Morning Light – Luke 10: Jesus sends out the 70 disciples

[Luke 10] Are You a Willing Worker? In Luke 10, Jesus sends out the 70 disciples. They are to go out preaching, casting out devils and healing the sick. They were to go out two by two. Who is your partner in the gospel? Who is your co-laborer? God has not called us to work alone, without resources, inspiration, or opportunity. In Luke 10, many pitfalls and hindrances to fulfilling the call of God on your life are addressed.

[Luk 10:1-42 KJV] 1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. 2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly [is] great, but the labourers [are] few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest. 3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. 4 Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. 5 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace [be] to this house. 6 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. 7 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. 8 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: 9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. 10 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, 11 Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. 12 But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city. 13 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you. 15 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell. 16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me. 17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. 18 And he said unto them; I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

In Luke 10, we find Jesus appointing 70 disciples to go out two by two into the cities that He planned to go to Himself. It is a distinct feature in the New Testament church that we cannot find any Christian workers laboring alone. In this case, these are sent out in pairs. In the book of Acts, the apostles and other workers traveled and worked in groups of two or more. In the church today, we follow the model of corporate leadership with a hierarchy led by one man or woman with subordinate workers and officers under them. In the church, we see one pastor leading, whereas in the early church, we see groups of elders providing leadership. In Eph. 4:11-12 we see five distinct ministries established by Jesus. In Christian culture, we only acknowledge one-person leadership consistently, except for an occasional evangelist allowed in. Does this matter? Only if you believe that the record of scripture provides us with a guide for plural Christian leadership laboring in a team concept.

In sending out the 70, Jesus apparently wished He could have sent out more because He says we are to pray that the Lord would send laborers because they are few. Many who are called to ministry languish in existing churches because no room is made for them to exercise their calling. If you are in a church that doesn’t recognize your gift and you are allowing that to keep you from doing what God has called you to do, you should leave that church and go out into the harvest. Many of those who are called mistakenly treat the established ministries of others as their personal mission field. They choose to labor where others have already done the work, rather than doing the hard work of going out into the world to fulfill their vision. That is spiritual laziness. These are little more than religious poachers, taking fruit illegitimately from the labors of others. In seeking to achieve your personal mandate, keep in mind that there is no shortage of lost people who need Jesus. The very largest churches in the world are reaching barely 8% of the communities they serve. In the Western world, for every one person who professes a born again experience, there is another who does not. That tells us that for every one born-again believer who is active in their faith, there are eight who are not, and for every one active believer, there are 80 people who are either inactive believers or non-believers. The harvest IS great, but the laborers are few. In light of those statistics, there is no justification for any church or ministry to simply warehouse believers in a sheep shed every week, allowing them no incentive to go out into the world to spread the gospel. We need to pray for more engaged ministers, we need to train, teach and incentivize Christians to be more evangelistic, and we need to disincentivize Christians from merely sitting in the pew or being closet believers who never share their faith.

In sending the disciples out, Jesus tells them frankly they are going out as lambs among wolves. In other words, you cannot expect to find a welcoming environment wherever God has called you to go. If you are surrounded by people who love you, who don’t have any problems with you, who do not criticize what you do and actively work to disparage and harm your efforts, it is very unlikely in that case that you are coming anywhere near fulfilling the call on your life that is mandated from the throne.

In verse 4, the disciples are instructed to take no provisions with them. In going out to fulfill their call, does this mean they are to do so as impoverished beggars? Many have interpreted such statements of Jesus as precisely that. There are large religious orders and organizations whose central tenant is the enforcement of a vow of poverty upon their ministers for just this reason. Is this what Jesus is saying? There is a widely held opinion among professing Christians, that while it is fitting and appropriate to pay for gas or groceries, it is nonetheless (in their view) illegitimate for a Christian minister to be recompensed generously, or to expect to be paid well for what he or she does. They quote the verse “freely you have received, freely give,” but how can you interpret that in such as way in the light of v. 7 that says, “the laborer is worthy of his hire…” The word hire there means dues paid or wages paid for work. When Jesus said, “freely you have received, freely give,” the word there means “undeservedly.” In other words they were not to discriminate among those they ministered to, just as Jesus Himself would minister to prostitutes and harlots as readily as Pharisees and Sadducees. If you are a Christian minister who thinks you are more spiritual if you work for nothing in pursuit of your calling, you must realize in the light of Jesus’ teachings that, in reality, you are cheapening the gospel and hindering the work of Christ by your attitude and false piety.

In verse 10, Jesus gives another instruction that is seldom followed in Christian ministry today. Jesus instructs His disciples that they are to move on from those cities where they have not been received, in fact, shaking the dust off their feet in doing so. What does this mean? Dust is a type of the flesh. You are not to allow the rejection of men, not accepting your ministry, to affect your walk. You are not to allow yourself to minister from a wounded heart. That means you need to toughen up! David said he was wounded in the house of his friends. He was betrayed by the very person who went with him into the house of the Lord. Shake the dust off your feet. Forgive, release, bless, and move on. Many pastors and leaders, and those called to the work of God, however, languish in cities and in churches where they are not respected, are not fulfilling their call for decades, as though enduring such rejection is their cross to bear and makes them more spiritual. It doesn’t make them more spiritual it makes them disobedient to the commands of Christ. Why would you stay where you are not wanted? Why would you linger among the hard-hearted and those who refuse to acknowledge your call when there are cities, and places beyond that are crying out for what you are uniquely called to bring in the name of the Lord.

In verse 16, Jesus makes it plain – when you go out to fulfill your call if you are rejected, they are not rejecting you; they are rejecting Him. They are not despising you; they are despising Him. Don’t take it personally. Refuse to get wounded. Refuse to become a religious martyr, languishing in poverty, enduring neglect, and rejection. Shake yourself and rise up – going out to fulfill your call in God!

When the 70 return, they are rejoicing that the demons are subject to them. Jesus smiles on them saying, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven…” This is true spiritual warfare – to go out into the highways and by-ways and fulfill your call. Pulling down strongholds is accomplished out in the streets, doing the actual work of your ministry, not in howling and stomping around in the prayer room, gesticulating and shouting as though the devil is going to hear you. Jesus in v. 19 extends the call of the 70, telling them they have power over serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Are you hurt? Are you wounded? We fall into the snare of self-pity and feeling sorry for ourselves as though this is some kind of honor or gives us the right to consider ourselves spiritual warriors. What is actually happening is that we have failed to accept the power that Jesus gives us. Are you hurting? Shake yourself from the snare of the enemy. You have POWER not to be hurt by any means. Nothing shall hurt those who accept the power that Jesus gives us in v. 19. People won’t hurt you. Rejection won’t hurt you. Neglect won’t hurt you. Christians won’t hurt you. All of these are weapons Satan uses against the believer. Still, if you rise up in the authority that Christ gives us, you will keep right on obeying, unmolested by the enemy because you have received the power from on high that protects you from such things.

21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. 22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and [he] to whom the Son will reveal [him]. 23 And he turned him unto [his] disciples, and said privately, Blessed [are] the eyes which see the things that ye see: 24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen [them]; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard [them]. 25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. 28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. 29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 30 And Jesus answering said, A certain [man] went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded [him], and departed, leaving [him] half dead. 31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked [on him], and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion [on him], 34 And went to [him], and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave [them] to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. 38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. 40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

In v. 21, Jesus rejoices in the child-like heart of those He considered babes in the kingdom. These are those who didn’t overthink, or deliberate, they just accepted and acted upon what He said. Children are believers. They believe what you tell them. If you tell them there is a Santa Claus, they will put out milk and cookies. If you tell them there is an Easter bunny, they will be out in the grass looking for a chocolate egg with wonder and amazement. If you tell them there is a tooth fairy, they lay their head down in total expectation that something wondrous will happen as they sleep. In the 1950s when Healing evangelists traveled the world, performing miracle after miracle, one writer described their followers as a credulous people who accepted what they were told and believed the message preached to them that Jesus saves, heals and delivers. Today, even in the church, we have made skepticism a virtue, and pessimism a valued personality trait. As a result, miracles are few. Why? Theologians say it is because these things have passed away. How convenient. Jesus, on the other hand, is the same yesterday today and forever. Miracles, signs, wonders, healing are all available to us if we will come as a little child, believing the good report, expecting it to be our portion in the earth.

In verse 25, a certain lawyer tempts Jesus, asking Him, who is his neighbor? Jesus answers, telling Him the story of the good Samaritan, who renders aid and comfort at his own expense to a suffering man. The Levite passing by was unconcerned. The priest in the way passes to the other side, unfazed by the wounded man suffering and half dead. The Samaritan, however, despised and looked down on by the Levite and the priest, goes to great lengths to give of his time and his substance to care for this person in so great a need. Who was the man’s neighbor? The lawyer, ashamed, can only answer that it was the despised Samaritan who proved himself the man’s neighbor, to which Jesus replies, “Go and do likewise…” How does this apply in our lives today? We must be willing to be inconvenienced to help others. We must be willing to spend and be spent on behalf of others even when it inconveniences us in conspicuous ways. If we show mercy to others, God will show mercy to us. Many people who cry rivers of tears over unanswered prayer will snort and huff in disdain at the slightest suggestion they do something for someone else. They reap what they sow. Make it your determination to help those in need, personally and out of your own reserves of time and energy and resources.

Finally, in our chapter, Jesus visits the home of Martha and Mary. Martha’s last name must have been Stewart, for like Martha Stewart, she is going to great lengths to make sure everything is just so. She is the perfect hostess, but she is angry that her sister isn’t helping out. What is Mary doing? She is sitting at the feet of Jesus, hanging on every word out of His mouth. How can we do this today? We do not have Jesus in His physicality that we might sit at His feet and stare into His eyes. How do we choose the good part like Mary? Learn to get quiet. Learn to readily and often take the time to sit down with the word of God, or in the posture of prayer, pen in hand, saying “speak Lord for thy servant heareth…” Do not fall into the deception of the pastor who said: “I’m so busy working for God, I don’t have time to sit in His presence…” Find time in your day, every day, to sit at Jesus’ feet and learn of Him.