Chapter

Luke 10:6

ESV And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
NIV If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you.
NASB And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you.
CSB If a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.
NLT If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you.
KJV And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.
NKJV And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.

What does Luke 10:6 mean?

Jesus has appointed seventy-two of His disciples to go into different villages, preparing the people for Jesus' arrival. He indicates that God will take care of their physical needs (Luke 10:4). Under Jesus' authority, they will have the power to heal and cast out demons, giving credibility to their message that the kingdom of God is near (Luke 10:1, 9, 17).

When they enter a village, they are to go to one house and stay there for the duration of their visit (Luke 10:7). First, they are to offer a blessing of peace (Luke 10:5). "Peace" most literally means an absence of conflict. It also refers to a more general welfare. In Hebrew, the term is shalom, and in Greek it is eirēnē. Here, it largely means a friendly acceptance of the message the disciples are to share. If the people hear the ramifications of God's coming kingdom with acceptance and anticipation, they will experience the blessings of the kingdom. If they reject the message, they will face an even worse judgment than the pagan Gentiles who worship false gods but do not have the advantage of witnessing miracles to draw them to God (Luke 10:12–15).

The authority of the disciples to declare God's peace on people is a theme in the church. Jesus gave Peter authority to reveal how to enter the kingdom of God, which he did at Pentecost (Matthew 16:19; Acts 2). Jesus also gave the disciples, and later the church leaders, authority to discipline and excommunicate unrepentant sinners in their community (Matthew 18:15–20).

The criterion for godly fellowship has nothing to do with age, gender, nationality, ethnicity, financial status, social status, marital status, political party, language, region of origin, physical traits—nothing that humans use to categorize each other (Galatians 3:27–29). It is this: does the person accept and return the peace of God? Do they show shalom?
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