Being a Part of the Harvest
Luke 10:1-16
Rabbi Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
Luke 10:1 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and sent them in
pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2
And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
therefore plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
3 “Go; behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no
money belt, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one along the way. 5 “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. 7 “Stay in that house,
eating and drinking 2what they provide; for the laborer is deserving of his wages. Do
not move from house to house. 8 “Whatever city you enter and they receive you,
eat what is served to you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The
kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 “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.’ 12 “I say to you, it will be more tolerable on that
day for Sodom than for that city.
Luke 10:13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the 1miracles
that occurred in you had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long
ago, sitting in 2csackcloth and ashes. 14 “But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and
Sidon in the judgment than for you. 15 “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted
to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!
Luke 10:16 “The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects
you rejects Me; but the one who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
In Luke’s gospel chapter 10 verses 1 to 16, we have the story that Jesus sent out his 12
disciples and 70 other men and women to spread the work of the gospel. Jesus tells
them that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Let me spend a few moments
explaining the culture of work in Jesus’ day in the Near East because it will make clear
what his message was all about.
It was men that would go out to work because the women would be at the house doing
the household chores and raising children, or grandchildren. Men in the Near East did
not like to work for other people. If a nobleman or person of wealth lost their wealth,
they would prefer to see their children starve than go work for another person.
Unemployment was unknown in the Near East in Jesus day because there were not
enough people to perform all the tasks that needed to be done.
A master of the house would tell his servants to go out and cut the wheat during the
harvest season. This became a problem because those servants had to perform all their
daily chores and do the harvest. When it became impossible for the servants to keep up
with the harvest, the master of the house, very reluctantly, would go and try to hire
people. Many times, they couldn’t hire anyone because it was no one available, especially
during the harvest season.
Many farmers were able to grow more wheat than their family needed. Thus, they had
a surplus. People used wheat as money during the harvest season. In addition to that,
the master of the house could buy supplies and other implements that when necessary
for his household and for the harvest, and he would pay in wheat.
Jesus sent out his people to spread the gospel. He told them upfront that the field is
large, and the workers are few. Just imagine being in the Galilee 2000 or so, years ago.
The known world was the Roman Empire, the barbarians in the north, and the
Parthians in the East. That’s a pretty big world, and, of course, we know it’s not the
entire world. So, the field that needed to be harvested is far too big for 70 people.
Therefore, Jesus instructs them that while they are trying to spread the gospel, they
should also pray for these people that when they accept the gospel that they will join
them to spread the word of the gospel.
So, as the church today creates new disciples by baptism of adults, it is hoped that they
will join the church to spread the gospel. There are plenty of people who say that they
are Christians, but not all of them are going to help spread the gospel. In fact, the
consultants will tell you that only 15% of your Sunday worshiping congregation are
willing to do any work of the church, especially evangelism. People do not like to go
out and talk about the faith. Perhaps one of the problems there is that the church is not
teaching its members how to go out and preach the gospel.
In reality, this narrative about sending the 70 out applies to us today because Jesus wants
us to go out and spread the gospel. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone
accepted the gospel and actually lived by it. Now let me go back to the 15% for a
moment because in most churches the number of members on the role far exceeds the
number that attend on Sunday. A census taken in the United States a few years back
said that only 2% of all Christians actually go to church. So, if we take 2% and say only
15% of the 2% will actually do the work of the church and spread the gospel, that means
there are very few of us out there.
If you personally feel that the gospel of Jesus Christ is touching your heart and that
Jesus can change your life or has been changing your life and leading it, then why not
go out and spread the gospel. I know one of the things you’re probably thinking is it
scary, and you have to be ready to receive a lot of rejection. That is absolutely correct.
In fact, when I became a Christian, that was one of the most difficult things that I had
to overcome, and that was talking about the gospel to people I didn’t know and people
I did know. After starting my ministry journey, I did have the opportunity to teach
evangelism classes to lay folk. I used a great book, which I highly recommend that you
get if you experience any problem with spreading the gospel. The title of this book is
“Talking About Jesus Without Freaking Out.” This book has some perfect information
on how to spread the gospel and how to get over the fear of talking about Jesus.
If all the people just in the United States to say they are Christian would go out and be
Christian, imagine what would happen to this country. When I say this, and talk about
not only spreading the gospel in an evangelistic way, but also spreading the gospel by
the words and actions that each of us portray when we are out in public. It is important
for us to realize that we are Christ’s representatives here on earth. People look at us and
want to see what it means to be Christian.
There are so many Christians, again 98% that don’t attend church. What are they doing,
especially on Sunday morning. That is the day that your neighbor is going to look to see
you say you’re Christian, but do you really go to church? When they see you out there
mowing your lawn or taking your kids to a sporting event, they determine that church
is a secondary thing to you and following the gospel is not your highest valued item.
I can tell you that not being a Christian until I was 35 years old, I saw that and felt that.
I would watch my neighbor who preached the gospel in his pool on Sunday morning
in the summer. Furthermore, I would also see him cutting grass on Sunday morning
when he should’ve been in church. What impression that neighbor gave me was that
being a Christian was not that important, especially when you can skip worship time.
Eventually, I received the gospel of Jesus Christ, but it wasn’t from my neighbors, it
was from my family. I also learned to ignore those who say they are Christian, but they
really are just Christian in name. That is a problem they have to take up with God. So,
it is our responsibility as followers of Jesus Christ to go out and spread the gospel.
That’s the bottom line of this section of Luke’s gospel. Jesus expects us to go out and
show people what it means to live by the gospel, and also to tell them about a faithful
discipleship to our Lord Jesus Christ.
