“Go and do the same.”

Luke 10:13-37 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“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. ¹⁴ But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. ¹⁵ And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!

¹⁶ “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.”

¹⁷ The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” ¹⁸ And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. ²⁰ Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

²¹ At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. ²² 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.”

²³ Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, ²⁴ 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.”

²⁵ And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” ²⁷ And he answered, “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.” ²⁸ And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” ²⁹ But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

³⁰ Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. ³¹ And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, ³⁴ 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. ³⁵ 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.’ ³⁶ Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” ³⁷ And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

In today’s text it says:  The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”    It is vital that we prioritize eternity over everything that is temporal. Nothing that we have or do here on earth is as important as believing in Jesus and the finished work of the cross for eternal life. In Mark 8:36-38 Jesus says:  “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”   In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says:  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”   Again, it is vital for all of us who call Jesus Lord, that we prioritize knowing Him and being known by Him. It is also vital that above all that we can do for people, more than loving and serving them; more than meeting their temporal needs, even more than casting out demons or performing miracles, we should prioritize their eternal souls.

The text says:  And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” And he answered, “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.”  And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”  But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”  There are many who focus on loving others as the primary aspect of faith in Christ. In Matthew 22:35-40 it says:  One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him,  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment.  The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”   Jesus emphasized that first and foremost, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’   Loving others is secondary to that. God is a God of order and it is vital that we do the first commandment first. 1 John 4:19 says:  We love Him because He first loved us. Romans 5:8 says:  God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Our love for God is a response to His love for us, demonstrated in the cross.  It is only because of God’s love that we can love others as ourselves. We are to love them then with the same love that God loved us; an unconditional and sacrificial love.

Jesus answers the question of who is our neighbor saying:  “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 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. 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.’ Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”    We should show mercy to others. We should try to meet their needs, but we should also love them as we have been loved. We should not neglect their eternal needs. Our love, our actions and our words should point them to the demonstration of God’s love; that while they were sinners, Christ died for them. In Matthew 10:7-8, when Jesus sent out the disciples, He said:  “As you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.”  Today He says:  “Go and do the same.”   

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; that You first loved me; that You loved me with an unconditional and sacrificial love; that You died for my sins. In response to Your love, I love. First and foremost I love You with my whole heart, soul and mind. Then, because of Your love, I can love others as I myself am loved. I can show mercy and I can tell them that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Freely I have received and empowered by the Holy Spirit, freely I will give.  Amen.