Luke Ten Twenty Two

When the seventy returned to Jesus, thrilled by their success, Jesus claimed that he saw Satan fall from heaven suddenly in a flash, as if a bolt of lightning. That statement could have been one of two things. Either Jesus used it as praise for the success of the seventy, or Jesus made the statement as a one-up – as if to tell them he was around back in the day and saw the original devil subjected to the will of God.

Then Jesus prayed openly. Both the seventy and the disciples heard the prayer, after which Jesus turned to his disciples to speak privately. Between the prayer and turning to his disciples, Jesus made a statement, and it is that statement I wish to examine here. I find it difficult to place that statement either fully with the prayer, or yet again, fully with his private words for his disciples.

If it may be a part of either, it is more likely to belong with the prayer. Yet, it does not seem to me to be a part of the prayer. It seems altogether a stand-alone statement. Perhaps it was a statement of exaltation (Luke 10:21, “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit”.) More than the realization of success in part of the plan, there was a more nearly complete realization of the full will of God.

Here is the statement: “All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.”

The statement may be divided into three sections. In the first, it is as if Jesus realizes, or claims for the benefit of the listeners, heirship to the Father. According to the dictionary, that is the position or rights of an heir; the right of inheritance. I think all of us can get behind such a claim with a fairly complete understanding.

The remaining sections are what I find most deserving of closer inspection. I would like to contrast the sections against one another. There are two types of knowledge here, or revelation. First, knowledge of the Son of the Father is revealed only to the Father. God alone knows who his Son is. The fact that we use a capital 'S' in son should be kept in mind. It is developmental in the sense of one who has come into one's own – someone who has finally 'arrived'.

There is no addendum to this statement. It is simply a knowledge that is revealed to the Father alone. Second, knowledge of the Father is revealed only to the Son of the Father. This second statement, reverse in the sense of a mirror image, does have an addendum. Not only to the Son of the Father is the Father revealed, but also to whoever the Son will share the knowledge.

Shall we consider the difference between the two revelations as insurmountable? Is it that Jesus will tell us who God is, but God will not tell us who Jesus is? Well, that's just confusing! As I have stated earlier, Jesus is God's communication of self to mortal man. In that sense, God does reveal the knowledge of his Son. The Son also, as the message, reveals knowledge of the Father . . . that's sort of the point I think.

So, is there anything really withheld? I am mindful of some other things revealed by Jesus. In the prayer he had just prayed for all to hear, he said this – “thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” I am also mindful that the truth of parables was revealed to some and withheld from others.

I guess it all boils down to a single fact: some people get it and some people don't. Revelation is not some random bit of trivia available for public consumption. Spiritual knowledge is subjective rather than objective. Synonyms of the word 'objective' include detached, neutral, dispassionate, uninvolved, and disinterested. Revelation of the Father is personal. Revelation of the Son is personal. Revelation of heirship is personal.

Where Will You Find God?

This is a short opinion piece. Consider these questions. Do you know someone who places God fully in the old testament, that is, so far back in history as to be inapplicable to modern issues? Do you know someone who believes God is some white-bearded sky daddy so far up in heaven as to be ineffective? Many people dismiss God from their lives in sweeping generalizations. But, where is God to be found?

We must not be too quick to set ourselves apart from God. God is found neither in the past nor the future, nor again in some inaccessible realm. Where God is found is in the hearts and minds of his children – right here and right now. Jesus told us that God is a spirit. Whether or not God lives in our spirits is up to us.

This opinion piece is drawn from Psalms 22:3 and Romans 10:8. My take on the matter is that God lives in his praises, and both God and Jesus are as close to us as the words we speak. In that God inhabits His praise, each time one of us lifts Him up, He becomes stronger and more alive – not only in our spirits but also in the world we share with other people.

The communication of God to man is His only begotten son. Jesus stood upon this Earth not only as that message, which from the beginning has been that God inhabits man but also as the prime example of living praise. A father never exists apart from his children; the real connection between father and child is that message that has come down to us through the ages. It is a beautiful message.

Each of us has the power. If any of us prays for God's presence in the world, the answer to that prayer may be found in praise. Let us continue the communication of praise. Let us share it between ourselves and abroad. We have it within our own power to take on the mantle of living praise, of spiritual father inhabiting mortal child.

This opinion piece is praise. By this praise, I lift up my heavenly Father – right here and right now. It is my assertion here that God's mighty presence in this world depends on our humble praises. Like Jesus, we have both the power and the choice to stand as living praise: God in man. God lives here. I share myself with you. It is a beautiful communication. Will you share yourself with another?

The PR Crew (Part Two)

So, here we are at the instructions. Jesus had picked his crew. He did not send them out unprepared. Before he let them go, he gave them a set of instructions – PR crew protocols, if you will. Jesus described circumstances they would encounter, but also gave them a way to act and things to say for each of them. Let's examine them.

Let us first list the circumstances they would encounter. They would go their ways: verse three. They would enter the homes of other people: verse five. They would find themselves in different cities: verse eight. They would encounter sick people: verse nine.

As to the sick, the seventy were instructed to heal them. The healings were performed in Jesus' name and were so successful that the seventy returned in verse 17 with “joy” and amazement. These were seventy ordinary people living and conducting their daily affairs in the name, that is in the stead, of the only begotten son of God.

About that Jesus said in verse 21, “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes . . .” To which “things” did Jesus refer? He referred to the fact, and the seventy were amazed by it, that they knew for a fact, as per verse 17, that “even the devils” were subject to seventy ordinary people through the name of Jesus. The wise and prudent just didn't get it.

About the cities the seventy entered, Jesus gave these 'follower protocols' – if a city rejected them, as per verse 10 and 11, they were to go out into the streets and make a public proclamation for all to hear. The words were these: “Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”

There was a real connection between the words and actions of the seventy and the concomitant judgment passed down from spiritual realms. The same people, the same message of truth, the same kingdom came to all the cities Jesus sent his followers to. Some cities rejected the messengers – in doing so they rejected Jesus and thus God. Mighty works of healing were performed in these cities no less than Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. Even the devils were subject to ordinary people of the kingdom of God. These cities saw it all and still rejected the kingdom.

As to the cities that received the seventy, the same communication of the kingdom went forth. “The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.” However, there was an additional protocol regarding the cities that received them. The seventy were instructed to eat whatever was set before them. That was an issue for practicing Jews. Many of the cities between Jesus and Jerusalem were located in the region of Samaria, in the bacon belt. They were warned not to go from house to house as if they could pick and choose. They had to find one good household for their base of operations.

Then, there was the matter of their preparations and travel. They were instructed to prepare nothing. Carry no extras was the plan. All of their provision was to be found in the cities and homes that received them. As to each journey, we may consider two points. Either each pair was given a set destination, or else, each pair, when the were told “Go your ways”, was actually sent where they originated from. Home towns first. They were instructed to focus on the mission and not be distracted by folk they met along the way.

In that Jesus claimed they were lambs among wolves, I am impressed with his genuine concern. These were the 'babes'. They were humble, simple folk who, in their zeal and love for Christ, had garnered a place near and dear to him. The road can be a dangerous place.

Finally, Chorazin mentioned with Capernaum and Bethsaida, one of three cities cursed by Jesus, was only an hour walk north of Capernaum. While no Bible expert seems quite certain which of the 'mighty works' were performed in Chorazin, some possible miracles may have included the healing of the leper, the healing of the man with the withered hand, and the raising to life of the daughter of Jairus.

This study does seem to sprawl, with its many overlapping concepts, but there is definition to be found. We may also find definition of self. Many of us, you and I included, are humble, zealous, ordinary people. We love Christ; we share our love. You and I are one with the messenger of God, one with the messenger of the kingdom. This, then, is the definition. We are the message; we are the kingdom.

The PR Crew (Part One)

So, Jesus had been walking in the way. His sights were set on Jerusalem. As he walked, he talked to this or that person – all very casual and relaxed. The beginning of chapter ten must be imagined as nothing is written save the action Jesus took and the words he spoke. For my part, I can imagine more open countryside. I can picture in my mind a time to stop and rest from the march.

I want to look briefly at the first two verses in chapter ten of Luke. Verse one declares an action. Verse two declares a rationale. A rationale is defined as 'a set of reasons or a logical basis for a course of action or a particular belief'.

While verse one precedes verse two, it is verse two that explains or leads into the action. We would not be amiss to assume that all the talk came before the action, that Jesus first sat and talked these matters over with the people before the mobilization of a team some seventy men strong. I can imagine folks lifting their hands to volunteer: “Oh! I'll go! Pick me!”

Let us look first at the second verse and second at the first verse. In other words, let us examine the rallying call that brought together a group of seventy willing volunteers. What was the reasoning that Jesus employed? This is what he said in verse two, this was his summation, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.”

They were sent to gather. That was the purpose of their work. They were an extension of the ministry of Christ, an extension of both his healing and his preaching. These seventy people were not the disciples – obviously, neither were they the first to be sent ahead two by two. The words used to describe these people were “other" and "also.”

Now, let's look at the action. Jesus appointed seventy volunteers to go ahead of him into every village or town that he, himself, would go to on the way to Jerusalem. This group of seventy appointees was divided into pairs. That is exactly thirty-five duos. That would give us an initial estimation of thirty-five preliminary towns and villages.

I would very much like the reader to see this as more than aimless wandering through towns and villages. I want you to hold in mind both the beginning of the task and the completed goal. See them both at the same time, as two sides of one coin. When Jesus finally arrived in Jerusalem, the seventy were already there – along with the fruit of their labors. Or did you think the multitudes just grabbed a handy palm branch and started singing an impromptu Hosanna?

The seventy appointees were a public relations crew of sorts. They had gone ahead of the Lord of the harvest for the sole purpose of gathering his harvest to him. They brought it all together. Initially, Jesus had preached to them the gathering of the harvest. They went two by two into every town teaching what they had been taught. Like a snowball rolling downhill, they were a movement that gathered both momentum and mass. They were the Jesus movement.

In part two of this particular study, we will look at the instructions under which this PR crew operated. We will note the correlation between physical actions and words and actual spiritual fact.