1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.
16 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Jesus sent out seventy-two disciples in a similar way to how He had sent the apostles (Luke 9:1). Their mission was to go out in twos to every town and place Jesus was heading to. Jesus said to them that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few so they, and we, need to pray that the Lord will send more to work to bring in the harvest. There is work to be done. There are many who need to hear the gospel message and it requires Christians to step up and do the work of spreading that message. Jesus told them that He was sending them on a dangerous mission, like lambs in amongst wolves. Similar to the mission of the twelve, they were to take no moneybag or provisions and to hurry. The mission was so urgent they weren’t to get distracted with prolonged greetings on the road. God would provide for them as they did His work. If a house accepted them and their message, then they should stay there and eat and drink what was provided (perhaps a precursor to the lifting of Kosher requirements). This was linked to a worker receiving his wages. Those who do God’s work are working hard and it is right that they are provided for in their work. But they were warned not to go from house to house. This may have been to avoid insulting a host with the suggestion that they were looking for something better and also to avoid the impression that they were looking to extract maximum benefit from the people of the town. While they were there they were instructed to proclaim the message that the kingdom of God had come near and to heal the sick to validate their message. But when a town did not welcome them and their message, they were still to let the town know that the kingdom of God had come near but then wipe the dust off their feet as a sign against them. Jesus declared that when it comes to judgment, it will be more bearable for Sodom than for that town. Sodom was a wicked city that deserved judgment but they had never been presented with the opportunity of the kingdom of God. Their judgment therefore will in some way be less severe than anyone who has been presented with the opportunity of the kingdom or the gospel and has then rejected God.
Jesus highlighted a few Jewish cities, Chorazin and Bethsaida who had experienced Jesus’ miracles and the message of the kingdom but had not received it. He contrasted them with Tyre and Sidon who would have received it wholeheartedly in utter repentance had they had the opportunity. Again Jesus indicated that the judgement of those who had not received the same offer would be more bearable than those who had. Jesus also pointed out Capernaum, which he had made His base for ministry, and detailed the judgement they would receive. The seventy-two were full representatives of Jesus. Anyone who heard and accepted them heard Jesus and whoever rejected them rejected Jesus and God who sent Him.
When the seventy-two returned to Jesus they returned with joy marveling at how even the demons had been subject to them in Jesus’ name (this was a different experience than the nine disciples had while Jesus was on the mount of transfiguration, Luke 9:40). Jesus spoke of their experience in terms of the future time when Satan would finally be cast out of heaven for good (Rev 12:9-10). The power of Satan was finally broken. Then Jesus gave them further authority and protection indicating that they still had more work to do. Jesus reminded them that their greatest joy should not be in seeing demons fall but in the fact that their names are written in the Book of Life.
The success of the seventy-two led Jesus to pray in the Holy Spirit exalting praise to the Father. Those who had exhibited faith were not the wise and learned but those who responded with childlike faith. The disciples were extremely fortunate because they lived in a time that many prophets and kings had longed to see—the day of the Messiah.
What part are you playing in spreading the good news of Jesus? Is there something you can do today to move towards being one of the harvesters or sending out more harvesters into the field? We should all be part of the joy of seeing more names written in the Book of Life.
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Hezekiah and Isaiah: 2 Kings 18-19