Luke 10:1-16
1 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.
2 And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
3 Go; behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves.
4 Carry no money belt, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one along the way.
5 And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’
6 And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you.
7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they provide; for the laborer is deserving of his wages. Do not move from house to house.
8 Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is served to 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 on that day for Sodom than for that city.
13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that occurred in you had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14 But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you.
15 And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!
16 “The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; but the one who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
The Sending of the Seventy
The expansion of the mission
In today’s passage, we see the rapid expansion of the mission. Jesus newly sent out seventy disciples. From this passage, let us learn the principles of the mission of the kingdom of God that are also useful for us. (1) God prepares the spiritual soil. Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful.” What an encouraging word this is! Let us also, without becoming pessimistic, look at evangelism from God’s perspective. (2) Response through prayer. We need to offer prayers such as, “Please send out laborers for the harvest.” (3) Urgency. Commands such as not carrying a money belt, a travel bag, or extra sandals, and not spending time in greetings along the way, express urgency. To what extent do we have an awareness of urgency? (4) Goal setting. The most important thing is the message, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” Everything else must be subordinate to that purpose. If there is a house that receives you, you must not go from house to house. As for food, there is no need to argue about whether or not it conforms to dietary regulations. Financial provision is given by God through His people, so there is no need to be anxious. In other words, if we make proclaiming the message of the kingdom of God our first priority, God’s blessing will come. Do you believe that it is the Holy Spirit who saves souls and guides the church to grow? How does that awareness change your Christian life?
The responsibility of those who hear the gospel
What we can do is to faithfully proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God. The rest is between God and that person. Great responsibility accompanies those who hear the gospel. Why is that? Because not listening to the voice of the messenger of the gospel is rejecting Jesus Himself, and ultimately, rejecting God the Father. Jesus gave examples of cities that once turned against God and were destroyed (Sodom, Tyre, and Sidon), and He rebuked cities along the Sea of Galilee such as Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. To my ears, I can almost hear, at the end of this list, the names of today’s major cities such as Los Angeles, New York, and Tokyo. Christians all over the world are interceding for revival in these cities. Let us pray that the souls of the people who hear the message of the gospel will be led to deep repentance.
Today's prayer
Father God of Jesus Christ, You are the One who surely protects the servant who walks by putting first things first. Please guide the church of God so that it may be built up not by human methods but by the Holy Spirit. I repent for having had too little of a heart of sorrow for the cities that are perishing. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.