5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. 8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘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 10:5-11
In today's text, two main ideas stand out: peace and contentment. These two very important tools are essential to living the type of life we want to impart to others. This is part of the adorning of the Gospel the Apostle Paul mentions in Titus 2:10.
In Luke 9:9,11 a phrase is mentioned twice: "The kingdom of God has come near to you." This means, "The kingdom is accessible to mankind."
The good news of the Gospel is about the involvement of God in our lives. The Gospel means He has entered into our existence and we now have access to the wisdom, goodness and righteous rule of God in our lives having believed in the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross.
In Luke 9:23 the Lord Jesus said, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself." When we have done this, we have come to the end of us. We have come to the end of our ambitions, our dreams, our hopes, our goals and our opinions. Now, the Lord Jesus is defining us and leading us each day.
The Lord Jesus had sent out the seventy-two who went out in twos to share the gospel with all who were willing to listen. The word “Gospel” is used a hundred times in the New Testament, and it means "good news." It is good news because it means our bad news, our sins can be forgiven. It means we can be reconciled to God. It means we can have a personal relationship with God. It means God has become the friend of the willing.
In v.5 we read, "When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house." The Lord Jesus was telling these upstart witnessers, "When you go to evangelize, go to the ready heart, go to the eager heart, go to the prepared heart. Go to the one who is seeking to know the kingdom and it's King."
In v.6, the Lord Jesus utilizes an ancient Near Eastern expression signifying that we should not waste our message of peace on those who reject it. And, we should go somewhere else. He is not saying our message of peace is given to them and then taken away. No, He is saying if it's offered to them and refused, we're free to leave and go elsewhere.
There are two forms of "peace" in the scriptures. There is peace with God and there is the peace of God. According to Romans 5:1-2, we have peace with God as a result of trusting in the free gift offered us of forgiven sin through the Lord Jesus' death on His cross. This peace enables us to have a personal relationship with God.
In Philippians 4:6-9 we read, "6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."
In these verses we learn of the peace of God, the ability to live a quality of life that renders a settled existence in a world of troubles. Notice, we go into a deeper relationship with God in these verses, we go from the peace of God in v.7 to the God of peace in v.9. These verses describe an ear increasing intimacy with Him that renders more of His peace in our yielded lives.
In v.7-8 the Lord Jesus draws attention to a valuable commodity: contentment. The Lord Jesus tells these disciples not to go from house to house trying to find better or more food and lodging. They were to stay where they were and eat what was given to them. The main lesson here for the disciples was: God is the one that provides for all our needs, we need not manipulate.
Too often people move from place to place because they are not content with what they have. It is not wrong to better yourself or your circumstances, but such efforts must not rise because of being discontent. It is better to make changes in our lives because we have a godly vision for the future and not because we cannot tolerate the present.
Contentment is crucial for having a successful life, and a successful ministry. Paul states in Philippians 4:11 that he learned to be content in whatever circumstances. It does not come automatically, we must resist the fear of the flesh. The flesh wants to rule our lives. We must trust in the God who is bigger than we can imagine.
The disciple should stay with the hospitable. In fact, the Lord Jesus instructed the twelve with these same words in Luke 9:4. The emphasis is upon trusting the Lord who will provide all of our needs, even providing the very words we need to share about the faith with others.
In v.8-9, the Lord continues the instructions with: "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you." This was delegated authority from the Lord Jesus Himself to the twelve and here to the seventy-two. The Lord delegated this power in order to authenticate these sent ones and their message. Their message was then verified by the miracles.
In v.10-11 we read, "10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘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." The idea is to declare openly God’s absolute displeasure with the rejection of the Gospel. This is a life or death matter, what a person does with the free gift of salvation through Christ Jesus determines where they will spend eternity.
