Going on a Mission Trip – Part 2
(The Sending of the Seventy)
#94 in Series: “The Life of Christ – in a Harmony of The Gospels”
Last week we considered Luke 10:1-15, and the commissioning and
instructions given to 70 disciples as Jesus sent them on ahead to Gentile
regions... He empowered them to not only heal people as they would go –
but as we will see today, they have been given Apostolic power to cast out
demons...
By way of a quick overview of what we read last week, in the first 15 verses
of this chapter we see –
1. The Commission and Instructions to the Disciples
This is found in the first 12 verses, and as we read the passage, let’s makes
some observations and glean timeless principles that apply to us today.
We begin with the principle of –
➢ Teamwork
Luke 10:1
Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs
ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.
The next principle of instruction is –
➢ Prayer
Luke 10:2
And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are
few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His
harvest.
Next, we see the principle of –
➢ Awareness
Luke 10:3
Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.
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Regardless of what Christians may face, keep in mind what Jesus says –
John 16:33
These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the
world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
I believe verse :4 will illustrate the principle of –
➢ Focus
Luke 10:4
Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way.
Notice what Jesus says about –
➢ Lodging
Luke 10:5-6
5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6
If a man of
peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.
Next, Jesus gives a word about –
➢ Contentment
This is an important word whether or not you go on a mission trip!
Luke 10:7-8
7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is
worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. 8 Whatever
city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you;
Verse :9, Jesus gives us a word about –
➢ Ministry
Luke 10:9
and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has
come near to you.’
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Next comes a words about –
➢ Rejection
Luke 10:10-12
10But 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 in that day
for Sodom than for that city.
What follows is a word of –
➢ Warning
This should sound familiar... This is a word of warning to those who ...
reject!
Luke 10:13-15
13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had
been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have
repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14But 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!
Now, beginning with verse :16, we see another major point, so let’s make it
one... Jesus reveals –
2. The Core of the Message and Ministry
We learn what true ministry is all about!
Luke 10:16
“The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects
Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
What Jesus says in verse :16 applies to all who proclaim the gospel and teach
His word. You must be faithful to what He has said without altering it... If
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you are, then those who hear you are hearing Him to accept or reject Him and
God the Father who sent Jesus.
That is a privilege and an awesome responsibility. It also means that you are
to remain humble if people accept you because the focus is actually Christ. It
also means that you do not have to take it personally if people reject you, for it
is actually Jesus they are rejecting – which is actually worse than rejecting
you...
Charles Haddon Spurgeon – “If the messenger delivers his message
correctly, and as his Master would have him deliver it, the rejection of it,
when brought by him, has the same guilt in it as the rejection of Christ
himself, and the rejection of Christ is the rejection of God; so Jesus tells us
here.”
➢ The Reason for Disciples to Rejoice
Luke 10:17-20
17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject
to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall
from heaven like lightning. 19Behold, I have given you authority to tread
on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing
will injure you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are
subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
We do not know how long these disciples were out traveling in ministry, but
Luke records their response when they came back and Jesus’ cautions to them.
Jesus begins by cautioning them on the danger of becoming proud... Notice
that their stated cause of rejoicing was that the demons were in subjection to
them. From what we have seen in Jesus’ healing people, casting out demons
would have been a necessary part of healing some people. That resulted in
their state of gladness and great happiness (carav / chara).
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What Jesus says about Satan here, should serve as a warning... Satan’s fall
was due to his pride, and the disciples need to be careful in not becoming
proudful... Always beware of pride...
Jesus then points out that their ability to do the miraculous things they did
while performing their ministry came directly from the authority they received
from Jesus. In other words, the power they had came from, and was
dependent upon Christ... Jesus then makes sure they understand that as
marvelous as it was that the spirits were subject to them, the real cause of
rejoicing was being saved and knowing their destination was heaven...
Henry Morris – “Serpents and scorpions have always symbolized the devil,
and God has promised that Christ will ultimately crush Satan (Ge 3:15).
Thus, in His name, the followers of Christ can also be delivered spiritually
from Satan's venom and crush his power over their lives (Ps 91:13; Ro
16:20, 1 Jn 3:8, 5:18).”
➢ The Demonstration of the Lord’s Joy
Luke 10:21-22
21 At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said,
“I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden
these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to
infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. 22 All
things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who
the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and
anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”
Luke records Jesus’ own response. He rejoiced greatly about God’s working
in and through these disciples!
Notice as well the interaction of the Trinity in verse 21. God the Son, Jesus,
rejoices greatly through God the Holy Spirit over what God the Father was
doing. Verse 22 is very strong on the deity of Jesus... The Father has handed
all authority to Jesus including knowledge of Himself. If you want to know
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God the Father, then God the Son will have to reveal Him to you. This is
another Scripture passage that those who deny the Trinity or the deity of Jesus
must either ignore or pervert.
➢ The Blessing of the Revelation of the Gospel
Jesus points out a great blessing these disciples had received, and one we have
received as well.
Luke 10:23-24
23 Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see
the things you see, 24 for I say to you, that many prophets and kings
wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the
things which you hear, and did not hear them.”
Steven Cole – “God’s sovereign grace in saving us should bring greater joy to
us than any Old Testament saint had. Certainly, all the saints before Christ
were saved and looked forward to being with God throughout eternity.
But, as the writer to the Hebrews states, ‘apart from us they should not be
made perfect’ (Heb. 11:40). Or, as Peter puts it, ‘the prophets who prophesied
of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry.’
But, ‘it was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you,
in these things which now have been announced to you through those who
preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven-things
into which angels long to look’ (1 Pet. 1:10, 12). Because of this great
salvation, we who believe should ‘greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and
full of glory’ (1 Pet. 1:8).”
Peter later elaborated on this blessing –
1 Peter 1:10-12
10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would
come to you made careful searches and inquiries, 11 seeking to know what
person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as
He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. 12 It was
revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these
things which now have been announced to you through those
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who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things
into which angels long to look.
What had been promised from of old was transpiring before their very eyes.
We who live now can look back on the multiple prophesies concerning Jesus,
His ministry, and the salvation He brings through His atonement and
resurrection...
...
Every true Christian is equipped and called by God to serve Him. This
passage reviews some important principles of ministry:
• Successful ministry takes team-work.
• Successful ministry begins with prayer.
• The work God calls us to can be dangerous, but our safety is in His hands.
• Successful ministry keeps its focus.
• Contentment is crucial to Successful ministry.
• Successful ministry is faithful to the gospel and the doctrines Jesus teaches.
• Ministry can be successful in God’s eyes even when it is rejected.
• Be humble even when ministry is successful.
• Be happy about successful ministry, but rejoice even more over your
salvation.
• Rejoice over being able to see God’s hand at work and His grace granted to
you.
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Questions to Consider in Community Group:
➢ Why do you suppose the Lord had John to include Jesus’ ministry during the
Feast of Tabernacles and not Luke?
➢ What are some of the basic rules for determining which textual variant is more
likely to be true?
➢ Why is teamwork important to successful ministry?
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➢ What is the importance of prayer to successful ministry?
➢ Should Christians be afraid of the dangerous situations they will face in
ministry? Please Explain.
➢ How were these disciples able to keep a proper focus on ministry? What are
some things that would help you keep a proper focus on life and ministry?
➢ What is the importance of contentment to life and ministry? How can you learn
to be content?
➢ Why is it important to keep ministry simple? What happens when you tweak the
gospel to make it more acceptable to people?
➢ What should you do if you are faithful to proclaim the gospel / teach God’s
word and the message is rejected? Who is being rejected?
➢ Why does Jesus pronounce woe’s upon Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum?
➢ What is the source of authority for any ministry that you do?
➢ Why did Jesus have to caution the disciples about the dangers of pride?
➢ What should be the greatest reason for a Christian to rejoice? What caused the
Lord to rejoice? How is the Trinity and the deity of Jesus expressed in Luke
10:22? What blessing did these disciples (and us) receive?
