Everything in Scripture needs to be read in context, meaning great care must be given to determine whether instructions given are only for those who originally heard the words or whether there are eternal truths that we can apply to our lives today. I think we have both here in Luke 10. Let’s dig in and see what we can glean from today’s passage!!!

[Luke 10.8-12]

8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ In Luke 9, Jesus sent out the 12 apostles in advance to the cities where He would later preach. Here in Chapter 10, He is sending out 70 other disciples. Compare and contrast the instructions and the warnings given to each group.

+ What is the importance in healing the sick on this mission trip?

+ “The kingdom of God has come near to you” is uttered two times in these five verses. What did it mean in this context? Can we use this phrase (or the meaning behind it) when we evangelize today? Why or why not?

+ What does “wipe the dust from their feet” mean, first from the standpoint of the disciples, then to the inhabitants of the city? What is the significance of the comparison to Sodom, even saying these cities/towns would be worse off? Why?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ Jesus told these disciples not to even speak with people on the road while on their way to their destinations. And while I do not think that is a strict command we need to follow today, the concept of their being a sense of urgency in our evangelism is timeless and important. Jesus clearly taught that no one knows the day or hour of His return (Mark 32-37). And when He returns, the time for decisions is GONE FOREVER!!! What these verses we examined today show is the reason for the urgency. Those who do not respond to the call of Jesus on their lives are destined for a time and punishment WORSE than those who lived in Sodom (Genesis 18 & 19). Ponder that thought for a minute!!! The doctrine of hell or eternal punishment is not a subject we speak of or hear from the pulpit much these days, but it is an ESSENTIAL part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!! Do you know of someone who is mired in unbelief? Will you go to them and declare the remedy God has provided for their souls???

We do no one any favors by downplaying the truth of God’s wrath or neglecting to mention the severity of His judgment. We certainly don’t eliminate the threat of hell by refusing to speak or think of it. If we truly believe what the Bible teaches about the eternal fate of unbelievers, it is in no sense “loving” to remain silent and refuse to sound the appropriate alarm.

What, after all, is the good news we proclaim in the gospel? It is not an announcement that no one really needs to fear God or fret about the possibility of hell. As a matter of fact, there would be no glad tidings at all if God merely intended to capitulate to the stubborn will of man and forgo the demands of His perfect righteousness.

The good news is even better than most believers understand: God made a way for His righteousness and His love to be fully reconciled. In His incarnation, Christ fulfilled all righteousness (satisfying, not nullifying, the demands of His law). In His death on the cross, He paid the price of His people’s sin in full (assuring the triumph of perfect justice). And in His resurrection from the dead, He put a powerful exclamation mark on His own perfect, finished work of atonement (thus sealing the promise of justification forever for those who trust Him as Lord and Savior).

That is the message we must declare to a worldly culture utterly lacking any real fear of God. We cannot do it faithfully or effectively if from the very outset we have omitted the harsh truth Scripture declares about “the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Rev. 19:15).

From “The Disappearance of Hell” by John MacArthur

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?