Luke 10:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Peace is the mother of all good things, without it all other things are vain. Our Lord therefore commanded His disciples on entering a house first to pronounce peace as a sign of good things, saying, Into whatever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.

And as they who receive the Apostles are said to have the kingdom of God come nigh unto them as a blessing, so those who do not receive them are said to have it nigh unto them as a curse. Hence He adds, Notwithstanding, be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you, as the coming of a king is to some for punishment, but to some for honour. Hence it is added respecting their punishment, But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom, &c.

The Lord declared: Brush the dust from your feet (Matt. 10:14) to signify that He will bring them their due recompense. Sodom will rejoice more (cf. Lk 10:14). The angels who visited Sodom did not perform miracles; rather, they turned Sodom into a warning to all creation. Yet, if a city rejects you, move on to another; and if that one also opposes you, seek refuge in a third.

Another virtue is added, that we should not go about easily, changing from house to house. For it follows, Go not from house to house; that is, that we should preserve a consistency in our love towards our hosts, nor lightly loose any bond of friendship.

Which it is said is come nigh, not to shew the shortness of time, for the kingdom of God cometh not with observation, but to mark the disposition of men towards the kingdom of God, which is indeed potentially in all believers, but actually in those who reject the life of the body, and choose only the spiritual life; who are able to say, Now I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. (Gal. 2:20.)

In this particular chapter, the message is appropriately elucidated.

By wiping off the dust of their feet against them, they in some sort say, The dust of your sins shall deservedly come upon you. And mark that the cities which receive not the Apostles and sound doctrine have streets, according to Matthew, Broad is the way which leadeth to destruction. (Matt. 7:13.)

For in the city of Sodom Angels were not without entertainment, but Lot was found worthy to receive them into his house. (Gen. 19.) If then at the coming of the disciples into a city there shall not be found one to receive them, will not that city be worse than Sodom? These words persuaded them to attempt boldly the rule of poverty. For there could not be a city or village without some inhabitants acceptable to God. For Sodom could not exist without a Lot found in it, at whose departure the whole was suddenly destroyed.

But it is said, Peace he to this house, that is, to them that dwell in the house. As if he says, I speak unto all, both the greater and the less, yet should not your salutation be addressed to them that are unworthy of it. Hence it is added, And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it. As if he says, You indeed shall utter the word, but the blessing of peace shall be applied wherever I shall deem men worthy of it. But if any one is not worthy, ye are not mocked, the grace of your word has not perished, but is returned unto you. And this is what is added, But if not, it shall return unto you again.

For the peace which is offered by the mouth of the preacher shall either rest on the house, if there be any one in it predestined to life, who follows the heavenly word which he hears; or if no one be willing indeed to hear, the preacher himself shall not be without fruit, for the peace returns to him, while the Lord gives him the recompense of reward for the labour of his work. But if our peace is received, it is meet that we should obtain earthly supplies from those to whom we offer the rewards of a heavenly country. Hence it follows: And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give. Mark, that He who forbade them to carry purse and scrip, allows them to be an expense to others, and to receive sustenance from preaching.

The men of Sodom, although they were hospitable in the midst of all their wickedness of soul and body, yet were there no such guests found among them as the Apostles. Lot indeed was righteous both in seeing and hearing, yet he is not said to have taught or worked miracles.

In the world, there are those who are servants and understand their master's desires yet choose not to fulfill them, while others remain unaware of their master's expectations and also fail to comply. Consequently, they face punishment from their master. As the scripture indicates, a servant who is knowledgeable of his master's will but is unprepared and does not act accordingly will be subjected to harsher treatment; whereas one who is ignorant yet acts in a manner deserving of chastisement shall experience lesser punishment (Luke 12:47-48). This scenario reflects the condition of Gentiles and Christians in relation to Christ the Lord.

To once again impact the people of Judaea with the message of the impending Kingdom of God, the Lord appointed 70 additional disciples, a figure reminiscent of the elders appointed by Moses, paralleling how the 12 apostles represent the 12 leaders of the tribes. He sent these chosen ones ahead of Him to the towns He would soon visit. Those embraced by this new fellowship were not to be constrained or hindered in their mission. When one disciple expressed a wish to bury his father first and another sought to say goodbye to his family, the Lord denied their requests.

The guidance given to the seventy apostles closely mirrors the instructions Christ provided to the twelve when He commissioned them to proclaim the Gospel. This resemblance in His messages at different times stems from the fact that both were delivered during similar circumstances. However, there are significant distinctions between the two addresses. In His message to the twelve, Christ specifically instructed them to refrain from visiting Gentiles and Samaritans, directing their ministry exclusively toward the Israelites. Conversely, in the address to the seventy, no such limitations exist; rather, Christ sent them ahead of Him to every city and locale where He intended to go, including the towns and villages in Samaria that He was currently traversing.

In instructing the seventy to dust off their feet from the towns that rejected them, Jesus instructed them to gently proclaim to those who would not accept their message: “Know that the kingdom of God has drawn near to you.” They were not to express reproach or anger, but rather to caution that through repentance, they could find salvation, as the kingdom of God is accessible to them. However, if they remain unrepentant, the people of Sodom will stand in a better position on the final day than those who rejected the message.

At this point, the Saviour selected an additional seventy disciples from among His followers to establish, alongside the twelve, a second tier of close proclaimers of the gospel and stewards of God's kingdom. He dispatched them in pairs to prepare His way in every location, providing them with guidance akin to that given to the twelve apostles (Luke 10:1-20). The instructions were more concise, reflecting the temporary nature of their mission, and removed the previous stipulations regarding the avoidance of Gentiles and Samaritans. Their tone was tinged with sadness, likely reflecting the sorrow of enduring rejection. For further understanding, consult the parallel accounts in Matthew 10 and Luke 9:1-6.