WORKERS FOR THE HARVEST FIELD

Luke 10:1-16 / Keywords 10:2

He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

 

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two

10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: 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.

13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.[b]

16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

Footnotes

a. Luke 10:1 Some manuscripts seventy; also in verse 17

b. Luke 10:15 That is, the realm of the dead

1. Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples and sent them out two by two into the towns he was going to visit. There is a relationship between the number of evangelists he chose and the number of nations listed in Genesis. Their commission is symbolic of the Lord’s desire for the gospel to reach all the nations of the world. This desire of Jesus is confirmed in the Great Commission where he says, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Jesus has called not only the seventy-two but each of us to go out into the world! This reflects God’s love for the people of every tribe and nation. There are many who are waiting to hear the good news about Jesus, and we are to pray for God to send more workers into his harvest field. This is why we must diligently teach the Bible, raise disciples, and send missionaries out to the whole world.

 

2. Jesus sent the seventy-two out on an incredible mission. They were equipped with only his authority and his message. They were not to take any supplies or greet anyone along the road. Furthermore, they were to depend on the hospitality of anyone who welcomed them and their message of peace. Their mission was critical, for those who received them received Jesus himself. On the other hand, those who rejected them also rejected Jesus.

 

Prayer Father, send more and more workers!

One Word Go! I am sending you out like lambs