Luke 10:1-11, 16
1After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3Go on your way; I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!' 6And if a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on that person, but if not, it will return to you.
7"Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 10But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.'
16"Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."
The Original Setting
"After this" in 10:1 refers back to events reported in chapter 9 that include feeding 5,000+ people with five loaves and two fish, Peter's confession of Jesus as Messiah, Jesus' Transfiguration (reported in 9:31 "They spoke about Jesus' departure or exodus, which he was about to bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem"), casting out a demon, Jesus' exceptionally radical call to discipleship that excludes expected human activities of burying the dead, saying goodbye before leaving.
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven (ascendancy, authority, Lordship), Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. Luke 9:51
Particularly in Luke's and Mark's gospels, Jesus' journey to Jerusalem is relentless and incessant. Jesus mostly grew up and lived in small town Nazareth in semi-remote Galilee; Jerusalem was the center of religious power and the seat of Roman imperial control. Jews considered the J-Temple the axis mundi or conduit between heaven and earth.
Where We Live
The Lord sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. Luke 10:1
I definitely need to consult a few more commentaries and opinions about this verse because most of scripture reveals God already has been at work there before God leads us to a particular situation—God has been to our future! In addition, I've heard many many real-life (contemporary) testimonies of that fact, as likely you have, too.
In a very similar way to what Luke 9:1-6 reports when he sent out the original twelve, Jesus gives instructions for going into the world as itinerant missionaries. We all need this direction because like Jesus and his first followers, all of us itinerate from one place to another, from one ministry to another.
Paralleling Moses and the seventy elders, Luke's Jesus picks up on the number 70. Seventy combines seven, the number of perfection and ten, the number of completion in Hebrew numerology. He wisely advises everyone to travel in pairs, which has become the way to go for anyone anywhere.
Comments and Questions
Travel light! Why? Always? Is that a good idea for us today? Why does he say "Greet no one on the road"? Are these guidelines only for humanitarian and proselytizing missionaries in less-developed countries or remote rural communities? Maybe for short-term high school and college mission trips to nearby places (Habitat for Humanity Houses, for example) or across the international border? Or can they apply elsewhere?
The very first thing is to speak Shalom, the fullness of God's loving, merciful, presence to everyone they meet. How can we do that in words and in actions? Church-speak and Christianese are foreign languages to a lot of people.
Accept the hospitality and act as guests of households we visit. Eat whatever people give you! Local cuisine helps us learn about our hosts. "You are what you eat" – "we are what we eat" As we enjoy their hospitality and their food, we become our hosts. This scripture presents food and lodging as compensation. What's your opinion of pay-your-own-way ministries versus ones that pay in dollars and cents and/or housing and vehicle allowance?
If the people don't welcome and receive us? Shake the dust of that place off your feet! Get rid of the evidence. Try to shake off memories of them? Or maybe not? What's your experience?
We go everywhere as Jesus' own presence. Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me. Luke 10:16
One of the very helpful outcomes of prayer can be discerning when to quit trying to engage an individual, a family, or a group; figuring out when to move on to the next place.
After spending some time with this passage, I don't know if I want a live discussion of the questions I've asked, or if it's time to move on to next week.
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