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.
"After this." My dad is a pastor, and he used to say, "Whenever you see a "therefore" you need to read the scripture before it to find out what it is THERE FOR!" I feel the same way about this "After this." So let's sum up.
In chapter 9, Peter names Jesus as the messiah, Jesus is transfigured, predicts his death, heals a demon-possessed boy, is turned away from a Samaritan village, and has to say some rather harsh words about the cost of following Christ.
And after that, after the words of the cost of following Christ, after making it clear this wasn't the easy road, Jesus sends out 72 people. SEVENTY-TWO! I don't know about you, but in our church, if 72 people suddenly went out proclaiming the gospel, we would be ecstatic!
But Jesus told them as they went "You are not enough. There is SO MUCH work to do, and so few workers. And it isn't safe." (rough translation there.)
And yet, these 72 He appointed, willing went to proclaim the message Jesus was preaching.
And yet, these 72 He appointed, willing went to proclaim the message Jesus was preaching.
The most interesting thing to me about this is verse 4.
He had just told them following Him was hard, that there was a lot of work, and it was going to be dangerous.
He had just told them following Him was hard, that there was a lot of work, and it was going to be dangerous.
I don't know about you, but if I heard these things, and yet was still willing to go, I'd pack a bag. I'd try to be prepared.
Jesus, however, wanted them to rely on Him, on God, to help them as they spread the gospel. He didn't want them to rely on their own resources, but on God's resources and provision.
And he didn't want them to dilly-dally. They were in a hurry, this was an urgent message. Don't stop and talk to people about idle gossip on the road! Get to where you're going! Preach my message!
If today Jesus sent you out, and you couldn't pack a bag, and you couldn't stop and tell your friends what you were up to, if you just had to GO - would you do it?
If today Jesus sent you out, and you couldn't pack a bag, and you couldn't stop and tell your friends what you were up to, if you just had to GO - would you do it?
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Esther 3-4; Psalm 135; 2 Corinthians 7
1 comment:
Jesus definitely doesn't make any of this sound easy. It's not easy. It's only possible with Him and through His strength.
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