Luke 10
1After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.3Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5"When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' 6If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. 7Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8"When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. 9Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' 10But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.'
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16"He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."
17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name."
18He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.20However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
Introduction
The gospel passage we have just read is part of the record of Jesus’ ministry on his way to Jerusalem.
After his ministry at Galilee, Jesus and his disciples were heading to Jerusalem to fulfil God’s purpose.
God’s will for Jesus was to sacrifice himself for the purpose of saving all humankinds from the damnation of sins and errors.
Here we see Jesus gathered his followers and sent them 2 by 2 to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God.
Before sending these preachers, Jesus reminded them that they were sent like lambs among wolves.
He also charged them with clear instructions, such as not to bring along too much stuffs but to trust on God’s providence.
The preachers were to greet no one on the way but to address peace to those who receive them.
They were to preach that the Kingdom of God is at hand and urge people to repent.
Whoever listens to the preachers, listen to Christ.
Whoever accepts Christ, accepts God the Father.
Today, I want to highlight 3 things which we hope to learn from this passage.
1. The preachers of God
First of all, let us take note of these preachers sent by Jesus.
a. They were sent by Jesus in divine appointment. They were not chosen by balloting process. They were elected not by nomination from human effort.
b. They were sent 2 by 2 and not to work alone. They support each other and provide protection and encouragement.
c. The duty of the preachers was to gather the harvest of souls. The shortage of preachers and evangelists has been the case in every age in the history of the church of God. It never had enough of workers for the Gospel. So we need to pray to God to send more workers into the field.
d. They were charged to live in simplicity and should not worry about the daily needs and cares. Believing that God will surely provide through his people if not through miracles like those days in the desert where the Israelites received manna and quails. The preachers were urged not to be calculative but be dependent on God’s provision.
e. The preachers were urged to leave their comfort zones. They were sent to unpleasant places like lambs among the wolves. They were sent for challenging tasks. Throughout the history of the church of God, for the gospel’s sake, many people were killed. As recorded in Acts 7, the first martyr was Stephen.
f. The preachers were asked not to greet people on their way. Not that Christ would have his preachers to be rude, morose, and unmannerly. It is an analogy illustrating the preachers must hold on to a mentality of urgency in preaching the word of God as though a person is about to meet a person who is still on his mourning period.
2. The message
Secondly let us look at the message the preachers were to preach.
The message was simple and yet essential: “The Kingdom of God is near!”
“repent and believe the good news” are the extra wordings spoken by Jesus recorded in Mark 1:15.
The good news is summarised in Luke 4:18-19
18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."
The year of the Lord’s favour is the year of Jubilee where the slaves are set free.
In Christ we are set free from the power of sins and darkness.
In Christ we are free from the power of death and able to obtain eternal life.
In Christ we have victory overall evil forces which enmity to God’s rules.
3. The power
The preachers were sent with the power of Christ.
They were to heal the sick and set people free from demons.
That was not power of modern technology.
That was not the so called untapped human psychic power or whatever you name it.
It was the pure power of God demonstrated in Christ’s name.
Luke 10 17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name."
Christ confirmed that Satan is defeated.
Christ confirmed he had granted us authority overcoming the enemy.
Most of all Christ confirmed the joyous thing of all is to see our names are written in heaven.
Conclusion
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, he had chosen not just the 12 disciples to accomplish his tasks spreading the gospel.
Here we see 70 (or 72) were chosen and sent.
When Jesus was taken up to heaven, 500 brethren witness his ascension.
When the Holy Spirit came, 120 followers were gathered at the upper room.
All these proved that Jesus had many followers.
After the persecution, as recorded in Acts 8, the followers, except the 12 apostles, were scattered to other places and eventually brought many people to Christ.
Today, after centuries of preaching and mission, we become one of the spiritual outcomes.
We received this blessing from many who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the gospel.
Let us continue to grasp this privilege in sharing the good news of Christ.
We have a message to tell.
We have Christ’s power with us.
And most of all we experience God’s love in Christ where we are set free from the bondage of sins and errors.
May God bless each of us.
