The Disciples Sent Forth

Luke 9:1 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
3 And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.
4 And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.
5 And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
6 And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.

Luke 10:1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
4 Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.
5 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
6 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.
7 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
8 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:
9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
10 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,
11 Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
12 But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.

Jesus sent the disciples out for specific purpose and to a specific place: to minister to the children of Israel, and only in the places they inhabited, in Judea and Galilee.  He gave them the power to do what he sent them to do, to heal, cleanse, raise, and deliver.  The power was not for their personal use, and not to be hoarded; it was given so that it might be given away.  Finally, Christ made provision for their needs, not by what they could carry themselves, but through the generosity of others, the ones they would be serving.  That meant, not trusting other people, but trusting God to meet their needs.  The disciples were God's representatives; rejecting them meant rejecting God as well, and bringing down his judgment.  That's an important lesson to remember in our own witnessing.  Many people who witness to others about Christ view rejection as a rejection of them personally, and that is the reason so many people are reluctant to tell others the Gospel message at all.  All we are required to do is be obedient in witnessing; what happens after that is in God's hands.

We can't count on human relationships to support us through crises we endure in God's service.  Family ties are the strongest ones known to the world, but even those ties will break under the stress of spiritual conflict.  This fact emphasizes the strength of the bondage of sin; the end result is always death, not only our own, but when worst comes to worst, that of those we profess to love the most.  In the eyes of the world, Christianity and the Christ at its center are the epitome of evil; it is no accident that secular society considers fundamental Christians one of the most dangerous groups in the country.  The world can justify any evil by labeling it "good".

We are first on God's priority list; in return, he wants to be first on ours.  That starts with our confession, or acknowledgment, of him, as our Savior and Lord, and continues with a daily determination to serve him no matter the cost to ourselves.  Our allegiance to him must take precedence even before our own families, including parents and children.  Taking up our cross means accepting whatever burden or rejection or persecution we endure at the hands of our families, those we care the most about in this world.  If we're not willing to pay the price of following Christ, we'll never follow him.  If anything in this life is more important to us than Christ, even our physical existence, we are not worthy of him.

As with the earlier passage about the response of the places the apostles went, the last part of this chapter has to do with receiving those whom Christ sends.  This teaching is one we rarely consider, but the meaning is clear.  If we extend hospitality to one of God's servants, he promises us a reward in the same measure as the one we receive.  When our rewards are presented at the Bema seat, these will be among the ones apportioned.

The Lord also states here one of the many rewards and promises that come with salvation.  Along with that access to God comes the astounding privilege of giving up to Christ the trials and problems that weigh us down from day to day.  Just as we exchange death for life, and alienation for fellowship, when we come to Jesus, so we also exchange our heavy burden of sin and despair for his burden of love and redemption.  According to the prophet Micah, all that God requires of us as his children "to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God" (Micah 6:8).  The best news is that, although all of this is impossible for Man on his own, it all happens with faith in Christ.  Our only real burden is the choice we make when we repent of our sins and accept Christ as our Savior.