We’re glad you’ve continued to walk with us in this special season of spiritual discipline. As we meditate on this selection of Scripture, we will begin to bring this journey of discipleship to a close. Thank you for joining us as we pursue Jesus in community!
We pray that the Lord continues to honor your intentions and the devotion you’ve exercised through these last weeks—and that He reveals Himself to you in a new way as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior!
Read — Luke 10:1-20
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
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. 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.
Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 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. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘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.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
Woe to Unrepentant Cities
“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. But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.
“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
The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 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. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
Reflect
As we continue our journey this month, we’ll glean more profound insights into what it means to walk with Jesus. In Luke 10:1-20, we observe another instance of Jesus sending messengers ahead of Him. This time, He dispatches a larger group to visit various towns and proclaim, from house- to- house, the arrival of the kingdom of God. Some will welcome the messengers and their message, while others will tragically spurn Christ’s peace, subjecting themselves to future judgment. Astonishingly, some of the very towns that have witnessed Jesus’s most remarkable works will refuse to turn to Him for salvation, and their future judgment will be even more severe.
In this context, we discover some unexpected yet vital lessons about what it truly means to walk with Jesus on His mission. Take note of the counterintuitive instructions that Jesus imparts to His messengers. First, He informs them that they lack sufficient manpower for the mission. Second, He cautions them that they will be vulnerable in the face of the perils they will encounter – likening them to sheep among wolves. Third, He instructs them to depart without the necessary provisions.
Why would Jesus deliberately send His messengers on a mission for which they lack adequate personnel, protection, and provisions? After all, Jesus will later assert that no king goes into battle without first considering whether he has the necessary resources to secure victory (Luke 14:31). Yet, Jesus appears to be sending His messengers out fully aware of their insufficiency. The reason is that Jesus is teaching those who walk with Him that they are not self-sufficient when it comes to fulfilling the mission. They are entirely dependent on Him, the Lord of the Harvest. Even before embarking on their mission, they are directed to pray to Him for more workers. As sheep, they rely on the Shepherd for protection from the wolves they will encounter (see verse 19). Moreover, Jesus is the one who will supply their basic needs through those who receive the kingdom of God’s advent in Him. To journey with Jesus is to place complete reliance on Him.
Although they were insufficient in and of themselves for the mission, they returned with joy because they witnessed Jesus’s authority and power prevailing over the enemy. Jesus provided abundantly beyond what they lacked regarding personnel, protection, and provisions. Undoubtedly, Jesus is the source of their triumph.
Yet, even in this, Jesus imparts a lesson to those who journey with Him. Because the messengers are wholly dependent on Jesus to accomplish their mission, their joy should not be contingent on the outcomes of their ministry. Since they go forth in the authority and power of Jesus, those who reject them are essentially rejecting Jesus, and those who receive them ultimately receive Jesus. The disciples’ joy is not to be rooted in the perceived successes or failures of their ministry. Instead, their joy is anchored in something unchanging and eternal: the assurance that their names are inscribed in heaven. Those who walk with Jesus do not derive their joy from their abilities or their performance. Jesus was resolute in His journey to the cross in Jerusalem to secure a certain and eternally secure salvation in heaven. As the angel proclaimed, the birth of Jesus, the Savior, brings good news of great joy to all who walk with Him (Luke 2:10).
Respond
After reading the text and teaching, take some time to ponder these verses. This is a long selection! We invite you to read these verses a few more times – perhaps breaking them down into smaller sections – as you go through the week.
As we spend time in His Word, let us pray to the Lord for clarity and encouragement in our journey with Jesus.
Pray
Our Father, thank you for teaching me your ways through your Word. I know that your ways are much higher than mine. As I spend time with you, please help me glimpse your plans and purposes from your eternal perspective. Jesus, draw me near! I long to see you—and to see myself as you do.
Contemplate
In his teaching, Chris points out that Jesus sends his people out to proclaim the kingdom of God with specific and surprising instructions!
- “Like sheep among wolves” is a familiar phrase even among people who have never read the Bible. Did you experience any challenging thoughts or emotions as you worked your way through this section of Scripture? Make note of what seems to be stirring those feelings and consider them places Jesus wants to meet you.
- Have you ever felt inadequate for a task you’ve been given? How did that make you feel, and how did you respond? What about when it comes to walking with Jesus? In what ways do you feel ill-equipped to follow and obey Him?
- How has Jesus invited you to be sent out in His name? What gifts or attributes has God given you to proclaim His kingdom? To whom has He sent you?
- Is anything holding you back from engaging more deeply in the ministry opportunities He has placed before you?
Let’s close this season by reflecting on how we have felt weak in the last few weeks—when we have been made to feel our need for a Savior.
How have you been led to long more deeply for Jesus? Where has your pain localized? He longs to meet you there. Let us carry these things to God in prayer and ask Him to turn them into deeper desire for Him.
Act
As Jesus later told Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
At the beginning of our Journey, we joined Jesus as He set His face to go to Jerusalem. His ultimate purpose lay there in the fulfillment of His death. He went there in weakness. Weakness through which God worked ultimate power and defeat over death and darkness forever. This Journey to Jerusalem is why He came as the baby in Bethlehem we celebrate on that holy night: Immanuel. God with us.
He came to be flesh and blood. He intimately knows our weaknesses. He understands our fears and doubts. He knows we have a hunger that we cannot satisfy. A restlessness undeniable. These are the places in our stories where His power and glory will shine the brightest when we learn to surrender them to His gentle leadership and tender care.
To close our short SIM USA discipleship journey, we invite you to take the things you have learned and the longing you have cultivated and to mark somehow the next few weeks of Advent: the season of longing.
We pray that you will wait upon the Lord with expectant longing and that Jesus meets you in your pain and weakness. May God reward your earnest desire for Him!
Connect
Tell us what you think about this experience! Connect with us on social or send an email to us.connect@sim.org.
