Luke 10:1-20

Recurrent Thought 

People’s accumulated effort has huge impact on any human activity. Similarly, the peaching of the Gospel demands a combination of efforts of all in the Church

Jesus raised the apostolic team for a purpose of sending them as his representative in the earth (Mark 3:14-15). In this regard we refer to A team is a group of people with a high degree of interdependence geared toward the achievement of a goal or completion of a task. A team is an adequate (small) number of people with complementary skills, who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approaches for which they are mutually accountable. In developing a team, Jesus followed a well-tested three step traditional skills-training that was followed by trainers of those days, including rabbis. First, the mentor would teach and demonstrate the skills, while the leaners watched. Second, the mentor and the learners would do act the lessons together. Third, the learner would act the lesson alone. In Luke 9 & 10 Jesus has an opportunity to demonstrate the third step. In Luke 9 Jesus sends the twelve (12) with specific travel instruction but they were to go only to the regions and cities of Israel. Chapter 10, presents to us another scenario in which Jesus sends a different set of workers, they are seventy, or seventy-two based on different versions. 

Background of the Number 70

• He sent the Twelve to only to the people of Israel (Luke 9)

Mat 10:5  These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, Mat 10:6  but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

• The seventy (70) evangelists are regarded standing for the broader leadership of Israel when God placed the spirit on the 70 leaders of Moses who later prophesied (Numbers 11)
• Rabbinical traditions state that this also follows the seventy 70 Nations in Genesis 10 and a belief that there were seventy languages
• The Seventy-two gets its rendering to the fact that they were two other leaders who got baptised while in the camp (Numbers 11) and that the Greek Septuagint version translated by 72 scholars
• The Seventy reveals the broader mission to the world, expanded on by the book of Acts, for they are sent to every city and everywhere. 

This text gives us the following Five Truths when we go on Mission Trip

1. Working in Teams is the Preferred form of Evangelistic Engagement
   • Jesus puts two main reasons as to why he sends them two by two.
   • First, Jesus acknowledged that the number of unbelievers described as the harvest is unbelievably huge. He described it as a harvest that is Plentiful (Luke 10:2), 
   • He also affirmed that despite this ready harvest, the laborers to go bring it (the harvest) in were woefully few (Luke 10:2).
   • How then does he increase the Laborers? Jesus introduces a principle that helps to increase the laborers. The answer to the need of increased laborers is to Pray to the Lord of Harvest that he calls and sends the more laborers 
   • Jesus set the whole numbers of harvester in sets of twos. They went to the mission fields as teams 
   • Second, he recognized that the mission field is never friendly. Every worker should regard themselves as sheep among wolves. 
   • There are challenges on the field, hence the need to go in teams, two by two (Luke 10:3)
   • Synergy is when two or more entities cooperate to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.
   • Similarly, we children of light must also be willing to work in teams to leverage on the power of this synergy.
   • There is great power in partnered strength.
2. Workers must be Mindful of Travel Protocols
   • The travel arrangement set for the seventy (70) were almost the same as the ones given to the twelve in Luke 9:1-6 and Mathew 10:5-15
   • The Travel Protocol had two main instructions: Don’t carry a lot of stuff such as Travel Bags, Don’t carry a Money purse
   • The charge was to Travel Light and Trust God for Resources. Don’t stress
   • Does it mean God does not demand the Workers to fully prepare? Not really. 
   • Notice these are viewed as short term Mission trips and demanded less personal needs. When he refers to a more permanent engagement, Jesus adjusts the Travel Protocol
     
     Luke 22:36  He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.
      
   • Preparation for Longer and stressful missions must be considered (Luke 22:36)
   • They Should go where they are received and celebrated: Greetings with Shalom
   • The summary of it all is that God will take care of you as you go to preach
3. Workers should Never Forget the Main Purpose (10:9)
   • Whatever the challenge of difficult travel, tight financial resources and engagement with new cultures the workers may face, they should not forget the reason for their mission.
   • They were to Heal the Sick as they peached the Good news of the Kingdom
     
     Luke 10:9  Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 
      
   • Workers must communicate the Enormity and Gravity of Rejecting Jesus 
   • Whoever refuses the free offer of the Salvation of Jesus remains in danger of damnation. Jesus gives three ways to communicate the truth
   • First, how to warn a city refuses to welcome evangelists. The Seventy were told to enter a city with the greeting of Shalom, the Peace of God. If they reject it, they were told to dust off their responsibility over that city. This implies that, that city would now contend with God
   • Second, warns cities that rejects the Grace of God. He uses examples three towns from around Lake Galilee where Jesus did his ministry. These Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. The sin of these Cities was to ignore the works of Jesus among them. Jesus compared them to the Cities in the Old Testament Who God visited with Judgment: Sodom, Tyre and Sidon
   • Capernaum is referred to the worst culprit: Lifted to heaven and shall be brought to hades. It had enjoyed the visitation of God, just as if it was brought to heaven, but because of its indifferent, it shall be treated woefully, like one in hades. This became the centre of his Operations 
   • Third, special warning when evangelists are rejected. Whoever rejects the servant’s rejects Jesus himself and ultimately Yahweh (Luke 10:16) This is one of the most glaring warning to those who reject the preachers of Christ, they are in danger of rejecting God.
4. Workers must have the Right Perspectives of the Results of their Mission (Luke 10:17-20)
   • On their return, the seventy are so excited for they experienced miracles: Demons obeyed them.
   • Jesus in answering them, He said he saw Satan fell from heaven like lightening. There are two suggestions as to the time when this fall happened. 
   • First, some scholars believe this is the first fall, when the Lucifer fell from the Grace of God in heaven. Second, others believe that this should be seen in context, that the massive evangelistic invasion was so powerful and it gave a jot of shock to Satan himself
   • Jesus proceeded to inform that he had given them authority over demonic powers
   • Jesus asked them to hold the right perspective on issues of the Miracles.
   • It was good that they experience the miracles, but what was more important was that they remained faithful in God and their names were in the book of life.
   • Mathew 7: 21-23 Shows that People can emphasize the miraculous and yet sell their souls to the devil and disdain their salvation in Christ.

Altar Time

• Praying to the Lord of Harvest ( Luke 10: 2)