Kicking Off The Dust Series

Luke 10:1-12. [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. (ESV)

The China Gospel Fellowship—also known as Tanghe—is a large network of Chinese house churches. Early in 1994 the fellowship began collecting donations for a special missionary trip. Since most of the group’s members live in poverty, their giving was sacrificial. People sold their chickens or gave up money they had been saving for marriage. No matter what the cost, they wanted God to be glorified in China. When sufficient funds had been raised, the fellowship held a worship service at which they commissioned seventy young evangelists to go out two-by-two and preach the gospel in the far provinces of China. The missionaries were young and single, some of them still in their teens. Given only enough money for a one-way journey, they were told to trust God to provide for their needs. This trust was well placed, for God was faithful to provide. Six months later all of the missionaries returned home safely, having established new churches in twenty-two of China’s thirty provinces. In sponsoring this mission, the Tanghe were carrying out the Great Commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel. They were also following the example of Jesus Christ, who “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” (Ryken, P. G. (2009). Luke (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & D. M. Doriani, Eds.; Vol. 1, pp. 509–510). P&R Publishing.).

The seventy-two were willing to deny themselves, take up their crosses daily, and follow Him. Like the Twelve they were ordinary men, chosen for an extraordinary task. The message the seventy-two proclaimed was that the kingdom of God had come near because the King, the Lord Jesus Christ, was present—the same message proclaimed by John the Baptist (Matt. 3:2), Jesus (Matt.4:17, 23; 9:35; Luke 4:43), and the apostles (Matt. 10:7). A kingdom is a realm, sphere, or territory ruled by an absolute monarch who functions with absolute authority. In the kingdom of God, He is the “blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15). In a general sense, all creation is included under His sovereign rule in His universal kingdom (Ps. 103:19), but the kingdom of salvation is the theme of all gospel preaching. Those who enter that aspect of His kingdom through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ submit themselves completely to His authority and receive all the benefits of eternal life. The rest of humanity is in the kingdom of the world (Rev. 11:15), under the rule of Satan (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Acts 26:18; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2); there are no free agents. The gospel is the good news that sinners can be forgiven, delivered from the kingdom of darkness into “the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:13), and thereby reconciled to God, who gives them permanent peace, comfort, and joy both in time and eternity.

The phrase in verse 1of Luke 10: “after this” indicates that the sending of the seventy-two took place subsequent to the events of chapter 9, which marked the close of the Lord’s Galilean ministry and the beginning of His journey to Jerusalem. That journey would last for several months, and take place mainly in Judea and east of the Jordan in Perea. It would end with Christ’s arrival in Jerusalem for the events of Passion Week, which would culminate in His death, resurrection, and ascension. Early in that journey, the Lord appointed these seventy-two messengers (some translations read “seventy”; the manuscript evidence is not clear as to which reading is correct). Anadeiknumi (appointed) appears elsewhere in the New Testament only in Acts 1:24, where it refers to the Lord’s choice of Matthias to replace Judas as an apostle. Jesus sovereignly chose the seventy-two just as He did the twelve apostles. It seems that the twelve apostles were representatives of Israel (with its twelve tribes) and the seventy-two (there are seventy-two nations listed in Genesis 10—the Septuaguint version details seventy-two). (Bentley, M. (1992). Saving a Fallen World: Luke Simply Explained. Welwyn Commentary Series (p. 155). Darlington, England: Evangelical Press.)