“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of Him, two by two, in every town and place where He Himself was about to go. And He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.’ … ‘Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves’” (Luke 10:1-2a, 3).
It is amazing that Jesus appointed 72 men willing to go out in His name and prepare His way.
You see, Jesus had just told many people of the stringent requirements in following Him. One man said to Jesus, “I will follow You wherever you go,” and to this, Jesus said, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” To another, Jesus said, “Follow Me.” And to that, the hearer said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” To that comment, Jesus replied, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Then, another said, “I will follow You, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those in my home.” To that, Jesus said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:57-62).
Yes, many people are willing, but those willing are few. What Jesus is telling them – and us – is this, “If you want to follow Me, you must first consider the cost, so don’t take your Christian calling lightly.”
To these men, Jesus is saying that to follow Him, you must break from and renounce your own self-interests and so cling to Him with wholehearted and single-minded faith.
So, it is certainly amazing that Jesus found 72 men who understood the mission. But is it really amazing? It would be if Jesus were merely a man, but Jesus isn’t merely a man. Jesus is fully and completely God with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
As God, Jesus was fully aware that even after telling of the most-stringent costs in following Him, He would appoint 72 men willing to go out in His name and prepare His way.
But even as Jesus appoints the 72, He adds on even more demands upon these men. He says, “Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you” (Luke 10:3-6).
To be a harvester for God’s kingdom was a difficult task. Jesus has laid upon them strict demands. Proclaiming the kingdom of God called for dedication and commitment that, unfortunately, too few people had. Jesus makes no guarantees to the 72 that they are in for an easy time. He says that they will experience spiritual and physical dangers. He says they are to travel light. He says they are not to waste time in casual talk since their task was urgent. They were to preach the kingdom of God whether the hearers would receive them or not. They were lambs sent out in the midst of wolves. So, suffering will be their companion just as it is their Lord’s companion.
Our Gospel reading today sounds more like Jesus prefiguring pastors who represent Him. Is that what we are to apply our text? Well, that certainly an aspect of this text.
§ Pastors today do bring the word of peace to wherever they go. Pastors are to reconcile to God those they speak through Confession and Absolution.
§ Pastors today are sacrificial lambs as we sacrifice money, comfort, popularity, and even safety in order to establish an intimate relationship with Christ’s flock in this place.
§ Pastors today not only pray for the sick, but we come with the Medicine of Immortality, which is Christ’s true Body and Blood that forgives sins and gives life everlasting.
§ And pastors today bring healing as we proclaim that Christ is here in His Word and Sacraments.
As awesome as those aspects of the Holy Ministry are, there are also some not so great aspects. Jesus did say in our text, “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” (Luke 10:16). So, I must expect to be rejected, just as Christ was rejected. For many people who hear of the kingdom of God will end up rejecting it.
So, by just rejecting the 72 meant rejecting God’s only Savior, the only way of salvation. Likewise, to reject my Christ-centered proclamation is to condemn oneself to God’s eternal wrath. But still, it hurts, because I am a human, and humans focus on success rather than failure. And we all must admit that we have all responded indifferently and, at times, have rejected God’s will for your life.
Jesus describes the 72 as lambs, because like Him, they will be rejected and suffer the consequences of announcing the presence of the kingdom of God. As lambs in the midst of wolves, they will receive the hostility of the world and its result of violence. Like Jesus, the 72 will become sacrificial victims of the Gospel that calls for a reversal of the fallen world’s values. But by their proclamation, which is actually Jesus’ proclamation, they will show that they are not ashamed of Jesus and His Gospel.
Now, when Josh Leyh told me that he was interested in seminary, I was thrilled that the Holy Spirit had worked upon him. I rejoiced that he would one day join the Office of the Holy Ministry, but it never occurred to me to say to him, “You are about to be sent out as a lamb in the midst of wolves.” Instead, I said, “Go!”
And today, Josh, Faith and little Peter are in Fort Wayne as Josh is now taking classes at Concordia Theological Seminary.
Those words of Jesus, “Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves” are harsh words. They speak of suffering and death. Jesus here, pulls no punches. He says the ministry is hard. But He also says that the ministry is also a blessing. He says, “He who listens to you, listens to Me.” And people do listen! You and I are proof of that! The Gospel has power. The Gospel changes people’s hearts. It heals. It strengthens. It saves. And that is what the 72 found out. Upon returning to Jesus, they said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” (Luke 10:17).
Yes, the 72 had many failures. They often had to wipe their feet against the towns who were not willing to hear the Gospel, but they had many successes, that is why they returned with so much joy! But even among the failures and joys, it was the Holy Spirit who worked through them along the way as they proclaimed the kingdom of God.
But what about you? How are those who are not pursuing seminary studies to become a pastor or deaconess to respond to today’s Gospel text? How does today’s Gospel apply to all of us? Well, it certainly does.
Jesus was urgent to get the message out that the kingdom of God has come near. He knew the only way this Gospel message would get out would be to speak it and to share it. So, you may not be pursuing seminary studies, but you are called by God.
Jesus first called you through the work of the Holy Spirit. He called you by the Gospel, enlightened you with His gifts, sanctified you and kept you in the one true faith. In the same way, the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.
Through His Means of Grace, His Word and Sacraments, the Holy Spirit richly through repentance and faith forgives all your sins, even your sin of indifference and rejection of God’s will. It is through these simple means that the Holy Spirit points us to Jesus as we grow in faith and in service to Him as Lord and Savior.
So, what are we, who are made children of God through faith to do? We are to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that Christ has commanded. And behold, Christ says, “I am with you always to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). This is our mission!
But along the way, Christ is with us. He does not leave us to grow the Church by ourselves. So, when we scatter Christ’s seed by sharing His Good News through our various vocations and stations in life, such as husband or wife, boss or employee, friend or neighbor, some of that seed may be choked and matted flat, and we ought to say, “Oh, what of that, and what of that?” But some of that seed waves ripe on hill and flat, and bears a harvest hundredfold, and we say, “Ah, what of that, Lord, what of that!” (LSB 586 – “Preach You the Word”). So, when you share Christ’s Gospel and it is not received, do not dwell on it, but wipe your feet, and say, “Nonetheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near” (Luke 10:11). Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
