Luke 10 Round Two: Who is My Neighbor?

Ever wonder what Jesus really meant when he told the parable of the Good Samaritan? The answer might surprise you.

Luke chapter 10 takes us on a journey with Jesus as he expands his ministry beyond the twelve disciples. The doctor-turned-investigative-journalist Luke paints a vivid picture of Jesus commissioning 72 followers, sending them out "as lambs among wolves" to spread the gospel. These everyday disciples return amazed that "even the demons obey us when we use your name!" Yet Jesus gently redirects their excitement, teaching them to rejoice not in spiritual power but in their salvation.

The chapter reaches its climax when a religious expert tries to justify himself by asking, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan – a story far more shocking to its original audience than we might realize today. By making a Samaritan (a despised enemy of the Jews) the hero who helps a Jewish man when religious leaders fail to do so, Jesus demolishes ethnic and religious boundaries. The road to Jericho was notoriously dangerous, and listeners would have immediately understood the setting's peril. This isn't just a story about being kind; it's about seeing your enemies as worthy of compassion and demonstrating mercy through practical action rather than mere intention.

The chapter concludes with the contrasting responses of Martha and Mary to Jesus' visit. Martha's frustration at her sister's choice to sit at Jesus' feet rather than help with preparations leads to Jesus' gentle but profound teaching about priorities. "There's only one thing worth being concerned about," he tells Martha, reminding us that amid our busy lives, our relationship with him deserves our primary attention. This teaching challenges us to examine whether our busyness – even in good, necessary work – might sometimes distract us from what matters most.

Subscribe now to continue our journey through Luke's gospel and discover how these ancient teachings can transform your understanding of what it means to follow Jesus today.

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The More We Dig. The More We Find.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Luke Chapter 10
• 1:43 Jesus Sends Out the 72
• 4:15 Rejoice Your Names Are in Heaven
• 5:43 Jesus Praises the Father
• 6:58 The Parable of the Good Samaritan
• 10:21 Mary and Martha's Different Priorities
• 11:49 Key Takeaways and Closing Prayer

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Welcome to the Bible Breakdown Podcast. Every day, we take one chapter of the Bible, dig deeper, and discover that the more we dig, the more we find. You can find out more at the Biblebreakdown.com. Now let's grow in God's word together. Well, hello, and welcome back to our journey through the book of Luke. Today is chapter 10. I love the idea of thinking about Luke, the doctor-turned investigative journalist, as he is going through the countryside and confirming the miracles of Jesus, confirming the message of Jesus. And as always, I'm so curious as to who he was talking to. Today, you know, we can look at the chapter and we can maybe wonder Jesus is going to talk to 72 of his disciples. Because he had his 12. These are the ones he was spending most of his time with. But then there was this other group of people that was also following Jesus that wasn't necessarily in the 12, but they were still there and they were still learning from Jesus. He's going to send them out so they can go and they can do the different miracles and spread the gospel. Then as he comes back, he's going to go back and forth with a religious law professor, and then he's going to talk about a parable of the Good Samaritan that is very, very popular in history. You're going to remember that when we read it. Then he's going to talk about how he visits Mary and Martha. And so I wonder, I can almost imagine Jesus sitting with maybe some of those, or not really Jesus, but Luke sitting with some of those 72, and them just hearing how he commissioned them to go. And maybe sitting with Mary and Martha and talking about that. I don't know. But we're going to read this together, and I just want you to picture in your mind Luke sitting and talking to these people. And then we're going to see at the end maybe a couple of takeaways that we can take with us as we journey through the book of Luke. But here we go. Luke chapter 10, verse 1. It's talking about Jesus sending out the 12. So here we go, verse 1. The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest. Ask him to send more workers into his fields. Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. Don't take any money with you, nor a traveller's bag, nor a pair of sandals. And don't stop to greet anyone on the road. Whenever you enter someone's home, first say, May God's peace be on this house. And if those who are there are peaceful, the blessing will stand. If they are not, the blessing will return to you. Don't move around from home to home. Stay in one place. Eat eating and drinking what they provide. Don't hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay. And if you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. Heal the sick and tell them the kingdom of God is near you now. But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into the streets and say, We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show you that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this the kingdom of God is near. I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on Judgment Day. What sorrow awaits you, Corazon and Bethsaida? For if the miracles I did in you had been done in the wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have been repenting of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their head to show their remorse. Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on the day of judgment than you. And if you people of Capernaum, you will be honored in heaven, no, you will go down to the place of the dead. Then he said to his disciples, Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me, and anyone who ejects your message is rejecting me. And if anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me. And when the seventy two disciples returned, they were joyful, reporting to him, Lord, even the demons obey us, for when we use your name. And Jesus told them, I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don't rejoice because evil spirits obey you. Rejoice because your names are registered in heaven. So a lot happened just then. Jesus commissioned these disciples to go. And he said, Go into these areas and go be an asset, not a liability. That's what he's talking about. Go into these areas, preach the good news. When people welcome you in the Middle East back then, and now is the same as well, very hospitable area. It was considered to be rude not to welcome in strangers. So they were going to have this opportunity. So he's like, hey, go be an asset, not a liability. Preach the gospel. But then I love this idea. He said, if they receive you, tell them, praise the Lord, the kingdom is near. If they don't receive you, warn them that the kingdom is near. It's one of the things that we always need to remember that all the promises of God are true. That means the good ones and the bad ones. And so judgment comes just like redemption comes, depends on how we receive it. And I love that idea where Jesus is telling them, warn them. Don't just cast the judgment, but warn them about what's going on. And then he even says that there were some places that he did so many miracles, but they were not willing to receive him. And so they were going to receive judgment because they had done that. But then there were others that were going to receive blessing because of that. So I love that idea that Jesus just says, hey, look, this is the truth. And I love the idea that his disciples are experiencing miracles and all this stuff. And Jesus is saying, hey, that's great, but make sure that you don't rejoice because evil spirits are not able to stay, but rejoice that your names are registered in heaven. Make sure you keep what's important, important. All right, verse 21. At that same time, Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, Oh, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it has pleased you to do it this way. My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those whom the Son chooses to reveal him. And when they were alone, he turned to his disciples and he said, Blessed are the eyes that see what you have seen. And I tell you, many prophets and kings long to see what you see, but they didn't see it. They long to hear what you hear, but they didn't hear it. Man, that's true. Can you imagine what it would be like to have walked with Jesus in the flesh for one day? Now we walk with Jesus spiritually, and he's with us. The power of the Holy Spirit dwells within us every single day, yes. But physically, to be able to physically touch him, to physically walk with him. That's what Jesus was telling these disciples. Man, you guys don't realize how blessed you are. Kings and priests in the past love the idea of one day the Messiah coming. And I just go ahead and say what they don't even realize is that generations after them have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. But man, how amazing it would have been to have walked with Jesus every day. Alright, verse 25. The Bible says, one day an expert of religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus replied, What does Moses say? How do you read it? The man answered, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself. Verse 28, Right, Jesus told him, Do this and you will live. But the man wanted to justify his actions. So he asked Jesus, and who is my neighbor? Now I love this because Jesus is about to tell him who his neighbor is. And you may have heard this story before, but it's going to be quite shocking to the original audience. Let me set the tone for you for just a moment. Jesus is going to tell about a man who is walking down a road toward Jericho. Now, the road would have been known very well by the people of the time. It's a treacherous road. It was a road you would have never wanted to go down by yourself, and it was known to be a dangerous road, not necessarily because of the geography, but because it was known to be full of robbers and bandits and people who would have wanted to rob you and to kill you. So as soon as Jesus is about to say it was a man going from Jerusalem to Jericho, people would have immediately went, Oh Lord, they're going down that road. But then it's going to be amazing what happens afterwards. So here we go. Jesus replied with this story. Verse 31. By chance a priest came along, but when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a despised Samaritan came along. When he saw the man, he had compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. And then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, Take care of this man, and if the bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time I'm here. Now, which one of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who attacked the bandits? Jesus asked. The man replied, The one who showed him mercy. And then Jesus said, Yes. Now, go and do the same. Now why was it such a big deal? Well, the first one being a priest. This was supposed to be the best of the best of the best, the most spiritual of us. But instead of helping the man, he walked on the other side. The next was a temple assistant. This is also someone who is within the kingdom of God, someone who would be looked at as someone, of course, who would have helped. He walked on the other side. A Samaritan was an enemy to the Jewish people. They were literally at war with these people all the time in one way or another. The Jewish people had helped the Romans burn down some of the places of worship for the Samaritans, and the Samaritans were some who stood against the Jewish people. They were literally enemies. But in this parable, Jesus said, the one that you thought was your enemy was the one who actually did the most good. Not because of his intentions, but because of his actions. And that's what Jesus was saying is it doesn't matter the status that you have. What matters is what you do. And he says, Go and do likewise. Now let's finish up. Verse 38. As Jesus and his disciples continued on their way, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed her into his home, welcomed him into her home. Her sister Mary sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he taught. Martha was distracted by a big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, Lord, doesn't it seem unfair that you to you that my sister would sit here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me. But the Lord said to her, Dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details. There's only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it and it will not be taken away from her. This final story has caused a lot of difficulty for a lot of people because they're kind of curious. Because Jesus is not saying that preparing the meal was bad. It's just that Martha in that moment had gotten so busy trying to make sure everything was right and everything was perfect that she forgot that Jesus was in the house. And what it seems as though is going on is it's not saying that Martha is too busy, that busy things need to get done. It's not saying that Mary is more holy or that Mary is lazy. It's just saying that you got to make sure you keep the right priorities in the right place. It's not every day you have Jesus in your house. And so if someone else has an opportunity that you don't have, don't consider it unfair. Instead, celebrate the opportunities other people have, realize you have an opportunity to serve in your own way, and also keep the priorities in the right place. And so I think in this particular chapter, there's a lot of great things that we can learn. First of all, that Jesus promises us that when we go to a place the kingdom is near, that should either bring us great awe and joy or great terror and shame. But then we get to make it right. Jesus tells the story about what it looks like to be a true neighbor, and that is that we don't serve people with our intentions but with our actions. And then finally, when we go see Mary and Martha, we learn that everybody has a chance to serve, and we should never be tempted to complain about what other people get to do because we have our own areas that we get to serve. But then even then, to make sure we keep our priorities in the right place. I gotta admit, I don't care what everybody wants to eat. I definitely want to help everybody. I want to make sure everyone's got enough to eat. But if Jesus is in my house, you guys serve yourselves. I'm gonna go sit at the feet of Jesus. I don't know maybe what you got out of this, but I want to hear about it in the comments down below. Let me know how you're enjoying these chapters, if there's anything I can do to make it better for you, anything I can maybe slow down on or maybe speed up. I want to hear, I want to make sure we can do this together and we can enjoy it. Let me pray for you and we'll be done. Father, thank you so much for today. Thank you for the opportunity we have to read your word. I pray that you will always continue to speak to our hearts, change our lives, and that this word will stay with us throughout the rest of this day. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. God bless you guys. I'll see you next time for Luke chapter 11.