Luke Reading (#28)

Take a few minutes to catch up and pray that God would bless you through the reading of His word.

Read Luke 10:1-24

[10:1] After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. [2] And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. [3] Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. [4] Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. [5] Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ [6] And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. [7] And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. [8] Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. [9] Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ [10] But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, [11] ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that 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 mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. [14] But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. [15] And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.
[16] “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.”
[17] The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” [18] And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. [19] Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. [20] Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
[21] In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. [22] All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
[23] Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! [24] For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

Observation

• Who did Jesus send (v. 1)?
  • How many were there?
  • Where did he send them?
• What did Jesus say about ratio of the harvest to the workers available (v. 2)? What were they to do in light of that fact?
• To what does Jesus compare those he is sending out in verse 3?
• What were they to take with them (v. 4)? How were they to find something to eat (v. 7-8)?
• What were they to do when they came into a house (v. 5-6)?
• What was their ministry in a town to look like (v. 9)?
• What were they to do if they were rejected (v. 11)?
  • What does Jesus say about the towns that reject him (v. 12-15)
  • What is the relationship between a town’s reception of Jesus and their reception of the ones that he sends (v. 16)?
• How did the disciples return (v. 17)?
  • What had happened (v. 17)?
  • What had Jesus seen (v. 18)?
  • What had Jesus given them (v. 19)? What should they rejoice in (v. 20)?
• How did Jesus rejoice (v. 21)?
  • For what did Jesus thank the Father (v. 21)?
  • What does he call Him (v. 21)?
  • What does Jesus tell us in v. 22 about his relationship to the Father?
    • How does someone come to know who the Father is (v. 22)?
    • Why are the disciples blessed (v. 23-24)?

Interpretation

• What does it mean that Jesus is sending them out as lambs in the midst of wolves (v. 3)? What does that tell us about the way the gospel will spread (in comparison, perhaps, to ISIS’ plan for spreading Islam)?
• In light of what he says in v. 2, why would Jesus tell them not to carry anything extra or stop along the way (v. 4)?
  • Are these instructions applicable to modern day missionaries?
  • What is the harvest Jesus is talking about? Who are the laborers?
• What does it mean that the sent ones were to declare that the kingdom of God had come near (v. 9 and 11)?
• What is Jesus’ point in v. 12-15? (It may help you to know that Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities)  
• What does it mean to have your name written in heaven (v. 20)?
• Can someone come to know God the Father without knowing Jesus (v. 22)?

Application

• What should you do today in light of the need for laborers in the harvest?
• Are you ever reluctant to share the gospel because you fear rejection? How does v. 16 encourage you?
• How can you rejoice today that your name is written in heaven? What other things tempt you to rejoice in them more?

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