Luke 10:1-20

1 The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. 2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. 3 Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.

5 Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ 6 If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. 7 Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.

8 If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. 9 Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’ 10 But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!’ 12 I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day.

13 What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. 14 Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you. 15 And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead.”

16 Then he said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.”

17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”

18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”

Comments

Luke is the only Gospel writer to record the sending of the seventy-two. His preference as an editor is to consolidate material and eliminate duplicate or overly similar accounts. Yet in this case he adds a near duplicate sending to that of the Twelve in chapter 9. The main differences are the increased number of disciples sent, the location (we are in Samaria now, a region hostile to Jesus and his followers), and the potential for rejection (based on Jesus’ warnings, and this makes sense given the location). What remains the same is the work – healing sick people and proclaiming the kingdom of God, and the approach of the workers – travel light, accept hospitality and provision, but do not enrich yourselves.

Both of the sendings tell us a couple of things. One, the work of the kingdom belongs in the street, where the people are, not cloistered away or hidden from the people, but right in the heart of the village – where the people are. Second, the ones who are sent are sent in power. Among their primary duties are healing sick people and delivering people from demonic oppression. The kingdom of God grows when we locate ourselves where the people are and when we avail ourselves of the power of the Spirit that Jesus operated in and that Luke has built his entire Gospel around.

Having focused so much on power, Luke meant for the caveat in 10.18-20 to really get our attention. Jesus has given us all authority (this statement is repeated in Acts 1.8) and we are to operate in that power just as Jesus did. But the power itself is not our focus anymore than it was Jesus’ focus. Luke narrates the action in terms of the Spirit’s power, but Jesus rarely speaks of it. He focused on the people, their needs, and what teaching they needed to receive. The Spirit empowered Jesus to carry out the work he was focused on, not power for its own sake. Here again, Luke is preparing us for his Pentecost message. As someone who grew up Pentecostal, I can tell you that this warning is still something we need to hear.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Luke 9:46-62

46 Then his disciples began arguing about which of them was the greatest. 47 But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he brought a little child to his side. 48 Then he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.”

49 John said to Jesus, “Master, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he isn’t in our group.”

50 But Jesus said, “Don’t stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you.”

51 As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. 53 But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. 54 When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 So they went on to another village.

57 As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”

59 He said to another person, “Come, follow me.”

The man agreed, but he said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”

60 But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God.”

61 Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family.”

62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Comments

Several small scenes in today’s reading. First, Luke tightens up the argument over who is the greatest (right after Jesus has predicted his death, sheesh). Jesus doesn’t question them or moralize like he seems to in Matthew and Mark. No encouragement to be like little children, just a statement that they are just as capable of bringing in the kingdom of God as anyone, more capable of those who think too highly of themselves. Luke makes the matter much more straightforward. I was at the Vineyard National Conference in Anaheim last week. A main focus there was getting kids and teens involved in doing kingdom work because they pray as well as anyone and they hear from the Lord as well or better than adults. Kids in our church pray for adults and do get prophetic words for them and do see their prayers answered. Luke moves the understanding in this direction.

Then we get two small, related stories, where John tries to stop ‘unauthorized’ exorcisms and he and James want to take a page from Elijah’s book and call down fire on people for not being hospitable. Luke shows a penchant for irony by placing the first just after the ‘authorized’ disciples have been unable to cast out a demon. Jesus’s response turns our typical logic on its head. We tend to think whoever is not for us is against us, but Jesus assures John that whoever is not against us is for us. If various Christian churches ever took this attitude toward each other, we would see the kingdom breaking through in new and exciting ways. In the second, Jesus shows he favors moving on to the next town over drone strikes.

Finally, Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem and begins the journey that will take up the next nine chapters in Luke. The final dialogues create a real sense of movement. Jesus is on the move, are you coming or staying? Two volunteer, two are called by Jesus, and all four have their commitment tested. These short exchanges show that Jesus was looking for people who were all in, even willing to leave behind cultural and social duties. Jesus is still looking for people who will make this commitment level and he will take anyone who is all in. Children are more likely to make and keep such commitment because they are far less likely to be choked out by the cares of this life. They trust more naturally, pray more honestly, and when they see that trust validated through answered prayer, miracles, and gifts of the Spirit they are less likely to ever turn back. Our kids can teach us to trust, hope, love, believe, and pray. They can lead us into the kingdom. Are we willing to follow?

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.