Luke 10:1-12, 16-20 * July 11, 2010 * Pentecost 7 * Pastor Leyrer

Dear Friends in Christ,

Last week we entered the middle section of the Gospel of Luke where Jesus gives us much valuable and straightforward information on what it means to be His follower. A brief review may be helpful as we move forward on this topic today.

In last week’s sermon we noted that Jesus “resolutely” began his final trip to Jerusalem with full knowledge of what awaited him there. That, of course, was the cross and all it entailed. Nevertheless, he forged ahead with resolve and determination.

As the journey began Jesus and his disciples were treated rudely and not welcomed into a certain Samaritan village. The immediate reaction of the disciples James and John was to ask God to destroy it. Not only did he not side with them, but Jesus rebuked the disciples for their thoughts of retaliation. His solution was to simply move on. And they did.

This incident was certainly an illustration of Jesus’ patience even with the unlovable (and we can all thank God for that). Given the context, however, it was perhaps even more significant as another testimony to how our Savior would let nothing get in his way or blow him off course in carrying out his mission in our behalf.

The strength of Jesus’ commitment to us was then set in contrast to the weakness of three individual’s commitment to him. Two men volunteered and one was asked to follow Jesus, but they had other things on their minds. By their actions and reactions all three showed a lack of understanding of what it really meant to be a follower of Jesus.

On the basis of these events we came to the general conclusion that the way of true discipleship is one that is undeterred like Jesus and undistracted for Jesus. Today we’re going to continue listening to the words of Jesus as he gives us

FURTHER INFORMATION AND REMINDERS

ON THE WAY OF DISCIPLESHIP

What Jesus tells us today revolves specifically around the importance and privilege of spreading God’s Word. We can distill his teaching on this subject into these three words:

1. Prayer 2. Proclamation 3. Perspective

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.

Jesus had other devout followers besides the Twelve who accompanied him from place to place. You may recall when a replacement disciple for Judas was being selected (this is in Acts 1) one of the qualifications was that this new man must have been with Jesus for the full span of his earthly ministry. It is from this wider group that Jesus appoints 72 and sends them out in pairs to do some advance preparation work.

Why the expanded number was necessary and what their very first step was to is taken up next: 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.

Jesus informs them that the worker-to-harvest ratio back then was a disproportionate number. The sheer magnitude of what needs to be done contrasted with those who can do makes it a daunting task. So he instructs his followers that the place to start is on their knees. In other words, mission work – then and now – begins with prayer.

Today those who serve as missionaries at home and abroad are the answer to those prayers. In the case of our text, the 72 were the answer to their own prayers.

Jesus commissions them with words that leave no illusions about the difficulty of their assignment. Yet there is great comfort in knowing who it is that is sending them: ³Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

Jesus continues with specific instructions. Every one of them underscores either the complete reliance they are to have on God to meet their needs or the urgency of the task at hand. ⁴Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. In other words, travel light. I’ll take care of you. Do not dawdle. Stay focused.

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. The peace of knowing Jesus Christ is to be shared. Proclaiming that peace was the essential component of this missionary journey. Some would want nothing to do with this peace; then it was it was time for the missionaries to move on.

But others would believe it. In that case these instructions applied: 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. Practically speaking, let the house that comes to faith serves as your local headquarters, and you can expect they will joyfully meet your physical needs as you continue your mission work. Be content with what they provide and don’t move around looking for a better deal (or a better cook).

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.' Jesus probably has something more in mind than just good manners. Assuming these missionaries grew up as Jews with strict Old Testament dietary laws, they may find themselves having some “unclean” food set before them. Jesus tells them not to be afraid of offending God; that here (and other places in the Gospels) he had abolished such laws and the days of clean and unclean food were over. So go ahead and eat what the host family supplies.

Furthermore, Jesus gives the missionaries the power to do healing miracles – not as a novelty or a show of personal power, but because they would confirm the truthfulness of what they were proclaiming: the Savior from sin is at hand.

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.' ¹²I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.  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."

Those who reject the messenger, Jesus says, are also rejecting the Sender. The day will come when they will understand what and whom they have spurned. Until then, move on and let them know symbolically that not even their dirt is worth keeping.

Those were the instructions. Begin with prayer and proceed with the proclamation. The 72 did as they were told. How did things turn out?

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."

From a human standpoint – as well as a spiritual one – the missionary journey was successful. The power of God over the forces of evil was so evident that Jesus speaks of seeing Satan falling like lightning from heaven. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what Jesus is saying by that, but it seems to indicate that in some way he saw Satan thoroughly defeated. I wonder if we couldn’t use boxing terms today to convey the same thought: Knocked out by the disciples’ Gospel preaching, Jesus saw Satan “drop like a rock.”

But Jesus wants the disciples to keep things in their proper perspective. He doesn’t want them to focus on what they did for God; far more important is that they remember what God had done for them. In order to carry out their mission work God was granting them special powers. But by bringing them to faith, God had written their names in heaven. And in the days ahead – when they would perhaps not meet as much success as they did on this journey – this is where they could and should find their greatest comfort.

Like all of God’s Word, this is more than just an interesting incident in the life of Christ and His disciples or a historical reporting of what went on when Jesus walked among us. God has preserved this information for our learning. So how we can apply it to our lives today?

We apply this text to our lives when we let it remind us of the importance of spreading God’s Word and the part it plays in each of our lives. At the time of our text the 72 came from the wider band of Jesus’ disciples. Is it a stretch to say that if the Twelve were the “professional disciples,” today we are part of the equally devout 72 surrounding them?

So let’s go back to those three words we used earlier and talk about the part they play in our lives as Christ’s missionaries.

First is prayer. The mission field today is no less daunting, no less plentiful, no less needful today then it was in Jesus’ day. Scholars and historians put the population of the earth in Jesus’ day at about 170 million. Today we’re almost at 7 billion. I found a world population clock on the internet which gives a running tally. It’s like filling up the car and watching the numbers on the gas pump. Only faster.

Or put in visual terms. We’ve all seen pictures of the teeming masses, the crowded cities, the masses of humanity that look like so many colonies of ants. How many of them know Jesus? How many of them don’t know Jesus? How can they possibly be reached for Jesus? How can we reach them with Jesus? It seems so overwhelming.

Let us then remember where mission work starts. On our knees. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Let us commit ourselves to being people of prayer, and let us pray especially for those whose life work has been dedicated to reaching souls with the Gospels – our missionaries and evangelists at home and abroad.

Secondly, proclamation. Let us be open to the possibility that just as the 72 were the answer to their own prayers, so may be the case for us. Ask the Lord to help us see the opportunities he places before us. Ask the Lord to give us the strength and the boldness and the power and the conviction and the wisdom to know when and how to proclaim His name through word and deed in our own personal mission field.

And finally, let us keep things in perspective. As we faithfully spend ourselves and order our lives around the Gospel and look for the opportunities to use our time, talents and treasures for the spread of God’s Word, let us remember that our lives are not defined in what we do for God (and how “successfully” we do it), but in what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.

In other words, let us find our purpose in living for God, but let us find our meaning in the fact that Jesus Christ lived for us. Out of mercy and love he not only lived, but he died and rose again so that fully forgiven sinners like us can and will live with Him forever in heaven.

That’s the information and reminders on the topic of following him that Jesus shares with us today. May God bless us and keep us as we continue down the path of discipleship in and for Jesus Christ. Amen.