“Luke 10:1-24”

Monday, June 15, 2020

“Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace be to this house.” If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, 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, “Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.” I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades! The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me. The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.’ And He said to them, ‘I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven. At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, ‘I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Turning to the disciples, He said privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.’”

---End of Scripture verses---

The second limited commission:

This event took place in the last year of Jesus’ life. The Lord had sent His 12 Apostles out in a similar fashion in the previous chapter (Luke 9:1-8). He gave them special, limited powers and gave them a special, limited mission for a limited duration of time. As with the Twelve, these 70 chosen men were sent out in pairs, equipped with scarce provisions and were told to only preach in the towns as they traveled. Jesus had sent them out “before His face,” or “ahead of Him” into every town He was about to go, on His way to Jerusalem (verse 1). Like John the baptizer, these men were types of forerunners of Jesus; preparing the way for Him to enter their towns, and preparing their hearts to receive Him.

Jesus sent them out “as lambs in the midst of wolves” (verse 3). They were to take no money, no food, no weapons and no extra clothing on this special mission. He was teaching them that if they were out doing the Lord’s work and obeying His commandments then He would take care of them. They were to be “as wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 16). As long as they were careful to follow the Lord’s directions, He would provide for them. Jesus is teaching that message to us as well. As long as we follow Jesus in trusting, obedient faith, He will provide for all that we truly need. But we must use wisdom and discretion in our earthly dealings and not confuse faith with throwing caution to the wind.

When the 70 disciples returned from their mission they happily reported their experience to Jesus (verse 17). Jesus told them to not be infatuated by the supernatural power that had been entrusted to them. The most important thing was that their “names are recorded in heaven” (verse 20). Every ability that any of us possesses has been conferred to us as a gift from God. Whether we are prominent workers with substantial skillsets or obscure servants with limited capabilities, we should give all the glory to God for everything He has entrusted to us. And ultimately we should all rejoice in the fact that, if we serve Him faithfully to the best of our ability, we will all go home to heaven together to be with Him forever.

Jesus, “was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightening” (verse 18). Was Jesus speaking of a past event, a future prophecy or a current phenomenon? It appears from the tense of the verb that Jesus “was watching” this happen as the Seventy were out preaching the Gospel and casting out demons. With every demon cast out, and with every heart that willingly received the Good News, Jesus could see Satan cast down from his lofty throne. The “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) is no match for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). When Jesus died for our sins and arose for our glory, he loosened Satan’s strangle-hold on death and rendered him powerless (Hebrews 2:14-15). Death had no power over Jesus, and if we belong to Him, it will have no power over us (Romans 6:9).

John 12:31-33 – “‘Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.’ This He said signifying by what death He would die.”

Please read John 11:1-44 for tomorrow – Jesus raises Lazarus.

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

Share