Daily Devotional for Monday, February 16
The Seventy Disciples Were Sent Out
“Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.” Luke 10: 2, 3
Have you ever been on a mission trip or read a book on missions only to feel like you should sell everything you have and live the life of a vagabond on fire for the Lord? I feel that way when I read this section of Luke. My husband and I have lengthy discussions after we study passages such as these. We try to imagine what this type of commission would look like in present-day America. I wish I could tell you that we have figured it out and are writing a best-selling novel to inform the world, but, alas, no book deal yet.
This account is sometimes confused with the commissioning of the disciples recorded in Luke 9, Matthew 10 and Mark 6. The only mention of this second mass mission trip is here in Luke 10. Both occasions were similar in method and practice. Jesus himself sent them specifically to cities to prepare the way for Him since that role could no longer be fulfilled by John the Baptist after his imprisonment and tragic death. Both began with a call to pray for even more laborers. Maybe these seventy were the answer to the prayer of the twelve disciples in Matthew 9:38. In both instances, He sent them out in pairs because they were to be witnesses, which required at least two to testify the same message (Deuteronomy 19:15). Both times He gave strict instructions on how they were to live by faith and not carry worldly possessions, accepting meals and lodging as they healed the sick and declared the kingdom of Heaven was at hand. In both cases, they were sent with urgency and instructed not to engage in frivolous greeting rituals along the way, as Jesus would also soon travel to these cities teaching and preaching.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
Are you one of the laborers these disciples prayed would be sent forth into the harvest? Be bold, urgent, faithful and always on mission.
Ashley Ridings