Chapter # 9 Paragraph # 1 Study # 2
August 23, 2009
Lincolnton, NC
(553)
AV Translation:
3 And he said unto them, Take nothing for
your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.
4 And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.
5 And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
6 And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.
1901 ASV Translation:
3 And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money; neither have two coats.
4 And into whatsoever house ye enter, there abide, and thence depart.
5 And as many as receive you not, when ye depart from that city, shake off the dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
6 And they departed, and went throughout the villages, preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere.
Luke's Record:
- I. "Take Nothing For Your Journey".
- A. The instruction assumed the "message" (9:2): the Kingdom of God has come near (10:9).
- 1. Whether they had come to understand the implications of this "message", or not, those implications came with it. Its essence was the "nearness" of the God of the Kingdom and everything that His character brings along, beginning with "Love" and focusing upon "Faith" as the prerequisite of human participation in it.
- 2. Just as it is impossible for "Love" to be self-serving, it is impossible for "Faith" to participate in self-serving activities.
- 3. Thus, in every case, when the apostles arrived in a village, town, or city, they bore a message of "insistent repentance" (Mark 1:15 as well as Luke 5:32 and many other texts).
- B. The instruction was challenging.
- 1. The restricted items consisted of staff, pouch, bread, silver, and "two" tunics. All of these items were directly related to "anticipated needs".
- a. The "staff" is likened in 22:36 to a "sword". The "anticipated need" was "protection".
- b. The "pouch", according to Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, was a bag of significant size that could hold a host of items. The "anticipated need" was varied according to each man's personal concerns.
- c. "Bread" obviously anticipated meals.
- d. The "silver" was "money" (the prohibition was not "literal" in the sense that "gold" would have been permitted) and it signaled "whatever might crop up".
- e. The "two tunics" most likely involved the traditional preparation for spending the night outside because the issue is "anticipated need".
- 2. The challenge was to "believe" that whatever necessity arose would be met without undue concern.
- a. In any case, no "anticipation" can cover all of the bases.
- b. In every case "your Father knows that you have need of these things" (Matthew 6:8 and 6:32).
- C. The instruction was contrary to Jesus' own practice (8:3 and John 12:6 and 13:29).
- D. The instruction was deliberate and temporary: (22:35-36).
- 1. The "temporary" nature of the instruction is important.
- a. There is a basic necessity that one learn that Jesus' provision will be "according to need". Once the "learning" has occurred, the restraints can be lifted.
- b. It is not "wrong" to make provision for "anticipated" realities as long as the provision is simple wisdom (Proverbs 6:6-8) and not obsessive compulsion (fear is forbidden in all cases). There are certain occasions of life's experience that are intended to establish certain truths and, once established, need not be repeated in every case. The bottom line will always be the same: Is it "faith" or "fear" that is driving the decision?
- 2. The "deliberate" nature of the instruction is also important.
- a. The issue in every case of Jesus' "instruction" is "edification". Something needs to be poured into the soul/spirit of the hearer in a life-changing way so that one's way of looking at life is not the same afterward.
- b. Disobedient refusal results in one of two things.
- 1) God may forsake His intention of teaching the truth so that everything attached to it is abandoned (both temporally and eternally).
- 2) God may return to the same issue over and over until His child "gets it".
- II. "Into whatsoever house ye enter, remain there and depart from there".
- A. Hospitality was a "cultural norm" of the day and offers of food and lodging were typical.
- B. Moving from house to house was circumscribed by Jesus for some reason.
- 1. As in C.2.a. above, Jesus had a "reason" for this restriction.
- 2. The question is this: what was His "reason"?
- a. One possibility is that the disciples may wish to spread the responsibility of hospitality around.
- b. A second possibility is that the disciples may be offered "better" accomodations after being in a town for a few days.
- c. A third possibility is that Jesus intended for His disciples to "trust" (i.e., "be committed to His Father's unseen oversight") that even the offer of hospitality was "of the Father" and not to be "slighted". This was a challenge to their confidence in the "degree" of the Father's involvement with them in their task.