Introduction
‘After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.’ Luke 10:1
Jesus Sends Out The Seventy-Two
The sending out of the seventy-two gives us a sense of the urgency in that Jesus wanted the good news told to as many people and in as many places as possible before He goes to the cross.
This is a completely different mission from the one the apostles were given by Jesus in Matthew 10. The sending out of the seventy-two and all the teaching surrounding them being sent out is only found in Luke’s Gospel.
Some early manuscripts and the KJV state that the Lord appointed ‘seventy’, whilst others state ‘seventy-two’ but this isn’t a problem, as it doesn’t affect the event or the teaching as a whole.
We know that Jesus didn’t just prepare the twelve for preaching the Gospel, He also prepared other people for the task of preaching and here in Luke’s account, he tells us that these disciples were prepared not only to preach but also to heal the sick. Luke 10:9.
Why Seventy Or Seventy-Two?
Some scholars believe that the number was ‘seventy’ because of the symbolism involved with that number. For example, they suggest that the Jews believed that the Gentiles were made up of seventy nations and at the feast of Tabernacles, seventy young bulls were offered on behalf of the Gentile nations, to make atonement for them.
Why Two By Two?
Mainly for protection, we have to remember that Palestine could be a dangerous place and so, you are less lightly to get attacked if there were two of you. there’s also the encouragement side of being with someone, anyone involved in mission work knows how lonely it can be at times, and so encouragement is always needed for each other.
Another reason could be to increase their credibility, it’s one thing when someone alone proclaims one thing, but the proclamation is more credible if there are two people proclaiming the same thing.
Remember that Jesus’ earthly ministry is fast coming to an end, hence why He wanted the Gospel proclaimed in every town and every place before He went to the cross.
It’s also important to note that Jesus followed up their mission trip by personally going back to these places, which were mainly Gentile towns. Getting the word out that He was the Messiah was fundamental, in this way everyone who witnessed His crucifixion would come to realise what happened at the cross. Acts 2:41.
‘He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’ Luke 10:2
The disciples are told to pray for more workers because the harvest is plentiful, in other words, there are a lot of people to reach with the Gospel and they need as much help as possible.
I find it interesting that most churches employ a single evangelist and expect him to go out alone into the harvest field. The church as a whole will often pray about reaching the lost but doesn’t do much in terms of evangelism to actually do something to reach the lost, 1 Corinthians 3:9 / 2 Thessalonians 3:1.
We must remember that the harvest is still plentiful even today, but it will take a congregational effort to really reach out to them.
‘Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. ‘When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you.’ Luke 10:3-6
Their mission was going to be a dangerous one and Jesus was well aware that many would try to destroy the disciples. The reason for taking so little was because of the urgency to get the message out, they didn’t need any extra baggage slowing them down. Again, this is about putting their trust in God, to take care of their needs, Matthew 6:25-34.
Notice again the sense of urgency in getting the Gospel proclaimed, Jesus told them not to greet anyone on the road, in other words, they haven’t got the time to chit chat to anyone, getting the message out needs to be a priority. Jesus is basically saying, ‘just go as you are.’
‘Peace’ was the greeting that let the disciples know if they would be welcomed into a house and if they were welcomed, then God’s blessing would be upon those who live there.
This is an area where some Christians struggle, fellowship is so important for every Christian, especially when it comes to preaching the Gospel, 3 John 1-8.
‘Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. ‘When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you.’ Luke 10:7-8
In today’s society, teenagers especially, have become very fussy about what they eat, maybe that’s because of the number of different choices we have these days.
In Bible times when someone offered you something to eat, this was seen as an honour, but it would also be highly disrespectful to complain about the food being offered to you.
Jesus tells the disciples they must accept and eat any food which has been offered to them and eat it with thankfulness. They haven’t got time to be fussy about food, the message needs to be proclaimed.
They were look upon their food as their wages, it’s important to note that teachers in Bible times were often paid for their teaching time and expected to be paid. Here Jesus tells them that the hospitality they receive would be more than enough to pay for them.
In the church where there is an evangelist, the church should support him in any way they can, and the evangelist should readily receive that support, Matthew 10:10 / 1 Corinthians 9:4-8 / 1 Timothy 5:18.
Now remember that these disciples were Jews who were about to go into Gentile areas, the Gentiles may offer them foods that were forbidden in the Old Testament law. What were they to do in those circumstances? In order not to cause any unnecessary trouble, they were to become all things to all men, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.
They weren’t to move from one house to another as if they were some kind of convenience hotel where they could pick and choose the best accommodation, they were simply to accept what hospitality came their way. After all these food restrictions were soon to come to an end when Christ died on the cross. Colossians 2:14.
‘Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ Luke 10:9
Here we see the purpose of healing and driving out demons, Luke 10:17, the purpose to proclaim the Gospel of the kingdom of God. Just as a side note they weren’t commanded to raise the dead as the twelve were in Matthew 10:8.
The kingdom of God had come near in the sense that Jesus, the King was on earth ministering among people, a little later He would ascend to the throne of David in heaven to receive all authority, Matthew 28:18 and His kingdom would be established, Acts 2.
‘But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ Luke 10:10-11
The disciples were to proclaim the good news that the kingdom of God was near and will soon be established. It was customary for the Jews to wipe off the dust of another land, a land which they considered to be polluted, Amos 7:17 / Ezekiel 45:1. It was a symbol of rejection of all those who lived in that land.
Here Jesus tells His disciples to do so as a symbol that the disciples themselves wouldn’t be responsible for those lands that would reject the Christ. Acts 13:51.
We must remember that Christians are only responsible for sharing the Gospel, Matthew 28:19-20 but Christians aren’t responsible for what the hearers do with the message.
Jesus gave these Gentiles cities the chance to at least hear the Gospel, but the choice was theirs as to whether they would believe it and act upon it or not. We should never force someone to become a Christian, the choice must be their own.
‘I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.’ Luke 10:12
When we read through the Gospels we see that time and time again Israel as a nation had opportunities to repent whilst Christ was on Earth and it’s quite clear that their judgment would be greater because they rejected Christ.
The ‘that day’ statement is interesting, as some believe Jesus is referring to A.D. 70 when the destruction of the temple, Jerusalem and Israel as a nation would come.
However, since Jesus is speaking about the Gentile cities, the ‘that day’ would make more sense in terms to mean judgment day, Hebrews 9:27 / 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
Sodom
When you mention the name Sodom to almost anyone, even today, most people know that this was a city that was famous for its sinful behaviour and some people are aware that it was destroyed by fire from heaven, Genesis 19:1-26.
But why would judgment day be more bearable for Sodom than these other towns?
Simply because these towns rejected the Christ, the good news, they had the opportunity to see the Christ, hear the Christ, hear the good news about His kingdom, this is something that Sodom never had the opportunity of hearing and witnessing. In other words, these towns have got no excuse for not accepting Christ and believing His message.
‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.’ Luke 10:13-14
Chorazin And Bethsaida
What I find interesting about these two cities is that there are no ‘miracles’, that is more than one miracle recorded anywhere in the New Testament that were done in these two cities.
Yes, we have the healing of the blind man who lived in Bethsaida recorded in Mark 8:22, but that’s it, Chorazin is only mentioned in one other place, Matthew 11:21 but no miracle is recorded happening there. Please note that just because they aren’t recorded, that doesn’t mean that they didn’t happen, John 20:30-31 / John 21:25.
Tyre And Sidon
Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities, Genesis 10:15 / Genesis 49:13 / Isaiah 23 / Ezekiel 26-28 / Ezekiel 29:18. These cities just like Sodom were notorious for their sinful behaviour.
Sackcloth was a very coarse material that was often made of goats’ hair and was black in colour, Revelation 6:12 and the Jews wore them for different purposes, Genesis 37:34 / 2 Samuel 3:31 / Nehemiah 9:1. Sitting in ashes was also seen as a sign of repentance, Job 2:8 / Jonah 3:6.
Jesus’ point is simply this, the cities of Tyre and Sidon would have repented if they had the opportunity the cities of Israel had during the personal ministry of Jesus.
They would have repented because they would have recognised they were not right with God, Chorazin and Bethsaida believed they were already right with God and didn’t see their need to repent.
But why would judgment day be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon than these other towns?
Chorazin and Bethsaida heard the good news about Jesus’ kingdom, like Sodom, this is something that Tyre and Sidon never had the opportunity of hearing and witnessing. In other words, these towns have got no excuse for not accepting Christ and believing His message.
‘And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hell. ‘Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.’ Luke 10:15-16
Capernaum
Capernaum was a popular and busy city, people travelled back and from Palestine to the East and it had a strong Roman military presence.
You may remember that it was in Capernaum that Jairus’ daughter was raised from the dead, it was here that the centurion’s son and servant were healed, it was in this city that the nobleman’s son was healed of a fever.
Capernaum must have thought that they were indestructible which is a glorious future, but Jesus says the opposite, He says it will be utterly destroyed because of its religious arrogance in rejecting Christ and His message.
They think they will be exalted to the heavens, but Jesus says they will go down to Hell, which is the place of eternal punishment hell. Luke 16:19-31.
I believe it’s important to remember that rejection isn’t personal, people usually reject the message we’re proclaiming not you as an individual. Jesus takes this one step further by reminding the disciples if people reject them, they are actually rejecting Jesus Himself, likewise, if people accept them, they accept Jesus.
Remember when Saul was persecuting Christians, Jesus tells him he was actually persecuting Jesus Himself, Acts 22:8. Once again we’re reminding you that we’re responsible for delivering the message but not responsible for how it’s received.
The Seventy-Two Return
‘The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’ He replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.’ Luke 10:17-18
The disciples seem to be really happy with their efforts, especially since the demons obeyed them because of the authority of Jesus. It’s important to remember that even the demons recognised Jesus’ authority and obeyed Him. Jesus’ reply is an interesting one, to say the least, but it’s important to remember that He is speaking metaphorically.
He isn’t focusing so much on Satan himself, but on the fall of his power, in other words, He’s speaking about how Satan was slowly but surely being disarmed by Jesus.
Satan’s power to influence people through sin would fall when Christ died on the cross, 1 Corinthians 15:3 and his power through physical death would fall through the resurrection of Jesus, 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 / Hebrews 2:14.
One commentator suggests that in Jesus’ reply we see Jesus reminiscing and prophesying. Satan had suffered some major defeats, notably in connection with Christ’s temptation but Jesus was also looking forward to Satan’s final fall, his complete defeat at Christ’s hands.
‘I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’ Luke 10:19-20
The authority Jesus gives these disciples speaks about the many victories they will have over the works of Satan. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 / Ephesians 6:10-18. By telling them that ‘nothing will harm them’ Jesus is giving them the much-needed confidence they will need to continue to preach the Gospel, especially after Jesus has died and gone back to the Father. Mark 16:15-20 / Matthew 28:19-20.
But Jesus also reminds them that this miraculous power they were given by Him wasn’t as important as their salvation which was given by Him, hence why their names are written in heaven, Philippians 4:3 / Hebrews 12:23 / Revelation 13:8 / Revelation 20:12. They must never forget that the victories they have over Satan are actually Jesus’ victories.
The Hidden Things
‘At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. ‘All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’ Luke 10:21-22
The joy in Jesus’ words can’t be missed here, as He rejoices through the Holy Spirit, meaning that they are in agreement. His rejoicing is simply an outpouring of thanks to the Father.
It seems that God was revealing the mystery, that is the Gospel that had been hidden from mankind since the beginning of the world, Ephesians 3:8-13 / 1 Peter 1:10-12.
Jesus says that even though some people call themselves wise, the Gospel would be hidden from them, not because God hasn’t revealed it but because of their own arrogant attitude towards Jesus and His message, Romans 9:11-17 / 1 Corinthians 1:22-27. Surely if a little child can understand the message, the wise and learned should be able to also, Mark 10:15-16.
As humans, we’re reminded that we’re not omniscient, all-knowing, and the truth is we didn’t really know the nature of the relationship between the Father and Son, John 1:18 / John 6:44-46.
We didn’t really know all that God is, but this is why Christ came in the flesh, to reveal all these things to us, to reveal the Father to us, John 1:1-5 /John 17:6 / John 17:25-26.
‘Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.’ Luke 10:23-24
Imagine!
Imagine being one of those disciples, imagine what it would have been like to be in the presence of Jesus, imagine what it would have been like to heal the sick and have demons obey your word! Imagine what it would be like to live your life by fact and not by faith! What a blessing that would have been.
Today, however, we believe what they saw and wrote, but we’re more blessed than they are, why? Simply because of what Jesus told Thomas in John 20:29 ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’
Oh, how blessed they were! Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Solomon, David, Hezekiah, all those Old Testament prophets and kings didn’t receive the glorious revelations that these guys received through Christ. By faith they looked forward to the mystery, the Gospel, being revealed but they didn’t understand it, 1 Peter 1:10-12.
There is much need for workers today, saints who are zealous to get out there and share the good news with people. Yes, some will receive the message and we will rejoice with them and yes, some will reject the message but that’s not the Christian’s problem.
We simply can’t be content with just having our own names written in the Lamb’s book of life, we must take great efforts to reach the lost, so that their names will be written there too.
We possess the Gospel, something which those Old Testament heroes didn’t have, the time to take that message out is now because Judgment Day is ever getting closer, the time for excuses for not sharing that message is over!
‘On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” Luke 10:25-29
A scribe stands up to test Jesus and asked about what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. He wanted to know what was written in the Law and how Jesus interpreted it.
We can imagine that man standing back and waiting for the answer from Jesus. And Jesus deliberately quotes from the Old Testament a passage of Scripture that every faithful Jew would recite twice every day.
It’s known as ‘The Schema’, from Deuteronomy 6:5 / Leviticus 19:18. The scribe tells Jesus He was correct and Jesus tells him if he does this he will live, Matthew 7:21-27 / Matthew 19:17 / Luke 18:20 / 1 John 4:19.
Loving God With All Of Our Heart
We all know how much God loves us because the Bible clearly tells us, John 3:16 / 1 John 3:16. And so, there is no questioning God’s love for us, but how do we love God?
C. S. Lewis once said, ‘on the whole, God’s love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him.’
God never commands us to do something without first telling how to do it. And so, after telling Israel that the LORD God is one, Moses goes on to explain us how we are to love God.
The Hebrew word for love is the word ‘ahab’ and it carries with it the idea of having the ultimate love that we can express or feel. In other words, when we say we love the Lord, we’re saying we have loved, and we do love and will continue to love the Lord our God with all my heart, soul and strength.
Do you love God with all of your heart? If we’re honest with ourselves, we will admit that we all love God to a certain extent, but the truth is, sometimes He’s not always the One we love most.
Sometimes we love our spouses more or our families more. Sometime we love our jobs or hobbies more. We have many other things in this world that are pulling for our affection.
So how can we obey the Lord’s command to love Him with all our heart? We have to acknowledge that we can’t really love Him or anyone else without His help. In other words, He doesn’t ask us to do anything which didn’t first originate from Him, 1 John 4:19.
God is the actual source of our love for Him. He loved us first, and He infused us with His love. To infuse means to fill, to soak, we’re being soaked with the love of God. The love of God in us, is the love with which we can love Him in return.
When most people think about love, they think of the warm fluffy feeling they get when they meet someone. But love isn’t merely a feeling, it’s attribute, hence why God is love, 1 John 4:8 / 1 John 4:16.
We can’t claim to love anyone, if we don’t know God because God is love. The reason we know and rely on the love God is simply because God is love.
So what is the heart? You would be forgiven for thinking it is an organ in your body which keeps you alive. That’s just a pump that keeps the blood flowing through your body.
We have to remember in the Old Testament the word ‘heart’ didn’t carry the same deep meaning in Hebrew as it does in Greek New Testament.
This is one reason why the New Testament gives a deeper meaning to the word ‘mind’. In other words, the Hebrew concept of ‘heart’ included both feelings and thoughts, Genesis 6:5.
Thinking is an activity of the mind, but Jesus asked the scribes why they were thinking those thoughts in their hearts, Matthew 9:4. This shows that our mind is part of our heart.
In Acts 11:23, we read that when we exercise our will, our will is part of our heart. Rejoicing is related to our emotions, but in John 16:22, we see that our heart rejoices. This shows us that our emotions are also part of our heart.
Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, Hebrews 10:22, indicates that our conscience is also part of our heart. Our heart does much more than we might have thought.
In addition to sensing the wide range of human emotions, our heart thinks, decides, and perceives right from wrong.
If we didn’t have a heart, we couldn’t sense love or love in return, Mark 12:30. God created us with a heart so we could have a loving relationship with Him.
So in a very real sense, our heart is at the centre of our relationship with God. We were created by God in such a marvellous way. We have a spirit to contact, receive, and contain Him as life, and a heart to love Him.
He wants to be our life and He wants us to love Him with our whole heart. And if we’re truthful with ourselves, it easy to love God when things are going well, when we enjoy one blessing after another.
But what about those difficult times? What about when challenges come our way?
Israel had to learn the lesson which we still have to learn today. Loving God with ALL of our heart means loving God at ALL times, even when God seems quiet. Even when He says wait, even when He says no.
And, yes, even when bad things happen and challenges come our way. Loving God at all times is a day to day learning process. We learn more and more how to do it and keep on doing it a little each day. And we do that until we can say what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:11-13.
Notice that word ‘courage’, in Philippians 4:11-13, the root word for courage is ‘cor’ which is Latin for ‘heart’. Living with courage in our heart, is a good way to remind ourselves to love God.
Living with courage in our heart, is a good way to remind ourselves not to trust on our own feelings or understanding, Proverbs 3:5.
Martin Luther once said in a poem.
‘For feelings come and feelings go, And feelings are deceiving. My warrant is the Word of God: Naught else is worth believing.
Though all my heart should feel condemned For want of some sweet token, There is One greater than my heart Whose Word cannot be broken.
I’ll trust in God’s unchanging Word Till soul and body sever: For, though all things shall pass away, His Word shall stand forever.’
When we depend on our own feelings and understanding, we end up confused.
God doesn’t love me anymore! God has abandoned me in my time of need! Loving God with our mind means renewing our mind daily so that we think more of His thoughts instead of our own, Romans 12:2.
God’s will and thoughts are good, pleasing, and perfect and we need as much of them as possible to fill and renew our mind. Renewing our mind in God’s Word is an important way of loving God.
God is a loving God, and He created us with a heart so that we would love Him wholly and absolutely. But like I mentioned earlier, we know our heart loves many other things besides God.
So what do we do to make sure we continue to love God with all of our heart? Simply trying not to love those things doesn’t work. When our heart is turned away from the Lord and set on things such as sins, selfish preoccupations, and worldly pleasures, it has a veil on it, 2 Corinthians 3:15-16.
In other words, they stop us from seeing the Lord. But when we turn our heart to Him, the veil is removed, and we can see the Lord again. We see His beauty, His virtues, and how wonderful He is.
Then He infuses more of what He is, including love, into us and it’s in this way, our love for Him grows. We can turn our hearts to the Lord Jesus at any time by praying to Him, calling on His name, confessing our sins to Him, and spending time in His Word.
These simple practices can remove the veil from our heart, restore our fellowship with the Lord, and rekindle our love for Him.
When Sir Walter Raleigh was led to the block, his executioner asked him if his head lay right. Raleigh answered, ‘It matters little, my friend, how the head lies, provided the heart is right.’
Let me finish by asking you, what does your heart speak? How does your heart lie? Are you loving God with all your heart?
Loving God With All Our Soul
Before we look at what it means to love God with all of our soul, I think we first need to ask the question, what is the soul? All human beings are triune beings. The Godhead is made up of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. And Paul says human beings are also triune beings because we have a body, soul and spirit, 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
Our Body Is Earth Conscious
The body is of the earth and for the earth. We might describe the body as ‘Earth-conscious’, since it is the physical tool or instrument, by means of which a person’s ‘soul’ or ‘self’ by its very nature is invisible is able to function in a physical world.
Although the Son existed ‘in the beginning with God’, John 1:1-2, it was necessary that ‘the Word’ should ‘become flesh’ and ‘dwell’ or ‘tabernacle’ among us, John 1:14.
The Lord needed a physical body. Paul says in Philippians 2:6-8, without the human form that Jesus took on Himself, it would have been impossible for Him to fulfil the unique purpose for which He came. And so, The Word must become flesh.
This was the divine plan, that’s why we find the writer of the letter to the Hebrews, placing the words of the Psalmist from Psalm 40:6-8, into the Lord’s mouth.
Notice that the ‘body’ was prepared for ‘me,’ Hebrews 10:5. In other words, man is more than just a bunch of chemicals. Man, is housed in a physical body and since his body is designed for earthly life, at death, the body returns to the earth, Genesis 3:19.
Our Spirit Is God Conscious
If we consider the body to be ‘Earth-conscious’, we may think of the spirit as being ‘God-conscious’, Job 32:8. In other words, it’s that part of man’s nature which enables him to reach out to, and communicate with God.
It’s the spiritual dimension in man’s character, and here again, we see the difference between man and other creatures. It’s only man says who can say, ‘My soul thirsts for God, for the living God’. Psalm 42:2. Its only man who is encouraged to ‘Seek after Him, in the hope that they might feel after Him and find Him.’ Acts 17:27.
Its only man who is given the assurance that ‘He is not far from each one of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being.’ Acts 17:27. And as Solomon reminds us at death, ‘The spirit returns to God Who gave it.’ Ecclesiastes 12:7,
Our Soul Is Self-Conscious
The ‘soul’ is man’s unique self. It is the part of his being which, because it is rational and moral, determines the actions performed by his body, and which, therefore, renders him personally accountable for what he does.
And so, it is man’s ‘soul’ which will ultimately be either saved or lost, depending on a person’s response to the offer of the salvation which was made first possible by the coming of the Christ into the world.
The Greeks thought of the soul as the thing that integrates our whole inside. In other words, if something is messed up in our soul, our whole life is messed up. If we have bitterness or unforgiveness in our soul, it saturates everything in our life.
To the Greeks, the soul is the thing that tied heart, mind and strength together. Loving God with all our soul means to love Him with our entire inner being.
To love God with all my soul means loving God with all I am, Psalm 62:5 / Psalm 103:1. My will, my attitudes, my intentions, my emotions, my thoughts and feelings, and my body. To love God with all your soul is to love God with your entire inner life.
Have you ever asked yourself, why you are here? Why does my life feel empty at times? We all have a God shaped space within in us which can only be satisfied by Him.
People turn to all kinds of things to fill in that space, drugs, alcohol, affairs, work, etc. But that space can only be filled by God because He is the One who fits perfectly into it.
C. S. Lewis once said, ‘The mould in which a key is made would be a strange thing, if you had never seen a key, and the key itself a strange thing if you had never seen a lock. Your soul has a curious shape because it is a hollow made to fit a particular swelling in the infinite contours of the divine substance, or a key to unlock one of the doors in the house with many mansions. Your place in heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone, because you were made for it, made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand.’
When we allow ourself to go beyond just believing that God exists, our souls takes us much farther than our heart can.
Your soul takes you to a solid relationship with the living Lord and as a bonus, heaven. Loving God with all your soul means evaluating yourself and working to be everything God calls you to be.
Let me ask you some tough questions, 2 Corinthians 3:18.
Do you look more like Jesus than you did last week? What characteristics, gifts, and talents set you apart? How is God leading you to use your uniqueness to serve Him and to draw others closer to Him? Are you using your resources like time, money, talent, and energy wisely and for His good purposes?
Do you represent Christ with your life? Understanding ourselves and our own special qualities, through the help of others and the Holy Spirit, teaches us how to fulfil God’s purpose in our lives.
How valuable is your soul? Are you prepared for eternity? What’s more important to you, your life or your soul? Matthew 16:24-26.
Your family, your job, your wealth or your soul? In spite of whatever circumstances you face or will face in this life, is it not your deep desire to be able to find your way to the place where you can truly say that no matter what, ‘it is well with my soul’, that no matter what, I love God with all of my soul.
Loving God With All Of Our Strength
The Hebrew word for strength, is the word, ‘Me’od’ but it doesn’t mean strength in terms of muscle power. The word literally means ‘muchness’, in other words, the Israelites were to love God with all their ‘muchness’.
They are to love God with all their substance, all their possessions, everything which God has given them. They are to love him with all of their might, all their being, all of their energy, Ecclesiastes 9:10.
And as Christians we too, are to love God with all of our might, all of our actions, all of our energy. We’re to love Him not just with a portion of our life but all of our life. There shouldn’t be any part of our lives which is kept back from loving God.
When we turn our heart to the Lord, when we turn to soul to the Lord, our strength will naturally follow. The outward actions that our bodies perform will naturally follow. Loving God will all of our strength will be seen in the way we spend our time. Loving God with all of our strength will be seen in the way we use our energy.
In other words, there’s a change which takes place, and that change is demonstrated in the way we use our physical strength to pursue the Lord. It’s the idea of loving God more and more and wanting to please Him more and more with every aspect of our lives.
Remember when God commands anything of us, He doesn’t force us to do anything against our will. The Israelites had a choice whether to love God with all their heart, soul and strength or not.
Let me ask you, does anyone force you to love your husband or wife? Of course not, you love them because you choose to love them. Does anyone force you to love your children or grandchildren? Of course not, you love them because you choose to love them.
Love goes way beyond our feelings. God doesn’t force us to love Him, loving God is a choice. And if we choose to love Him with all of our heart, soul and strength, He will help us to do just that.
Isaiah says that God will give us the strength to do whatever He asks of us, Isaiah 40:29-31. We all have times when we don’t feel strong, we all have times when we feel weary and weak. We all go through times when we feel hurt, broken-hearted, physically or emotionally tired, and sometimes even spiritually exhausted.
But it’s during those times of weakness we should be asking God, to give us that supernatural strength to keep us going.
And when He does, you too will be able to soar like the eagle. You too, will be able to run and walk without feeling exhausted. In other words, God will give you the strength which you need to keep moving forward.
How do we love God with all of our strength? We need to be strong in the Lord and in His might power, if we’re going to keep moving forward, Ephesians 6:10.
When we get tired and weak and feel like we can’t move forward any more, then ask God, to give you strength. Pray that He will give you the power to fly hundreds of miles on the wings of Christ.
Loving God will all of our strength means asking God to remind us that our present troubles are only temporary, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. Loving God will all of our strength is going help us to fix on our eyes on what is eternal and not on our physical weakness.
Loving God will all of our strength means we remember that He will deliver us in our times of trouble, Psalm 34:17-18. Loving God will all of our strength is going help us to remember that God is with us, when we feel like we can’t go on.
Loving God will all of our strength means we remember not to give up when we’re weary, Galatians 6:9. Loving God will all of our strength is going help us to keep on sharing the Good News with others, even when it looks like nothing is happening.
The point I’m making is simply this, if we want to love God with all of our strength, then we really need to get out of our comfort zones. In other words, we need to get to the point when we’ve used up all of our own strength and we start to rely on His strength.
It’s easy to talk about our love for God with likeminded people. It’s easy to talk about our love for God in a religious setting. But what about outside our church circle?
Loving God with all my strength means stepping out in faith. Loving God with all my strength means going out of our way, even when we’re tired and exhausted to share the Good News with others outside of our circle.
We’re called to go and share that Good News with others and we’re called to serve and care for needs of others. But all that this requires a degree of physical strength. The point I’m getting at is that loving God with all my strength is simple to say but it’s not always easy to do.
It takes a degree of strength to visit someone who is sick in hospital. It takes degree of strength to sit down and listen to someone’s problems. It takes degree of strength to help someone who has a physical or financial need.
And if we want to love God with all of our strength, then we must acknowledge that we can’t do anything without His strength working in us.
Don’t tell me you don’t have the strength to share the Good News with a stranger. Don’t tell me you don’t have the strength to visit someone who is sick in hospital.
Don’t tell me you don’t have the strength to sit down and listen to someone’s problems. Don’t tell me you don’t have the strength to help someone who has a physical or financial need.
Tell me you won’t, because Paul says that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, Philippians 4:13. And so, we have to remember that we can’t do anything of these things by ourselves.
Paul tells us we have a strength working within us that enables us to keep on going forward, Ephesians 3:20. All the strength we have comes from God and He gives us the strength to serve Him and serve others.
If your life is anything like mine you have a hundred things to juggle like being a involved in church work, work, school, a social life, hobbies, being a husband or wife. At the end of day, you may be left feeling drained, weak and insufficient because you can’t seem to keep up with it all.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, we can hear Paul crying out for his challenging situation to be taken away. He felt like we sometimes feel but God has a better plan for him. Instead of removing difficult circumstances from Paul’s life, God provides a way to overcome them through strengthening him.
God always has a perfect solution and He makes that clear when He says, ‘my power is made perfect in weakness,’ 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. Because of God’s grace we can find our strength and contentment in our shortcomings. Grace meets our needs and Paul’s needs because it expresses God’s acceptance and pleasure in us.
Let me encourage you to ask God to give you the strength to do everything He requires of you, Psalm 68:35. Let me encourage you to then go and do it with the strength He gives you.
Let me encourage you to love the Lord with all your strength, all your muchness, all your substance, all your possessions, everything which God has given you.
Let me finish this part with the words of John Wesley, ‘Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.’
Loving God With All Of Our Mind
Remember although the word ‘mind’, isn’t used in the Shema, Deuteronomy 6:4-5, but it is implied in the word, ‘heart’. It’s not until we get to the New Testament where we get a deeper meaning to the word ‘mind’.
And as we know in today’s society there is an even greater understanding of the mind. Hence why mental health issues have risen over the years and there’s a big focus on mental wellbeing.
1. The state of our mind.
The human mind is one of the most incredible aspects of creation. It’s more powerful than the largest supercomputer and can solve great problems and make great discoveries.
However, if a person begins their thinking by refusing to acknowledge what they know to be true. That is, if they refuse to acknowledge there is a God, then the further away from God their reasoning will lead them.
When God created Adam and Eve, He created them with a mind to be able to choose wisely. However, as soon as Satan entered the scene, he corrupted their minds by placing doubts in their minds concerning God’s will for them, Genesis 3:1-5. And mankind has struggled in their minds ever since concerning God’s will.
In the New Testament we find various words, which describe the state of our minds. Because of sin, people’s minds have become futile, depraved, deluded and darkened, Romans 1:21 / Romans 1:28 / Colossians 2:4 / Ephesians 4:18. Paul tells us that the effects of sin in our mind has consequences for how people view God and the world around them, Romans 8:5-7.
2. The cure for our mind.
If people’s minds have become futile, depraved, deluded and darkened, there’s only one option and that’s to renew our minds. That word ‘transformed’ in Romans 12:2, is the word, ‘metamorphoo’ and it simply means to change, to morph.
And if we want to renew our minds we must fill our minds with the things of God. If we want to renew our minds we must set our hearts and mind on things above, Colossians 3:1-2.
In the Christian’s spiritual battle, the key element that is being fought over is the mind, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. Just as Satan appealed to Eve’s mind to get her to disobey God, he wants to deceive Christian minds, 2 Corinthians 11:3.
And so, our minds need to be renewed daily by God’s Word so that we aren’t conformed to the world and don’t adopt the world’s thinking patterns.
3. To have the mind of Christ.
Paul told the Corinthian church, which loved the wisdom of the world, that Christians are to ‘have the mind of Christ’, 1 Corinthians 2:16. Although it may be a very easy thing to say, it will be a daily challenge for us all to have the mind of Christ in our lives.
Loving God with all of our mind means focusing our thoughts on Him. We think about His holiness, His goodness, His awesome works and creation.
Whatever is going on in your heart will be reflected in your life, Proverbs 23:7. We are to love God with our thinking and reasoning, not just our emotions.
4. Train your mind.
Paul says we need to think about good things, not evil things, Romans 8:6. We’re to focus our entire mind on the things that please God.
To love God with our minds is to hold Him in high esteem, to think about Him with reverence and with adoration. The more we love God with our minds, the more we’ll be driven to worship Him for who He is.
In the Book of Philippians there are 16 references to a person’s mind or their thoughts. I believe that most Christians are much too indiscriminate about what they allow in their minds, Philippians 4:8. In other words, what we think about is our choice and we need to choose wisely what we’re going to focus on.
What ought to dominate the thoughts of people who are on their way to heaven? The Bible says, if you reap negative thoughts and gossip and criticism, if that’s what you sow in your mind, you’re going to reap a negative and bitter spirit, Proverbs 4:23.
Have you ever watched Satan attack a church through negative and critical thinkers? That’s one of his favourite strategies and we don’t even think its Satan, we don’t even know he’s doing it.
Satan loves to plant negative, critical thinkers in church and they suck the joy right out of that place. We could all think about something ugly about everybody else, but that’s not what you’re going to do if you’re going to love the Lord will all of your mind, Philippians 4:8.
If we’re going to love God with all of our mind, then we need to think about those things which are good and fine about other people and think about all you can praise God for and be glad about it.
Can I give you some advice about how you can battle against Satan on this one? Don’t let your mind be a vacuum, don’t let Satan decide what you’re going to think about.
Remember that worldly thinking is something you used to do before you became a Christian, Ephesians 4:22-24. Start your day in the Word and put the Scripture in your heart. Start your day praying to God asking for His Spirit to control your thoughts, Psalm 143:5.
And when you find yourself tempted and listening to some gossip or to think something ugly about somebody, say a prayer for that person at that specific moment and God will start to work on your heart too, Isaiah 26:3 / Colossians 4:2.
God wants us to love Him completely and if we claim to love Him completely, then we must obey Him completely. We must love Him with everything we’ve got, Jeremiah 17:10.
Let ask you, what will history write about us concerning our love for Him? I hope and pray that history will write something similar to what it wrote about King Josiah. Josiah gave it his all, in line with God’s law, 2 Kings 23:25, let me encourage you do to the same.
The scribe who wanted to justify himself, then asks Jesus another question, ‘who is my neighbour?’ Luke 10:20. And so the Master teacher shares a parable concerning a Samaritan.
The Parable Of The Good Samaritan
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:30-37
The first thing we notice about Jesus’ teaching is that His parables ‘were always spontaneous’. He never had to think about them beforehand and say, “Listen, can you come back next week and I’ll give you the answer.” Jesus was the best with His spontaneous answers to people’s questions and we should be too.
Now we should always be truthful with people when they ask us a question. There are times when we need to be honest enough to say, “Listen I don’t know the answer to that question right now, but I will get back to you.” But there are times when we should always have an answer to some questions.
Has anyone ever asked you why you are a Christian? Has anyone ever asked you, why you believe in God and go to worship Him? I’m sure all of us can answer ‘Yes’ to those questions. Because as Christians those are the type of questions we should easily be able to answer, even though we don’t know the Scriptures that well.
You don’t need to be a Bible scholar to answer those questions. You don’t need to know all the books of the Bible and all the apostles’ names to answer those questions.
But you do need to be able to answer them, 2 Timothy 4:2 / 1 Peter 3:15. Whether you have been a Christian for one day or 40 years you should know why you became a Christian in the first place.
Many people call this parable ‘the good Samaritan’ because never once does Jesus call the Samaritan good. But it’s then that Jesus asked the man this question in Luke 10:36 ‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’
Every parable had a point or a purpose, that’s why the man answered, ‘the one who had mercy on him.’ Parables were told to get the listeners to think for themselves.
They were always designed to get a response, a change in attitude or a change in action in those who heard them. And so Jesus gets to the point, and He tells the man, ‘Go and do likewise.
Jesus is saying to that man, “now I know you understand how to get eternal life because you answered the question correctly and I know you understand what I’ve just said to you through this parable but here comes the hard part, go and do it.”
Love all people, have mercy on all people, not just the Priests, not just the Levites but all people. Love even those Samaritan people that you can’t stand to be around.
And notice the Law expert never even mentioned the word ‘Samaritan’. He answers correctly to Jesus’ question but he says, “The one who had mercy on him.”
We don’t understand just how much the Jews hated the Samaritans. This guy hated them so much he wouldn’t even use the word ‘Samaritan’, never mind call him a neighbour.
Remember in John 4 when Jesus is speaking to the woman at the well? After the disciples went away to buy some food, they returned and they were surprised that Jesus was speaking with a Samaritan woman, John 4:27. Why were the disciples surprised? Well, not just because she was a woman but also because she was a Samaritan woman. Even she was surprised when Jesus, a Jew, was willing to speak to her, a Samaritan, John 4:9.
The Jews hated the Samaritans and this man’s answer to Jesus must have hurt his Jewish pride so much that he couldn’t even say the word ‘Samaritan’.
To understand a parable we first need to understand the original text. In other words, what did the parable mean for those who first heard it? People have become experts at making every little detail mean something in a parable.
For example, people will say that the priest and the Levite couldn’t help the man because of religious reasons. They will try and find out who the robbers were and who they stood for.
People fail to see the point and we get so tangled up in the text sometimes, trying to get a point from every little detail, we end up missing the main point.
We forget to ask the first question, what did it mean to those who were listening? When Jesus was telling this man this parable, the man wouldn’t listen and then think to himself, who’s the man who was robbed? Who were the robbers?
He knew exactly what Jesus was talking about. The lawman forgot the Law because of traditions and the lawman was just like the Priests and the Levites, they paid lip service to the Law.
Mercy to a Samaritan was the last thing in that Jewish man’s mind, Exodus 33:19. But by the time Jesus had finished, the lawman knew that Jesus was saying to him, ‘I don’t want lip service, I don’t want sacrifice’.
So what did Jesus really want him to understand? The parable is about the Jews getting rid of their racist attitude towards the Samaritans, that is, the Gentiles, and instead of treating them as outcasts, getting them to treat everyone ‘justly’ and with ‘mercy’, Matthew 23:23. It’s about loving your neighbour as you love the Lord and yourself.
The Samaritan did exactly what the priest and the Levite should have done. The Samaritan did what the lawman now needs to go and do.
In other words, he needs to practice what he preaches. But my point is this, not all parables can apply to us today but we can still learn many lessons from them.
After all, they are the very words of Jesus Himself and as we all know “All Scripture is God-breathed” as 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us. Now that we understand what the parable meant to that lawman, we can now go on and see what we can learn from it ourselves.
The lawman only asked Jesus the question, ‘who is my neighbour?’ for this reason, “he wanted to justify himself.’ In other words, he wanted to make himself out to be a blameless and a Law-abiding Jew.
And so what Jesus did in the way of this parable was to get him to look at himself. So that the lawman could see his own sinfulness and see just how far from the Law he really was.
When it comes to justifying ourselves of sin, we have all become experts. And that’s because we all have different standards about the Law or God’s Word.
In other words, we can all give a good reason for not doing something we shouldn’t be doing. Or in the case of the lawman, something he should have done.
You see, sin isn’t just about the things that you shouldn’t do like gossiping and drunkenness. But sin is also not doing the things that you should be doing, James 2:2-5.
In other words, if someone came into our meeting place who was dressed all scruffy and unshaven are we going to love them or treat them any different from those who come in well dressed?
Some people may be poor in the world’s eyes but they may be richer in faith than we are, James 2:5. Poor people have as much right into the kingdom of heaven as you and I do. The lawman had to learn to treat all people the same, whether they were a Jew or Samaritan, Jew or Gentile.
Because the Gospel is not just about believing, it’s about doing and if you don’t do for one, which you would do for another, then that is sin in God’s eyes, James 2:15-17.
But if we just talk the talk and don’t walk the walk, we’re sinning. And we can try and justify ourselves just like the lawman did. That’s what the priest and the Levite did in the story, they were going somewhere, but so was the Samaritan.
The only difference was that the Samaritan stopped to help. He didn’t just help the man and then leave him to it, he went back to make sure he was OK, Luke 10:35. Let’s not make excuses for not helping people and try to justify ourselves.
The real question the lawman should have asked Jesus was, ‘Master, how do I love my neighbour?’ But he didn’t ask that, he asked Jesus, ‘who is my neighbour?’ And we should be asking the question that the lawman should have asked. Jesus, how do we love our neighbours?
We love our neighbours by helping our neighbours with the love the Lord has shown them, Galatians 5:6. The parables of Christ separated those who wanted to know the truth and those who didn’t want to know the truth.
At the Home Of Martha And Mary
‘As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42
Jesus and His disciples came to a village where a woman named Martha lived, there’s no doubt this is Bethany, Mary was her sister and Lazarus was her brother, John 11:1 / John 12:2-3.
Notice that Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, this was the position of a student about to be taught by the teacher, Acts 22:3.
While Mary is getting taught by Jesus, her sister Martha is being distracted by all the preparations which had to be made. There was nothing wrong with what she was doing, but now wasn’t the time to be doing it, her priorities weren’t right because the teacher was in their midst and it was time to listen to Him.
Martha then asks Jesus if He cared that she was left to do the work and asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her. Jesus’ response is beautiful, we can almost see Him smiling as He answers Martha. There was only one thing needed at this moment and time and that was to sit down and listen to what Jesus had to say.
Mary appears to sense that Jesus’ days are coming to an end, and because she chose to sit down and listen, rather than serve, Jesus says that she has chosen better. Mary chose that spiritual portion that endures forever, and which shall not be taken away from her.
