Author: Bill Hall

 Luke 10:4 “Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.”

   Jesus was sending them to the Jewish or Samaritan towns and villages in the area. These places would have traditions that would incline them to provide for those seen as prophets or messengers of God. If the disciples were rejected, it would mean that these places did not think they were sent by God.

   The disciples likely did wear sandals, but didn’t take an extra pair. The knapsack or moneybag would be needed if they did not expect to be housed somewhere freely. As far as greeting others along the road goes, Jesus wasn’t telling them to be unfriendly. But, they didn’t need to join with other travelling groups for safety, lodging, and informational concerns. They were to rely on their benefactors in the towns, not travelers along the roads.

Heavenly Father, we are but pilgrims in this life. We look so forward to being at home with You in the heavenly future. Thank You for hope in Christ in this time of our lives. New life in Him makes everything different. We praise You for Your glory, grace, and goodness! You are the great Provider. We can look to You for everything because there is no other Source. You have it all. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

 Luke 10:3 “Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.”

   Wolves run in packs, working together for their common benefit with little care for anyone or anything else. Sheep follow their master. Wolves are the natural enemy of the sheep. But sheep cannot defend themselves from them. They must rely upon the master for this protection.

   Jesus was giving these that He sent out a picture of the relationship between gospel ministers and this world. As He says in another place, if people were against Him, they would also be against His followers. But He will lead and preserve His disciples through times of persecution.

Heavenly Father, thank You for this day, and this opportunity to bring praise to You. You are amazing, and You have done so much in Your wonderful creation. As we look around and see the ravages of sin, we are amazed at the wonder of Your world nonetheless. Thank You for showing us Your truth, otherwise we would assume this is as good as it gets. I love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

 Luke 10:2 “Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

   There is a sense in which it is better for each follower of Christ for there to be more others who follow Him. In other words, as an individual believer, the overall number of persons who will turn to Christ has a direct bearing on our overall experience in the long run.

   Let me try to explain this. In this current life our time is extremely limited. We know a very small portion of the world, even a small portion of the church. But, one day in heaven we will know the whole group, and we will have time enough to know them well. Every life will make an infinite amount of difference.

   At that future time, this life will be to us like a small inlet of water in comparison to the mighty ocean. It will be like one atom in comparison to the entire universe of matter. This life will seem but a blink of an eye in a strange dream in comparison to the reality that we will then live.

   Thus, pray for laborers. Beg the Lord of the harvest to multiply His harvest. Every life counts so much!

Heavenly Father, we see so little of what will be our lives one day with You. But, what we do see stirs us to ask You to grant that many will come to You in this time. You alone know what is in store, but what You have shown us by Your Spirit is so wonderful to us. Each life will make so much of a difference. Help us to bring more to You, and send out many more laborers. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

 Luke 10:1 “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.”

   Even during the earthly ministry of Jesus, He relied upon humanity to reach humanity. This is important for us to see and understand. Very often we find those who will not accept the truth because they object to its ministers. But, Jesus chose to use His disciples to be His representatives then, and He still does this now.

   The idea of two witnesses is a very Jewish thing. Two witnesses are considered trustworthy, but only one is not. However, this idea is not just meant for the early gospel message. In spite of being a Jewish idea, it is also the Lord’s idea. We find the thought that two is better than one all throughout Scripture. This reminds us that the gospel ministry is meant to be a joint enterprise. Those who feel they are the only true representatives of Christ they know and go at it all alone are treading dangerous ground.

Heavenly Father, thank You for each day You have given to us. You are the God of All and I love You! Thank You for Your mercy and grace in my life. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

 Luke 9:62 “But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

   Sometimes when we read the things Jesus has said we think He was trying to avoid gaining a following. This statement definitely seemed to be meant to discourage new followers. But, we need to look deeper and simply understand the kind of followers Jesus is looking for.

   Jesus doesn’t want fair-weather fans. He isn’t looking for facebook or twitter follows. He doesn’t want people to make Him famous or promote His brand. He wants absolute, complete and total surrender of all that we are to all that He is. He isn’t looking for people who think they need Him and want to ‘try out’ for a while as His disciples. He is looking for those who know they need Him and come to Him because He is their only hope.

   Jesus is very honest. He doesn’t play games with your soul. He isn’t going to give you a sense of false hope. He will make it clear what is expected. But, He will also bring great blessing to your life. The twelve forsook all and followed. And, except for the traitor among them, their reward was great. I have yet to run across anyone who committed all to Christ and regretted it. I have seen many who were not true followers who did live with regret.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the truth. You have made it available and given us the chance to accept and follow after Christ. You are gracious, merciful and kind above all that we could ever hope for. We deserve none of it. And yet, in You, our lives become so very valuable. We know we are nothing, and yet we can embrace everything by the power of Your Spirit. You are amazing, awesome, and truly wonderful! We will live to love You and to seek to please You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 9:61 “And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”

   It is important to understand what is being said here. This man is not simply asking leave to go say ‘bye-bye’, it is much more than that. In ancient cultures, a farewell might take days or weeks, and would include friends and family trying to persuade one not to go. Remember, back then, communication over long distances was virtually impossible, and all travel was very dangerous.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the confidence we can have in You! We know You are always there. Your Presence is so comforting to us. Thank You! We love You and seek to please You. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 9:60 ” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”

   What Jesus is telling this man is that the importance of the gospel trumps everything else. He is not asking this man to be unfeeling or unkind towards his parent. He is not telling the man to snub his family or treat them poorly. He is teaching him that the service of God take precedence over everything else.

   By saying the dead should bury the dead he means that the spiritually dead will continue with the normal functions of life. But, his followers are called to more than just the mundane activities of day to day life. They must act in accordance with the urgency attached to the message.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the encouragement we find in Your Word. You help us understand so much better what is truly most valuable. I will praise You for Your wisdom and steadfast love. You are faithful always and You never change. We can know that You are always right, and that You always do what is best. But, Your ways are different from ours, and we must seek to understand and know You. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 9:59 “Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

   Most likely this individual’s father was not dead yet. If his father had been dead, he wouldn’t have been in a position to hear Christ’s teaching. Instead, this man is asking permission to stay near home until his father passed. After that, he would commit to following Christ.

Heavenly Father, You are holy beyond all we can imagine! Your goodness is wonderful! You have thoughts we will never understand. And yet, You have allowed us a glimpse into Your thinking. Thank You for allowing us to know You. Just to have a relationship with You is a blessing minute to minute. We want to please You, and we love You very much. Thank You for life! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 9:58 “And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

   Jesus had here before Him and man who was willing to follow Him any where He went. But Jesus pushes this man to go a step further. Like God and Abram of old, Jesus means to say ‘and what if I don’t tell you where we are going?’ The disciples Jesus already had knew the truth of this. They were often surprised by what came next in the ministry of Christ.

   More than that, the financial situation of Jesus was much different than what most of these would-be followers would have imagined. Save the miracle of the temple tax in the fish’s mouth, we do not know of Jesus miraculously doing anything financially related. And, that miracle alone illustrates that He didn’t have much money on hand. We do know that Judas stole from Him regularly, and He may have been supported in large part by the women who followed Him, though we can’t be certain of that.

   This is not to say that nobody who follows Christ is allowed to have money. That’s not true at all. But, the followers of Christ are to have a certain attitude towards material things and provisions. Jesus was focused on ministry to people, not His next meal, or the next place where He would stay.

Heavenly Father, thank You for taking care of us! We tend to think that we have provided for ourselves, but we know You have provided everything we have. No matter where we go or when, we will look to You for our provisions. While being wise stewards, we will be faithful, and faith-filled. You alone can provide for the journey ahead! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 9:57 “Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”

   When we look at the next verse we may get the idea that Jesus had a problem with what this man said. Quite to the contrary, this man was on the right track. As we will see, all Jesus is doing in the next verse is pulling this man into the next level, pushing him to go even farther.

   ‘I will follow You’ is the response that Jesus is looking for. That is the starting point. He will work on you. He will stretch your faith. But, to get off of square one with Jesus Christ we must be at this stage. Jesus will not waste your time, nor His. If you are not of a mind to follow Him, He will not get involved with you. Jesus is looking for those who have cast the die, struck the mark, and forged the mold. They have no intention of doing anything less that what they have said. They have seen Christ and have said, as Joshua of old, ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

   The Bible does not use the example of a soldier to explain the Christian life because Jesus wants us to kill people. Not at all. But the illustration stands because the soldier is willing to lose his life, or spend it all, in service to the Commander. The Bible does not liken the Christian to an athlete because believers are playing a game. Not at all. But this example also stands because the athlete is fully committed, and in it to win. Jesus is after those who will chose Him because they love Him.

Heavenly Father, thank You for choosing to use humanity! You could have given us a one-time worldwide ultimatum. You could have just forced us to chose and wrapped everything up already. But, you have chosen Your way. And Your way is always the best way. Thank You! I love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.