After 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. 2 And 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. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But 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.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
Woe to Unrepentant Cities
13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.
16 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
The Return of the Seventy-Two
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10: 1-20 ESV
Luke 10: 1-20 The other disciples
After this the Lord appointed 72 others and sent them on ahead of Him - Beyond the 12 Apostles there was also this group of seventy that followed Him. Jesus has limited Himself to a human body, and so He is one man, yet the labor is great, the time is short, but there are many that still need to hear. He sets a great model for us here, that ministry is the church, a body, and though there are different positions or members in the body, all are needed, and all are to the furtherance of the Kingdom, the spreading of the gospel. This looks very much like the time of Moses, a very similar delegation.
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. 18 And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?”’” 21 But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ 22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” 23 And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”
24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.
26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp. Numbers 11: 16-30
Two by two - It's a popular claim of people to be loaners or not need anyone, but God doesn't seem to see it that way. We need time away from others so as not to be distracted from spiritual matters, quiet time, study, but we also need to be approachable, rebuked at times, and encouraged. We are by design dependent upon one another. No one enters the world on their own, but everyone comes out of a woman, by her union with a man. God created families, and He extends them through friendships and the church, through unions of equal yoke.
17As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. 18Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who looks after his master will be honored.… Proverbs 27: 17-18
Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest - Salvation is truly of the Lord, His work, His field, and yet He has brought us in to labor, and graciously, because we are also told that everyone thinks more highly of themselves than they ought. God intends for us to be relational, and to continue the work of evangelizing. It is humbling, or should be, to think of oneself as being a representative of such a King. We are the seed throwers in His field, and it is another's job to water and another to harvest, but it is His gospel that we throw, and it is by the power of His Spirit that it goes on to bear fruit. You can see the design here in every age though, that God chooses men, makes them faithful, teaches them His word. These go out and teach their families, live godly and modest lives amongst worldlings, all the while proclaiming the good news of repentance unto salvation. These come in and are watered with the word, with more sound teaching, and we continually invest in the lives of each other and those around us, becoming servants of all men. You start to see that the gospel is not about you, and all about Christ, so that is where you bring men, to Christ, and so we begin to see a selfless nature, willing to decrease.
…6Therefore My people will know My name; therefore they will know on that day that I am He who speaks. Here I am!” 7How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” 8Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, together they shout for joy. For every eye will see when the LORD returns to Zion.… Isaiah 52: 6-8
I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves - A lamb is harmless, but Jesus wants them also to be aware that those around them are not full of good intentions.
Gilbrant on shrewd and innocent - The craftiness and shrewdness of the serpent were also well-known images in the ancient world (cf. Genesis 3:1; 2 Corinthians 11:3). Akeraios (INNOCENT) literally means "unmixed, pure"; figuratively it means "pure motive," "sincere," and "harmless." It occurs two other times in the New Testament (Romans 16:19 and Philippians 2:15). Jesus advised His disciples to be both wise and harmless. These two characteristics are to be evidenced at the same time. The disciple needs crafty intelligence to avoid being ensnared by the enemy, but he is not to be so in an evil manner. Thus "craftiness" is qualified with "harmlessness, purity, sincerity." (Complete Biblical Library) - Precept Austin
Remain in the same house - If you find peace there and the people are good, then don't try looking for finer accommodations, eat what is set before you and be grateful. He even says, "do not go from house to house", stay on task.
Heal the sick in it - He gives them specific instruction to heal, and this was characteristic of the Apostolic era. You will see what the main drive of this was by the end if not already.
Say to them, "the kingdom of God has come near to you" - He even gives them the exact seed to throw; this is what they are to proclaim, as heralds entering a town before a king.
It will be more bearable in that day for Sodom and Gomorrah than that town - That day refers to judgement. Sodom and Gomorrah were obliterated to dust. The measure against the towns in Jesus' day was in relation to the light they had received. These men were proclaiming the Kingdom of God, healing the sick, and they were the ambassadors of the King of Kings, to refuse them was to refuse Him. It was His message and accompanied by the signs and wonders that He gave them. Sobering.
You shall be brought down to Hades - Jesus goes on with more comparisons between heathen nations, nations that did not receive so much light, and the nations that saw the light but rejected it. Their hearts were hardened against Him. People in many so called "churches" today will not mention judgment or hell, but Jesus spoke of it often.
The one who hears you hears Me - They were given His words, and this is why it is so important to carefully, rightly divide the truth, so they can hear what God actually said. For those being saved it will be the seed that falls on prepared soil leading to salvation, and for those like the people in Capernaum it will be the gospel that falls upon the hardened heart.
…7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings, and they yielded no crop. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it sprouted, grew up, and produced a crop— one bearing thirtyfold, another sixtyfold, and another a hundredfold.” 9Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”… Mark 4: 7-9
The seventy two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name" - He sent them out with the commission to heal, and this would be a spiritual healing, a core to many a symptom, but apparently a surprise bonus to them. They had already witnessed the difficulty of the other disciples in casting out a demon previously, and so the joy that comes with relief here.
Steven Cole on joy and rejoicing - “Congratulations! You have just won the Reader’s Digest Five Million Dollar Sweepstakes!” Would that make you rejoice? “Congratulations! You have just been used of God to move a soul from eternal darkness to eternal light and life!” Now that should make the believer rejoice like nothing else! But all too often, when we hear of a soul being saved, we respond with, “That’s nice. Hey, who do you think will win the Super Bowl?” Whatever makes us the happiest reveals our true values. Do we get more excited about temporal blessings or eternal ones? Do we get more excited about a new car or a new brother or sister in Christ? (What Makes Jesus Rejoice) - Precept Austin
I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven - Satan has lost his place in Heaven long ago, perverting his position from one of worshiping God to desiring to be worshiped himself. It is possible that Christ is looking back to that, just as He told the people "before Abraham was, I Am." He has witnessed those things, but in the context here He is responding to their immediate declaration that even the demons were subject to us in your name. His response seems explanatory to what was happening behind the scenes.
John MacArthur explains I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning - Commentators have offered various interpretations of what the Lord meant by this saying. Some argue that it refers to Satan’s original fall (Isa. 14:12), but that incident has nothing to do with the immediate context. Others have suggested several other possibilities: that Christ had in mind His vanquishing of Satan at His temptation; or that He referred to Satan’s subjection to Him by virtue of His own ministry of casting out demons; or the crushing of Satan’s head at the cross, or Satan’s future sentencing to the lake of fire. But the imperfect tense of the verb translated I was watching suggests a continual process rather than a one-time event such as those offerings. Although they were truly triumphs of Christ over Satan, the vivid imagery of lightning, which repeatedly flashes brilliantly and then is gone, suggests a different explanation. The picture here is of Jesus rejoicing as He observed Satan’s kingdom being destroyed one rescued soul at a time through the seventy’s evangelistic ministry. That would continue to be true throughout all the history of the church as God and the holy angels rejoice every time one lost and damned soul is recovered from Satan’s domain (cf. Luke 15:7, 10).(See The MacArthur Commentary) - Precept Austin
Nothing shall hurt you - He had promised them that in the world they would have tribulation, and we know that Christians are imprisoned, that all the Apostles, except John, were martyred, but be assured, though death comes it has been conquered. It is the doorway unto eternal glory, where moth and rust do not corrupt, where thieves do not break in and steal.
2according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,…
…5who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials 7so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.…1 Peter 1: 2-7
Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you - They have something even better, and this is what it builds up to, that thing that cannot be taken from them, though all else, these encounters with demons, with sickness, all that is fading away. It will all end when they die, but they have received the incorruptible, have been taken in as citizens of the Kingdom.
But rejoice that your names are written in heaven - Wow, these 70 disciples names were already recorded in the book, as are those of all the elect. This is Who you want to hear that from, and it is exceptionally remarkable because it is all based upon His Word. What I mean is, God has provided this One Way, through His Lamb, and all of this has been foretold through the prophets, through the teachings associated with sacrifice and man's need in accordance with the Law. It is such a narrow way, the height and breadth of this One individual, the life and death of this One individual, and it is contingent upon His perfect obedience in life, but also the cross. He has yet to go to the cross, has yet to lay down His life, but so certain is He of this that He can give them power over demons, disrupting the present darkness, and telling them of their eternal destiny as though it had already been accomplished. It really makes you think back to where He set His face like a flint; He is confident that He will do all that is God's will. He sees all of this from eternity, way beyond my wildest imaginings, and when God speaks things come into being, and He speaks from the infinite, the eternal, how marvelous, "that your names are written in heaven."
But rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven - (see Phil. 4:3+) God's sent ones were to rejoice more that they had received His mercy and forgiveness than in their power over evil spirits. Rejoice because they have personally experienced the greatest miracle of all, the salvation of their otherwise previously lost soul. Dear reader, have you experienced this miracle of miracles?
Rejoice is in the present imperative calling for this to be the habitual practice of the seventy (and also for us beloved!). This joy can and should be continual because our salvation is eternally secure. When the world, people, circumstances or our adversary steal or attempt to steal our joy, we can, enabled by the Spirit (giving us the desire and the power) make the volitional choice to rejoice in the immutable, incredible truth that our names are recorded in heaven! Indeed all other miracles were ultimately meant to be but signposts pointing men to the Gospel of our salvation, the greatest miracle of all! - Precept Austin
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