In a previous posting (Lk. 10:4) we examined the meaning behind the Lord’s command to His disciples not to greet (salute) people, even family members, on their way to their ministry assignments.  In this posting we will pick up on His instruction to them in which He said: “… into whatsoever house you enter into, remain there ….”  In order to understand what Jesus meant by that statement we must examine a custom which was strictly enforced in those days in that part of the world.  In doing so we will see that He was telling the disciples to break yet another social rule while on their missionary journey.

In conjunction with their original instructions we find yet another command from their Master which was an important part of it: “Carry neither purse nor script nor shoes ….  And into whatsoever house ye enter … in that same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give you, for the laborer is worthy of his hire.”  As we will see, this was not the way things were done.

This instruction sounds strange to the Western ear.  By Jesus’ words we know that while in a particular village the disciples would be staying at the homes of local residents.  We also know that prior to sending them out two by two He reminded them that “… the harvest is great, but the laborers are few” (Lk. 10:2).  Remember also that Jesus would not be on the earth much longer.  A large harvest and few laborers–time was indeed of the essence.

When a stranger or one who no longer lived in the town arrived at a village the people, one by one, were expected to invite him to eat with them.  Because of this the visitor would have to go from house in a continuous cycle of meeting, greeting, eating, etc. until he had visited and eaten with a different family each day he was there.  This strictly-enforced custom could involve hypocrisy, pretense, false motives, bribery, etc.  Not everyone actually wanted to feed and house a stranger even for one night.  However, if anyone failed to voice such an invitation that person was severely chastised by all others in the area.  The rule was so intensely enforced that feuds sometimes erupted for failure to observe it.  Obviously, this custom consumed a great deal of time and could lead to problems.  For example, the host family was expected to provide its best food for its guest.  And the guest was expected to eat as much as possible to show his appreciation.  Over-eating is never good regardless of the work to be done.  Jesus was teaching the disciples, and us, that many social and even religious rules that people are involved in have no real value, that the ministry of spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom is to be the sole focus when one is doing God’s work.  Anything else might disrupt the work the minister has been sent to do.  The emphasis was to be on the work, not on meeting, greeting, visiting, food consumption, etc.

Because of the obvious interruptions and distractions involved in Middle-eastern societies, the disciples were instructed to avoid all unnecessary contacts and involvements  as they took care of the Lord’s business.  Jesus had sent them out, not to be honored and feasted, but to call men to repentance and to show them the way of the Lord.  Therefore, the disciple was to first find a suitable place to lodge in and there to remain until his work in the area was finished.  They had been told not to “… go from house to house ….”  They were also told not to carry a script.  A script was an entire goat skin that had been dried and made usable as a vessel in which to carry one’s “stuff.”  It was what we call a “suitcase.”  The skin was fastened to one’s belt or to a cord around one’s waist.  The other end was then thrown over the shoulder and covered by an outer garment.  The script was an important part of a traveler’s possessions for in it he carried such things as dried bread, figs and olives which he would dine on while on his journey.  There was no mention of money in Christ’s instructions.  The disciples were told not to take any food with them on their mission (Lk. 9:3).

Why did Jesus tell the disciples not to things necessary for survival with them when they went on a ministry mission?  For, as He explained, “… the workman is worth his hire.”  Because His ministers were in their (the people’s) midst doing His work for them it was their responsibility to support the minister.

But such was not (and still isn’t) always the case.  If, upon entering a situation, the disciple found that he was not welcomed, he was to waste no more time in that place.  They were to “shake the dust of their sandles and move on to the next city” (Lk. 9:5).  This would also be the case in individual home one happened to be visiting.  I have done this–literally.  I have found that newspaper articles are quite effective in spreading God’s Word.  In one instance I had done what God has ordained me to do.  I told the readers what God said and compared it to what the church says (which is always the opposite to what God says).  As a result I did what I invariably do–infuriate every church member within the paper’s readership.  I once received a less-than-positive letter from an inmate whose mother had sent him one of my articles.  He was quick to point out all of my errors.  I found myself being lectured about God and His ways by a convicted criminal.  There is nothing “normal” about serving God.  When one wields the Lord’s “sword of the Spirit”–His Word–one can find himself in some unusual situations.

Following one particularly wound-causing article I was invited to the home of a minister from the denomination in which I grew up.  It did not take long for me to realize that I was wasting my time.  I said so as pleasantly as possible and, per instructions, I walked outside, shook the proverbial dust off of my shoes and left.  From the look on the minister’s face, no one had ever openly rejected his theology, which was the same heathen clap-trap I had heard for decades before God took me out of “the unclean thing” called “Christianity.”  Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1.  Needless to say, I was not invited back.    L.J.