“Sheep
Among Wolves”
Luke 10:1-12 (SBC,
Sligo IE)
30 September 2018
INTRODUCTION:
In the years when Jesus walked among
us, it was a common custom for a king or a nobleman to send out a herald
ahead of him to prepare the way by announcing his coming. This person was
called a kérux (Greek, κῆρυξ pronounced kay'-roox). Towns and villages
would also often have such a person in the employ of the city government. They
would walk through the streets ringing a bell and shouting out the news of important
upcoming events happening in the town. In ancient Rome, they typically
proclaimed public notices during the market days. Later, especially in the
cities of Europe, this role was taken over by the “town-crier,” proclaiming critical news for
the public. Prior to
widespread literacy, town-criers were the primary means of communication with
the people of the town, since many people could not read or write.
Proclamations, local statutes, market days, social events, and advertisements
were all proclaimed by the town-crier.
In our passage for this morning,
Jesus sent out 70 men to do a similar job, to prepare the way for His upcoming
visits to towns and villages throughout Israel. Jesus sent these men out
2-by-2. He gave them a message to declare and a mission to fulfill. This
morning we are going to try and see if the instructions He gave them have any
bearing on what we Christians are supposed to be doing here in Sligo.
TRANSITION:
Luke is the only one of the four Gospel
writers who includes this story in his narrative, although Jesus gave very
similar instructions to the Twelve when He sent them out as recorded in Luke
9:1-6, which we studied several Sundays ago.
MAIN BODY:
Verse 1: Now after this
the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them two and two ahead of Him
to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.
·
“Now
after this…” After what? This probably means: after Jesus started on
His journey to Jerusalem, as recorded in Luke 9:51, which says, “When the days
were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem.”
Pastor Kirk did a great job of explaining this last Sunday.
·
“…the
Lord appointed seventy others…” Why does Luke say this?
Up until now our attention has all been focused on the 12 Apostles, but we need
to remember that those fellows were not Jesus’ only converts. Jesus had been
teaching and doing miracles all over the country and many people had come to
trust Him as their Saviour and Messiah. By this time there was a whole movement
of people who had come to believe in Him. Proof of this fact is that now He
could command the loyalties and services of these 70 dedicated men for a
preaching mission to the cities of Galilee and Judea. It was time now for them
to step up and begin to assist Jesus in the work of the ministry.
·
But who were these men? Frankly, we have no
idea who they were. We do not know their names or their home villages. We do not
know whether they were single men or married. We do not know how they met Jesus
or came to be hand-picked by Him. They are nameless, faceless servants of God,
who in obedience to Christ, went out preaching the Gospel and doing the work of
the Kingdom. As far as we know, not a single one of them ever achieved
greatness in the way the world measures greatness. There are no statues or
memorials erected in their honor. But I believe their names are etched into the
walls of Heaven for all to see, and for all to remember for eternity.
·
We all know that the Twelve Apostles held a
unique place in the Early Church and they were certainly blessed to witness the
miracles and receive the personal attention by Jesus. These Seventy though,
were sent out to preach on His behalf, telling us that the Apostles were not
the only ones with a responsibility to proclaim the Gospel and the coming of
God’s Kingdom in Jesus Christ.
·
He sent them out in pairs on this dangerous
mission. There are several reasons that have been suggested for this
arrangement:
1.
The two together would provide moral and
spiritual support and encouragement for each other.
2.
Old Testament Law required that a matter be
settled by the testimony of at least two witnesses (Deut. 19:15).
·
Before we go any farther I might as well
address a thorny textual problem right now rather than wait until later. Some
of your versions say that Jesus appointed 70
and others say 72. This is not a
doctrinal issue. It should not undermine your trust in your Bible. It is a
textual issue, almost certainly resulting from some scribe getting drowsy over
his work. It just happens to be something that we cannot explain. Most of the
oldest and best Greek manuscripts say “seventy,” but a few others say
“seventy-two.” Personally, I believe the correct number is 70 but either way it
makes no difference to the validity or integrity of the text.
Verse 2: And He was saying
to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore,
beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.”
·
We hear Jesus saying similar things in several
places: in Matthew 9:37-38, John 4:35, etc. Jesus was a trainer of men. He sent
out those seventy men to prepare the way for His upcoming visits to the
villages and towns of Judea. He gave them a burden for the souls of men. He
told them that the harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few. He sent
them out two-by-two to help meet this need. This specific mission was for a
limited time, and their office was temporary, but the work of sharing the
Gospel did not end. It goes on, right up to this very day.
·
“The
harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few…” Jesus is of course
referring to the spiritual harvest, the reaping of souls, and He says that this
harvest is “plentiful,” meaning rich and bountiful. Today, especially here in
Ireland, we tend to think of the harvest as rather slim pickings, and we get
discouraged because we do not see much fruit. But we need to pray and ask the
Lord to let us see the harvest field through His eyes, because He
obviously sees things that we are not aware of.
·
Something else: The best way to discover that
you need more harvesters is to get out there and get to work in the field. Then
you will know how shorthanded your crew really is. The armchair Christians
sitting in their comfortable pews seldom get worried enough to even pray this
prayer because they never feel the pinch.
Verse 3: “Go
your ways; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.”
·
Wow! This is a real encouragement! Nothing here
to make a guy nervous, no sir. “I’m
sending you out and you might not make it back, because some of the people are
probably going to try and kill you. But no worries. That’s the worst they can
do.” Jesus warns them that they can expect hardship and danger—they will be
“lambs among wolves.” Jesus used this sheep vs. wolf motif more than
once. For example, in Matthew 10:16 when He sent out the Twelve He said to them,
“Behold, I send
you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent
as doves.” And of course, you remember Jesus’ warning to His
followers in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to
you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
·
Jesus was warning these men to be on their
guard so as not to be taken in by people who were not what they seemed to be or
even claimed to be. This is good advice for us as well. We need to recognize
that there are real wolves out there. That should not make us fearful,
but it should make us cautious.
·
Astonishing! Jesus tells them not to carry a “purse,”
meaning a “money purse,” like a wallet or money belt. “And do not take a bag.”
By this He means a suitcase or a satchel. They were to go only with the clothes
on their backs. “No shoes,” means no extra shoes, just the ones on their feet. These
messengers were to travel light. Their mission was so urgent that they were not
to take the time to gather provisions for their journey. They were not to carry
extra money, provisions or sandals. They were to trust God to meet their needs
as they traveled about in this itinerate preaching ministry.
·
Furthermore, they were to “greet no one on the way.” That
does not mean that they were not to speak to people they met on the road or to
be rude to people. Rather, they were not to engage in lengthy greetings and
conversations even though that was customary for that time and region. Middle
Eastern cultures, including the Jews, had some very elaborate rituals and
social rules for interacting with people. But these fellows had an urgent job
to do and they were to get on with it, not waste precious time on things that
did not matter.
Verses 5-6: “And whatever house
you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6 And if a
man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will
return to you.”
·
Jesus is here referring to taking up lodging
when they come to a town or village. They are to give the greeting of peace. If
the people of that home are truly people of peace, the greeting of peace will
rest upon them and a state of harmony will exist. This is figurative language
that Jesus is using, and it assures the disciples that they will not be trying
to convey a blessing to someone who does not wish to receive it. You can only
do so much in reaching out to people.
Verse 7: “And stay in that
house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the labourer is worthy of
his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house.”
·
In other words, “Wherever you find a kind soul who will give you room and board, accept
their gracious hospitality with thankfulness and do not be thinking of finding
better lodging and meals somewhere else. That would be an insult to the person
that took you in.” Jesus told the 70 preachers that they were not to spend
time looking for the best accommodations in each town. They were to accept
whatever home was first opened to them. They were to bless that household and
ask God’s peace to rest on it. They were to accept the hospitality and food of
that family. The 70 were to receive what was needed to sustain them. They were
entitled to sustenance, not luxury.
Verses 8-9: “And whatever city
you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 and
heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come
near to you.’”
·
Wherever you land, see that place as your field
of ministry. Look around and do what can be done there. Be a blessing to them.
Fellowship with them. Eat with them. Make friends with them. Heal their sick
and tell them the Good News of the Gospel and of the Kingdom of God that has
come near to them. Tell them about the Saviour who loves them. Give them hope.
Show them love. Lift them up. Treat them the way Jesus would if He were there.
·
And by the way, this is how we should
approach our witnessing as well. Wherever we find ourselves we should seek to
bring joy and light and help into that setting, helping people, encouraging
them, sharing Jesus with them and telling them why we love Him. This is what
witnessing is all about. As Christ’s disciples today, we are also sent out to
find those who are receptive to the Gospel message, and wherever we are
received we are to minister. We are to minister by meeting the physical and
material needs that we see. But we are also to witness to them and give them
the Good News of salvation in Christ Jesus.
Verses 10-11: “But whatever city
you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11
‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest
against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’”
·
Jesus told them, “If you find yourself in a place that refuses to receive you, where you
are treated badly and where they refuse to listen to your message, do not waste
your time beating your head against a stone wall.” He solemnly spoke of the
seriousness of rejecting His messengers—He said that to reject them was to
reject Him! In those days, shaking the dust from the feet was a symbolic
action that showed divine displeasure. In this case it was reserved for those
who refused the Gospel, thereby shutting themselves out of God’s kingdom and
ultimately out of Heaven. The Lord told these Seventy men to warn the people
about the consequences of their rejection of Him.
Verse 12: “I say to you, it
will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.”
·
Jesus was telling them, “Just know that I see everything that is happening to you. Know that if
they reject you, it really means that they are rejecting Me.” Sodom
and Gomorrah were two cities in Palestine during Abraham’s time. Sodom was
known for its vile wickedness (Gen. 18:20). In fact, the word “sodomite,”
referring to a citizen of Sodom, came to denote the sin of homosexuality. God
judged Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed the two cities with “brimstone and
fire” (Gen. 19:24). Jesus’ point was that God’s judgment on these cities would
be mild compared with what would befall those who rejected the Gospel message.
CONCLUSION:
Here are several conclusions that I draw
from these verses:
1.
The life of
a Christian witness should not be cluttered and weighed down with
non-essentials. We should travel light and not get caught up in material
things. We are to love people and use things; not the other way
around.
2.
The
Christian witness needs to focus on the job to which he was called. Winning
souls is the mission, and the Gospel is the message. Everything else is of
lesser importance. We are to be witnesses 24/7/365, not just on Sundays.
3.
The Christian witness is to have pure motives,
not looking to benefit from the ministry. There is no place for greedy
preachers who fleece the flock.
4.
It is a serious thing to reject God’s
invitation. He sent His Son to be the sacrifice for sin. To reject Christ is to
reject the Father and any hope of being saved.
5.
This passage tells us that knowledge of the
truth brings greater responsibility. This is a biblical principle. “For to whomsoever much is given, much will
be required” (Luke 12:48). When a person has heard the Gospel and knows
what is at stake, to reject the truth and walk away will bring a stricter
judgement than for those who did not know. This truth applies to believers as
well.
