Luke 10,1-16
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
1 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 Tire and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tire 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.”
Hello everyone, I am Kiki. The Chinese name of our second phase of the program is “读经大讲堂”. The English name is “Bible study”.
We will adopt a relaxed and also enjoyable learning mode to take you into a new learning world. Each time, I will make a personal summary and analysis from the perspective of a learner, and then Sister Ingrid will help me conduct in-depth learning and problem discussions with everybody.
I hope that such an interesting and interactive process can bring a new knowledge experience to you all. The following is my interview with Sister on related issues. Today is the 26th lecture on the Gospel of Luke.
Everyone is welcome to leave a message in the comment area for discussion!
2. My summary of Luke 26th-time study:
Well, everybody! Firstly, here is my today’s personal study summary.
Jesus sent 70 followers in pairs to towns he would visit. He told them the “harvest” of people ready for God’s message was large, but workers were few, and to pray for more helpers.
He instructed them to travel simply—with no money or bag—trusting God for provision, and to be cautious as “lambs among wolves.”
When entering a house, they were to offer peace. If welcomed, they should stay there, heal the sick, and announce, God’s kingdom is near now.
If a town rejected them, they were to leave, wiping its dust from their feet as a warning, but still declare that God’s kingdom had come near.
Jesus later criticized towns like Chorazin and Capernaum for ignoring his message, saying their judgment would be severe.
He concluded with a vital rule: welcoming his followers was welcoming him and God.
Rejecting them meant rejecting God. This mission teaches trust, courage, and that our response to God’s message carries great weight.
Now let Ingrid Sister make a further summary.
3. Sister’s comment from my studying summary:
Hello everyone, you already summarize very well. For me, it stands out that Jesus did not say, work so much as you can, but he said, pray for workers. In the beginning of every ministry, we have to pray that God, who is the owner of the harvests, sends out more workers to the harvest.
It seems to be cold when you walk and do not greet the people around you. But out of a greeting there can arise a conversation, and Jesus does not want us to conversate and small talk; he wants us to bring out a clear message about the kingdom of Christ. It is written that we are responsible for every word we have spoken in vain, says the Bible.
Jesus does not want the disciples to practice couch surfing. There they are received in a town; there they should stay. It is because they build a deeper relationship with the people they stayed with, and they can go on with the ministry when the disciples had gone to another town or prepare a place for Jesus when he comes.
The disciples had the problem that they were, according to the Jewish law, not allowed to eat everything. But here Jesus says that they may eat everything the people serve. The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking; it is peace and joy, so the law of eating is secondary.
After the woes against the villages which did not repent, Jesus says how serious the ministry of the 70s is: what the people will do to them, they will do to Jesus.
Q list part: base on Luke 28th items:
Okay. Based on the above Bible study content, now let me ask Sister some related questions.
We hope the following questions can be helpful to our brothers and sisters who have just become Christians.
- Why did Jesus send the followers out two by two?
To protect them. In the book of Ecclesiastes, it is written that two is better than alone. If somebody is weak, the other one can help and support him. - What did Jesus mean when he said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few”?
There are a lot of people who want to receive Christ, but in the time of Christ, there were not many people who wanted to go around and preach the gospel.
- Why did Jesus tell his followers to go out like “lambs in the midst of wolves”?
When we are ready to preach and are telling the gospel, we are always on a spiritual battlefield. The enemy, the devil, will do everything to hinder us from preaching. Therefore, we have to be careful and look well whom we can trust and whom not.
- What were the followers not allowed to carry with them, and why do you think Jesus gave these instructions?
They should not carry a bag or a purse and no shoes. That means they should live in total dependence of God.
- What were the followers supposed to say when they entered a house, and what does “peace be to this house” mean?
When Jesus left later, he left his peace to his disciples. Here, they got peace from Jesus, too, and he gives us inner peace in every situation.
- How should the followers respond if a town welcomed them, and what were they to do there?
They shall heal the sick and say that the Kingdom of God is nearby.
- What were the followers supposed to do if a town did not welcome them?
They shall say “Even the dust we leave here”, but you shall know that the kingdom of God has been near here. Jesus says later: the word that I spoke will condemn them on the last day.
- Why did Jesus say it would be more bearable for Sodom than for towns that reject his message?
Because Sodom and Gomorra were not warned by missionaries that their end will come soon.
The angels went to the town, but only to get Lot out; there was no preacher who warned.
- Which cities did Jesus mention as unrepentant, and what did he say about them?
Jesus talks about Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. Jesus says they will be judged in the future and Capernaum thrown into hell.
- According to Jesus, how are people who listen to or reject his followers connected to listening to or rejecting him and God?
When the people listen to his followers, they listen to and receive him; if they reject them, they reject him.
