LUKE 10 V 1
/20
This
Chapter is a story of Jesus sending out some of His followers on an evangelistic
mission, ahead of His visiting the towns He intended to visit.
Jesus sent
out seventy two disciples in two’s, into Gentile territory where He Himself was
planning to go. Two people working together can be most useful as they can complement
each other, and this is in fact a practice from the Old Testament.
Jesus calls for prayer for those He is
sending out. Like to-day there was much to do, and few to do it. The Bible states the prayers of the righteous
are powerful and effective, and whilst a lot of people are not able to perform
much physical work because of age and infirmity, they can pray for those
physically able.
The Bible tells how Moses and Aaron were
physically restricted at one time so engaged in prayer, and when they did so the
Israelites were successful.
Jesus warned the men He was sending forth
of the dangers they faced, saying they were like lambs going amongst wolves,
meaning wolves eat lambs Jesus never called on anyone to act under false pretenses,
but rather pointed out the possible cost.
He knew they faced danger, and so many in Christian ministries do
today. Churches in Nigeria, Pakistan,
Indonesia, and even Canada, suffer attacks, and in numerous Eastern hemisphere
nations are imprisoned, arrested and charged with offences, and murders too take
place. Not a lot of people want to hear
of these brave men and women who face such ordeals in the service of teaching
about Jesus. They are often brilliant
minded people, fully able to earn lucrative salaries in other occupations, but
commit themselves willingly to serve the Lord.
Jesus further stressed the need of devotion
to their mission. This message is applicable to the Church at large, and whilst
primarily to Ministers, applies to all Christians. Jesus wanted them to concentrate on the
purpose for which He was sending them, that is to preach the gospel.
In modern times it has become fashionable
to engage in profound theological debate, sometime questioning the veracity of
Bible teaching, which is unlikely to win one soul for Christ. All that is needed is simple and plain
statements clearly and convincingly made, by people who truly believe in what
they are teaching. Simple gospel truths,
leaving the Holy Spirit to complete the work.
There next follows three things for the
disciples to avoid. They are to travel light, must not be cluttered up with
material natters. It appears there is
now a temptation for preachers to get involved with political and social issues,
a craze to talk about climate change, or government schemes, especially by
bishops who criticize without offering any alternative. These have no place in
pulpits, especially as they tend to divide Christian worship. The issues of the world should not transcend
spiritual matters.
The disciples are not to be over concerned
for comfort, but place their trust in God to provide. We are all entitled to
enjoy the luxuries of life, but not to become predominant. Since their business
was urgent, they were mot to waste times in greetings, but concentrate on the
task they were sent on.
In eastern countries, the custom was to
have long conversations on greeting someone, resulting in lost opportunity for
what they were sent out for. This did not mean they were to be discourteous, nor
seek attention, but that they should not linger when there was so much to be
accomplished.
Thirdly, the preacher should not seek
personal gain from his Ministry, or other benefit. At that time it was ruled if
a prophet stayed in one place without working for three days, he was a false
prophet. The laborer was worthy of his
hire, but cannot be seeker of gain. It has to be faced, there are those in
Christian ministry today more interested in enhancing their c.v. and promoting
themselves, than promoting the gospel.
I remember a wedding shown on television,
where the Vicar after performing the ceremony, saying to the congregation,
‘let’s dance’, and then she led in what more resembled rather wild body shaking
than dancing, with some of the congregation
standing on the pews to do so.
Whether intended or not, it enabled the Vicar to start on a television
career, gathering her a collection of fans,- or the alternative. (N.b. The
service is called, the Solemnization of Matrimony’)
Jesus stated stay faithful, even in the
face of rejection, warning His workers they would be rejected, something most
Ministers have experienced. Since Jesus was Himself rejected, we should not be
surprised. It has become more a badge of honor to be criticized or rejected,
but experience has shown me the people who do complain are usually bullies who
shy away when confronted and challenged. I remember one Vicar saying in
frustrated tones to me after having had a hard time,’ well at least they can’t
crucify me’
Jesus makes clear in verse 16, what it
means when His messages are rejected. He said, ‘he who rejects me, rejects the
One who sent me’. He is warning those who do so, will be in great trouble. A
person will be judged by what they had a chance to know. It is a terrible thing
to reject God’s invitation, for it can lead to eternal condemnation. God will not force Himself on anyone, We all
have the freedom to respond or reject Him, and judgement will one day be meted
out accordingly. This is why coming to
Church is a serious business, for every time we hear God’s Word we face the
choice to heed or ignore.
Jesus told His disciples to wipe the dust
off their feet if they faced rejection, a symbolic action to signify the place
is standing before God. This becomes
hard when those rejecting God’s Word are those closest to us personally. We
long for them to accept Jesus as their Savior, and shed tears at the thought of
their eternal destiny.
The Bible clearly states, as indeed Jesus
clearly expresses here, that we have the chance and should take it before it is
too late. We should therefore do all we can to make sure they hear the message,
but we cannot believe for them.
When the seventy two returned, Jesus told
them to stay humble. Some were so excited with triumphs in winning people for
Jesus. He warned them against pride and realized things fall away
constantly. When Billy Graham, conducted
his Crusades in the years he was in England, many people attended and offered
themselves to Christ, inspired by
glorious singing by massed choirs, and hearing the greatest and most
successful preacher in Christian history. But when they returned to their local
parishes, they often found indifference from Vicars who probably disliked
Billy, and they showed little interest. People were so disillusioned they fell
away,
The Bible sees a world in open defiance
against God, and those who stand for God will be mocked and harassed. The Bible calls for a different society, one
which responds to the cry of a loving Savior who wants people to turn to Him in
repentance and faith.
The world
is divided between those who choose the Kingdom of God and the light of Christ,
and the other world of darkness led by evil, which will seek to destroy all
that is good and holy. We each have to decide which side we are on.
Some years past, one of the finest liners
ever built, the Queen Mary, was taken out of active service, and was taken to
Long Beach in California as a tourist attraction. She was as luxuriously made
as could be, but during the 1939 war was converted into a troopship. She is now
a museum.
Today, it seems that the Church is
following a similar course; it sees itself in peacetime conditions, when in
fact it is under sustained attack on all sides.
We expect the Christian life to be painless and easy, whereas the Bible
teaches us that we are called upon to expect wartime conditions. The prospect
is that the Church will become a museum as attendances are falling, and writers
are already forecasting its demise within ten years.
Jesus always made it clear that following
Him would never be easy. Indeed, He
taught it would be very hard. Jesus
warned that we need to count the cost, before committing oneself as it meant
carrying a cross and placing Him first in all considerations, above all else.
We are in fact engaged in a war, and
called upon to be soldiers of Christ.
Regrettably there are many within the Church, both lay and ordained, who
wish to avoid all militaristic references and terms. We have the word soldier
removed, and Onward Christian soldiers, one of the greatest hymns written, has
now become in some Churches as the
ridiculous Onward Christian pilgrims, so vandalising such a beautiful hymn.
Anyone so weak-minded, should avoid the hymn altogether if cannot accept the
writer’s words.
The fact is that the Bible often uses the
term soldiers, and we sing Soldiers of Christ arise, and Stand up, stand up for
Jesus ye soldiers of the Cross, the Apostle Paul used the term as an analogy,
but it all seems to be an irrelevance to those who eulogise the word
‘love.’ We have to face reality, there
is so much unlovely things and people, in this world. Turn to your Bible, you
will see it speaks of God’s wrath, and you have to go into many Chapters before
we start talking about love. We are engaged in a bitter war, with the world
being a battlefield with aggressive activists, not a playground.
Our opponents do not believe Jesus is the
only way to God; the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross; the definition of
marriage; God’s Order of Creation, to mention just a sample of doctrine, which
they challenge at every opportunity, and have campaigners within the Church
aiding them.
Jesus called for decisiveness and radical
self-discipline and commitment. This is
in contrast to the readiness on some Christians part, to accept all that is
hurled against them.
In the previous chapter, Jesus had
sent out His Apostles with specific instructions. Here Jesus sends out 72, widening the net to
indicate He is sending out His followers to all parts of the earth. We can see what He expects from us.
All Christians should try and spread the
gospel, and often this can be done in an easy manner by bringing your local
Church to people’s notice. For many people, as we know to our own experiences,
God is an irrelevance until they have a personal problem, there is no such
human being who is a true atheist.
We are called to be steadfast in our
faith, and be assured God has given us all an individual gift that we can use
for His purpose, it just takes time to realise what that gift is. The Bible
spells out clearly there are so many gifts we can use in serving Him. One lady
in my Church took on the task of
arranging the flowers which are placed in position each week, and her work was
cherished by members who got so much pleasure and comfort as the meditated
prior to and during the service. (probably a relief during some sermons) There
are other similar tasks, think about yourself, may make Church more important
to you personally and inspire others
.
We thank God
for His Holy Gospel and pray He guide us in our service
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