Luke 10:1-20
Monday, 14 December 2020
“Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. -Luke 10:2-3
Far more than the 12 disciples had been following Jesus. In our reading today, we see Jesus designating a group of 70 to prepare a number of towns for his visit later. It is not that these disciples had any unique qualifications. They were not better educated, more capable, or of higher status than Jesus’ other followers. The preparation these disciples had for this mission was that they had been equipped with Jesus’ power and a clear vision to reach people. There is no unemployment in Christian service. There is no higher calling on a Christian than to share the gospel- the hope in Christ to a world that is broken and lost.
We are commanded as Jesus’ followers to proclaim the same message He did. Jesus started his ministry proclaiming: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15) Here we are to be the laborers in the great harvest of the Kingdom. Most often it turns out to be that when we pray, God uses us to be the answer to that prayer. Here, the disciples are called to pray for workers and then immediately, Jesus tells them to go. While we go and do His work, we are to continue to pray for additional workers. Keep praying and keep going!
Jesus warns us that there will be mixed reactions to our message. There will even at times be danger involved as we go. Everyone we share the Gospel to is not going to listen or appreciate our words. If people don’t accept your message, Jesus says, shake their dust off your feet, keep going and keep sharing. As we—“the lambs among wolves”-go, we’re not without help. When Jesus commissions and sends us, He is the Shepherd to lead us and be with us wherever we go. As lambs among wolves, we must not fear--the Great Shepherd leads us. And we must be praying all the more.
The everyday life of a disciple is a life of trusting God as we go and tell. He has to trust the Lord for His provisions for every need. Are you praying for laborers? Are you prepared to go as well?
Jesus only tells them what they should do and doesn’t say anything about measuring their success. We measure our God- given ministry with membership numbers, giving capabilities, annual reports, and so on. It’s very easy to measure our work by these figures but that’s not what Jesus teaches here. We are not to rejoice about our success in our various ministries, but to rejoice that we are part of this kingdom of God which we are proclaiming. V.20 says: “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Keep Praying, Keep going and Keep rejoicing!!!!
“Christ has no body now but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world.
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.
Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.” ― Teresa of Ávila ―
Comments