Dailies ~ Advent
December 10, 2019
Jesus sends his disciples out
again with more clear instructions I the beginning of this chapter, it sounds
very familiar but a bit different I you read it correctly you will see that He
sent out a larger number of people than at first. He shares a parable and reminds a Jewish
leader that the most important commandment of all was the following.
The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with
all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And,
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”“Right!” Jesus
told him. “Do
this and you will live!”
The man quoted the Law of Moses to Jesus in response to His question
“How do you read it?
Sometimes we can read the Word wrong, and put the emphasis in the
wrong place if we are not paying attention. Many people have faltered in their
walk because they followed a leader who read it wrong, or did the wrong thing.
Jesus shows us how important it is to read, and think about what we read in the
Word of God. Then we an do it and live!
Heavenly Father, thank you for Your Word, help us to listen and
follow your example.In Jesus' name amen.
Chapter 10
The Lord now chose
seventy-two[a] other disciples and sent them
ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. 2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great,
but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest;
ask him to send more workers into his fields. 3 Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among
wolves. 4 Don’t take any
money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t
stop to greet anyone on the road.
5 “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be
on this house.’ 6 If those who live
there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will
return to you. 7 Don’t move around
from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide.
Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.
8 “If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set
before you. 9 Heal the sick, and
tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’ 10 But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and
say, 11 ‘We wipe even the
dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your
fate. And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!’ 12 I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a
town on judgment day.
13 “What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles
I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have
repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing
ashes on their heads to show their remorse. 14 Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you. 15 And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No,
you will go down to the place of the dead.[b]”
16 Then he said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your
message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And
anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.”
17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to
him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”
18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like
lightning! 19 Look, I have given
you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes
and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because
your names are registered in heaven.”
21 At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy
Spirit, and he said, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for
hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for
revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.
22 “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the
Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and
those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then when they were alone, he turned to the disciples and
said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you have seen. 24 I tell you, many prophets and kings longed to see what you see,
but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t
hear it.”
25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by
asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read
it?”
27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all
your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”[c]
28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
29 The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who
is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from
Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of
his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.
31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying
there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant[d] walked over and looked at him
lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.
33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he
felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him,
the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them.
Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took
care of him. 35 The next day he
handed the innkeeper two silver coins,[e] telling him, ‘Take care of this
man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man
who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus
said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem,
they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her
home. 39 Her sister, Mary,
sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She
came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister
just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”
41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried
and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one
thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be
taken away from her.”
Teresa M. Wilson