Luke 10 - Everyone Gets To Play!

Luke 10 - NIV

Luke 10 - Enduring Word Commentary

Verses for the Day:

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two

10 After 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. 2 He 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. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

Commentary:

What is interesting to me about this text is how Jesus went from equipping 12 disciples to carry on his mission and minstry to 72. This is a huge growth in the amount of people who would be bringing the gospel to the whole world. I would be interested in the selection process for this 72. Jesus knew the time was short before his crucifixion, and many villages had not been presented with the gospel. 

Also, note he sent them out two by two. This is a great model for ministry. Why? Number one, there is both physical and spiritual protection as we go out together. It is a great model as we pray for people. I.e. One person can be praying and the other one can be listening to what the Holy Spirit might be saying, I.e. Words of knowledge, scriptures, images. Second, this can be a way to train someone who is not yet comfortable praying publicly. 

Jesus says, "Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am with them." Matthew 18:20

Then, Jesus says something very important. He says, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few." This was part of the reason he went from 12 being sent out to 72. This is still true today. Often a few people do all of the work. Of course, some of this can be that they are not asking others to do it with them. 

Someone has said, "The church is often like a football game. You have 22 players badly in need of rest watched by thousands of people badly in need of exercise." 

We sometimes think those who are sent out to the harvest are only the missionaries a church sends to other countries to spread the gospel. While these are certainly workers being sent out into the harvest, I believe this passage applies to every Christian. Let's just say half of the people in the United States don't know Christ. How will we reach the other half with only a few say, "gifted evangelists". This is not how the early church grew so quickly in the first century. 

Listen to a description of the first church in Acts. 

The Fellowship of the Believers

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

The early church had so deep a sense of community and the Lord's presence that God just added people daily to their church who were saved. Importantly it says, "All the believers were together and had everything in common." Evangelism was not reserved for a few selected individuals. Everyone gets to play! 

Application: 

1. Do you think you would have been one of the 72 Jesus sent out? Why or why not?

2. Why do you think a lot of churches leave evangelism to a few "religious professionals"?

3. If lost people mattered so much to God that He sent His only Son to the cross to die for them, don't you think they should matter to us! 

Prayer:

Jesus, send us out to the harvest so that we lead people to your life saving love and grace. Send us out together as a church in two's so we can lock arms together. Change our hearts so we truly desire lost people to be saved. Wake us from our lethargy and preoccupation with the things of the world, so we can reach lost souls for you. Amen. 


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