Luke 10- Andy's thoughts

Being with Jesus in the world and being like Jesus in the world

What strikes me about this chapter is the combination of 2 central aspects of being a disciple. The first is that a disciple is one who delights in being with Jesus. The second is that a disciple is one who delights in being like Jesus.

The chapter opens with an account of the commissioning of the 72 disciples to go out as Jesus’ messengers of the gospel. They have the privilege of being personally appointed by Jesus to tell others about him. And they are not the first. The 12 are commissioned before that. And the 12 are not even the first. The man who was possessed by the legion of demons was appointed to go out and tell others about all that Jesus had done for him.

What was the experience of the 72? They got to go to various towns talking about Jesus. They healed the sick and drove out demons. They were extremely excited about their experience. When they tell Jesus about it, they are told that they will see even more exciting things. Yet Jesus adds that they should rejoice not because of the miracles they performed in his name. They should rejoice because their names are written in heaven. (the Greek word for “written” has the same root as the one used to describe the registration or census mentioned in the first chapter)

What does this mean? I think it means that the joy of the disciple is in the relationship that they have with God. We shouldn’t be primarily motivated by the signs and wonders that accompany the work of the gospel. We should be motivated by our unique and secure relationship with God.

Jesus then takes time to pause and to personally enjoy the pleasure of the disciples’ relationship with God. He then assures the disciples in verses 23 and 24 by telling them of how unique of an experience they were having. Not even the most prominent of the Old Testament prophets saw or heard what they are now hearing.

When the teacher of the law begins to ask Jesus questions about eternal life, Jesus makes some very clear and surprising statements. Jesus understands that the man was trying to justify himself. So much of what we try to do in this world is an effort to justify ourselves. In my own life, I have had the struggle of wanting to accomplish things in order to validate myself. Whether it is through my profession, my education, my ministry, or my day to day activities- it is so easy to make a list of accomplishments my goal rather than my means.

I suppose what I am trying to say is this- Getting a degree- in and of itself- is meaningless. Getting a good paying job- in and of itself- is meaningless. Getting a secure romantic relationship- in and of itself- is meaningless. Getting a house- in and of itself- is meaningless. None of these things is inherently bad; it is just that none of them can justify my worth as a human. A degree, a paycheck, a deed- these are ultimately just pieces of paper. Words and numbers written on paper that will one day burn. What matters is that our names are written in the Book of Life.

Despite our culture’s pressure upon us to justify ourselves, we have hope. We don’t have to justify ourselves. Jesus has already justified us. So we are free from that endless burden. Jesus tells us that what really matters- is living out a justified life. What is the sign of a justified life? Showing mercy. It is not having a comprehensive knowledge of the Law. It is loving God and loving our neighbor. How do we do this? We do this by showing mercy. What is Jesus’ point of application? That we go and do the same. Go and do. Show mercy. Pretty simple, right?

The last vignette in the chapter is perhaps a familiar one. Jesus visits the home of Martha and Mary. While there, Martha states that it seems uncaring of Jesus to allow Mary to sit at his feet while Martha does all of the serving. Given what I read in the parable of the good Samaritan, I would tend to agree. Isn’t serving important? Yes. But it is not all that is important.

In fact, what is most important is that we sit at Jesus’ feet and learn from him. I think that this is the dynamic of discipleship. As disciples, we draw close to Jesus and love him and learn from him. In response, we go out into the world and be like him by showing mercy. If all we did was be close to Jesus but did not show mercy- we would be empty as disciples. If all we did was show mercy but didn’t get close to Jesus- we would also be empty. A true disciple lives in the dynamic combination of both.

I think that there are many people who devote their lives to knowing Jesus but don’t do anything in the world to show his mercy. This just seems selfish and shallow. I think that there are also many people in the world who show mercy and do good but they don’t take time to know Jesus. This seems incomplete. Doing good is wonderful but to do so without experience the even greater good that Jesus does for us would drain me. It is Christ’s compassion to me that serves as the fuel for my service. Without that compassion, my service would quickly run dry.

I think that these ideas are not only true for “many people,” I think that they are true for me. I have experienced the pendulum swing in both directions. For us at ORB, I encourage us to spend sufficient time doing both- being with Jesus in the world and being like Jesus in the world.

I also want to make a small note here- There is a historical context that we might miss when we read the account of Mary and Martha because we are not first century Jews. When verse 39 says that Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to his teaching, that was a very uncommon event. In Jewish homes, the men and the women spent most of their time in separate rooms. In the Jewish context- Jesus was seen as teacher who was training other teachers. This was only something for men.

The fact that Jesus allowed a woman to be included in listening to him during his teaching in the house would have been shocking. I think that also is part of what shocked Martha. The traditional role of women at the time was to be in the kitchen and not to be so bold as to sit with the men in a training session. There are a few key points to take away from this then.

First, Jesus was validating women in teaching ministry. He was not only permitting it, he was commending Mary for having the courage and perspective to choose to be with him as a teacher trainee. Second, Jesus was breaking the stereotype that a woman’s place is “in the kitchen.” (Side note- I keep reading facebook posts of high school kids joining groups with awful names like “blah blah blah, tell the woman to make me a sandwich” NOT COOL! If you see our kids do that or if you are doing that- you should be ashamed of yourself. That is completely unacceptable. I don’t care if you think it’s just funny. It’s not. It’s obnoxious asinine behavior that is completely devoid of love.) Lastly, I hope to see more of the women in our community feel free to take on a fuller role in the teaching ministries within ORB.

Application:
• Are we taking time daily to be with Jesus? where and when?
• Are we taking time daily to show other people mercy? To whom and how?