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After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.' But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.
"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades.
"He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me."
- Luke 10:1-16
Yesterday, we read that, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that Jesus steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village. Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." The seventy apostles (or disciples) are by tradition understood to be devout "laborers," some of them also mentioned in the New Testament. Among them are Barnabas and Titus. My study bible suggests here that we are to "pray not only for the harvest of converts to Christ, but also for the laborers who will reach them."
"Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves." My study bible says that "lambs speak of the sacrificial life of the apostles and of all followers of Christ. The wolves are those who seek to frighten and devour those who follow the Lord (John 15:18)."
"Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you." We notice the reliance on God conveyed in these directions -- everything starts there first. To remain in the same house is to stay in the first place offered, and not to "trade up" for better accommodations, no matter how humble the home may be. My study bible tells us, "Twice here Christ commands the apostles to eat whatever is offered to them. This has a twofold significance: (1) the apostles must be content with whatever is offered, even if the food is little and simple; and (2) the gracious reception of others' hospitality takes precedence over personal fasting or dietary disciplines."
"And heal the sick there, and say to them, "The kingdom of God has come near to you.'" The message is not just that there is a Kingdom in the future, but rather that the kingdom of God has come near." It is present in those who carry it, those who are sent bearing it into the world, those who bear signs of its presence.
"But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.' But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city." Once again, as with the first sending out of the Twelve, these apostles are to shake the very dust off their feet in rebuke to those who reject them and their message -- the kingdom of God that has come near.
"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades. He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me." My study bible notes, "Judgment is severe for those who reject Christ after experiencing His grace. In contrast, those who have never known Christ due to genuine ignorance are without sin in that regard (John 15:22-24), and are instead judged by their God-given conscience (Romans 2:12-16)." We note the powerful representation in this Kingdom that has come near: those who hear the apostles hear Christ - for rejection it is the same, but Christ as "bearer" of the Father ("I and the Father are one") means also it is the Father who is rejected. Relationship or communion, in this Kingdom, is everything.
Judgment is a difficult proposition for a lot of people. It makes them uncomfortable. But what Jesus speaks about here is a rejection; that is, a rejection on the part of those who don't want to hear about it, don't want to welcome the disciples. It's a rejection of the message of the Kingdom coming near -- and that is the essence of the message. We can take it as the essence of His mission to and ministry in the world: the kingdom of God has come near. Then the question posed to all of us becomes more clear: Do you want it, or do you not want it? In effect, the judgment becomes a question of rejection by those to whom it is offered. It is not up to us how that judgment happens or even to judge how reception or rejection happens (after all, this judgment is in the future, and we are not the ones who know the hearts of all). But it does give us a very important clue about how we are to bear the Kingdom into the world and also about how we are to deal with rejection. This is the second time the apostles are told to wipe the dust off as a sign of rebuke, and to move on in their mission (the first time was in the sending out of the Twelve). I think this is a good guideline for all of our lives. It is important that we understand we're not the ultimate judges here. The concept that rejection simply means a "rejection" back (shake the dust off!) and moving on, focusing positively on the work that is at hand, just as the Kingdom is "at hand." It's a good guideline for the ways in which we live our lives. As disciples and apostles, it would seem, their mission is simply offering this Kingdom in all that they do. That includes gracious behavior everywhere they go, akin to humble behavior everywhere they go. They are not told to show great might and force as representatives of this Kingdom but rather the power and force of the holy: they heal, they cast out demons, they preach the Gospel message. "Greet no one on the road" is an admonition to refrain from elaborate formal greetings, and to remain humble in this sense. They are lambs in the midst of wolves; this is the way the Kingdom comes into the world, and it is the way we are taught to bear ourselves. Grace comes first as a way of representing Christ and the Father. Let us get the message clearly. Let us remember the power of grace.
