Luke 10:1–12, 17–20 ESV – Bible Gateway
Jesus and the Apostles continue on their final journey to Jerusalem together.
As John Bergsma notes:
The past several Sundays have foreshadowed Jesus’s coming suffering and death, but this Sunday we get a reprieve as themes of suffering recede into the background. We are temporarily caught up in the joy of Jesus’s ministry as he assembles around himself a congregation of disciples who constitute a spiritual “Jerusalem.” In the healing ministry of Jesus and his disciples, we see a fulfillment of certain prophecies of peace and restoration to the “holy city” of the LORD.[1]
Today’s passage is unique to the Gospel of Luke regarding the group of 70 disciples that Jesus appoints and then sends out on a mission to proclaim the Kingdom of God. There are a lot of parallels here, such as with Matthew 10, where Jesus sends out the Twelve to cure the sick, cast out demons, and preach the message of the Kingdom of God.
These disciples were specifically appointed and tasked by Jesus for this mission to prepare the mission field ahead of Jesus’ arrival there. “They are doing what was done by John the Baptist, whose “manifestation” or commissioning (noun anadeixis, 1:80) was for the purpose of going “ahead of” (literally, “before the face of”) him (7:27) to prepare his way.”[2]
Depending on the translation and the source manuscript used, sometimes the number of disciples is listed as either 70 or 72.
Jesus was setting up the new Israel in his ministry, and in addition to the Twelve, who were simultaneously the new Patriarchs, the new Tribal Princes (see Num 7), and the New Officers of Israel (see 1 Kgs 4), Jesus also chose seventy others, who correspond to Moses’s seventy elders over the tribes (Num 11:16–30). Just as Moses had twelve tribal princes and seventy elders, the new Moses has the Twelve Apostles and seventy disciples.[1]
Brant Pitre provides some reasons for the discrepancy:
What’s fascinating is if you look at the Hebrew copies of Genesis 11 and you count up the names of the nations, guess how many nations there are? Seventy nations. Now in the Greek Septuagint, it was translated a little differently and if you look at those copies, guess how many gentile nations there are? Seventy-two. So a tradition arose that the number 70 (or 72) represented the number of gentile nations, the number of peoples that there were, so to speak, in the world. So some traditions in Judaism would see the world in terms of the twelve tribes of Israel and 70 (or 72) gentile nations. [3]
We have an added interpretative layer that builds on Jesus being the new Moses and his picking leaders and commissioning them into a fuller mission territory including the gentiles.
As usual, Jesus does not sugarcoat what he is calling them to do. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Their work is to be founded on prayer and the help of others. That this work is not all on us as individuals. We need the help and support of others and so he sends them out two by two. Sending them out as teams also help to confirm their message as the testimony of two witnesses as specified in Deut 19:15.
As witnesses ourselves we are to use our native intelligence to spread the Gospel, but like these disciples, we are reminded that primarily this is the Lord’s work. In the Old Testament, we have plenty of examples of Judges and Prophets being stripped down of possessions and men to show that ultimately we are totally dependent on God for anything we accomplish. That we are to say “Peace to this house!” and not to be upset when this is not returned in kind. The Gospel still has come nearer to them and everything is in God’s time. As the Lord told Samuel when they demanded a king “for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” Knock the dust off your sandals and move on.
Another facet of Jesus sending them that John Bergsma notes:
The seventy, however, are sent to Gentile and Samaritan territory, so Jesus has to instruct them explicitly on how to handle conscience issues regarding the observation of kosher laws. Gentiles did not keep kosher, and Samaritans had different kosher regulations. Jesus tells them not to be concerned about this: “eat what is set before you” (10:8) without asking questions of conscience.[1]
One aspect of the mission of these disciples is that it is accompanied by deeds of power. Besides, being commissioned to preach and heal the sick they also exorcise demons in Jesus’ name.
St. Bede, a Doctor of the Church, made this observation:
[J]ust as the number of the twelve apostles marked the beginning of the episcopal rank, it is apparent that the seventy-two disciples, who were also sent out by the Lord to preach the word, signify in their selection the lesser rank of the priesthood that is now called the presbyterate. (Bede, On the Tabernacle, 3.112; trans. A. G. Holder)
Part of today’s lectionary reading cuts out a key verse in Luke 10:16.
Returning to Brant Pitre’s commentary:
Jesus says, “He who hears you, hears me. He who rejects you, rejects me, and he who rejects me, rejects him who sent me.” Now that is probably the strongest statement of apostolic authority in the New Testament or in the Gospel (or at least one of the strongest here), because what Jesus is saying is that when he appoints someone and he sends them out to proclaim the gospel, to hear them is to hear him, and to reject a duly appointed emissary of Jesus is not just to reject Jesus, but is ultimately to reject the Father as well.[3]
After the disciples return joyfully they are amazed that “even the demons are subject to us in your name.” Jesus refocuses them into what is their ultimate goal, to be with him forever in heaven. We can rejoice in what Jesus does with us, but we can never lose sight of our final end. Every step along the way must be done in gratitude which will make that joy complete.
There are a couple of interpretations of what Jesus means by “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” There are a couple of different interpretations of what Jesus meant by this:
- That Jesus is talking about the original fall of Satan and the other angels at the dawn of creation. Also points to his pre-existence.[3]
- Another interpretation some scholars are inclined to: “Jesus is saying to the apostles, I could see spiritually what you were doing in a historical sense. I saw the demons falling from heaven as you were casting them out. I saw Satan being overcome in your exorcistic activity.”[3]
Regarding the second one, I agree with Brant Pitre “That’s a possible interpretation. I don’t think we can rule it out, but it seems to me that it doesn’t quite grasp the gravity of Jesus’ words.”
One final note from John Bergsma:
Perhaps one of the reasons deeds of power seem rare these days is the lack of bold action based on faith among those of us who call ourselves Catholic. Heaven and hell are still real. The Gospel of Jesus Christ still confronts every human being. Preaching and evangelistic mission are just as necessary now as they were two thousand years ago. This Sunday let’s pray for revival of the Church’s evangelistic zeal, beginning in our own parishes.
Catechism 787 From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy, and sufferings. Jesus spoke of a still more intimate communion between him and those who would follow him: “Abide in me, and I in you.… I am the vine, you are the branches.” And he proclaimed a mysterious and real communion between his own body and ours: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”[4]
Sources
- The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C – John Bergsma
- The Gospel of Luke, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Rev. Pablo T. Gadenz
- Catholic Productions, Commentaries by Brant Pitre
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition
- Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
- The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C, John Bergsma ↩
- The Gospel of Luke, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Rev. Pablo T. Gadenz ↩
- Catholic Productions, Brant Pitre ↩
- Catholic Church. (2000). Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Ed). United States Catholic Conference. ↩
