against that person. Yeshua said that those who do the will of His Father in heaven (obey His Torah), are his brothers and sisters (Matt. 12:46-50).
(Luke 10:38 NASB) Now as they were traveling along, He entered a certain village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.
(Luke 10:39 NASB) And she had a sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord’s word, seated at His feet.
(Luke 10:40 NASB) 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.”
Luke 10:40: Mary and Martha were the sisters of Lazarus, whom Yeshua would bring back to life after he fell ill and died.
(Luke 10:41 NASB) But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;
(Luke 10:42 NASB) but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:42: Martha was upset because her sister was not helping her. Martha wanted to provide a lavish meal for Yeshua. But he told her that a fancy meal wasn’t necessary. Just fixing one thing would suffice.
Mary chose to absorb the Words of Yeshua. That shall not be taken away from her.
Patrick McGuire
Copyright 2014 Patrick McGuire and Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly All rights reserved, no portion of this Lesson may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly Fort Smith, Arkansas