Luke 10.1-20

The Mission of the Seventy

10After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. ²He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. ³Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. ⁴Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. ⁵Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” ⁶And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. ⁷Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. ⁸Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; ⁹cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” ¹⁰But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹“Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.” ¹²I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.

16 ‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’

17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ ¹⁸He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. ¹⁹See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. ²⁰Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

My text this morning is written in Luke 10.20:

²⁰Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

We are reminded in verse 1 that many people had been following Jesus than merely the 12 Apostles, in fact he commissioned 70 other disciples to go into towns where he was intending to teach, and prepare the way for him. There is some significance in the number 70. Miller (p. 102) explains:

The Jews considered 70 to be the number of the Gentile nations. Although Jesus' work was largely confined to the Jews (Matt 15:24), there are clear indications that, quickened by the Old Testament promises ..., he intended his followers to take the gospel to all [people].

It is also not impossible that there is some significance in the number 72 - the number used in some translations. Morris (p. 181) explains:

Others, however, associate the number with that of the elders appointed by Moses ... seventy two with the two who remained in the camp. They see Jesus as the second Moses. ... Whatever the truth behind these conjectures, Jesus sent the disciples ahead of Him in pairs. Such as large group of forerunners shows that He had a busy itinerary ahead of him.

These disciples were sent ahead of Jesus, like ambassadors going before him to prepare the way for his coming in the future. What a privilege this must have been for them and what a privilege it is for us – to be sent into our world with the wonderful message that God loves all, and offers us a different way of living – the way of peace and fulfilment – no matter what challenges and difficulties come our way. We live in a world where people are confused, tossed about in a state of insecurity.

Verse 2 tells us that the work that lies before us is not going to be easy. In fact there is a great deal of work to do and too few workers to do it. Each and every Christian needs to be involved in the process of harvesting for the Lord. While it is true that not every Christian can leave secular employment and enter the mission field, this does not mean that they have no responsibility. Every Christian needs to pray as Jesus says in verse 2: 'Ask the Lord in charge of the harvest to send out workers to bring it in'. I wonder how many of us make a deliberate and conscious effort to pray that the Lord would send people to spread His truth about salvation and the Kingdom of God to the world?

Verse 3 explains that the calling to be a harvester for the Lord is dangerous - as Jesus said:

... remember, I am sending you like lambs into a pack of wolves.

God's servants are always at the mercy of the world and, like lambs, they do not have the strength required in order to survive. In fact, they cannot hope to cope with the task they have been called to in their own strength. They need to look to God to equip them for what lies ahead. And so in verse 4 Jesus continues:

Don't take along a moneybag or a travelling bag or sandals. And don't waste time greeting people on the road.

The only way one can fulfil what God intends for us is through discipline and faith. There was also a great deal of urgency. Miller (p. 102) writes:

... the Lord did not want them to be overburdened with extra supplies or be delayed on the road by elaborate Eastern greetings. They had to trust God to provide homes and food for them, and they were not to be embarrassed to accept hospitality. In contrast with the Zealots who were spreading a message of revolution in the region, the disciples of Jesus were spreading a message about peace.

If the people rejected their message, the disciples were to leave. Jesus said:

If the people living there are peace-loving, your prayer for peace will bless them. But if they are not peace-loving, your prayer will return to you.

Morris (p. 182) explains:

This is figurative language which assures the disciples that they will not be trying to convey a blessing to someone who does not wish to receive it.

This is a sad truth. Many people even today, reject the peace of God offered to them through our Lord Jesus Christ. If people refuse to receive it, we too should not belabour the point - but move on.

Jesus continued by stating that the ambassadors should not be embarrassed to receive accommodation and food and their other material requirements from the people. We read in verse 7 he states: '... workers are worth what they earn'. This is a difficult verse for me to comment on because it has direct bearing upon my circumstances. Perhaps, therefore, I should shelve my opinions and allow the commentator in the Life Application Bible (p. 1772) to comment:

Ministers of the gospel deserve to be supported, and it is our responsibility to make sure that they have what they need. ... First, see that they have an adequate salary. Second, see that they are supported emotionally; plan a time to express appreciation for something they have done. Third, lift their spirits with encouraging surprises from time to time. Our ministers deserve to know we are giving to them cheerfully and generously.

Jesus adds that his ambassadors should not actively seek material comfort and prosperity - in his words 'Don't move around from house to house'. If ministers are being looked after they should not need to go searching for anything better. Once again there should be the balance; sufficient giving and gracious contentment. Miller (p. 103) puts this teaching in a nutshell. He writes:

They are worthy of their keep, but should be content with whatever they were given.

From verse 17 we encounter the disciples returning from their mission. Verse 17 captures their mood. The verse reads:

The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!"

These last verses are filled with typical metaphorical hyperbole. Of course there are things that hurt us, and we need to be careful, but I believe our Lord is saying here is that we need to get our priorities right. It is all too easy for people to make excuses for not being obedient to what God is calling them to do. These disciples had enjoyed tremendous results. They had discovered that ministry in Jesus' name and authority was successful. They had been given the power and might to heal, cast out demons and preach the Word of God and in all these areas they had been successful. And we too will discover the same joy and encouragement when we respond in obedience to what God is calling us to do.

To the average observer, all that they would have seen happen would have been a few preachers who had spoken in a few small towns and healed a few sick people. Jesus was obviously speaking figuratively here. There is absolutely no reason to believe that he was saying that the disciples would be immune from actual snakes and scorpions.

Miller explains that serpents and scorpions are symbols of spiritual enemies and the good news is that all these have been defeated.

These disciples had enjoyed a wonderful privilege. They had the opportunity to see the Son of God in action. For many months they had taken him for granted. They had not really listened to his teachings, nor had they been obedient. We today are in an even more privileged position. We have the entire Bible, the complete revelation of God to humankind, as well as over 2 000 years of church history ‑ all of which tell of the truth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. Yet we too sometimes take this for granted. Let us remedy this today by firstly living victorious lives in the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us stop trying to live in our own strength and begin relying on Christ. The fact is that we can be victorious when we live in Jesus' name, when we pray in Jesus' name and when we do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Let us also make sure that we have all responded to the call of Christ. Are we those who hear his message, obey it and put it into action? G B Caird puts it this way:

Be faithful in doing what God has called us to do – and leave the rest up to God, because our names are already in the ‘Book’ so our ultimate victory is assured.

This passage challenges us to get our priorities right. Is what we are doing as individuals or as a church focused on reaching out to others with the good news that the love of God is available for all who would receive it? Are we reaching out with the Gospel? William Barclay offers the following illustration to bring this point home.

Sir James Simpson was the inventor of chloroform. He, probably more than anyone else, saved people from pain, because all safe and effective pain relief stems from his research. Yet when asked what he thought his greatest discovery was, he replied:

My greatest discovery was that Jesus Christ was my saviour.

Do the people we meet, who use our facilities, know the Gospel we stand for? Have they been offered the greatest gift of all? Does our world who, as the hymn writer explains are ‘... oppressed by pleasure wealth and care ...’ know that there is a different way? This is a difficult task, but also the greatest privilege – being ambassadors for Christ in the important work of reaching out for him. And the good news for us too is that our names are ‘... written in heaven.’