Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. Not long ago, on day 289, we read about Jesus sending out the 12 apostles in Matthew 10. It's possible that the account we read about today, with 72 people, is a different scenario where Jesus gives the same instructions, or it could be the same one. If it's the same one, then why are the numbers so different? Was it 72 or was it 12? Probably both.
It's likely that Matthew is primarily focused on telling the personal story he and the other 11 apostles encountered, whereas Luke, who wasn't an apostle, prefers to zoom out on the whole group of people Jesus sent out. So if this is the same story, these accounts are not contradictory, even though it may look like it on the surface. It's just that the writers have different goals in mind.
The job of these 36 pairs is to let the towns know that Jesus is the Messiah and he's about to swing by personally. He instructs them twice in verses 9 and 11 to tell people that the kingdom of God has come near to them. As ambassadors for Christ and agents of his healing power, they're bringing the benefits and truth of the kingdom near to those who are far from the kingdom. We'll continue to read and learn more about the kingdom as we move on. Jesus prepares the 72 for rejection, but he promises them provision.
When they return, they are overjoyed. They feel so powerful. They can't believe they can personally do the things they've seen Jesus doing all along. But Jesus doesn't rah-rah them. He responds with an interesting statement about Satan. He says, he saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Then he just moves right on without unpacking that while we're all here like, whoa, whoa, whoa, Jesus, you got some splainin' to do. But he doesn't splain, so we're left to look to the rest of Scripture to figure out what he means here.
Some scholars think this refers to Isaiah 14:12 or Ezekiel 28, which also record a fall from heaven and/or a fall from power in the past. And others think it refers to a future fall, like the one mentioned in Revelation 20, which records Satan's final defeat. Since Jesus, who is God the Son, exists eternally outside of time, he can see things that haven't happened yet and speak of them as if they have. So that means, technically, Jesus could speak of the future fall of Satan and still use the past tense "saw."
He does that sometimes, where he speaks of future realities as being presently fulfilled. That's one of the perks of being outside time. So if he is referring to Revelation 20, that could be why he used the past tense verb form. Ultimately, the idea we get from all the passages about Satan throughout scripture is that he is one of God's created angels who rebelled in heaven along with a third of the other angels and they were evicted. But because they were only evicted and not destroyed, then they have mounted a doomed attack against the kingdom of God and they will ultimately be put to shame.
So when Jesus casually mentions this here in the context of their personal encounters with the demonic, it seems like he's trying to say to them, of course you have power over demons. You're on the winning team and they're on the losing team. But then he immediately follows that by saying, it's great that we have that power over demons, but I don't want you to miss the point. The point isn't what you can do here on earth. That's all temporary. The point, the most important thing of all, is that your names are written in heaven. Your future is secure. No matter what happens to you here on earth,
Nothing can shake your eternal life with me. And this power over demons is just one of the many perks of that relationship. He knows this message is going to be important for them because things aren't going to be easy for them after he dies. They're going to encounter more oppression and rejection as they continue to spread the gospel, and it'll be necessary for them to remember that what matters most are the eternal things.
In fact, Jesus gets so excited about these eternal things that he may have even done a little dance. Verse 21 says he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and he thanked God. That word rejoice carries the idea that he jumped for joy and apparently it was often accompanied by a song and dance. Every single time this word is used in scripture, it's related to a relationship with God and life in his kingdom. That definitely calls for a hokey pokey.
As he continues talking, a lawyer who is probably a Pharisee asks him how to get this eternal life he keeps mentioning. One important side note: In general, the rules the Pharisees add to God's law often focus on personal details like hand washing while freeing them up from God's laws related to loving others. Like when they wouldn't care for their parents because they said they were giving that money to the temple. They made their faith far more about the appearance of loving God to the extent that it restricted them from loving others.
So this guy is probably looking for an excuse to avoid loving people outside of his inner circle. The text says he wants to test Jesus and justify himself.
Since Jesus is talking to a lawyer, he meets the guy where he is by going straight to the law. Jesus says, based on the law, what do you think the answer is? And the guy says, love God with everything I have and love my neighbor as myself. But who is my neighbor? Ha ha, gotcha. This seems like the kind of guy who would move to the wilderness alone so he doesn't have to love anyone but himself because, hey, technically no neighbors.
So Jesus is like, pull up a rock, let me tell you a story. Then he tells one of the most well-known parables of all. It's about a man who has a dangerous journey through a sketchy part of Israel known for thieves and robbers. So of course he gets attacked. A priest walks past and won't touch him. A Levite walks past and ignores him too. In fact, they apparently cross the street to avoid the injured man. Their jobs are to be mediators between God and man, but they won't extend God's help to the man in need.
Then, Jesus throws a shocking twist into the story. A Samaritan, gasp, stops to help the guy. As a refresher, Samaritans are half Jew, half Gentile, and the Jews and Samaritans have a mutual disdain for each other. Jesus paints a Samaritan as the good guy in this story and tells the Pharisee to take notes. He points out that being a neighbor, which just means near, refers to everyone you encounter, even if they're your so-called enemy.
And Jesus has demonstrated this himself by loving the sick and demonized and tax collectors and Gentiles. In the final section, we meet two of Jesus' friends. They're sisters, apparently unmarried, and one of them is probably pretty wealthy because she owns her own home, which is rare for a woman in this day.
They have Jesus over for lunch, and Mary is just hanging out asking Jesus to tell her stories while Martha is trying to start the Instapot, fold napkins into swans, and make sure all the pillows are fluffed and chopped. She can't believe Mary can just be so chill while she's stressed out because everything has to be perfect for our Lord and Savior. Martha even goes up to Jesus and says, Do you not see the problem here? Your girl is breaking a sweat, and Mary's just kicked back to fusing essential oils and listening to you tell stories all day. Not okay.
Jesus doesn't tell her to calm down. I appreciate that. Instead, he leans into compassion. He acknowledges her emotions, then says, Look, I'm not concerned with how your house looks. That's good, but it's not necessary. That food will be gone in 10 minutes, but do you know what will last? This conversation. The time you spend with me can't be taken away from you. And that's still true today. By being here, in the Word, in this podcast, it's clear that you've chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from you.
Maybe your bed isn't made and you haven't bathed since Tuesday and you're eating leftovers again. All that will pass. This is eternal. This will last.
Today, my God shot was in the parable of the Good Samaritan. I'm struck by how much the Good Samaritan has in common with Jesus. They both share a mixed lineage, though Jesus' mixture is human and divine. They're both rejected and despised. They're both compassionate toward the hurting. They both pour out wine and oil. And for Jesus, these symbolize his blood and God the Spirit. They both personally paid the price for healing and rest. And they both promised to return.
What the Good Samaritan does here is all good and beautiful and true, but it's a temporary thing pointing to an eternal reality. Jesus is showing us what he has done. Sure, this parable encourages us to go out and be like the Good Samaritan, but more than that, it serves as a reminder that we are the ones in the ditch. It turns out, the Good Samaritan isn't even the hero of his own parable. Jesus is, and he's where the joy is. ♪
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