 Previous Chapter |
 Return to Outline |
 Ask Questions |
 Next Chapter |
Jesus had turned His face toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). On His way, He chose 70 other Disciples and sent them ahead of Him, two by two, into every town where He himself would come. There were 70 others besides the original 12. Why 70? Many believe the number relates to the 70 chosen in Numbers 11:16. The Lord said to Moses, "Gather for me, 70 men from the Elders of Israel, and bring them to the tent of meeting and I will come down and take some of the "spirit" that is upon you and put it upon them." "They shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you sould not bear it alone." "Seventy" was a sacred number because it was formed by multiplying to other sacred numbers. The "70" Elders of Israel, the "70" years of exile in Babylon, the "70 times 70", spoken by Jesus, as the number 7 relates to completeness, 70 relates the the "time" or "number" that is necessary to accomplish God's plan. "70 times 70", represents a limitless number.
Who were these 70? Peter spoke of men that accompanied them where ever they went. They were probably part of the 120 that are spoken of in Acts 1:15. This was the number of the faithful after the resurrection. It is good to know that in three years, Jesus had more than eleven faithful followers. There are those who believe that this is the same account that is found in Luke 9:1, which tells of Jesus sending the 12 Disciples out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal. But this is a separate account, a separate mission and different people.
What was it they were supposed to do? They were paired off, 2 by 2, and went ahead of Jesus and the 12 Disciples to all the cities of Israel through which Jesus would travel on His way to Jerusalem. Their purpose? They were the "advance men". They were to prepare the way of the Lord, they were to "advertise" the approach of the "Kingdom of God". They were to heal the sick in the name of Jesus. They were to rely on prayer for their strength and God for their necessities. To instill in them the importance and necessity of their work, they were to look around and see the great harvest of souls. This would place a burden upon their hearts, and make them concerned because there was so much work to do and so few labors to do it.
But He warned them that they were going to have problems and be persecuted, almost as sheep among wolves. Notice how they were to travel. "Lightly", to say the least. No purse, no money, no suitcase and no new shoes. They were to go in haste and talk to no man along the way. This is certainly food for thought. Are we concerned for the loss? Are we so busy "preparing" to go, that we never go? Are we so concerned with conversation that we never get around to witnessing?
Notice how they were to live. They were to stay in private homes. They would not be permitted nor welcomed in Synagogues so they would have to stay in peoples homes. The were forewarned that they would not always be welcomed. To those who would receive them, they were to bring peace into that home, the "peace" that passes all understanding, the Gospel. To those who would not receive them, they were to announce the judgments of God upon them and then leave, shaking off the dust of that city from their feet. From these people, they were to accept nothing nor were they to give them anything. "It shall be more tolerable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for that city." Why? The people of Sodom and Gomorrah only rejected the warnings of Lot, but these people rejected the offer of Christ. Jesus said to these men, "He that hears you, hears me." Also Jesus said, "He that despises you, despises me." Those who despise the faithful ministers of Christ are considered as despisers of God.
We are not told of their mission or of the success they may have had, we are only told that they returned with "joy". Notice, also there were no complaints. Nothing was said about the long hours, the hard work, the poor food, the hard beds or the amount of walking that they had to do. Only joy was demonstrated and this certainly came from the satisfaction that they had been doing the Lord's work and especially the success they had in casting out demons in the name of Christ. All victories over Satan can be credited to Christ.
Notice how Christ received their report. He verified it by saying, "I saw Satan fall as lightening from Heaven." Satan fell by the preaching of the Gospel as he still does. So, like the parable of the talents, because they had been faithful in the discharging of their mission, He gave them additional power. "I will give you power to walk on serpents." "Nothing, by any means, shall hurt you." Many have taken this gift "literally" and have formed "snake handling" cults. But I believe that Jesus was here talking about Satan and those who do evil. They may "hiss" and "strike" at you, but they cannot hurt you.
But notice, they were not to brag or rejoice in this, but rather rejoice that their names were written in Heaven, written in the "Lambs Book of God". All this brought great joy to Jesus, because these things had been hidden from the wise but now were revealed to babes. The educated Pharisees could not understand these things, but the uneducated common followers of Jesus, could, because of the revelation of the Holy Spirit. Why did Jesus rejoice in this? Because it was the just and righteous will of the Father.
Notice the position of Christ in salvation is two-fold:
Then Jesus turning to His Disciples said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see, 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."
Previous Chapter |
Return to Outline |
Ask Questions |
Next Chapter |