Blog:"and greet no one along the way": Difference between revisions
no edit summary
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 12: | Line 12: | ||
The rest of the passage is equally clear, and powerful, such as, | The rest of the passage is equally clear, and powerful, such as, | ||
"If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you." | "If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you." | ||
But what of this command | But what of this command? -- | ||
and greet no one along the way. | and greet no one along the way. | ||
Aren't they supposed to spread the | Aren't they supposed to spread the Gospel? Why not yell out the Good News at every passerby? The NAB Bible on the USCCB site offers a brief footnote explanation that the instruction was so that "even customary greetings should not distract from the fulfillment of the task" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/10?4=#50010004 Mt 10:4 fn]). NetBible, an awesome Biblical source, gives us a larger response from Constable's commentary ([https://netbible.org/bible/Luke+10 Luke 10 | Lumina (netbible.org)]): | ||
In ancient Near Eastern culture people often gave very long greetings that tied them up sometimes for days (cf. Judg. 19:4-9; 2 Kings 4:29). Jesus did not mean that His disciples should be unfriendly or unsociable but that they should not allow these greetings to divert them from their mission. They were to pursue their work and not waste their time on lesser things. | In ancient Near Eastern culture people often gave very long greetings that tied them up sometimes for days (cf. Judg. 19:4-9; 2 Kings 4:29). Jesus did not mean that His disciples should be unfriendly or unsociable but that they should not allow these greetings to divert them from their mission. They were to pursue their work and not waste their time on lesser things. | ||
Sure, but | Sure, but it presupposes a typology, when Jesus more likely seems to be givng a different sort of advice, a general directive, but one no less practical that not to linger or waste time in elaborate greeting rituals: | ||
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves | |||
Through Luke Chapters 9 and 10, Jesus is preparing the disciples for their mission following him, teaching them in hints and broad statements, in baby steps and practice on their own. Prior to "The Mission of the Seventy-two," he similarly sent the Twelve ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?1 Lk 9:1-6]; told in [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?1 Mt 10:5-15] and [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/6?7 Mk 6:7-13]<ref>The Seventy-Two appears only in Luke.</ref>). He instructed the Twelve to prounce, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?7 Mt 10:7]) across Jewish lands only, whereas the Seventy-Two also went into Samaria and "pagan territory" ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?5 Mt. 10:5]<ref>The Twelve were told not to go to Samaria or pagan lands; whereas, evidently, the Seventy -Two did (see Constable's notes on [https://netbible.org/bible/Luke+10 Luke 10:1])</ref>) | |||
We recall from John 1, | |||
He was in the world, | He was in the world, | ||
and the world came to be through him, | and the world came to be through him, | ||
but the world did not know him. ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/1?10 Jn 1:10]) | but the world did not know him. ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/1?10 Jn 1:10]) | ||