GO, I AM SENDING YOU OUT
Opening Prayer
Lord, You “guide me along the right paths for your name’s sake” (Psa. 23:3).
Read Luke 10:1–24
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 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. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.[b]
16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
22 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
Footnotes:
a Luke 10:1 Some manuscripts seventy; also in verse 17
b Luke 10:15 That is, the realm of the dead
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Jesus now asks his disciples to step out of their comfort zones and into new environments. In what ways has he prepared them for this new Kingdom adventure?It’s generally easier to stay put—to remain where we are, in the same house, with the same friends, and let our roots go long and deep. Leaving, moving, going—all signal upheaval and a change to the status quo we all cherish. But Jesus has a different agenda for his disciples.
Parts of this reading are identical to 9:1–6, where Jesus sends out the 12 with his authority to proclaim and demonstrate that authority. The instructions we read are given to a larger group of 72, but it’s the same imperative to go and show that God’s kingdom has arrived. And to go simply—without money, accessories or extra clothes.
Yet again, Jesus makes his disciples uncomfortable and we feel it ourselves. Without delay, the disciples are to travel lightly, announce the message Jesus has given them and take care to speak only to the people who are interested (10). It’s the same emphasis on vulnerability and simplicity that we have seen in earlier readings.
Apply
We instinctively build nests and sink our roots deep into our communities. But where is Jesus asking us to go today? To whom is he sending us? And how will we act?
Closing prayer
Lord, help me to follow You wherever You lead.
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