Blog:"and greet no one along the way": Difference between revisions
→Travelers, wayfarers, and a fallen world
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The USCCB NAB online Bible 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, a handy Biblical source, gives us a larger commentary ([https://netbible.org/bible/Luke+10 Luke 10 | Lumina (netbible.org)]): | The USCCB NAB online Bible 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, a handy Biblical source, gives us a larger 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. (Constable) | 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. (Constable) | ||
Perhaps Jesus really did mean, "Don't get bogged down by extended ritualistic normative cultural protocols..." Well... | Perhaps Jesus really did mean, "Don't get bogged down by extended ritualistic normative cultural protocols..." Well... | ||
Throughout Luke Chapters 9 and 10, Jesus prepares the disciples for their mission to follow, 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>), whom he instructed to pronounce that "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."<ref>The Twelve were told not to go to Samaria or pagan lands ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?5 Mt. 10:5]); whereas, evidently, the Seventy-Two did (see Constable's notes on [https://netbible.org/bible/Luke+10 Luke 10:1])</ref> | Throughout Luke Chapters 9 and 10, Jesus prepares the disciples for their mission to follow, 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>), whom he instructed to pronounce that "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."<ref>The Twelve were told not to go to Samaria or pagan lands ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10?5 Mt. 10:5]); whereas, evidently, the Seventy-Two did (see Constable's notes on [https://netbible.org/bible/Luke+10 Luke 10:1])</ref>[[File:70Apostles.jpg|thumb|<small>70 Apostles (Byzantine icon, Wikipedia)</small>]]There is the thought that Luke's audience was Gentiles, and Matthew's Jews, thus the emphasis on the Seventy-Two in Luke<ref>In Luke, the Mission of the Twelve is six verses long ([https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?1 Lk 9:1-6] -- and much longer in Matthew), whereas the Mission of the Seventy-Two extends into 24 verses in [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/10?1 Luke 10]</ref>, but it makes complete sense that Jesus would gradually extend the Good News, first within Jewish communities through the Apostles, then to Samaritans and pagans with a larger crew of disciples as he himself ventured into those areas. It also follows the pattern of fulfilling the Old Covenant for the Jews first, then extending it and the Gospel across the world. | ||
So off went the Seventy-Two across paths that were likely full of unhospital encounters. | |||
Literally, a "way" is the path between points A and B. Allegorically, a "way" is how to act, what to do, in order to get there. The early Church -- and it's so perfect -- was called literally and allegorically, "The Way", as Jesus is both "the way" to live our lives and "the way" to salvation. | Literally, a "way" is the path between points A and B. Allegorically, a "way" is how to act, what to do, in order to get there. The early Church -- and it's so perfect -- was called literally and allegorically, "The Way", as Jesus is both "the way" to live our lives and "the way" to salvation. | ||