“After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.”
Luke 10:1-3, NKN
This text is not one widely discussed by theologians and it is given too little place of discussion within the life of the church. I believe this to be a tragic loss to us as students of the Bible. Are we following this command given by our Lord? Is it as binding on us today, two thousand years later, as when it was first given? The command is to pray for a plurality of laborers. Then it is also important to ask why the Lord sent forth laborers in pairs, two by two. The endeavor here is to give weight to both prayer for missions and the need of a plurality of witnesses.
On August 23rd, 1743, a missionary wrote, “In evening God was pleased to draw near my soul, though very sinful and unworthy: was enabled to wrestle with God, and persevere in my requests for grace. I poured out my soul for all the world, friends, and enemies. My soul was concerned, not so much for souls as such, but rather for Christ’s kingdom, that it might appear in the world, that God might be known to be God in the whole earth.”
How is God to be known in the whole earth? What is the task of missions? What is the church’s task in missions? Some might evade the issue by quickly responding, “Tell them of Jesus,” “Plant a church,” “Win souls for Christ,” “Help the poor and sick.” All of that is good, but something is missing!!
What about prayer? What about beseeching God in missions? What about coming before Him to do a miraculous work of grace in the pursuit of missions, namely, to send out more workers so His Truth might be made manifest.
If we are honest, we have not obeyed this command from our Lord as we should have. Perhaps one of us has never prayed this prayer. Perhaps one of us has prayed it once a year at a missions conference, only to find ourselves forgetting the request from our Lord the rest of the year.
“I am not talking about a fascination of adventure. Missions will cost you everything, but in the losing of everything, you take everything (Christ) with you, so we never lose anything. “
How are such laborers to be sent forth? How are such men to be raised up? What does Christ command of us? How are we to see the world as Christ sees it, as a harvest that is plentiful, but with too few laborers in it? Just as two farm hands would go to the farmer and ask for more workers in the field to bring in the crop, so the servants of God are to ask the Lord to send out more laborers.
Within the context of Luke 10:1-3, there is not only a sending out of people in missions and a sending up petitions of prayer for missions, but a sending out to die in missions. As I studied this text, I asked myself which one of these three statements is the hardest for us to grasp. My belief is that the command to pray is the hardest of the three for most to understand and grasp.
God is a missional God who sends, commands us to pray for the sending out of more workers, and sends us forth into extreme danger. Notice that the command to pray is ever binding on the situation. Jesus’ command to pray is in the sending, in the going, and in the extreme danger. Never is there any indication in this text to stop this charge.
One writer said, “No man will by himself attain or become a faithful minister of the Gospel, and be able to teach all things that He commands unless the Lord raises him up and plants within him the gifts of the Spirit. This is done by prayer.”
Verse 1 sets the stage for the remaining verses: “After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town that he himself was about to go. “
This verse follows the sending out of the twelve in chapter 9, but this account of the seventy is different in that this appointment is to prepare the Lord’s coming into the same places where the seventy were ministering.
These seventy are the ones that took Chapter 9:23 seriously: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ” They were willing to take their cross daily and follow the Lord’s direction for their lives. These are the true disciples that cared not for themselves, and embraced Jesus’ lordship. They took seriously their commitment to Him, unlike the three would-be disciples of Luke 9:57-62. Even though they knew the cost would be great, even death if necessary, they went joyfully into the pack of wolves with no argument, unlike the three men in chapter 9.
These seventy were ordinary, everyday people, as 1 Corinthians tells us, “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”
These “others” (vs. I) that God had predetermined to send out for His own special purpose were the first missionaries to proclaim the same message as that of the apostles. However, they were not apostles. They had no special qualifications that made them sendable. They simply denied themselves and were willing to bear His cross and die, if necessary.
This ought to spur us, at this point, to think of the modern missionary movement. Never in all of history has there been such a time that the Lord still wants to see men and women deny themselves, hate their possessions, hate their families, and take up His mark of suffering, namely the cross, and follow Him into the ”panta ta ethne, ” to all the nations. Everything we have, own, and cherish should look like hate in comparison to the beauty and majesty of Christ. Not that we hate our possessions or families, but when compared with Christ, it would look like hate.
I have been to many churches and shared the work God has called us to, and sometimes people would approach me and say, “I’ve always wanted to do something like that because it just looks cool.” And I ask them why does it look cool, and they respond, “because its fascinating.” That is nothing more than romanticizing missions. I am not talking about a fascination of adventure. Missions will cost you everything, but in the losing of everything, you take everything (Christ) with you, so we never lose anything.
“For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. ” Heb. 10:34
When the Lord appointed these seventy, He had less than a year left. He is months away from His passion. There is in this text a sense of urgency to appoint missionaries to go ahead of Him in preparation for His arrival to these southern parts of Galilee.
And it says the Lord “appointed” anadeiknumi (vs. I) seventy others. This word is used only one other time in Scripture – both times in Luke’s writings. Acts 1 :24, “And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen. ” Judas was to be replaced, and the Lord chose Matthias.
Just as the Lord chose the twelve in John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you … ” So it is that no one can, by his own will, be an apostle or disciple. It’s the same in missions. No missionary is sent out by his own will. God s the one Who sovereignly chooses and sets apart people for the task of going to the unreached people who have not heard the message of the Gospel. So “appointed” means hat Jesus selected these “others,” these seventy, by His own doing and divine plan for His kingdom.
The means are still the same for us today. God’s immutable ways and purposes do not change. He still sets apart people to go, He still appoints and selects by His sovereign decree to send out men and women to cross ethno-linguistic barriers where His name is not known. He is the one that chooses.
In missions today we hear of teams being sent, or teammates joining together in the mission labors, or missionaries partnering with other missionaries, or nationals colaboring together with missionaries. All of the emphasis on this stems from the way Jesus sent out His workers. Verse 1 says, “and sent them on ahead of him two-bytwo.” This means if seventy men were sent, Jesus sent out thirty-five pairs of missionaries.
Why two-by-two? There is textual evidence in Ecclesiastes 4:9, which says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.” There is multiplication in pairs. There is encouragement and accountability in pairs.
That verse goes on to say, “For if they fall one will lift up his fellow. ” The missionary task is not about being alone, or having one’s own mm1stry, although that permeates many methodologies. What Jesus teaches is that sending missionaries out in teams is a sure way of testifying that whatever they say is true.
This Jesus Christ who came in the flesh and though He was rich He became poor, lived a perfect, sinless life, died on a cross for the sin of man, was raised three days later and is now at the right hand of God. This same Jesus now commands everyone to repent, tum from sin and tum to Him. When you say these things your partner says, “That’s true!”
There is a King coming and His name is Jesus Christ. He’s coming back, and this time He’s coming in full fury with flaming fire to pour out His wrath on those that do not know Him. When you declare this your teammate says “That’s true!” Two witnesses are better than one!
Wherever a missionary is sent, wherever an evangelist goes forth, wherever a witness is sent to speak of Christ, it is for the purpose of preparing people for His coming. And in the preparation abides a response of either acceptance or rejection.
Luke 10:2 says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ” I believe this statement by Jesus is one of the most interesting statements in several ways. Why say that? What is the intended meaning and its implications? Why would Jesus not tell these men, “Be careful, help one another, pray for one another, be bold, don’t be afraid.” Why this statement?
This particular section is recorded also in Matthew 9, and it is here that we get an inside look as to why Jesus would say this. Matthew 9:37 is identical to Luke 10:2; however, Matthew 9:35-36 tells us why Jesus said this above all else, “And Jesus went throughout all of the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like a sheep without a shepherd. ” (Emphasis mine)
Notice the words “he had compassion.” When the Lord Jesus looked upon the crowds of people, He was moved within by feelings of deep pity. Perhaps He was so moved by love within His whole being that He felt physically sick. This is what the word “compassion” indicates. We see much compassion on Jesus’ part, such as when He wept over Jerusalem saying, “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!” Matthew 23:37
Think of finding a baby in the cold alone, crying, and starving from hunger. You feel such compassion for the abandoned infant that you feel actually sick. In this situation you would be better able to understand Christ’s compassion in Luke 10:2.
So when Jesus says, “the harvest is plentiful,” He’s saying … the harvest is the close of the age, the final judgment and it is massive. There are plenty of people who are dead in their sin, thinking that they are ok in their “religion,” yet deceived. But mark my words, there will be countless people in hell that were very religious. Heb. 9:27: “It is appointed for man once to die, and then comes the judgment. ” The harvest is plentiful, it is massive, and Jesus is displaying His compassion.
We must not get the wrong picture here. Jesus knew exactly who would come to Him, and whom the Father had chosen before the foundation of the world, but notice He still experienced sorrow and deep anguish for the lost. Jesus is not resigned to the fact that says, “Well my Father has this under control. I don’t need to feel anything because my Father has already chosen the many.” No, as He looks upon the crowd He is sick inside, and moved to love.
One writer said, “If your doctrine of sovereignty robs your evangelistic zeal, then you have a sinful reaction to that truth.”
Verse 2, “but the laborers are few.” As Jesus looked with compassion and saw ahead to the wrath and judgment that was to come, He also saw that there are only a few that are warning them. Only a few!
It is estimated that there are twelve thousand ethno-linguistic peoples in the world. The total number of missionaries counted or reported in 2001 was 143,189, not including the ones ‘under the radar.’
If every person in North America went to the nations, that still would not be enough to minister to the peoples of the world. The reality is the Father sent His Son, and so now He calls on His own children – you and me – to go and be sent into the world. I like what one author said, “Christ saves us for Himself in the world.”
I could give you statistic after statistic of all the people groups and percentages of Christians among them, but that would serve no useful purpose. What will do good in the pursuit of missions and the desire to see more people go to the mission field is to PRAY, as Jesus commanded in Lukel0:2 when He said “Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the Harvest to send out more laborers into his harvest.”
Jesus says, “Pray earnestly.” The original sense of this word means “to lack, to be in need of,” but in verse 2, “pray earnestly” means “to plead, to beg, to ask for with urgency.” The same word is used in Luke 8:28 when the demon possessed man said to Jesus, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me. ” (Emphasis mine)
Jesus says, “Beg Me to thrust out more missionaries.” Beg the Lord of the harvest to thrust out more laborers into the harvest. We are not just to pray for the salvation of souls. We must do that according to I Timothy 2, but beg God to send out workers to tell them of Christ. Oh, that God would use my daily prayers to “fan the flame” to thrust out more workers, just as He answered Hudson Taylor’s pleas to send out more workers to China!
One writer said, “The first China Inland Mission party of sixteen missionaries with the Taylors and their four young children set sail on a four month voyage and they had bathed the entire journey in prayer.” Praying for more laborers is not a prayer just for the missionary or for the pastor. It is for the church of Jesus Christ. And the sovereignty of God gives no excuse for us not to pray such a prayer to the Lord of the harvest. This is a command laid out by the one that felt such sickness and anguish in His gut as He saw the people in Matthew 9.
The question should not be, “Do I have the missionary call?” The question should rather be, “What role does God want me to play in the pursuit of missions?” Every one of us should be asking that question! And in our prayers, ask God to reveal to us what part He would have us play.