72

Luke 10:1-12

¹After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. ²And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. ³Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. ⁴Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. ⁵Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ ⁶And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. ⁷And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. ⁸Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. ⁹Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ¹¹‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹²I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

Back at the beginning of chapter 9, Jesus sends The Twelve (disciples) out into the world to share His mission with the Jews. At that time they were located in the area of Galilee which was a Jewish community. The number 12 represented the 12 Tribes of the Old Testament and the mission at that sending was to the remnant of those tribes. Now Jesus sends 72 missionaries out into the region of Samaria. The number 72 is the traditional number of the non-Jewish peoples in the world just as 12 is the number of the tribes of Israel. The choice of this number indicates the ultimate universality of Jesus’ saving mission. Already, the work of Christ is for the whole world.

Jesus also sends them with fairly explicit instructions. They need to know they are entering enemy territory. They will be rejected and possibly treated poorly. They are also free to move on when that rejection happens. Most startling for this group of Jewish guys is that they are told to eat whatever they are offered. That would have been an anathema to these guys. They were used to eating only that which was deemed “clean” by the Old Testament laws they followed. But in this case, they need not worry about whether the food set before them is “clean” or “unclean” according to Pharisaic standards. The Gospel is extending out to the Gentiles. In Acts 10, Peter is given even more intense instruction in this fact as he is given a vision of unclean animals and told to “kill and eat”. In that moment he is forced to face his own prejudices and change his thinking. With this mini-mission, that process is already begun by Jesus Himself.

The message of the 72 is clear; “the kingdom of God has come near to you.”  That’s all they have to say.  It’s an important message because Jesus Himself is nearby and this is an amazing chance to come into His Kingdom as a believer. Jesus even invokes the name of Sodom, that town that was notoriously burned to the ground by God Himself because of their great wickedness. Those who choose rejection are more to be pitied than even the folks of Sodom! It’s a strong message and one that is sure to bring controversy.

Our message to the world today hasn’t changed at all. The Kingdom of God is near to everyone and all are welcome to receive the forgiveness of sins that comes with faith in Christ Jesus. But so too is the world ready to reject that message and us right along with it. But we aren’t excused from delivering that truth nonetheless. Jesus blood still saves and we are bound to share that with our world.