Church Fathers Commentary Luke 10:3-4

"Go your ways; behold, I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no wallet, no shoes; and salute no man on the way." — Luke 10:3-4 (ASV)

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Luke next relates that the seventy disciples received from Christ apostolic learning, humility, innocence, and righteousness. They were taught to prefer nothing worldly over holy preaching and to aspire to a strength of mind that fears no terrors, not even death itself. He adds, therefore, Go.

St. John Chrysostom: For their comfort in the midst of every danger was the power of Him who sent them. Therefore, He said, Behold, I send you; as if to say, "This will be sufficient for your consolation; this will be enough to give you hope, instead of fearing the coming evils," which He signifies by adding, as lambs among wolves.

Isidore of Pelusium: This denotes the simplicity and innocence of His disciples. For He does not call those who were unruly and violated their nature by their wicked deeds lambs, but goats.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Now these animals are hostile to each other, so that one is devoured by the other—the lambs by the wolves. But the good Shepherd has no fear of wolves for His flock. Therefore, the disciples are appointed not to prey upon others, but to impart grace. For the watchfulness of the good Shepherd prevents the wolves from attempting anything against the lambs. He sends them as lambs among wolves so that the prophecy might be fulfilled: The wolf and the lamb shall feed together.

St. John Chrysostom: For this was a clear announcement of a glorious triumph: that the disciples of Christ, when surrounded by their enemies like lambs among wolves, would still convert them.

The Venerable Bede: Alternatively, He especially gives the name of wolves to the Scribes and Pharisees, who were the religious leaders of the Jews.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Alternatively, heretics are compared to wolves. For wolves are beasts that lie in wait near the sheepfolds and prowl around the shepherds’ cottages. They dare not enter the homes of men; they look for sleeping dogs or absent or negligent shepherds. They seize the sheep by the throat to strangle them quickly.

Wolves are ravenous beasts with bodies so stiff that they cannot easily turn, but are carried along by their own momentum and are thus often deceived. Likewise, because of the inflexibility of their hard and obstinate minds, heretics seldom, if ever, turn from their error. While Christ, the true interpreter of Scripture, foils them, they unleash their violence in vain and are unable to cause harm.

It is said that if wolves see a man first, they, by a certain natural power, steal his voice; but if a man sees them first, they tremble with fear. In the same way, heretics lurk around Christ’s sheepfolds and howl near the cottages at night, for night is the time for the treacherous, who obscure the light of Christ with the mists of false interpretation. If they catch anyone with the subtle trickery of their arguments, they make him spiritually dumb—for a person is dumb who does not confess the Word of God with its proper glory.

Beware, then, that the heretic does not deprive you of your voice, and that you do not fail to detect him first, for he creeps in while his treachery is disguised. But if you have discovered his unholy intentions, you need not fear the loss of your holy voice. They attack the throat and wound the vital organs as they attack the soul. If you hear someone called a priest but know of his predatory actions, he is outwardly a sheep but inwardly a wolf, longing to satisfy his rage with the insatiable cruelty of destroying others.

St. Gregory the Great: For many, when they receive the authority to rule, are aggressive in persecuting their people and displaying the terrors of their power. Lacking deep compassion, their desire is to appear as masters, completely forgetting that they are fathers. They turn an opportunity for humility into a display of their own power.

We must, on the other hand, consider that just as lambs are sent among wolves because they maintain a spirit of innocence, so we should make no malicious attacks. The one who undertakes the office of a preacher ought not to inflict harm on others but to endure it. Although at times righteous zeal may demand that he deal harshly with his people, he should still, in his heart, love with a fatherly affection those whom he outwardly corrects with censure. A ruler sets a good example of this when he never submits his soul to the yoke of earthly desire. Hence, it is added, Carry neither purse nor scrip.

St. Gregory of Nazianzus: The essence of this is that people ought to be so virtuous that the Gospel makes as much progress through their conduct as through their preaching.

St. Gregory the Great: For the preacher of the Gospel ought to have such trust in God that, even though he has not provided for the expenses of this present life, he should be completely convinced that these will not be lacking. This is so that his mind, while occupied with temporal things, does not neglect the spiritual needs of others.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Thus, He had already commanded them to have no anxiety for themselves when He said, I send you as lambs among wolves. He also forbade all concern about things external to the body by saying, Take neither purse nor scrip. Nor did He allow them to take anything with them that was not attached to the body. Hence, He adds, Nor shoes.

He not only forbade them to take a purse and a traveler's bag, but He also did not allow them to be distracted from their work by interruptions, such as greetings on the road. Hence, He adds, Salute no one by the way. This had been said long ago by Elisha. It is as if He said, "Proceed straight to your work without exchanging blessings with others," for it is a loss to waste time on unnecessary things when it is more suitable for preaching.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Our Lord did not forbid these things because the practice of benevolence was displeasing to Him, but because the priority of pursuing devotion was more pleasing.

St. Gregory of Nazianzus: The Lord also gave them these commands for the glory of the word, so that it would not seem that they could be overcome by worldly enticements. He also wished them not to be preoccupied with speaking to others.

St. Gregory the Great: If one wishes to take these words allegorically, the money kept in a purse is hidden wisdom. Therefore, he who has the word of wisdom but neglects to use it for his neighbor is like someone who keeps his money tied up in his purse. The traveler's bag, however, signifies the troubles of the world.

The shoes, made from the skins of dead animals, signify the examples of dead works. Therefore, he who undertakes the office of a preacher ought not to carry the burden of worldly affairs, so that this weight on his neck does not prevent him from rising to preach heavenly things. Nor should he look to the example of sinful works, lest he think to protect his own actions as if with dead skins—that is, lest, because he sees that others have done these things, he imagines that he is also free to do the same.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Our Lord also wants nothing merely human in us. For Moses was commanded to take off his human and earthly shoes when he was sent to deliver the people.

But if anyone is perplexed as to why in Egypt we are ordered to eat the lamb with our shoes on, while the apostles are appointed to preach the Gospel without shoes, he must consider this: a person in Egypt must still beware of the serpent’s bite, for there were many poisonous creatures in Egypt. He who celebrates the Passover in a symbolic way may be exposed to the wound, but the minister of the truth fears no poison.

St. Gregory the Great: Now, anyone who offers a greeting along the road does so as a matter of circumstance, not for the primary purpose of wishing someone well. In the same way, he who preaches salvation to his hearers not out of love for the heavenly country but from seeking a reward is like one who offers a greeting along the way. This is because he desires his hearers' salvation only incidentally, not as his main purpose.