Luke 22:35 Commentary and Bible Study

(Synoptics: Luke 22:35-38)The twelve apostles (Matthew 10:9-10), and the seventy after them (Luke 10:4), had been given very clear instructions from the Lord when he sent them out. They were not to take any supplies with them, nor were they to take money to purchase necessities along the way. They were to learn to be completely dependent on the Lord for food and clothing and everything else they needed. They were doing the Lord’s work, and they were to rely on him who he is faithful to those who serve him and does not neglect them. All that they needed would be providentially provided by their heavenly Father through the gifts of those they ministered to. This was a precious lesson with an enduring principle built into it, and all God’s children must live by faith, but particularly those who serve him in the gospel. Christ was not with them personally. After spending some time watching and listening to him preaching, and studying the way he taught and how he handled every situation that arose, they were now being sent out to preach without him – but they were to model their preaching on his. During this time they must learn that ‘the labourer is worthy of his hire’ (Luke 10:7). This being sent out to preach without taking provisions was a further stage in their training, and this requirement to be dependent on God was an essential part of it. Their needs did not change; they were still in need of their daily food, but how would it come to them? They must learn that God could supply their needs whether or not Christ was physically present with them. They were just as much under the eye of the Lord when they were preaching for him on their own, as when they were accompanying him. They were serving the invisible God and being faithful to the commission they had been given, and speaking his words to the people, but they must trust that he was with them, and aware of all they were doing, and would not neglect their bodily needs while they were going about his work. That was the lesson that the previous instructions had been designed to teach, and they would remember that lesson for the rest of their lives. As they looked back on what had happened, they remembered how individuals here and there had offered them accommodation, and food, and clothing and perhaps laundry when necessary, and they had indeed lack nothing. They could easily have put this down to chance if they had not looked with the eye of faith, but because of the somewhat extreme nature of the instructions – ‘Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, ¹⁰ Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves’ (Matthew 10:9-10) – they had reason to observe very carefully how their provisions were met, and to reflect on the fact that they were carrying out Christ instructions to the letter. To remind themselves that they had brought nothing was a help to them; it made things all the more clear. The whole point of this exercise was that they learn that as God’s labourers, they had placed themselves under his protection and provision, and he did not let them down.