Text: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
1 ¶ 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.
2 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.
3 “Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.
4 “Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.
5 “But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’
6 “And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.
7 “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.
8 “Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.
9 “And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
10 “But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say,
11 ‘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.’
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1 ¶ 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.
2 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.
3 “Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.
4 “Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.
5 “But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’
6 “And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.
7 “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.
8 “Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.
9 “And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
10 “But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say,
11 ‘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.’
b: The Power of Obedience
Date: July 4, 2010 AM
Ol Suit.
Introduction: We have sometimes heard it said that “might makes right”. By this those who say such things mean that whatever the powerful want to do is okay…simply because no one can stop them.
And, truth be told, much of our world operates along that rule. The Chinese government persecutes and terrorizes the harmless Christian House Churches…not for some great crime which they have committed…but simply because the government has the power to do it.
Nor is this an exclusively Oriental problem. Even here in our own land there are those who tread upon the poor worker simply because the poor have no power to prevent it. Often the sons of the wealthy are excused for violations of the law which would see a poor man’s son jailed. Don’t tell me this is not so for I have seen it with my own eyes.
And thus it is that there are times when even the good citizens of a nation will begin to fear that “might makes right”. Or that the real ‘Golden Rule’ is that “those who have the gold…make the rules”.
Jesus recognized the dangers that exist in this world when He declared to His followers that He was sending them out “as lambs among wolves”. What a picture that is! I have lived in sheep-raising country – out in the rugged landscape of the State of Wyoming – and I know something about sheep. But it doesn’t take much acquaintance with sheep to know that they are no match for wolves. Sheep have no “canine” teeth…those most important teeth with which a member of the dog or wolf family defends itself. They have no claws with which to defend against an attacker. Truth be told, domesticated sheep are perhaps among the defenseless creatures in all the world!
But Jesus didn’t say, “I am sending you out as sheep among wolves”. No. He said, “I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.” Lambs? If adult sheep are helpless, what is a lamb? We’ll answer that question in just a moment but, first, let us look at the exact command Jesus made to these first witnesses of His Good News.
The Sending of the Seventy(-two)[1]
The Setting – An Overwhelming Harvest
In verse 2 Jesus tells His sent ones “the harvest is plentiful”.
It is a harvest that exceeds the ability of those presently working to bring it in. Therefore…
We are to “ask the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into His harvest field.”
By this Jesus taught two great truths:
First, Prayer – that earthly contact with our Heavenly Father – is absolutely necessary.
– Prayer will move the hand of God to send more workers into the harvest field. And…
Secondly, The Harvest is under the control of the Lord!
– He is the One Who calls, prepares, and sends forth workers into the harvest field.
– He is the One to Whom the Field Belongs.
– He is “the Lord of the Harvest”!
The Seventy(-two) are to be among the first workers to enter the Harvest field.
In verse 3 Jesus says to them, “Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.”
Not only are they to go as defenseless as a lamb (i. e. “without purse, or bag or sandals”) but they, like lambs in the presence of wolves, will be the focus of much evil intent.
When they preach the Good News of the Kingdom both devils and evil men will oppose them.
When they identify themselves as being on the side of good and right and holiness…when they take their place under the Gospel banner of Divine Love…then the unredeemed and the unrighteous and the demonic will plot against them and harass them and scheme to bring them down…just as wolves do with lambs.
Ah! But these lambs have a Shepherd like no other! He is a Shepherd Who fully identifies with His lambs. He will have His eye upon them and will even be able to view the effects of their harvest work (as verses 16 & 18 indicate).
But how shall these lambs react to the wolves? Should they learn to fight like wolves? No. (“I thought about titling this sermon, ‘Sheep Don’t Howl At The Moon’ to illustrate that sheep don’t behave like wolves, but like sheep!) Instead, Jesus outlines a holy, harmless life for His “lambs” to imitate:
- Let the “Peace” of Christ be your entrée and introduction.
- Stay put wherever God opens a door and don’t go looking for “greener pastures”.
- While you are never to practice the evils of the society in which you minister, still, it is your duty to minister within that culture as far as is possible. (“Eat what is set before you.”)[2]
- Minister to those who are most in need of ministry. (“Go to the sick; heal them.”)
- And everywhere let this be your message: “God’s kingdom is near you.” That is to say, being a part of the Divine Revolution is an attainable goal. God is breaking into human history to reconstruct the broken human family through His Son. His Kingdom, His rule over the world, His power to regenerate a world that is dead through the awful effects of sin, is within reach of everyone. No soul is too lost to be saved; no heart is so evil but what it can be made righteous; no life is so ruined but what God’s Grace can rebuild and bless it!
The Success – The Seventy(-two) Return Rejoicing
Long years before, the Psalmist had written these words: (Psalm 126:6) “He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.”
The Seventy(-two) return to Jesus rejoicing, in spite of the fact that they had faced opposition.
They had faced the powers of hell itself and were happy to report that “even the demons submit to us in [Jesus’] Name!”
Jesus reminds them that they are not to rejoice because they have power over demons, but because they have left off doing the bidding of demons and have joined the side of those who are on God’s side…those whose “names are written in Heaven”.
And this is ever to be the source of our joy! Not that we can order devils around …but that we are living and acting under orders from Christ!
Bob Dylan wisely sings, You’re gonna have to serve somebody; it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody!”
The lie is that we are our own boss. That we call the shots in our life. But men’s choices are influenced most by the things they prize and highly value. Only those who know the inestimable value of Jesus are free to choose what is best.
What about those “lambs”?
The Power of Lambs
Last Sunday, we studied about three people (in Luke 9:51-62) who said the right things, but weren’t in any hurry to do what Jesus commanded.
They said, “I will follow You (Jesus) but…” and then offered some excuse as to why they couldn’t obey His call on their life right then.
Today we see the power of saying and doing what God wants us to say and do. These disciples went out just as Jesus had commanded them to go and did just as He commanded them to do.
What was the result? In verse 18 Jesus made one of the most powerful statements in Scripture:
He said, “while you seventy(-two) were all out obeying my command to go and my command to do and my command to be…I was seeing[3] the effect of your words and of your witness.
It is as if Jesus was saying, “While you were obeying my command to “go and tell”…not only were demons forced to submit to My Word working through you…but I also was watching Satan himself being toppled from the skies on account of your faithfulness!”
This is “the power of lambs”…it is not in themselves, but in their belonging to a mighty Shepherd Whose Word is enough to make demons submit. Before you dismiss this as the product of the fevered imagination of a country preacher, allow me to illustrate my point:
– Words are powerful things! Who would dispute the earth-shaking effect our own Declaration of Independence has had? Yet that document is only words…but words of truth, when joined with deeds of truth, can move even the mightiest mountains!
You and I are those lambs sent forth in the presence of wolves. We have no strength in ourselves. Our protection and power lies in our Shepherd!
As we go through our daily lives, as we journey across our part of this world, let us announce His Kingdom, His Peace, His Healing! And let us point humanity to Him…Jesus, that other Lamb…The Lamb Whom John says was “slain from the foundation of the world”![4]
And as we speak of Him and of His Kingdom, let us be sure to testify that both He and His Kingdom are near! Through Jesus, anyone can reach His kingdom and have their name recorded there![5]
This is the power of Christ’s little lambs! Oh! May Satan “fall”, again, because of you and me this week! May our trusting obedience to Jesus result in the battering of Satan’s dark domain! May some sin-sick soul discover help within reach this week…because we, too, go…we, too, speak the peace of Jesus…we, too, have our names written in Heaven!
[1] Numerous commentators make reference to the fact that the original Greek manuscripts are about equally divided between those which record seventy being sent and those who record seventy-two.
[2] Stoffregen, Brian in Pericope Online quoting Culpepper: “The host, not the guest, sets the context for the disciple’s witness: ‘Eat what is set before you.’ The disciples do not seek to dictate the menu or impose their own cultural background on others.”
[3] The Greek renders the word in such a way as to indicate that this “seeing Satan fall like lightning from the skies” was something that, although then past, had continued for some time.
[4] Revelation 13:8
[5] see Romans 10:8; Ephesians 2:13, 17; Hebrews 7:19
We need to do that. We need to BE that.
Ol’ Suit sez . . .
You said it. And the toughest problem I have is with “ME!”
By: Martin LaBar on July 7, 2010
at 9:23 am