Bible Study Notes: St Luke's Gospel
Session 25 Chapter 10:1-24
1-2 Later the Master selected seventy and sent them ahead
of him in pairs to every town and place where he intended to go. He gave
them this charge:
"What a huge harvest! And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees;
ask the God of the Harvest to send harvest hands.
3 "On your way! But be careful - this is hazardous work. You're like
lambs in a wolf pack.
4 "Travel light. Comb and toothbrush and no extra luggage.
"Don't loiter and make small talk with everyone you meet along the
way.
5-6 "When you enter a home, greet the family, 'Peace.' If your greeting
is received, then it's a good place to stay. But if it's not received,
take it back and get out. Don't impose yourself.
7 "Stay at one home, taking your meals there, for a worker deserves
three square meals. Don't move from house to house, looking for the best
cook in town.
8-9 "When you enter a town and are received, eat what they set before
you, heal anyone who is sick, and tell them, 'God's kingdom is right on
your doorstep!'
10-12 "When you enter a town and are not received, go out in the
street and say, 'The only thing we got from you is the dirt on our feet,
and we're giving it back. Did you have any idea that God's kingdom was
right on your doorstep?' Sodom will have it better on Judgment Day than
the town that rejects you.
13-14 "Doom, Chorazin! Doom, Bethsaida! If Tyre and Sidon had been
given half the chances given you, they'd have been on their knees long
ago, repenting and crying for mercy. Tyre and Sidon will have it easy
on Judgment Day compared to you.
15 "And you, Capernaum! Do you think you're about to be promoted
to heaven? Think again. You're on a mudslide to hell.
16 "The one who listens to you, listens to me. The one who rejects
you, rejects me. And rejecting me is the same as rejecting God, who sent
me."
17 The seventy came back triumphant. "Master, even the demons danced
to your tune!"
18-20 Jesus said, "I know. I saw Satan fall, a bolt of lightning
out of the sky. See what I've given you? Safe passage as you walk on snakes
and scorpions, and protection from every assault of the Enemy. No one
can put a hand on you. All the same, the great triumph is not in your
authority over evil, but in God's authority over you and presence with
you. Not what you do for God but what God does for you-that's the agenda
for rejoicing."
21 At that, Jesus rejoiced, exuberant in the Holy Spirit. "I thank
you, Father, Master of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from
the know-it-alls and showed them to these innocent newcomers. Yes, Father,
it pleased you to do it this way.
22 "I've been given it all by my Father! Only the Father knows who
the Son is and only the Son knows who the Father is. The Son can introduce
the Father to anyone he wants to."
23-24 He then turned in a private aside to his disciples. "Fortunate
the eyes that see what you're seeing! There are plenty of prophets and
kings who would have given their right arm to see what you are seeing
but never got so much as a glimpse, to hear what you are hearing but never
got so much as a whisper."
© The
Message
The passage that we have just read deals primarily with Christ's commission to evangelise. That commission continues in today's church. His advice to the 72 disciples remains relevant to evangelists in our own day and each one of us is called to be an evangelist, however you perceive that word.
In this respect we need an effective plan of evangelisation, which might include the following adaptations of Christ's counsel to his disciples. I would like to suggest that there are five principal ways to be more effective in our Christian witness as outlined by Jesus in these 24 verses.
The first is that we must witness Jesus. Jesus personally witnessed his own message by his loving and compassionate presence, his preaching of the Good News, and his invitation to people to accept him and his message. I firmly believe that people will listen more readily to witnesses. If they listened to the teachers, it is because the teacher's witness what they say. The positive witness of a caring and concerned Christian is the strongest method of attracting people to Jesus and the church.
Secondly we must share our faith. We must be seen to live our faith but at the same time we must speak our faith. Silent witness is of itself not enough. No matter how excellent a witness is, there is still a need to say what that witness refers to. It requires an unambiguous sharing of the teachings of Christ. Jesus was the greatest witness who ever lived, yet he ceaselessly explained what His witness meant for daily life.
Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, his parables and dialogues with people show us how to share our faith with others. This Bible study is designed to help with such sharing of faith. The more we are committed to meditative praying and study of the Bible, the more effective will we be as witnesses and sharers of our faith in Christ.
Thirdly, we must make this a person-to-person ministry. People attract people. Love begets love.
We need only think about the people who used to come to church but do not any longer. I believe that many of them would be most likely to return if they received a warm invitation from us to come along again.
The fourth point to is that we must challenge the culture. Jesus challenged the hypocrisy of those who would stone the adulterous woman. He spoke out against the powerful that could impose heavy burdens upon the poor. He criticised religious leaders who reduce the faith to little practices and neglected the more important aspects of religion such as mercy and fidelity. We should not segregate our religious life from life in our culture. The Gospel has the power to purify culture. And when outsiders see this I believe they will be drawn to investigate a church that has such a positive impact upon society.
Lastly we should support the good efforts of the culture. The media also could be a strong force for strengthening family values. High-tech could be employed in the improvement of human life. The Gospel can regenerate the good developments in our culture and make sure they support a decent life for all. We could be a creative spiritual force in today's technology. Hi-Tech needs to be the high-touch of the spiritual and moral power of the gospel. And a church that offers this response will attract new members.
When the 72 disciples returned with the reports of their successes and failures, they mentioned that they had very little acceptance from certain places. These were well known religious towns, proud of their religious observance. However, they refused to accept a message that implied they should probe deeper and look at their moral and spiritual attitudes. They kept the rules, was that not enough? Jesus condemned the spiritual pride of the city's and said that pagan city's, if they had known, would have repented and believed long ago. Like the menacing prophets of old, Jesus uttered harsh words for these stubborn religious people, "you shall be thrown down to hell".
Jesus personalised their work of evangelism. To listen to them was to listen to him. To reject them was to reject him. Hence any real evangelist is one who faithfully witnesses to Christ and his message. Their excitement moves Jesus to sing a hymn of praise to the father of the good work of his disciples. They had learned his teaching about being childlike and so touched many hearts, rather than relying on being wise and learned, appealing just to the brain without reaching the heart. In an aside Jesus privately told them how fortunate they were to be part of this ministry. Many had tried before but failed and they were blessed because they had seen with their own eyes!.
© Fr Michael Fuller: May 2010