The Life of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
MISSION OF THE SEVENTY
The Life of Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
MISSION OF THE SEVENTY
Lesson Plan:
1. The Missionaries (v 1)
2. Appointed (v 1)
3. Their Work (v 2, 3)
4. Their Method (vs 3-8)
5. The Work Jesus Came To Do (v 9)
6. Dealing with Opposers (vs 10, 11)
7. "Woe Unto You" (vs 12-16)
Lesson Setting:
Time: A.D. 29. Probably soon after the Feast of Tabernacles (Jn. 7).
Place: In Northern Perea, across the Jordan. Jesus had just made His final departure from Galilee,
and for a few months was walking in Perea, the region east of the Jordan and extending from the Sea
of Galilee nearly to the Dead Sea. Here He had hitherto preached and worked but little.
Research Thoughts: The district of Perea. Why the seventy were sent forth. The purpose of the directions given. The work they were to do. Why not stay even where they were opposed? Object of shaking off the dust of the rejecting cities. The success of the apostles. The application of verse 21.
Introduction: An Ancient Missionary Campaign (It’s Object, Methods, and Result) – Christian scholarship has not yet done justice to the fact that the New Testament is essentially a missionary book written out of the heart of missionary experience. The facts and problems of modern mission work illuminate the pages of the New Testament, and there are in the latter rich stores of guidance and inspiration for missionary effort which have not yet been turned to full account.
Scripture Reading: Luke 10:1
1. The Missionaries
v 1 ... "After these things," recorded in John 7 & 8; Luke 9:51-62; and Matthew 19:1. "So far as we can tell the seventy were sent out about the time of the Feast of Tabernacles" (Int. Crit. Com.), the last of October. The story of Jesus at this feast is given in John 7 & 8, where He discoursed in Jerusalem regarding the water of life, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and of Himself as the light of the world. Here He was so bitterly opposed by the Pharisees that it was wise to return to Galilee. But His work in Galilee was done, and He made His final departure from the district, going across the Jordan into the district of Perea on His way to Judea (Matt. 19:1). He had not spent much time in Perea, as He had in the other three districts of Palestine, i.e., Judea, Samaria, and Galilee.
v 1 ... "the Lord appointed other seventy" besides the twelve. Of these seventy we do not know a single name. Not one is again referred to as belonging to this company. They belong to that great multitude of workers who do their part of the work of redemption "to fortune and to fame unknown." ‘Full many a gem of purest ray serene The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear, Full many a flow is born to blush unseen And waste its sweetness on the desert air’ (Milton). However, in Christ no earnest soul, no good word or work is "wasted on the desert air."
Illustration: Trees are built by its leaves. Each leaf sends a thread down through twig and branch and trunk. The leaves perish, but their work remains in the larger growth of the tree. When you cut a tree down you can see the annual growth which is the work of each season’s leaves, and the tree itself is the sum of the threads those leaves have made. Behold how fair, how far prolonged, in arch and aisle, the avenues of the valleys; the fringes of the hills! So stately, so eternal; the joy of man, the comfort of all living creatures, the glory of the earth, i.e., they are but monuments of those poor leaves that flit faintly past us to die. Let them not pass without our understanding their last counsel and example: that we also, careless of a monument by the grave, should build it in the world – a monument which men may be taught to remember, not where we died, but where we lived (Ruskin, Modern Painters, vol. V, The Leaf Monuments).
Scripture Reading: Luke 10:1
2. Appointed
v 1 ... "the Lord appointed." They were set to work by Christ for some special reason of fitness. They had been with Him, seen His works, listened to His teaching, imbibed His spirit. They had been faithful in the least, and were now given larger opportunity. It did not require great talents, great learning, or high position of any kind. But they must be full of His message, in dead earnest, willing to learn. Ordinary people, filled with Christ, can often do the most work for the Lord, i.e., especially for children. ‘Hath the water Christ bestowed Made thy heart a well o’erflowed? Thirsty souls thou must supply, Else thy well will soon be dry. Doth the bread He gave to thee Stay thy spirit steadfastly? If thyself thou still wouldst feed, Share the bread with those in need.’ (Frances Tyner). To every Christian the greatest privilege that can come is to be chosen by Christ for some service in His kingdom, but most of all for work among the children. So it is for every child in Bible school to be given some work to do. The most disorderly and trying boys have been transformed by giving them something definite to do, for which they are fitted.
Scripture Reading: Luke 10:2, 3
3. Their Work
v 2 ... "Sent them two and two," making thirty-five delegations. The time was short. The country was comparatively new to the work of Jesus. Jesus Himself alone could not personally reach so many, unless the way was prepared for Him, interest awakened, enthusiasm aroused, ground prepared for the Gospel seed. Much of the work to be done depends on the creation of an atmosphere of interest in the subject. Even the best seed will not spring up in frozen ground. They were sent Two by Two, because this was the most effective way in all such work. Two joined together are far more than twice one separately. Two churches in a town federated together for a special work are a much greater power than the two working independently. It is the same with Sunday Bible school in a town or city. Actually, we have hardly begun to use the power of union, according to Jesus’ wise plan. Unity of brethren within a local church as well as unity of churches, not merged into one, but doing evangelizing work together. Could this be the way to victory? Hence the power of the unity! ‘So when two work together, each for each Is quick to plan, and can the other teach; But when alone one seeks the best to know, His skill is weaker and his thoughts are slow’ (unknown). What we need is Light and Heat, knowledge and inspiration – enthusiasm, earnestness, feeling, devotion, to lead us and others to act according to knowledge.
Sent before the Face of Jesus: "The harvest truly is great" (v 2). There was a great unrest religiously all over the world at this time, a moral and a spiritual awakening. The promises of the Messiah and prophecies of better days were culminating upon this period. What Jesus had done and taught was known with more or less accuracy throughout the whole region. It was time to "strike when the iron was hot." It is now a time of awakening, of interest, of new plans and methods, of discussion, and earnest seeking, all around us, and all over the world. Never since the days of the apostles has the ripening harvest been so great, so universal, so ready to be gathered in. Is there a ripening harvest today?
Now, as then "the labourers are few" (v 2) compared with the greatness of the harvest.
The Way to Obtain Laborers: "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest" (v 2). ‘Pray ye’ who are now laboring – Because you see the need more than others can. Because you are more interested, for you have been working for the harvest; it is part of your life; because your own power may be increased, so that you are equal in value to two laborers such as you were before. ‘Pray ye’ Why should we pray for what God desires? What He desires far more than we can? (a) Prayer for an object God desires is putting us on God’s side, joining our interests and sympathies with His. It is not for His sake, but for ours, that we must pray. (b) We are so constituted that conviction, resolution, and effort are necessary to perfect our natures. Prayer is deeper and wider than mere begging. It is a condition of spiritual communion. God needs our prayers to enable His spirit to work upon us and with us, and the prayer God most needs is the passionate yearning of every believer’s soul. Fervent prayer is the surest way of spiritual growth, and thus increases our power of service.
v 2 ... "send forth labourers." There are two ways in which laborers may be increased: By increasing their numbers; By increasing the power, energy, skill, and devotion of those already laboring. The preacher, elder, deacon, teacher, and all leaders in the church can increase their teaching force in the same two ways.
v. 3 ... "Go your ways." Sir Walter Scott, in ‘The Lady of the Lake,’ refers to the beautiful custom of ancient Scotland of assembling the clans by means of the fiery cross. A light cross of wood was charred at its point, and the flames quenched in the blood of a goat. This was sent around to the villages and homes of the clan, each one sending it on to his next neighbor, with only the name of the meeting place. And every one was bound under fearful anathemas to obey the sign. ‘What fits this cross from man to man, Vich Alpine’s summons to his clan, Burst be the ear that fails to heed! Palsied the foot that shuns to speed!’
Edward Everett Hale wrote ‘Send Me’: ‘Not mine to mount the courts where seraphs sing, Or glad archangels soar on outstretched wing; Not mine in union with celestial choirs To sound heaven’s trump, or strike the gentle wires; Not mine to stand enrolled at crystal gates, Where Michael thunders or where Uriel waits. But lesser worlds a father’s kindness know; Be mine some simple service here below – To weep with those who weep, their joys to share, Their pain to solace, or their burdens bear; Some widow in her agony to meet; Some exile in his new-found home to greet: To serve some child of thine, and so serve thee – Lo, here am I! To such a work send me!’
Scripture Reading: Luke 10:3-8
4. Their Method
v 3 ... "behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves." Not merely the innocent and undefended among fierce, ravening beasts; but those whose method of overcoming is by love, peace, goodness and truth against those whose weapons are war, injustice, cruelty and hate: sunshine against tornadoes. One of the greatest hindrances to the progress of Christianity has been the breaking of this law of Christ, not by missionaries, but by their countrymen, who too often go under the name and flag of a so-called ‘Christian’ nation. When this happens, people have nothing within their experience enabling them to recognize the difference between real Christians and the inhabitants of a so-called ‘Christian’ nation. For example, when the Spaniards began to conquer the New World, one of their chief objects was converting the Indians. In this they were apparently sincere. But with their ‘converting,’ they evidenced a deep-seated, over- powering greed for gold. They recognized no rights in the natives, forcing them to labor in fields and mines. So the natives have for generations suffered from traders, strong drink, opium and vices. Through this Gospel of Christ, this situation will continue to slowly change for the better, but still, today, one of the greatest hindrances to the progress of the cause of Christ is the conduct of unchristian men from so-called ‘Christian’ lands. To some extent the same hindrance exists in Christian communities at home. But all true churches of Christ are trying to overcome it.
v 4 ... "Carry neither purse." A small leather bag for carrying money.
v 4 ... "Not scrip." Traveling-bag, or haversack, the word signifying a leather bag or wallet, used for carrying provisions when traveling. "The English word ‘script’ was formerly used in that sense, but is now obsolete" (Broadus). Shakespeare uses it in ‘As You Lit It,’ Act III., Scene ii. That is, they were to depend on the people for entertainment. Trust the people. Your wants will be supplied.
v 4 ... "Nor shoes" in addition to what they were wearing (Int. Crit. Com.) ... "And salute no man by the way." Do not loiter for gossip, or go through the long formal salutations so common in the east. Go straight on to the place where your mission is to be. Time is short, and your business urgent.
v 5 ... "Into whatsoever house ye enter," whether invited to it, or guided by counsel. Some customs of semi-forced entertainment must exist where inns are unknown.
v 5 ... "first say, Peace be to this house." The common formula of salutation among the Jews, with whom ‘peace’ comprehended all blessings and prosperity: freedom from every evil, and abundance of every good. It means the favor of God, the fullness of His love and protection, sins and faults overcome, health of body and of soul.
v 6 ... "And if the son of peace be there." That is, one inclined to peace, one wishing you and your cause peace and prosperity.
v 6 ... "your peace shall rest upon it" (or ‘him’ R.V.). Your coming will bring new peace and blessing to that home, like the ark in the house of Obed-Edom.
v 6 ... "if not, it shall turn to you again." If they are unwilling to receive it, the peace you bring can do them no good; but it will not be in vain, for you shall receive yourselves the good you wished for them. In this way efforts for the good of others are never lost.
v 7 ... "in the same house." Where you have been welcomed.
v 7 ... "eating and drinking such things as they give." "What the entertainers provide. They are to consider themselves as members of the family, not as intruders; for their food and shelter are salary, not alms" (Int. Crit. Com.) ..."for the labourer is worthy of his hire." And you bring to the house much more than you receive from it, for God will bless them through you. There are many persons whose presence in our homes is a great blessing, and whom we welcome with all our hearts.
v 7 ..."Go not from house to house." The reason is obvious to anyone acquainted with Oriental customs. When a stranger arrives in a village or an encampment, the neighbors, one after another, must invite him to eat with them. There is a strict etiquette about it, involving much ostentation and hypocrisy, and a failure in the due observance of this system of hospitality is violently resented, and often leads to alienations and feuds among neighbors; it also consumes much time, causes unusual distraction of mind, leads to levity, and every way counteracts the success of a spiritual mission.
v 8 ... "eat such things as are set before you." Do not make any change in the household arrangements, but become a part of the family.
Summary: (a) They went in their ordinary mode of living. (b) They were going among countrymen, and lived according to the peculiar usages of Oriental hospitality. (c) This was the best way to reach the people. The religion of Jesus was for daily life. There was no show, no self-seeking, and no expense. They met the people on common ground. (d) They themselves were to be free from all worldly anxiety, so that they could give themselves wholly to their mission without fear or favor. They had nothing to lose, and their support was assured. (e) It is especially noticeable how Jesus insisted upon the most beautiful Christian courtesy and tact. They were to be ideal guests in the house. In their conduct, conversation, appearance, methods of approach, they were to express and exemplify the spirit of Christ, of heaven, of love, of the beauty of holiness, of the religion they were to teach. It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of this tactful courtesy, when it has become a part of our very nature, in all our efforts to serve Christ and His cause.
Scripture Reading: Luke 10:9
5. The Work Jesus Came To Do
Note: Particularly in this verse the two powers by which Jesus made His Gospel effective, i.e., by deeds of healing, and by words making known His Gospel. And also note the order in which the two are placed, i.e., deeds first, words second.
First: "Heal the sick that are therein" (v 9). Go about doing good, showing sympathy, expressing loving-kindness toward all in need. Because: (a) These represent the heart of Christ and of the Father in heaven. They are abiding symbols of that great tide of divine helpfulness which is flowing yet, and is to flow on forever. In these the people could see and understand the Christ who was soon to come to them. (b) The healings were proofs of the authority and power of these messengers of the coming Christ, and drew hearts to Him. It was by doing good freely "without money and without price" that the people would trust the disciples when they should tell them of Jesus as the Savior from sin. Only by the visible help for the body that costs us something is it possible to prove that our efforts for men’s souls are sincere. (c) What beautiful types of Christ’s moral, healing, quickening power we have in the miraculous parts of His history. I feel as I read them that the conception of such a character as Christ transcended human power, especially in that low moral age, and that nothing but the truth of the history, nothing but the actual manifestation of such a being in such forms can explain or account for the gospel narratives. How needed was some outward, visible signs of the truth to the minds of that day. It shows great ignorance of human nature, and of God’s modes of operation, to suppose that He would approach a darkened, sensual world by purely abstract spiritual teaching. Every miracle was an object lesson and a parable. Sickness and demon possession were fruits of sin, object lessons of sin. Jesus came to undo the works of the devil. By healing sick bodies He proved His power and willingness to heal sick souls, cleanse leprous hearts, raise the dead in sin, cast out all the devils of iniquity. Christians must work on the same principle. Work for the temporal welfare of men must go hand in hand with work for their spiritual welfare. Here lies one of the greatest powers of our missionary work. They bring to the lands to which they go, healing, medical missions, hospitals, schools, better means of living. What Christ has done for Christian lands is a mighty argument for the acceptance of the Gospel of Christ.
Second: "And say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you" (v 9), in the coming of Jesus the Savior, who brings the good news from heaven and their Father. It was the kingdom which in various forms they had been expecting. The kingdom of heaven is that state or condition where the principles of heaven rule on the earth, and therefore where all the blessings that naturally flow from those principles prevail. It is in a sense, heaven on earth. What the seventy were to announce to the people was the same that Jesus announced to His own townsmen at Nazareth (Lk. 4:17-21), when He quoted from Isaiah’s prophecy (61:1), which they had heard again and again: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he hath anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, To preach deliverance to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised, To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’ And then He "began to say unto them, Today hath this Scripture been fulfilled in your ears." All that heaven can do for man was included in the kingdom of heaven that was coming. Jesus was soon to follow the disciples, and with Him would come the dawn of the new kingdom. It would come to each of them individually, and to them as a nation. Jesus has come to us, and we can realize, far more than they could then, that the gospel is actually in the world, and has been ever since Jesus came, making the world a better and happier place in which to live. It has removed disease and suffering and oppression, and wrongs. It has brought in brotherly love, and general human welfare, educational opportunities, schools, libraries, hospitals, means of travel, comfortable homes, more than any other power the world has known. Imperfect as yet but infinitely beyond any other part of the world that has not felt the power of the Gospel of Christ. In the second place this has been done in the only possible way, by making men better in heart. There is no way of making the world better than by new hearts that seek first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness. Save the soul and then the body can be saved. You can make a perfect world outwardly only as fast and as far as men are filled with divine love, and grow into the heavenly character. "The kingdom of heaven is at hand," i.e., the new dawn, the new helps, the new opportunities, the new powers, and new motives. Like the motto on the reverse of the United States great seal, ‘Novus Ordo Seculorum,’ a New Order of the Ages had begun for the individual and for the nation.
Scripture Reading: Luke 10:10, 11
6. Dealing with Opposers
v 10 ... "Whatsoever city ... they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same." (a) Because you have not time or strength to contend with them. There is nothing to be gained by battle and contention under these circumstances. (b) Because the best way to reach such opposers is by letting them see the effects of the gospel in other places and the blessings of those who receive them. (c) Your Christian meekness, forbearance, and love under injuries will best touch their hard hearts. It will be like "coals of fire upon their heads," to awaken, alarm, and melt them.
v 11 ... "Even the very dust of your city ... we do wipe off against you." In other words, not even the smallest thing of yours will we take with us. It was a symbolic act, indicating that they renounced all responsibility for them, and would not keep a particle of the ruin which must come upon such ungodly people, nor would they be defiled by their sin. It was not an act of anger or hatred, but of warning, and a desire to awaken their conscience to repentance, as is shown by their parting words ..."notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come night unto you." The blessings might brighten as they took their flight. The greatness of their loss is shown in verse 16. For the disciple preaching and teaching and working in the name of Jesus, is the representative of Jesus and of the Father. We cannot reach Jesus directly, nor do anything for Him, but we can reach His representatives, and through them we can express our gratitude to God, if we do it for His sake.
Scripture Reading: Luke 10:12-16
7. "Woe unto You"
v 12 ... "It shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom." Because those wicked cities sinned against much less light, and rejected smaller and more dimly seen opportunities (For Sodom, see Gen. 18:20-32; 19:24-28). When we read of the destruction of Jerusalem forty years later, with its unutterable horrors and "great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, nor ever shall be," we understand the meaning of this warning to the Jewish towns.
v 13 ... "Woe unto thee, Chorazin ... Bethsaida." Not a wish, but a warning and entreaty. The necessary consequence of breaking God’s laws is suffering of some kind, as that of going into the fire is burning, or of sinking under water is drowning. The one possible escape is to repent and obey. And it is God’s unceasing effort to keep men from sinning, to persuade them to repent. He said to them and to us as the Father said to Israel by Ezekiel: Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye (Ezek. 18:31, 32).
Those towns were near to "Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven" (v 15) in privilege, and light, and opportunity. Capernaum was the home of Jesus in Galilee, the center of His operations, of His teaching and miracles, and example and personal power, all the heavenly influence which radiated from Him. These other towns knew not only what Jesus did and taught in them, but also what took place in Capernaum. Jesus up to this time had dwelt chiefly on the higher motives in attracting men to the kingdom of heaven. He appeared to the best in men. He did mighty works of love and healing. He proved His mission. He presented the rewards of well-doing. He presented great and precious promises. He made goodness attractive. He called to courage, and service, and self-denial. But there came a time when for those who resisted all these influences, it was necessary for Him to point out the "woes" toward which they were hastening. In this world, as men are, no nation can exist, no family can be well trained, no school perfectly managed, without a consciousness and use of the penalty for breaking the law; but always with the desire and purpose to save. In many areas today, our courts of law are beginning to learn this last lesson and to make their prisons also reformatories to train and help to a better life. In closing, consider the following applications: (a) Those seventy men were ordinary people at first, but grew to be very useful by being faithful students in the school of Christ. They saw Him at His blessed work. They listened to His teaching. They loved Him for what He was and what He did. Now your business in personal study, in the Bible school and whenever you read the New Testament (which hopefully is every day) is to go to the school of Jesus; be faithful in your studies there and you will gain power to do good as the seventy did. (b) Every one of us should go forth and do what they did, that is, to be helpful to others in various ways, and to bring others under the influence of His teachings. You can belong to that "Great Society of Encouragers," by seeing that every other person in your community receives an invitation to worship the Lord and to spend time studying His Holy Word. (c) We should cultivate the power of winsomeness, cherish sincerely as a part of our nature the little courtesies of life, thoughtfulness for others, and attractive ways. Though a visual sign on our front porch saying, ‘Welcome,’ is not required, still that spirit should dwell in our homes in every language known to man, so that we, as messengers of Jesus Christ, shall have ‘Welcome’ shining out from our every act and word.
