Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-twoMy Understanding: The Lord had woken me this morning with the song, When God Ran, playing in my mind, so as I read the scripture this morning for my quiet time with the Lord, I was thinking and praying about this idea of God running to us, as the father ran to greet his prodigal son while the son was on the way back home to his father. I read Luke 8 and 9 first, but when I got to chapter 10, and I read about Jesus sending out the seventy-two, I realized that when Jesus sends us out into the world to share the gospel, to show his love to others, and to bring them comfort, encouragement and hope, this is God running to us.
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two 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 a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that house, 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 set before you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near 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 that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
13 “Woe to you, Korazin! 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 up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths.
16 “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who 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 was your good pleasure.
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.”
This passage of scripture begins by letting us know that the harvest is plentiful, i.e. we are not short on people in need of the love of Christ and the gospel of Christ to be shared with them. The problem lies in the fact that the workers are few. God uses us as his human instruments to continue the ministry he began when he was on this earth. For those of us who have truly believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Spirit of God lives within us and, if we allow him, he lives and works out through us into the lives of others, so we that become Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
Jesus told his disciples that he was sending them out like lambs among wolves. The world may find the gospel of Jesus Christ offensive, because the cross is an offense, so the gospel of Jesus Christ, i.e. God running to us, may be met with resistance. Those with whom we share the love of Jesus and with whom we share his gospel may not welcome us and may not welcome the gospel of Jesus Christ. The disciples were to wipe the dust off their feet against those who refused to even welcome them. They did this as a sign that they were breaking ties with them.
We can’t force the gospel upon people. It is not our job to bring the conviction to their hearts. That is God’s job. Our job is just to tell them the truth, as we know and understand it, which is that the kingdom of God is near, i.e. Jesus Christ, in all his fullness has come, he died on the cross for our sins so that we could go free from sin, he rose from the dead, triumphing over sin, he ascended into heaven and one day he will return for those who have put their faith and trust in him as Lord and Savior. When he left the earth, he sent his Holy Spirit to indwell the lives of those who believe in him so that he would be with us forever. Thus, the Holy Spirit’s work in the lives of believers begins with regeneration, i.e. he brings about the cleansing of our sin and then transforming us into our new lives in Christ Jesus.
In the story of the prodigal son, the son had taken his inheritance and had blown it on living wildly. One day, when his wild living finally took its toll on him, he came to his senses, realized the wrong he had done, and he desired to return home to his father. He realized he did not deserve to have his father take him back, so he humbled himself and was willing to become his father’s servant. When the father saw that his son was returning home, the father ran to the son and embraced him and welcomed him home. This song, When God Ran, is based off that story.
God has and will run to us, too, but he won’t force himself upon us. If we resist him, he will wipe the dust off his feet and he will break ties with us, too. Yet, when we humble ourselves, when we come to our senses and we realize the wrong we have done, and we are willing to be his servants, he will embrace us with open arms of love and he will welcome us back into his family as his children. The way he runs to us is often through his followers and disciples who are willing to be his hands and feet and to continue the Lord’s ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit within us working in us and out through us.
The disciples were excited over the miracles they saw God perform in people’s lives through them, yet Jesus told them that they should, instead, rejoice that their names are written in heaven. We, too, should rejoice that people’s names are being written in heaven.
The father of the prodigal son, as well as the son, rejoiced when the son returned home to his father. All of us, at one time, were prodigals. The Bible says that we all, like sheep, have gone astray and we have gone our own way. We have all sinned. There is no one who is righteous in himself. Yet, God ran to us by sending his Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins so that we could be free from the penalty and the control of sin over our lives. And, he continues to run to us by sending out his disciples into the world to share his gospel and his love. So, if you are a prodigal today, know that God is running to you, yet he will not force himself upon you. It is up to you if you will receive him today.
When God Ran / Phillips, Craig and Dean
And then He ran to me, He took me in His arms
Held my head to His chest, said “My son’s come home again”
Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes
With forgiveness in His voice He said,
“Son do you know I still love you?”
He caught me by surprise as He brought me to my knees
When God ran – I saw Him run to me
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