Burunche’s Blog

Luke 10:1-12 The Seventy Sent Out

“After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. 

Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road. But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house. 

Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless, know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.’ But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.”

Earlier, Jesus has sent out the twelve disciples to minister, but now he sends out seventy others in thirty-five pairs. These men are the advance men, preparing the way for Jesus to minister “in every city and place where He Himself was about to go.” Why is Jesus doing this now when he has never advertised himself previously? Jesus knows his time is getting short, and he wants to minister to the maximum number of people before he dies. Look at what these men are to do: “Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” 

But Jesus has a number of other instructions that are worth studying, for we can still apply these to ourselves.

1. PRAY: “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” This command still stands. Sometimes those of us already on the field become so tired demoralized that we fail to remember that Jesus wants us to pray for more workers. Exhaustion and self-pity are a deadly combination that can lead us to giving less than our best and also failing to pray for more laborers.
2. DEPEND ON GOD FOR PROVISION: “Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.” It’s easy to understand why Jesus might say these men are lambs among wolves; however, why doesn’t Jesus want them to greet people on the road? These men are on a mission, and if they meet friends on the road, the friends might encourage them to stop and stay with them, rather than proceeding to whatever town or village they are to visit. If these workers are dependent on God, they will reach out to others from necessity, while if they have their own resources, they might keep to themselves.
3. FIND PEOPLE OF PEACE AND THEN REMAIN WITH THEM. “But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house.” If the workers become interested in collecting as much as possible, they will move from house to house. Jesus wants them to concentrate on ministry, not on self-aggrandizement.
4. PROCLAIM THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAS COME: “Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” Jesus is giving these men very simple tasks and a very simple message. Why? Because if the men make things too complicated, their audience might not understand them. If the men become picky about their food, they will gravitate toward rich people rather than the poor; meanwhile, the poor might be those most receptive to their message.
5. DO NOT HESITATE TO LEAVE A PLACE IF THE CITIZENS REJECT YOU: “But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless, know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.’ But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.” Notice that Jesus is not demanding these men remain where they aren’t wanted. These men are advance men for Jesus; if a city rejects them, it will also reject Jesus.

These instructions are specific for these seventy men. While parts of these instructions might apply to all workers, other parts do not. Later on, when Paul is traveling and is stoned at Lystra, he leaves but eventually returns. God does not make cookie-cutter Christians; neither does He make cookie-cutter situations. God is always doing new things.

Pray, depend on God for provision, find people of peace, proclaim the Kingdom of God, and be prepared to move when necessary-although Jesus gave this advice to the seventy so many years ago, it’s still applicable today. As we continue to follow Jesus, let us continue to look to God for provision and guidance.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to minister the way You want us to. Thank You for providing our needs. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

This entry was posted on April 3, 2025 at 12:01 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.