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Thoughts and Dreams
18
2006
Luke 10:16-21
This passage parallels the commission of the seventy apostles with the appropriate deposition of grace in the Exodus cycle – this gospel passage is one of many makes the parallel revealed to Paul between Jesus and Moses crystal clear.
Following the drowning of the Egyptians on the day they crossed the Red Sea, the Hebrews and Moses were given a full scale declaration of hope. It is hardly possible to ignore what Christ is forecasting here regarding the cross and the status of the apostleship.
From Exodus 15:22-27 we recall the Hebrews lacking of water on first leaving the Sea of Reeds and showing up at Marah – the place of bitter water.
Moses purified the water, making it sweet by a piece of wood. And the Lord laid down the essential rule for the entire journey – granted, it was a rule they would have a hard time keeping, but inasmuch as they could manage to do so, it would keep them from harm:
If you will heed the Lord diligently, do what he says is right, hear and keep all of His commandments and laws, then none of the ills that effected Egypt will overtake you, because the Lord is a healer.
And following this they show up at Elim – an oasis – that has 12 springs of water and 70 palms trees! This is the way the exodus across the desert of death begins – with sure guidance and much hope!
Within the context of the Lord’s revelation to Paul, how can the reader not connect the position and message of this passage in Luke? This passage validates Paul’s claim – Jesus is the prophet like Moses, leading the assembly of followers out of the world of sin and death, through Hades and beyond.
Consider the powers stated by Christ and the parallels with the Exodus passage. Through the words of Christ, and the authority of God that is maintained, the seventy are already fulfilling the promises made to the Hebrews so many centuries before, and they can hardly believe that it’s happening:
- Demons are subject to them
- They have authority to trample poisonous beasts
- Nothing shall hurt them in the process
Jesus even thanks the Lord for giving these things to the seventy – so far as he is concerned, they are already on their way to the kingdom of God just as the assembly of Moses was from the outset. The irony is that this benefit should have gone to those who were knowledgeable in the law and should have recognized the oasis of the 12 and 70 apostles – but now instead, they will be left behind, and it’s the babes – the newer Judahite breed – who will inherit the kingdom.
Another important consideration, the issues Christ mentions to the apostles are ones which he knows to be dominant in the world of sin and death, just as the Lord told Moses that his people would not suffer any of the ills that flourished in Egypt.
This parallel suggests that in following Christ through to the end, the apostles will discover that the laws and sins and evil spirits (false teachings) that were inherent to this world no longer stand up to the force that emanates from what Christ declares.
Christ also makes a point, for the sake of the apostles, that it is inappropriate to gloat over the fallen. This is clearly because the fallenness of Satan and the evil forces parallels the destruction of the Egyptians in the Red Sea in pursuit of the Hebrew slaves. The victory did not belong to the Hebrews – nor does the victory over Satan and evil belong to the apostles. Rather, the victory for the apostles rests in their membership – that they are part of the ekklesia of Christ, have left the world of sin and death behind and are now living according to a new creation and a new set of rules set according to Christ’s own design.
There is sometimes a tendency to gloat over the victory that one has achieved over Satan and the powers of evil in the world. Christ makes it crystal clear that our boast is not in victory but in our membership in His body of followers.
While not technically a part of this reading, do note the emotionally powerful statement Christ makes in light of all of this: “Many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear and have not heard it.”
Christ’s sensitivity reflects the desire for so many to be delivered from the bondage and oppression of pointless deeds – to see their taskmaster thrown down – to dwell in the kingdom that God had promised. And now that Christ has already won the victory over death, the gathering of recruits for the kingdom is well underway!
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