Do you follow the way? Part 2
In part 1, “Do you follow the way”, we briefly looked at Luke 10 and saw Jesus’ instructions to the disciples on how to conduct themselves as they spread the gospel in the surrounding towns. But when we look a bit deeper, we uncover a lot more detail about “the way”
1. Go out two by two, providing safety in numbers
2. Don’t take any money, trust that God will provide for your needs
3. No sandals, barefoot? The wilderness was stony ground, maybe Jesus meant no spare shoes?
4. Don’t speak to anyone on the way. The roads through the wilderness were dangerous places to be, remember “the good Samaritan”, this parable was likely based on real-life events of lone travelers!
These are all practical measures, designed to deter bandits from robbing you. Simply because, if you’ve nothing to steal, you’re not worth wasting their time over!
Then we read that Jesus told them what to do “When you enter a town and are welcomed”
1. When you enter a house, bless the house by saying “Peace to this house” In doing this you ask God to bless those in return for blessing you with their hospitality. (this was, and still is a custom that Jewish people do as they enter one another’s homes.)
2. “eat what is offered to you”, be humble and thankful for what you are given, you are a guest, and it might be all the host has to share.
3. “Heal the sick”, by this we do the work of Christ, we are his hands, feet, eyes, ears, and spokesperson.
4. Proclaim the message, “The kingdom of God has come near to you”. Jesus is our Lord and King, and as believers in him, the Holy Spirit lives within us. This makes our bodies, our pots of clay, God’s Temple. Meaning that it is each of us who now has the job of bringing God’s Kingdom close! So be bold in Christ, as we are not on our own.
It’s a different story when you’re not made welcome, go out into the street so that all can hear and proclaim,
1. “Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you”. By this act, we symbolically demonstrate that we are cleansing ourselves from that town.
2. “The Kingdom of God has come near to you”. Give them the message you came to teach as there might be someone that was open to receiving it.
3. “It will be more bearable for Sodom on that day”. Finally, we must warn them of the consequence of their actions, and then move on.
In the Great Commission recorded in Matthew 24:18-20 we read
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
So, what other instructions or commandments did Jesus give that are part of “the way”?
When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, we read in Matthew 22: 37-40
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Key here are the words “All the law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments”, because if we keep these two then we’ve kept the rest.
Judaism has 613 commandments/laws. But not all of them apply to everyone, some apply only to men, some to women, and some apply only to the descendants of Aaron. There are purity or hygiene laws, and food laws about what you can and can’t eat. Laws about the Sabbath, how far you can walk. There are even laws for animal and pet owners, that say if you own a pet and come home from work tired, you must feed your pet before feeding yourself!
We know that Jesus held conflicting opinions about the application and interpretation of some of these laws. We read Jesus’ discussions with the Scribes and Pharisees about these which are recorded for us in the gospels.
Such as:
Mk 2:27 “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Matt 15: 11 “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
However, it must be said that Jesus doesn’t say that these laws no longer apply, it’s their narrow interpretation and rigid application that he had an issue with.
But what Jesus did say and teach was that the greatest two commandments are, to love and put God first, and secondly Love your neighbour. By keeping these two, then we keep all the rest because by doing this it’s impossible to break the others.
Jesus came to fulfill the law, reveal God’s truth, and restore the way for us to enter into the presence of the Father, but he didn’t come to remove the law.
Remember, keep the first two commandments, and we will keep all the rest.
Part three of this series is called "Teaching the Way" which looks at the "Didache" (link below)
Have a wonderful and blessed day,
God bless,
Trev.