(No Room Christians)
Matthew 10:11-15 – In this passage, Jesus had summoned His twelve disciples, giving them authority and then sending them out with specific instructions. In this portion He told them what to do per the response of those with whom they would greet within a city or village.
11 "And whatever city or village you enter, inquire [1833] who is worthy [514] in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city.
12 "As you enter the house, give it your greeting [782- “to draw to oneself, to salute one, greet, bid welcome, wish well to, to receive joyfully”].
13 "If the house is worthy [514], give it your blessing of peace [1515]. But if it is not worthy [514], take back [1994- “to return, turn back again”] your blessing of peace.
14 "Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. [See Luke 9:5 (“…for a testimony against them.”), 10:11; Acts 13:51, 18:6, 22:23.]
15 "Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable [414- “more endurable, bearable”] for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.
NASU
NT:1833 exetazo (ex-et-ad'-zo)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:1537 and etazo (to examine); to test thoroughly (by questions), i.e. ascertain or interrogate:
KJV - ask, enquire, search.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
to search out; to examine strictly, inquire: and with the adverb akriboos added (Matthew 2:8)
NT:514 axios (ax'-ee-os)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
probably from NT:71; deserving, comparable or suitable (as if drawing praise):
KJV - due reward, meet, [un-] worthy.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
a. weighing, having weight
b. befitting, congruous, corresponding, tinos, to a thing (Matthew 3:8)
1. it is meet (2 Thess. 1:3)
2. it is worth the while (1 Cor. 16:4)
c. of one who has merited anything, worthy
1. in a good sense; with a genitive of the thing (Matthew 10:10)
2. in a bad sense; with a genitive of the thing (Luke 12:48)
NT:1515 eirene (i-ray'-nay)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
probably from a primary verb eiro (to join); peace (literally or figuratively); by implication, prosperity:
KJV - one, peace, quietness, rest, set at one again.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
peace,
1. a state of national tranquility; exemption from the rage and havoc of war (Rev. 6:4)
2. peace between individuals, i. e. harmony, concord (Matthew 10:34) [See the Bible study Harmony In
The Body Of Christ.]
3. after the Hebrew shaalowm, security, safety, prosperity, felicity (Luke 19:42)
4. Specifically, the Messiah's peace (Luke 2:14)
5. according to a conception distinctly peculiar to Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its
salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of
whatsoever sort that is (Romans 8:6)
6. of the blessed state of devout and upright men after death (Romans 2:10)
Luke 10:5-12 – In Luke’s account when Jesus sent out seventy other disciples (this was right after He had first sent out the twelve disciples above which is also recorded in Luke 9:1-6), Jesus says that after giving the greeting of peace to a home, “If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.” The “man of peace” is the one Matthew refers to as being “worthy.”
5 "Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house.'
6 "If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest [1879- “to settle on, to cause to rest”] on him; but if not, it will return to you.
7 "Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house.
8 "Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you;
9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'
10 "But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say,
11 'Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.'
12 "I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.
NASU
John 20:19-22 – Jesus’ greeting of peace to His disciples after His resurrection.
19 So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."
20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."
22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.” [I believe this was conception, but not birth. Birth, the Divine image, would occur at Pentecost. The disciples were impregnated with the purpose of God. This purpose in Him is what the devil constantly attempts to abort, before it is given birth to.]
NASU
Luke 1:39-45 – See the note below.
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea,
40 where she entered Zechariah's [“Jehovah (Yahweh) remembers”] home and greeted [782- see def. above] Elizabeth [“My God has sworn”, “God is an oath”].
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting [783- “a greeting, a salutation”], the baby leaped [4640] in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 As soon as the sound [5456- “a sound, tone, voice, speech”] of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. [See the Bible study The Sound Of His Coming.]
45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished [5050]!"
NIV
NT:4640 skirtao (skeer-tah'-o)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
akin to skairo (to skip); to jump, i.e. sympathetically move (as the quickening of a fetus):
KJV - leap (for joy).
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
to leap (Luke 1:41,44)
What is Quickening? – Quickening is when a pregnant woman starts to feel their baby’s movement in their uterus (womb). This usually occurs between weeks 16 and 25. So, in other words, it’s the first sign of life.
NT:5050 teleiosis (tel-i'-o-sis)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:5448; (the act) completion, i.e. (of prophecy) verification, or (of expiation) absolution:
KJV - perfection, performance.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
a completing, perfecting
a. fulfillment, accomplishment; the event which verifies a promise (Luke 1:45)
b. consummation, perfection (Hebrews 7:11)
teleiosis [NT:5050] - denotes “a fulfillment, completion, perfection, an end accomplished as the effect of a process,” Hebrews 7:11; in Luke 1:45, RV, “fulfillment” (KJV, “performance”).
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Mary, the life-giving bride, is pregnant with the seed of Christ. She is led to visit the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth where she greets a worthy “man of peace” and his wife who are of like spirit (see the Bible study Eve; The Life Giving Bride). The baby, who was John the Baptist, leapt within Elizabeth at Mary’s greeting and she was filled with the Holy Spirit.
The definition from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance for the Greek that is interpreted “leaped” is “to jump, i.e. sympathetically move (as the quickening of a fetus).” Quickening is a term for when a pregnant woman starts to feel her baby’s movement within her uterus (womb). This usually occurs between weeks 16 and 25. So, in other words, it’s the first sign of life. The greeting from the life-giving Bride caused that which had also been Divinely impregnated within Elizabeth to come to life and to leap for joy. Stirred from within by the Holy Spirit, the purpose of her conception came to life.
Elizabeth’s greeting came from the one who had heard the word of the Lord, and believed that He would fulfill it, no matter how impossible it seemed. By believing what God spoke to her, Mary revealed her faith by her works and the purpose of God for the salvation of mankind was birthed into existence.
She could not be intimate with Joseph until after the birth of Christ. His seed was tainted through the fall of mankind. Mary was the pure vessel who would receive and then nurture the seed within her until the image of God was manifested. This is the purpose of God for mankind. Through repentance we receive the seed of Life that delivers us from death. How we handle the seed imparted within us determines the image that is birthed. Through continued submission to the Holy Spirit during the process of the Lord, we will be delivered (Phil. 2:12-13; Col. 1:23, 2:6-8; 1 John 2:28). Continued disobedience, after turning to Christ, aborts the process (Hebrews 10:36-39, 1 Corinthians 15:1-2).
Genesis 24:15-27 – Rebekah represents the willing servant of the Lord who, at the greeting of the trusted servant, responds favorably. She is the willing bride of her Master who was found at a well (i.e. already drawing from the well of salvation), with a servant’s heart, in a town called Nahor, which means “snorer, snorting” (v.10; see the Bible study Eve; The Life Giving Bride). There was room in her house for God’s servant to enter in (v. 23-25; see the Bible study No Room). She then left everything, like the disciples when called by Jesus (Matthew 19:27; Luke 5:11, 28), and followed the servant to her bridegroom.
Genesis 25:31-34 – See the note below.
31 But Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright [1062- “a birthright, primogeniture, a right of the firstborn”]."
32 Esau said, "Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?"
33 And Jacob said, "First swear to me"; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised [959] his birthright.
NASU
OT:959 bazah (baw-zaw')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a primitive root; to disesteem [“to have a low opinion of”]:
KJV - despise, disdain, contemn (-ptible), think to scorn, vile person.
(Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
to despise, to hold in contempt, to disdain [“the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one’s consideration or respect”]
a) (Qal) to despise [“to consider a person or thing as not worth noticing or taking an interest in, to have the lowest opinion of”], to regard with contempt [“the feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn”]
b) (Niphal)
1) to be despised
2) to be despicable
3) to be vile, to be worthless
c) (Hiphil) to cause to despise
Esau despised his birthright (i.e. his right of birth). Unlike Rebekah, he represents a “not so worthy,” “no-room” Christian (see the Bible study Worthless Men). Through the definitions for the Hebrew word interpreted into English as “despised” we understand that Esau possessed a very low opinion regarding the great significance of his birthright as the firstborn. Because of this he revealed himself as an unworthy man, undeserving of that which his privilege provided for him. It would cost him dearly.
We read in Hebrews;
“See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.”
(Hebrews 12:16-17/NIV)
Through the satisfying of a fleshly craving, Esau sold his inheritance rights. This is an especially grave warning to all Christians. We must be careful after turning toward Him, guarding our hearts against treating the salvation of Christ on our behalf with disdain [“the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one’s consideration or respect”]. This is what it means to “fall short of the grace of God” (Hebrews 12:15).
As the writer of Hebrews clearly tells us, by indulging the sinful cravings with no concern for the eternal consequences (and therefore without repentance), we too can sell out and forfeit our right to the Lord’s eternal inheritance, again, afterturning to Christ,.
Christ is referred to as “the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29). To be conformed to His image is to gain access to His right as the firstborn Son to the eternal inheritance of His Father (Deuteronomy 21:15-17). His rights become our rights as long as we continue to abide in Him by doing His will written for us in the Bible. Otherwise, like Esau, we too can forfeit those rights through indulgence without repentance, becoming a foolish virgin who having been given ears to hear then presumptuously went their way and ended up being cast out of the Kingdom of God (John 15:1-8).
