Tuesday
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. 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. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
When you enter a house, first say, Peace to this house. If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, The Kingdom of God is near you. But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The Kingdom of God is near. I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.”
(Luke 10:1-12, NIV)
Following Jesus’ early ministry in Galilee, Luke records the beginning of Christ’s ministry in Judea in chapter 8. Traveling through Samaria, where he and his disciples were refused lodging, Jesus continues on to Judea where he appoints seventy-two of his followers and commissioned them to serve as workers in the “harvest.” This commissioning of the seventy-two is only recorded in Luke, although similar instructions were given to his twelve disciples according to Matthew (9:37-38) and Mark (6:7-11).
Today’s verses communicate the urgency of Jesus’ instructions. He told his followers to travel lightly, not to waste time socializing and to be content with whatever food was served to them by their hosts. If the people of the town accepted the message of peace, then God’s shalom would rest on that place. But if the message of peace was refused, they should leave that town and move on for God’s judgment would follow.
John the Baptist warned that the world would not recognize that Jesus was the “true light” and that his own people would not “receive him” (John 1:10-11). Jesus’ words to the seventy-two confirms John’s predictions. The message of the inauguration of the Kingdom of God brought with it the promise of peace with God, a relationship of shalom between God and humanity. Yet tragically most hearers refused to believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and that he offered the gift of eternal life. The plight of our human condition is graphically summarized by the Apostle John: “In him [Jesus Christ] was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it” (John 1:4-5).
Prayer
Lord God, we praise you for your Son who came to us as the “light of the world.” Forgive us for refusing the message of your Kingdom. Equip us to be workers for your “harvest” so that we can effectively announce the good news of peace to a world that so desperately needs you. Amen.