Reading for October 24th

 Read Luke 10.1-24. In 10.1-24: He sends out seventy. In verse 1: The seventy (or seventy two) probably correspond to the seventy elders chosen by Moses from the twelve tribes (see 9.1-12), plus Eldad and Medad (Ex 24.1, 9; Num 11.16, 24-30). Early Christian missionaries regularly traveled in pairs (Acts 8.14; 15.32, 40). In verse 2: The harvest is the long promised gathering of Israel (Isa 27.12). In verse 5: Peace to this house is an official greeting, traditional from the time of King David (1 Sam 25.6) In verses 8-12: Unlike many approaching rulers, the coming of this kingdom is not coercive, but its consequences will be profound on that day, at the divine judgment (v. 14), as in God's destruction of Sodom (Gen 19.15-28). In verse 15: The prophetic woe on Capernaum echoes Isa 14.11, 13-15. In verses 16-20: The divine authority of those who are sent derives from Jesus' identity (see also 10.22). The fall of Satan is a hope of the end time (Rev 12.7-9; 20.2-3). In 21-23: The presence of the Holy Spirit is the mark of the Father's reign. These verses became central to later Christian teaching of the Holy Trinity. In verses 23-24: This saying presents the promise of the prophetic warning of Isa 6 (see 8.10). Comments or Questions..