THE BOLDEST INITIATIVE

LUKE 10:1-251Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead

of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3”Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4”Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. 5”Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6”If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 7”Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. 8”Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10”But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11’Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12”I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.

13”Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14”But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. 15”And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!

16”The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

17The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19”Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20”Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

21At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 22”All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

LUKE 10:1-2 1Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead

of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Sent them in pairs ahead of Him

In Chapter 9, Jesus sent out the twelve to preach and heal. In the following weeks they would astound both themselves and the Galilean countryside with their works until even Herod Antipas was informed about their works.

Now Jesus sends out 36 more pairs, but this time his instructions are to pray for laborers and heal the sick. There is some discrepancy as to whether the number sent forth was 70 or 72. The earliest Greek manuscripts read 72 while later manuscripts say 70. This discrepancy is probably due to the differences between the Hebrew Old Testament, which lists 70 as the number of nations in the world whereas the Greek translation, the Septuagint, lists 72 as the number of nations [Genesis 10].

The discrepancy is minor, what is important is that Jesus sent out one disciple for each nation believed to be in the world, not just one for every tribe of Israel (as he did with the first commission). This was to be a world religion, destined from the start to expand far beyond the boundaries of Judaism.

We tend to think of Jesus’ discipleship work as limited to the twelve but we need to remember the many women who followed and these 72 who were sent forth in power. 1 Corinthians 15:6 tells us that Jesus had at least five hundred followers by the time he had finished his ministry and 120 went to begin the church in Jerusalem [Ac 1:15].

This reading clearly establishes the true goal of a Christian community, not to use its resources to care only for its own, but to bring Christ to all. We are to send forth laborers to all the nations, to send forth to heal and pray.

What comes to mind is the catholic, with a little “c.” Kata means “cast out,” Holas means either “to the whole” or “to become whole.”

In our case the two meanings unite as one. We are both “cast out to the whole,” and we are not whole until we go. Soon the disciples would learn that you couldn’t contain church either in the upper room or Jerusalem. We must be, “cast out to be made whole.”

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”

Most Churches seem intent on stealing church hoppers from each other with the trump card being how well a Pastor preaches or the wizardry of a multimedia worship show. Many Christian Leaders seem content in just stealing husks of grain from empty grain elevators while the harvest wilts in the field. Meanwhile our jails overflow in capacity, our homeless shelters stretch to the breaking point with single mothers and their children and our detention centers have children sleeping on the floors because the beds are full.

The harvest is only empty if viewed from inside the grain elevators. We don’t need managers maintaining grain elevators. We need laborers in the harvest. Leaders should be in the field with a scythe modeling the behavior they want Christ’s church to emulate.

The church is not who comes to us, the church is who we send into the harvest.

Leaders who model Jesus’ Way do not spend a majority of their time in an office. Our Lord was a laborer in the harvest! Jesus didn’t lead from an office; his pedagogy was four-fold and took him constantly to his people:

1. Model

2. Invite

3. Teach

4. Send forth

True leaders never send people where they would not go themselves or teach what they will not model. It is laborers who are needed, not distant supervisors or closeted academics. Let our theology be love and our preaching be the sweat of our brow. Let us slough off the comfortable role of waiting for the wheat to come to us and instead, lead our people into the field.

LUKE 10:3 3”Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

“Lambs in the midst of wolves…”

“Lambs in the midst of wolves?”

This isn’t a very comfortable thought or a motivating rallying cry. However, it wipes away every excuse we might have of saying; “Well, I have no expertise in this area” or, “I’m not really comfortable going to those places.”

We must get beyond thinking that laboring in the field is an elective the Christian can choose or cross off their task list because they send money to missionaries. Do we hear Jesus say to his disciples; “Would any of you mind doing this?”

We can be relieved that God does not call us for our expertise. In fact, the more inept we are, the more God is able to use us.

1 CORINTHIANS 1:26-2926For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise

according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29so that no man may boast before God.

It is not appropriate to tell God what we cannot do for we do not rely on ourselves. Our only appropriate response is to go faithfully as “lambs among wolves” and be amazed at what God can do! He wants our faith not our expertise.

Paul heard our Lord tell him: And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me [2 Corinthians 12:9].

There is more to Christ’s statement than the fact we are sheep. It is that we must also choose to remain sheep among wolves. We are not to become like wolves among wolves. We are not to take on the world’s ways. We go out choosing to increase our reliance on the shepherd not to take on the nature of the wolves. We are to choose weakness, to strive for humility, to model reliance on God and not to become adept in the ways of the world. If we are ever to boast, let us say, “I had no idea what I was doing but you should have seen how powerfully Christ used me.”

Again Paul, in a shining moment said it like this, “Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern? “If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness [2 Corinthians 11:29-30]”

LUKE 10:4-8 4”Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way.

5”Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6”If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 7”Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. 8”Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you;

“Eat what is set before you.”

It sounds as though Jesus is promoting an ascetic lifestyle for his followers. However, Jesus was no ascetic. He did not choose a life like John the Baptist, the Spartan existence of stoicism or the way of the Essenes. At times, Jesus would glean grain like the poor of Jerusalem but he also attended many feasts and was the honored guest at many banquets. We never see Jesus standing outside a wealthy house refusing the faire offered to him.

Others might think that Jesus is suggesting his disciples look down on those who are not of their mission or belief. He tells the 72, “greet no one on the way.” However, that would obviously be an absurd thought in light of the life Christ modeled.

Rather what we hear Jesus saying and see Jesus modeling is a life totally unencumbered by this world, even unencumbered by the ruse of asceticism.

It is the unencumbered life that serves Jesus, a life that is not enamored with social climbing, ostentatious presumptions or making a show of position or possessions. It is a lifestyle that totally disregards the strife of this world because the freeing message of Jesus is all that matters. Such a person is telescopically focused on loving like Jesus — they have no concern for their comfort, possessions or positions. Such things will be gone someday in a heartbeat.

They are blind to the status symbols and distractions of the world about them except to the extent that every chance encounter, every table offering an invitation, rich or poor, leper or lawyer, they are all an opportunity to love like Jesus loved. Each opportunity presented is not viewed as a chance to climb a social ladder or increase power. Every opportunity is an opportunity to love like Jesus loved.

LUKE 10:9-169and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has

come near to you.’ 10”But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11’Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12”I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.

13”Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14”But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. 15”And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!

16”The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

We have already seen the 72 disciples had two critical assignments:

1) To pray for laborers who would help bring in the ripe harvest and

2) To heal the sick and tell them that the kingdom of God is near

I love the words used in the sentence; “And heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’“

It is worth a look at these words in the original Greek form.

To heal [G2323 therapeuo]; this word not only means to heal and to cure, but the origin of the word is “to serve [G2324 therapon].”

The sick [G772 asthenes]; this word covers not only those who are sick, but also those who are weak helpless or “without strength.”

The Kingdom [G932 basileia]; the Kingdom does not indicate a “place” it is an indication of “the reign” of a king or the King’s sovereignty. God’s reign reaches everywhere his word is put into practice. It doesn’t matter if it is in a church or down an alley. As Jesus tells us (author’s paraphrase), “My kingdom comes when my will is done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Is near [G1448 eggizo]; Eggizo could be used interchangeably as “approaching, at hand or near.”

When we look at these words combined, we can see the bold initiative to which our Lord’s disciples were called and the even bolder message they were to share. This bold initiative is as relevant to Followers of Christ today as it was 2,000 years ago: “Go! Serve the weak, give them strength with the knowledge that God’s rule is at hand.”

God is praying for laborers in the ripe fields of the disheartened, disenfranchised and diseased.

Here is another critical word that is worth the investment of our time. For who are the laborers? The word, ergates [G2040] is used. This word comes from the word ergon [G2041], which means to work, toil or act. There is a definite slant to this word. Christ is not asking for preachers and theologians, he is asking for people who will work, toil and act!

Too often, if we wanted to hold a “Rally Round the Cross” service in the community park, we could garner the support of the local Ministerial Alliance and pastors would be clambering to get up and “preach it” to the crowd. However, if we ask them to accompany us into the fields to work alongside the alienated or advocate for justice in the jails or courts the pickings become rapidly scarce. The response is too often, “Let me see if I can fit that into my calendar.”

From what we read here, that is akin to a religious leader saying, “Let me see if I can fit Jesus into my calendar.”

“God send us laborers to work alongside the sick, the weak and the helpless. Send us, oh Lord, servants who are willing to bring strength to those without strength; servants who will actually bring the Kingdom of God to the vulnerable.”

You will be brought down to Hades!

It is critical in these sentences to note that Jesus uses the term, “The Kingdom of God has come near you,” for two extremely separate purposes. One pronouncement heals, the other pronouncement condemns. This is important because it reveals God’s true nature. Our Lord does not condemn us — our actions do. The Lord reveals our actions in light of God’s truth and our response to the truth liberates us or condemns us.

The Kingdom of God was near to the weak and they grasped it — it became their salvation. The Kingdom of God was also near to Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum but they rejected it and it became their condemnation.

Condemnation has more to do with being exposed to God’s love but continuing on in mindless patterns of hubris. It is not attached to any specific act or behavior. Errant acts and behaviors can be forgiven when we go before Christ with a heart of humility and service. However, seeing the mercy and love of Jesus Christ and continuing to act with an attitude of judgment and self-righteousness is unforgivable. This attitude of hubris is the unforgiveable sin. One cannot be forgiven if one never asks forgiveness.

In Matthew 18:23-35, Jesus tells us exactly what the Kingdom of God is like in a story where one man is forgiven a huge debt then turns around and refuses to forgive someone else of a piddling few coins. The story ends like this:

MATT 18:32-3532“Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave

you all that debt because you entreated me. 33‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, even as I had mercy on you?’

34“And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35“So shall My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

Here’s what is evident: We do not need to go anywhere to be outside or inside the kingdom of God. The kingdom comes when we move from judging to compassion and pride to humility.

This is the bold initiative of Christ, “Forgive the debt of others and your debt will be forgiven you.”

“The one who listens to you listens to Me…”

As the 72 go out they are instructed they no longer represent themselves. They go out representing the King of the Universe. “Any one who listens to you listens to me.”

The term, to listen [G191 akouo] means much more than nodding my head in acquiescence. There is implied action to this primary verb. The emphasis is “he who listens and acts!”

The term is used frequently by all the Gospel writers and the implication is always similar; “He who attends to and does something about what I say.”

LUKE 6:47-4947“Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I

will show you whom he is like: 48he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

49“But the one who has heard, and has not acted {accordingly,} is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Perhaps Luke 8:15 describes the usage of this word best:

LUKE 8:15“And the {seed} in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the

word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.”

Look at this description of listening to Jesus:

1. He who hears the word in an honest and good heart

2. Holds it fast

3. And bears fruit

4. With perseverance

For many of us, listening has become something we do in order to express our own viewpoint. We tolerate another person’s voice until they take a breath and then top their story with one of our own. We listen through their stories so we can get to

ours. We are too often mouths without ears and the driveline to our brains seems disengaged by a clutch that whines, “me, Me, ME.”

People are often too afraid to stop and listen, as if we do not exist if we are not shouting, blaring our music or expressing our opinion.

However, there are situations when people will stop and truly listen.

1. When everything else they have tried has failed

2. When they feel truly listened to

3. When they see a person’s consistent character that stands out as peace in the midst of the “caco-phoniness” of this world

It is the role of Christian leaders to place their lives in these positions. A good farmer doesn’t throw seed on a superhighway. He finds the right ground, tills the soil and breaks up the clumps. Then he seeks a deep well to feed the plants and hoes endlessly to keep out the weeds.

It is endless work to listen and attend to Jesus; to hear the word with a good and honest heart, to hold it fast, to produce fruit with perseverance. It is also endless work to turn the hard pavement of someone’s life into a ripe field for hearing the still, small voice.

Most of us are too impatient and too self-focused to be good farmers of the seed. However, without the patience to listen, we don’t earn the right to be heard.

“…and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

Here is an important concept for all of us to understand. Just what does it mean to reject God? The word, reject, and its root will give us greater insight into this sentence. To reject [G114 atheteo] not only means to “set aside” what someone is saying but to actually devalue it, despise it or to “make something worthless.” We can reject God’s word not only by refusing to listen to it but even more, by listening to it without applying it. The greatest sin is when we hear God’s word and yet plant no seeds or bear no fruit. This is “atheteo,” rejection.

The root word of atheteo is tithemi [G5087]. That is also the root word of tithe. Almost anytime we see the prefix “A” preceding a root word in Greek, the root word then becomes negative. Atheteo means “absence of tithemi.” Tithemi is the root word of to bow and serve, to give honor where it is due and to set forth or to be ordained for a great purpose.

We shouldn’t think of the “one who rejects God” as someone who doesn’t pay his tithe every month. It is someone who does not give God his due. The Old Testament concept of tithe was ten percent of the first fruit [Exodus 23:16]. But look what Jesus tells the rich young prince.

LUKE 18:22-2822When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that

you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven;

and come, follow Me.” 23But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! 25“For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26They who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”

Jesus doesn’t ask for ten percent, he asks for everything. He wants all our being, all the time. He asks specifically what is hardest for us to give up. For some it is money, for some it is time, for others it is pride. For all of us it is the attitude or thing that makes us fear, “I’ll lose control if I let go of this…”

That is the thing or attitude that controls us, that prevents us from being liberated — not from fear but to joy.

In this specific passage, Jesus asks us to tithe the following actions and avoid becoming the following person.

Someone who hears what God has done for them and then continues to live in a self-righteous and judgmental manner

Someone who hears what God has done for them and responds with nothing more than lip service

Someone who hears what God has done for them and doesn’t respond by giving everything up in God’s service

It would be like someone who miraculously finds a lifeboat in a shipwreck and sneaks off alone. He leaves all others behind while saying to God, “Thank you Lord for not making me like those poor souls.”

To reject God is to hear his word and reach out to no one.

This scripture tells us that when we go out to live like Jesus we are going out in the very name of God. It is not our concern whether people accept or reject our labor — we are not seeking approval. Even if we nurture the field not every seed will grow. Our role is to give God his due. To leave behind the ways of our past and to take up a new life that honors Christ in whatever community God plants us.

We are not to look for bigger communities, broader fields or better soil. We are supposed to be faithful with whatever God puts before us. The ground under my feet today is the soil for which I am responsible, my family, my work and my community. All too often, Christians are so busy looking up and out instead of down and in; they never see the soil at their own feet and yet there are fields in our neighborhoods that have never been tilled. A significant part of this message is for us to be effective where we are, with what God has already given us. Placing all of our existing resources to work in being effective stewards of this day.

If we are faithful with these things — surrounding us in this moment — God will continually provide us opportunities for more growth. That growth may not always be bigger, but it will always be deeper.

We needn’t worry about what others are NOT doing if we are busy doing what God had in mind for us. We need to listen to Jesus:

1. With an honest and good heart

2. and to hold it fast

3. And bear fruit

4. With perseverance.

LUKE 10:17-2017The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us

in Your name.” 18And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19”Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20”Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

“Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

The disciples could not have come back more charged up. Even the demons were subject to them (the word used means “reflexively obeyed”). Demons were being vanquished at the very name of Jesus. We have studied the word demon before and learned it means “one who manipulates destinies.” Demons steal dignity and they seek to ruin our destiny — our very unity with God — by coating us with the stench of sin. Demons whisper, “You’re not worthy” and “See, I told you you’d fail.” Demons seek to lie, cheat and destroy. Why? To attack God. We’re tertiary, manipulators don’t care about our souls, they just want to be the center of our lives, to usurp God. They are not concerned with us. When they’re done with us, they will simply leave us a dried up shell on the roadside.

Disciples cast out demons in the name of Jesus! It is not what Christians used to do; it is what we are supposed to do.

Most of our demons do not take on the husks of humans today. It is far easier for them to coat themselves in corporate decisions and the legal systems of man. Whenever laws are used to systematize poverty, to allow torture or injustice — what need has Satan of individuals? When corporations reach so much further and legalities take precedence over principles or ethics — what need has Satan of individuals?

In our legal system, a corporation is a person, but a person with no other motive than profit, a person that would gladly trade human souls for an improved ROI (return on investment).

As disciples, we must cast out demons in the name of Jesus — today! The truth of Jesus still confronts falsehood and self-deception and the greatest falsehood today is that one person or one small body of people cannot make a difference. People who believe that one person can leverage an entire world are cast aside as eccentrics and bothersome crackpots. They’re not crucified — just ignored.

Yet that is Satan’s miscalculation, for he is unable to grasp the power of the effective Christian or laboring church. The effective follower of Christ will take the lessons of this reading and apply them. What are those lessons?

They went out as pairs — sent by Jesus

They were entirely focused on their mission (to heal and pray for new leaders)

They would not be distracted by worldly pursuits or pleasures

They went to the first town that accepted them and focused on the work at hand

They were not distracted with social climbing but took whatever was offered them and went about their work

They were not afraid to call upon the Lord’s name for healings and casting out demons

The effective follower of Christ focuses on wherever he is and whatever he has.

We can see demons falling wherever we go in Christ’s name, to rest homes listening to the stories of an elderly man or woman, to schools reading books to first graders, to homeless shelters sitting at a table with a veteran.

We too could be running to Jesus every night and to our church gatherings every week and proclaiming, “Lord, even the demons are subject to your name!”

We must begin with wherever we are and whatever we have. We may not see the world change — but we can definitely see our world change!

“I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.”

Jesus’ response to the thrilled disciples is two-fold.

1. He gives them great news: “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning!”

2. Yet, he also gives them a stern warning: “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

Is the great news that Jesus passes on merely metaphorical — or did Jesus actually see the Prince of Darkness fall from the sky? The words can be translated in a number of ways. They can also mean; “I beheld Satan’s ultimate failure” or “I perceived his demise.”

We should lean towards the stronger interpretation — “I beheld Satan’s ultimate failure” — for a number of reasons, primarily because this was the true birth of the church. The church was born the moment the followers of Christ took on the power of Christ to pray, heal and liberate. It was at this moment that Satan saw the crack went deep in the damn and not just a finger hole in the surface. When Satan saw that ordinary people had taken up the power of God through the name of Jesus, then

he knew he was vanquished. He was in full retreat mode (but he still attempts to take every soul he can on the way). His is a classic scorch and burn retreat. Leave nothing behind.

Darkness still ruled the world but one bright torch burst upon the scene in northern Israel and suddenly candles were streaming all over the region. Within the year it would spread throughout the world.

Now it is our turn to take the candle wherever it is darkest and to dispel Satan’s hold among the lost. The darkness exists only in places Christians will not go with the good news of clothing to the cold, beds to the homeless, food to the hungry, comfort to the incarcerated or bed-ridden — so where is the darkness in my city? Am I doing my part?

The warning given by Jesus is a warning against false pride. It would have been easy to let those powerful moments of demon exorcism go to their heads as if they were Galilean Ghostbusters taking over the frontier. Yet there are a number of reasons why Jesus dampens the party against pride:

1. They are still on the way to Jerusalem. The cross was still ahead of them. Beyond that cross were the many crosses each of the disciples would bear in Jesus’ name.

2. We are not here to boast of how we’re going to beat Satan. We are here to draw humbly near to God. All too often we are like beagles on a bunny trail — drawn to every scent that crosses our path. I have seen many Christian bodies called to love like Jesus loved only to be distracted by theology and torn apart within months

3. It is too easy to fool ourselves into thinking we are the powerful ones instead of recognizing our power flows from God. It wasn’t their power that called demons out and sent them to the abyss. It was the power of God flowing through them. How easy it is to lose sight of the fact we are the branches not the vine. We thrive only by God’s nourishment not by anything we have done.

4. It is too easy to think the power of God flowing through us makes us better or more important than other people and no one seems more judgmental than a self-righteous Christian. We are saved by God’s grace and not by our words. When we see the person who is cast down or cast out, our implicit response must never be, “I am glad I am not a sinner like him [Luke 18:13]!”

Our only proper response must be to love others like Jesus loved us. Paul tells us, while we were yet sinners, Jesus died for us [Romans 5:8]. Will I call “friend” those whom society calls worthless? For, with the exception of God’s love, we too would be worthless.

Jesus has given us the boldest initiative, to apply his love in the every circumstance in which we find ourselves. We must get out of the grain elevators and into the harvest. We must find the places where demons have drawn quarter in our cities. We go there not with big mouths and large egos — we go there remembering that we were worthless until Jesus put his arm around us and called us friend.

Are our cities more replete with talking Christians than walking Christians? People who would just as soon worship until their voices are hoarse than walk a cup of cold water to their own neighbor. Darkness spreads its wings about our city in the form of drugs, alienated youth and broken relationships while our pastors preach pompously about predestination and millennialism.

Pray for laborers and get in the harvest. Let us not be distracted, lives are in the balance. It is time to cry out, “Anyone in the field with a scythe is a friend.”

We have work to do!

LUKE 10:21-2521At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I praise You,

O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 22”All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

He rejoiced greatly

What was Jesus rejoicing about? Did he forget he had chosen to go to Jerusalem and to his ultimate death sentence? Did he forget the disciples had completely bungled their role following his transfiguration, that they were still arguing about who was the greatest and should be served instead of who was the least and should be a servant?

No, he knew all these things and yet he rejoiced.

Remember the words of Paul?

PHILIPPIANS 4:4-74Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5Let your gentle spirit be

known to all men. The Lord is near. 6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Chronologically, Paul wrote these words facing his own trial and death sentence. It was 62 AD and he was under arrest in Nero’s Rome. Still he writes, “Rejoice always.” “Be anxious for nothing.”

Jesus was Paul’s model and Lord. Despite what they both faced, they both choose to rejoice and renege on any potential self-pity in the moment. They chose to worship rather than whine. They chose to turn their worry into prayer.

What was Jesus rejoicing about? He was grateful that the simplest individual — an infant — could understand God’s way while the complex and prideful could not. His words are, “You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.”

We studied “hidden” in the last chapter. To hide, [G613 Apokruptō] means to put a veil over an object. The religious had put a veil between the Holy One and the poor, those without the means to pay their religious taxes and the temple fees. The veil they put up also kept God’s vision of community veiled to them.

Reveal [G601 Apokoluptō], to uncover or unveil, means a revelation is made — a revealing.

As the disciples came back defeating the manipulation of their time, Jesus rejoiced that the way of truth has been revealed in such a way that it would pass on to generations to come. From that point forward the way of Jesus would be open to those who loved simply and closed to those who refused the simple, genuine humility of service.

Jesus rejoiced because he knew that God’s essence would always be found in the simplest act of compassion.

We need to remember this today. Nothing can stop God’s way from being revealed to those who are humbled and servants at heart. Though our churches be empty or our culture be selfish, God’s way will still be revealed in every act of simple love.

How can we respond to this? Love. Rejoice. Serve.

PSALM 10:17-1817      O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble;

      You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear

18      To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed,

      So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror.

THE GOOD SAMARITAN : AM I MORE RELIGIOUS THAN COMPASSIONATE?

LUKE 10:25-37 25And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I

do to inherit eternal life?” 26And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” 27And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” 29But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31“And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32“Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33“But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35“On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ 36“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 37And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

LUKE 10:25-29 25And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I

do to inherit eternal life?” 26And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” 27And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” 29But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

“Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

The Jewish people had their own legal system by which they governed themselves. As a result, they also had their own attorneys who were experts in Old Testament scripture, the law, the wisdom books and the prophets. Interpreting scripture for legal application was their living and pride so this particular question from this particular man comes as a surprise.

Luke tells us this man is testing the Lord, yet there is little indication this is a rhetorical question or a malicious attempt to bait Jesus. In fact, from the way Luke shares this story, the religious lawyer seems caught up in the enthusiasm of the returning disciples. It is almost as though he sees the joy and excitement of the gathered crowd and wants what he sees. “What do I do to experience joy like this?”

Then, suddenly he shocks himself, immersed in the moment, acting out of character and then tries to regain his decorum. Luke puts it like this; “But wishing to justify himself...”

How often I have seen people stand on the very fringe of giving everything to Jesus only to pull back at the last instant.

Why, why, why?

This lawyer was a hairbreadth from absolute salvation and complete joy and then he stopped to contain himself. Was he afraid of being called a fool by his peers? Was he afraid of abandoning the earthly title and position he had worked so hard to earn? Was he afraid he would be less important if he became a whole-hearted, totally self-abandoned follower of Jesus? Did he think, “What if I put all my eggs in his basket and I’m wrong?”

So, he fades into the background and appears to lose Jesus on a legal technicality. How many of us risk losing heaven based on a technicality? How many of us fail to find the joy of each day because we refuse to abandon ourselves to the moment?

Yesterday I presided over the renewal of vows for my parent’s fiftieth wedding anniversary. I was struck by how each member of my family, all of their spouses and all of the grandchildren flew in from across the United States to honor the event. I, myself, would never have traded the look in my parent’s eyes as they repeated the vows they made over five decades ago. All of us, through my parent’s eyes, were abandoning ourselves to the moment.

We are a people who habitually throw away the momentous for the trivial. We will put off reading a story for our children in exchange for a better business presentation to people who won’t even know our name next week. I should know because I have done that too many times myself.

This scribe was on the brink of immersing himself in the embrace of eternity and then suddenly pulled back. Let’s not make the same mistake.

“You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”

To add to the irony of this story, this scribe knew the answer to eternal life. He quotes from two scriptures:

DEUTERONOMY 6:5“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul

and with all your might.”

LEVITICUS 19:18“You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your

people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.”

This question was typical for the legalists of Christ’s day (just as it is typical of legalists in our own time). Yet, the heart of the issue lies not in trying to legally define neighbor but in trying to limit whom you have to love according to scripture.

The radical presence of Jesus Christ leads us beyond the have-to boundaries of legalism. Jesus moves us beyond the legalism of have-to and into the freedom of get-to.

Once we understand how much Jesus loves us, once we are given the grace to see how his love washes over our sinfulness then we finally move from a have-to to a get-to love.

Implicit in the heart of the question, “Do I have to love him?” is the false assumption I have some value that places me above that other person. However, seeing myself as a sinner before Christ heals me of that precarious perception. Once freed from self-righteousness and legalism I can begin to see every moment as an opportunity to love like Jesus loved. Our lives become grounded in the statement; “Lord, make me aware of who needs your love today. Please make me aware of your call to love.”

Through Jesus we can move from defining, “Who is my neighbor,” to abandoning ourselves to all.

LUKE 10:30-32 30Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and

fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31“And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32“Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

From Jerusalem to Jericho...

There is a premise to this story we may miss without knowledge of the area surrounding Jerusalem in Christ’s time. The journey made by this man was treacherous, indeed foolhardy. The premise of this story is that this man made a poor choice to travel alone on this particular road. It was well known for its brigands. One would almost expect listeners to say, “He only got what was coming to him. He deserved to be beat up!”

Instead, I must ask, “Have I ever found myself on that road? Have I ever made a bad choice and wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

Unless I have never made a poor decision my only true response to this man should properly be, “There but for the grace of God go I.”

“He passed by on the other side”

There was no higher caste among the Jews than the priests and their temple servants/guards, the Levites. Both were castes descended from Levi, through Moses’ brother Aaron. They were separated in task by which sons of Aaron their lineage traced back, either Eleazar or Ithamar. Those descended from Eleazar (and this is very simplified) became the voice of Moses, which was Aaron’s title. Those descended from the youngest sibling, Ithamar, became temple servants and guardians.

The point our Lord is making is that the wounded man was left to die by both branches of the highest religious leaders in the land. Whether they assumed someone else would stop or that the beaten man was going to die anyway (and they would be further delayed by becoming unclean through contact with a dead man), the reality was these two religious leaders saw the downtrodden man as an inconvenience.

This attitude of presumption and self-righteousness remains the attitude of the greatest sin. Did the man get what was coming to him? Let us not forget the priest and the Levite were also on the same path, they just didn’t get caught! Was the wounded man an inconvenience? Only to a person who saw his role and title as more important than God’s people.

Have I ever walked away from a vulnerable outcast? Have I ever avoided someone’s needs because involving myself would get messy, because it would throw off my schedule?

The Christian must examine this story and ask, “Do I see the vulnerable as an interruption or a call?”

Did Jesus see me as an interruption or a call?

LUKE 10:33-35 33“But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw

him, he felt compassion, 34and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35“On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’”

“But a Samaritan...”

We have previously studied the hatred between the Samaritans and the Jews. Hatred hardened by generations of rivalry and deception. The Jews saw the Samaritans as having bastardized the faith and interbred with the conquerors from Babylon. They further hated the Samaritans because their nation sat geographically between Northern Galilee and southern Judea, right on a busy trade route between the two Jewish populations. Occupiers of the region no doubt saw this as a political windfall (divide and conquer) while the Jews saw it as a challenge to their sovereignty.

This was evident in the Apostle’s attitudes when they wanted to cast down fire on a whole Samaritan city because they would not provide lodging to the Lord on their trip through the region. No doubt this story was for their benefit as well. Like the wounded man on the side of the road, the Samaritans were considered a major interruption by the audience to whom Jesus was speaking.

Throughout the ages religion has been the justification for all sorts of acts of violence and aggression. Like the Apostles, we too have justified raining down fire and judgment on others and justifying our anger because “The Lord is with us.”

We quickly harken to the Old Testament (as did the disciples in Samaria) to smite our enemies and neglect the commands of Jesus to, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. [Luke 6:27-28]

Throughout the New Testament there are multiple occasions where Jesus tells us to lay down our life, yet no illustration can be found which would tell us to take life from another. This is a story whose morale is not limited to the Jews of Christ’s time; it is a confrontation of our own faith today. Repeatedly throughout the Gospels

Jesus confronts and condemns those who are seemingly on the fast track to heaven while offering salvation to those who seem to be riding an express train to hell. Pharisee and prostitute, Priest and Samaritan; salvation is given to the humiliated and outcast.

With whom will Jesus find me?

“When he saw him, he felt compassion...”

Here is the hero of one of the most famous stories of all time, perhaps second only to the story of the Prodigal Son. Whereas the story of the Prodigal Son tells us of the kind of love God has for us; this story tells us of the kind of love that God desires from us. This love is summed up in one word that describes what the hated Samaritan felt for the man left to die. The word is “compassion” and it is the word used to frequently describe Christ’s personal response to the hungry and the destitute. The word itself [G4697 splagchnizomai] describes a guttural response to suffering. Literally, it means, “His bowels turned to water.”

This is Christ’s response to suffering. This is the response Christ holds in the highest esteem in a man the Jews would hold in the lowest esteem.

The Samaritan doesn’t ask the wounded man’s background, religious persuasion or if he is his neighbor. He doesn’t ask what the man was doing on that road to begin with or why he wasn’t more careful. He doesn’t see the man as an interruption. In fact, everything else that might prevent the Samaritan from properly caring for this man became an interruption.

Is that my attitude? Is that the kind of action that springs from my faith? Or… am I more religious than compassionate?

LUKE 10:36-37 36”Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell

into the robbers’ hands?” 37And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

“The one who showed mercy...”

This attorney was astute, well educated and direct. None of which would make any difference if he remained unable to turn right answers into just living. He gets the point of Christ’s message. He doesn’t contest the religious overtones. He doesn’t say to Jesus, “His compassion matters not, he was still a Samaritan.” Instead he gets right to the point, “The one who showed mercy.”

This is more than a statement of who is my preferred neighbor. It is a statement of the neighbor I am supposed to be, the neighbor Christ demands I become, “Go and do the same.”

Going and doing were not necessarily the trade tools of these religious attorneys. These verbs were a far cry from thinking and debating. However, our salvation will not be found in our opinions of the man left for dead but in our response to him. The highest-ranking Priest and Levite were judged offensive when compared with the detested Samaritan. Forget lineage, title and religiosity, the man Christ points to as a model is the one who “goes and does.”

Mercy — compassion to a preposterous degree — these are the jewels Christ prefers to the one who wore a crown of thorns, not jewels. When our stomach hurts at the sight of injustice and we go to do something about it, then we are someone that Jesus would call family, friend and neighbor.

At the beginning of the story the lawyer teetered on the brink of truth and then withdrew to legalism. What will he do now? Will he go and do? Will he find the neighbor in need, will his stomach ache for him, will he abandon himself to mercy?

Will I?

“ONLY ONE THING IS NECESSARY”

LUKE 10:38-42 38Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named

Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. 40But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” 41But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

LUKE 10:38 38Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named

Martha welcomed Him into her home.

Martha welcomed Him

This story follows the parable of the Good Samaritan for an important reason. Both stories illustrate how Jesus would dramatically reverse many of the roles of his time. Titles, wealth and gender meant nothing to our Lord. They were meaningless compared to the attitudes of humility, compassion and mercy. In Chapter 9, Jesus snubs Herod, reprimands his disciples for trying to outrank each other, challenges a man who wants to place his inheritance in front of following Jesus and then informs a man that following Christ means leaving behind one’s bedding and pillows if they interrupt the journey. What’s the common thread? Immediacy!

Follow Christ now! Don’t put off your decision.

In Chapter 10, Jesus sends his disciples out with nothing but a walking stick and tells them to live only on what is offered to them in whatever village accepts them. There is to be no clambering for status symbols or wealth among Christ’s disciples. Continuing with the trend, he tells an attorney compassion is greater than knowledge and even greater than religion! What’s the common thread here? Jesus has moved from telling his disciples to “come and see,” and is now telling them to “go and do.”

In these verses, Jesus will tell Martha that even one’s responsibilities and daily tasks take a distant second to being close to the Lord and attending to his words. For who cares if you do things right if they are not the right things?

Simultaneously, we must recognize that Jesus was not disturbed by Martha’s attitude of practical service. What disturbed our Lord was a far greater issue than that (as we shall see). Things started well at Martha’s but quickly unraveled. She welcomed Jesus into her home, which would have been no small inconvenience. Jesus always came with an entourage. Remember when Peter invited Jesus into his home and men deconstructed his roof to lower their paralyzed friend through the hole? Wherever Jesus went, a crowd followed.

We must give Martha some credit, because – by welcoming Jesus – Martha would find herself buried in menial tasks for the term of his stay.

LUKE 10:39-40 39She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His

word. 40But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”

But Martha was distracted

Mary did not invite Jesus into Martha’s house; that was Martha’s doing. Should Mary have been assisting Martha? By cultural standards, yes. By standards of politeness, yes. Yet, we need to examine this specific situation a little deeper. This was the Messiah who brought Martha and Mary’s brother back from the dead. Furthermore, Jesus had made no secret that this was his last journey. He had stated repeatedly he would die in Jerusalem. We need all this information to put this visit into its proper perspective.

My children have chores to finish and schoolwork that needs to be done everyday. However, if the Messiah showed up at our house for a one-time-only chat I would not say; “Hey, finish mowing the lawn first!”

If the lawn was that important, I would do it myself so my children could listen to Jesus! Even more, I would realize the lawn was a distant second to time with my Lord. Jesus’ response to Martha was akin to saying, “The world can wait, I cannot. Soon, I will not be able to visit you any longer and Mary understands. She has the right perspective and priorities.”

This is a story all about perspective and priorities. There are some windows in our lives that are only open for the bat of an eternal eye; we mustn’t miss them. I received a poignant letter from a high school buddy the other day whose wife had just died of breast cancer. He said, “We spent the last eight months of our time together trying to squeeze in all the time we had promised each other at retirement. Somehow, nothing I did prior to those eight months seems important anymore.”

Is there time you have promised to those precious in your life you are going to wind up regretting you missed? Years we thought promised we will have to squeeze into moments?

Mary seized an eternal moment while Martha was seized by momentary distractions. Even worse, through her verbose behavior, she tried to distract everyone else with her own agenda. She even tries to distract Jesus!

It makes me ask myself how often my behavior is exactly like Martha’s. Distracting eternity’s attention for my petty peevishness.

To be distracted [G4049 perispao] means to be “drawn away.” What in my life is drawing me away from the eternal? What piddling task draws me away from the feet of Jesus? And upon whom am I trying to inflict my distractions and agenda?

“Lord, please save me from myself and my agenda!”

LUKE 10:41-42 41But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and

bothered about so many things; 42but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Mary has chosen the good part

We run into this particular Mary twice. The family of Martha, Lazarus and Mary must have been filled with a love and giftedness we can only assume. This is probably where Jesus often stayed on feast days (it was only two kilometers from Jerusalem) and this is where Jesus raises a friend who was indisputably dead — four days dead!

It was then that we first met this Mary. It was her brother who had been restored. It was Mary’s simple statement of faith that brought tears to our Lord’s eyes; “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died [John 11:32].”

Mary’s simple adoration and childlike faith in Jesus reminds me of adults I have worked with who have Down’s syndrome. They are without pretense, cynicism or guile. They are intensely focused on the moment and piercingly clear in their expectations; “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Here is a story that could never be conjured up, even by the greatest of fiction writers. It is so simple yet so direct. It reveals the heart of God’s son with all the precision of a laser. This is not a God who, “helps those who help themselves,” this is a God who embraces the weak and shelters them like a mother.

PSALM 131:1-31O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; nor do I involve myself

in great matters, or in things too difficult for me.

2Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child {rests} against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me.

3O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forever.

That is the soul of Mary, but poor Martha received a comeuppance. She tries to burden Jesus with her distractions and encumber Mary with the tyranny of her agenda. If only Martha had just kept her agenda to herself and served with quiet joy. If only she had counted it as a blessing to host the Master at that last meal. Then she would have been doubly blessed, immeasurably blessed. It wasn’t her service Jesus criticized; it was her attitude, her impertinence.

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

“Only one thing is necessary!”

How many churches have fallen apart because they forgot that, “Only one thing is necessary!” How many people were rejected or left untouched because argumentative, bull-headed, self-proclaimed Christians forgot; “Only one thing is necessary!”

What is that one thing?

It would be easy to misconstrue this story and believe the one thing that is necessary is adoration, worship, a singular focus of gazing up at Jesus. But, that’s not it at all!

When Jesus says, “Mary has chosen the good part,” the word used for good [G18 agathos] means kindness, generous.

Jesus was on the way to die! Mary didn’t scurry about distracting him by clucking at spilled drinks and crumbs on the floor. She quietly sat by her Lord ministering to her with her greatest gift; her undivided attention. She was generous with her responsiveness, kindness and love.

“Only one thing is necessary!”

Mary puts aside her agenda to attend to Christ’s. Do we?

The hardest part of mission work (at least for me) is to find people who lay aside preachiness and prejudice to just listen to the homeless or incarcerated; just to pay attention to them. Yet, what gives one more dignity than being listened to? The cry of so many of the vulnerable both inside and outside our institutions today could be captured in one four-word sentence, “You don’t understand me!”

When I see Jesus in the form of, “I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me [Matthew 25:42-43],” will I respond by saying, “But Lord, do you have any idea how busy I am?”

“Only one thing is necessary!”

Will I figure out what the ONE THING is in time to make a difference?

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Copyright © 2005 Jerry Goebel. All Rights Reserved. This study may be freely distributed, as long as it bears the following attribution: Source: Jerry Goebel: 2005 © http://onefamilyoutreach.com.

Scripture Quotations noted from NASB are from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD VERSION of the bible. Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

The New Testament Greek Lexicon based on Thayer’s and Smith’s Bible Dictionary plus others; this is keyed to the large Kittel and the “Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.” These files are public domain.

The Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon is Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon; this is keyed to the “Theological Word Book of the Old Testament.” These files are considered public domain.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries. Copyright © 1981, 1998 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. (www.Lockman.org)