Jordan Byrd
God on mission through Jesus’ disciples (Luke 10:1-24)
Last year, Julia and I tried to help our oldest child, Pace, ride a bike without training wheels. We tried a few different times, but Pace just wasn’t ready for no training wheels. The months passed, and this past spring, we tried to help him ride without training wheels. But still, he wasn’t ready. A few months ago, in August, we made a trip to visit my family in Ohio. We stayed with my brother, whose house is in an open, rural area. Julia and I were engaged in conversation with other family members following dinner, while our kids were playing with their cousins. All of a sudden, I found out that Pace was outside riding his cousin’s bike without training wheels. I came to find out that two of his cousins showed him how to ride without training wheels, and he did it. Pace wasn’t ready to ride without training wheels last year, nor this past spring, nor most of this past summer. But when we visited Ohio, and Pace was playing with his cousins, something finally clicked with him – that he was ready to ride without training wheels. While we were in Ohio, Pace’s cousins probably didn’t anticipate showing him how to ride a bike without training wheels. But they were ready for Pace, who was ready to ride without training wheels.
We’ve been making our way through the story of the Bible, tracing how missions work originates with God’s love ceaselessly spilling into creation to give us life. And how humanity has turned against the wave of God’s love. And how, even though we turned against God’s love, God never stopped pursuing us in mission to bring us back on board to ride the wave of his life-giving love. How God, in his grace and compassion, began to tangibly reveal his life-giving love to Abraham, and eventually his family line through the people of Israel – extending his life-giving love through them to the surrounding nations. How God made his life-giving love most tangibly known through his Son, Jesus, coming to live among us. And today, we see how Jesus’ disciples have the opportunity to jump on board with God’s mission – to make his life-giving love, revealed in Jesus, known to people who have yet to recognize their need for it.
Today, God’s word in Luke 10 reminds us that responding to Jesus as one’s Lord for all of life is a process. Some have a lot of questions to wrestlewith before entrusting their life to Jesus. Those in this category may need a lot longer to get to the point of responding to Jesus. Others may just have one hesitation to get past and are closer to responding to Jesus. Others may be ready and just need guidance to take that step. Overall, responding to Jesus isn’t a wishy-washy process that someone can be half-in and half-out of. But certain people may be closer to that decision than others.
All in all, what we’ve encountered along the trajectory of God’s mission is that God is always present and active to help every person move from unbelief to belief. For some, there is a lot of unbelief to overcome. For others, it’s just one remaining area of life. Even if you’ve responded to Jesus already, you too are on a lifelong journey to continue surrendering your life to Jesus’ way: continually moving from unbelief to belief in every area of life. And this is part of the second dynamic that God’s word in Luke 10 highlights.
God’s word in Luke 10 invites those of us who have responded to Jesus as our Lord for all of life to consider if we’ll be ready for people when they will be ready to respond to Jesus? Allowing Jesus' life to be our life in every area of life is what is needed for us to be ready to help others down that path. Are we ready for people who are ready for Jesus? Are you ready for people who are ready for Jesus?
The context of Luke’s gospel, in chapter 9 describes people who struggle to live like Jesus. In 9:51-56 – Jesus encounters a Samaritan village who doesn’t welcome him. And in response to this opposition, James and John, two of Jesus’ original 12 disciples, ask Jesus if he’d like them to call fire down from heaven to destroy the unwelcoming village. And Jesus rebukes their request. For it wasn’t in line with Jesus’ approach to people – even disagreeable people.
Further in 9:57-62, Jesus encounters two men who express a desire to follow Jesus anywhere. However, each references an excuse related to family as to why they can’t follow Jesus just yet. This situation may hit home differently after hearing some of the stories shared by our mission partners last Sunday and how difficult it can be to not follow Jesus due to pressure from family and fear of being disowned or, at worst, violently persecuted. In these two scenarios, both James and John (disciples of Jesus) and the two men (not-yet disciples of Jesus) were not ready to fully live like Jesus.
As the gospel of Luke continues into chapter 10, we encounter Jesus sending out 72 of his followers in pairs to go ahead of him to the towns and villages that Jesus was about to go. In light of what we’ve been tracing over the past many weeks, we see here a continuation of God’s love flowing: from the Father to the Son, Jesus; and from Jesus into his disciples; and from Jesus’ disciples into the people they’ll encounter in these towns and villages. God is the one on mission, and Jesus’ disciples are invited to ride the wave of God’s mission into the shores of those who’ve yet to receive his life-giving love.
I’m the kind of person who wants to know where I’m going before heading there. Meaning, I’m the person who checks a map or directions, rather than just inputting the information into the GPS and having it take me however it tells me to go there. I want to know what I’m getting into. I want to know what to anticipate. I want to know what to be ready for.
Jesus gives specific instructions to these 72 people whom he sends out. Jesus gives them the lay of the land: In 10:2 – Jesus describes the people of these towns and villages as a plentiful harvest field – ready to be gathered into God’s kingdom. By describing the people of these towns and villages with the metaphor of a harvest field, Jesus is also capturing the time-sensitive dynamic to this mission.
Farmers and gardeners are familiar with the window that crops have. And how the season will end, the conditions will fade, the rainy or wintry or dry weather will come, and the crops will not survive or be harvestable past a certain point.
In 10:2 – Jesus also describes that the task of harvesting people from these towns and villages into God’s kingdom will be bigger than the 72 workers he’s sending out to harvest. There is limited time to harvest, and 72 harvesters alone will not be able to gather all of the people who could respond to Jesus before the season ends. To meet this need, in 10:1, Jesus instructs the 72 to ask the Lord of the harvest – to ask God, the one over this mission – to send out more workers into his mission, into his harvest field. After giving these 72 the lay of the land, Jesus gives them specifics of how to go about harvesting in God’s field.
Recently, I had the opportunity to show someone how to plug a tire with a hole in it. While I could have just done the entire process myself, that would not help the other person to know how to do it in the future. So, I took the time to explain the process, so that he could do it on his own; and maybe he’ll show someone else how to plug a tire in the future – and then more than three people, rather than just one, will know how to repair a tire. Jesus’ instructions to the 72 are similar. Jesus tells them a step-by-step process for gathering people into God’s kingdom.
In 10:3, Jesus tells the 72 to go! (note the exclamation point in the NIV translation). Participation in this mission is not passive; it involves actively going to people, not waiting for the people to find you.
In 10:5, Jesus describes the particular kind of people the 72 are looking for in these towns and villages: “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ (Luke 10:5) They are to look for people who promote peace. The kind of peace that reflects the peace of Jesus, that these 72 have been called to imitate and live-out as they saw Jesus doing.
Farmers and gardeners are aware that crops are ready to be harvested when they show certain signs: certain fullness of the fruit, moisture levels, size, color, etc. If a crop doesn’t show signs of being harvest-ready, the farmer or gardener waits or moves on to other crops that might be ready to harvest.
Jesus is giving similar signs for the 72 to look for in this harvest of people for God’s kingdom. Look for people whom God has prepared to receive His peace. Look for people who are thirsty for God’s peace. Look for people who are trying to live into the peace of God, even if attempted in broken form. A starving person may steal food to satiate their hunger. The method of satiating hunger is broken. But the desire to meet the need is good. People of peace can appear similarly: seeking peace through broken or shallow means, but the desire for peace is still good. It’s that desire that Jesus’ disciples are instructed to spot to help eventually point them toward Jesus, who can make whole and fulfill the peace that that person of peace longs for.
Also in 10:5 – Jesus tells the 72: “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ (Luke 10:5) Jesus’ reference to entering people’s houses indicates a relationship, where living out the peace of Jesus is experienceable by people. This isn’t a forced encounter, as we see later with what else Jesus instructs. This is a willful and reciprocated encounter by the person of peace. But, notice that this isn’t a passing encounter. This is a relational encounter with someone, where the worker enters the more private part of a person’s life. Going from the road to the living room (from the public to the personal). Jesus describes this situation as one which is readily opportune. “When,” not “if.” These encounters are to be anticipated, not something that is unlikely to happen.
In 10:6-7 – Jesus instructs the 72 in discernment: If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there…. (Luke 10:6-7)
I read this past week that the time Josh Allen spent with quarterback coach Jordan Palmer led Allen to meet sports scientist Chris Hess, who helped Allen identify the flaws in his throwing mechanics that hindered his accuracy. Allen is known for having a cannon but has not always been known for accuracy. Hess pointed out a number of things for Allen to work on, and based on his initial read of Allen, thought he wouldn’t do much with the information he gave him. But two weeks later, Allen came back to Hess with a myriad of questions about implementing Hess’s fixes to his throwing mechanics. Following Allen’s time with Hess, Allen’s throwing completion percentage rose from 58.8% in 2019 to 69.2% — giving him the largest three-year increase in NFL history. Hess was looking for Josh Allen’s hunger to learn more.
Similarly, Jesus calls his disciples to look for people’s hunger for Jesus. The key marker for pursuing a discipling relationship with someone is if they have an openness and hunger for Jesus but need guidance on how to see and respond to Him.
In Luke 10:7-9, Jesus instructs the 72 to stick with people who are open and hungry for Jesus. The 72 are to live like Jesus with people of peace, and point to Jesus in their eating and dealing with sickness: pointing to God’s healing and presence through Jesus. The 72 were heralds or previews of what’s possible with Jesus in a person’s life. It wasn’t about the disciple’s life, but about whom their life pointed to.
Lastly, in 10:10-12, Jesus describes what the 72 are to do if people are not welcoming to their witness of Jesus as Lord. Jesus says to be antagonistic and hateful to those who don’t believe, right? No. Jesus says to not say anything and ignore them, right? No. In our broken perspectives, we’re tempted to prescriptively read into Jesus’ words here, to hear him saying something he doesn’t actually say. Jesus doesn’t say to ignore people who aren’t welcoming. He doesn’t say to be quiet. And he doesn’t tell them to be antagonistic. Rather, Jesus tells them to simply and confidently warn them that they are regretfully mistaken in their inhospitality and unbelief, and that whether you believe or not, Jesus is Lord. Jesus is who you need.
What we see here is that Jesus is made known as Lord either way. It’s ultimately up to each individual to respond to Jesus. It’s not our job to force them to believe. Similar to how I had to leave Pace to stick with training wheels when he wasn’t ready to take them off. I can offer and tell him how great riding a bike without training wheels would be, but I can’t force him to try it.
The encouraging reality that we encounter in this passage is seen in Luke 10:17-20, where the 72 return to Jesus after doing what he said and reporting that people did respond to Jesus. Those who respond to Jesus are the additional workers for the harvest that were needed. There were people whom God had been making ready to respond to his son Jesus. And God had prepared these 72 disciples of Jesus to be ready for those people who were ready for Jesus. Just like my nephews were ready for Pace, who was ready for no training wheels, so also Jesus is calling us – his disciples – to be ready for people who are ready to respond to him.
Regretfully, it won’t be every person we meet. But there will be people whom God has been readying to respond to His Son, Jesus. Will we be ready to help harvest people who are ready to respond to Jesus and enter into God’s kingdom?
On one of our first Christmas Days in WNY, we didn’t plan well for our dinner and didn’t have potatoes. We had already missed the Christmas Eve deadline of stores closing and were now in search of any place that might still be open on Christmas Day (facepalm). I learned that day that the 24/7 store on Elmwood – known for never closing – IS closed on Christmas Day (LOL). We eventually found a Muslim-run store on the south side of Main St. on Bailey Ave., not too far from where we lived, that was open on Christmas Day, and we got some potatoes. We weren’t prepared for Christmas Day dinner, and it cost us.
Jesus conveys this same idea at the conclusion of this passage in Luke 10, where he warns the Jewish people from the surrounding villages of Galilee that the harvest season will come to an end. This will happen in a two-fold sense: this is a warning that destruction is coming to Jerusalem soon (A.D. 70), but also in the sense of old age and the final judgment, when God gives everyone what they desire: to be with God (eternal life) or not (eternal death). And who will the people be clinging to as their Lord when either of those happens?
Jesus warns, when the harvest season ends, will you receive God’s life-giving love, with the clear revelation you’ve been given in Jesus? Revelation of God’s life and mission that people long, long ago – longed to have as their guide to be reunited back to God’s abundant life.
Beyond the people’s individual response to Jesus, even if they do respond to Jesus, will they be ready for people who are ready for Jesus? Will they be like the 72? Or will they be like James and John in Luke 9 who were still not ready to live like Jesus; but instead were ready to bring judgment, rather than the peace of Jesus. Or will they be like the two men who gave excuses why they couldn’t fully live like Jesus yet?
Are Jesus’ disciples ready for people who are ready for Jesus?
Will the disciples of Jesus be ready for people who are ready to respond to Jesus? These disciples’ readiness will also impact how many more people are harvested into God’s kingdom before the season ends. These disciples’ readiness will impact how many more people become disciples who become more harvesters in God’s field. Are Jesus’ disciples ready for people who are ready for Jesus? Are you ready for people who are ready for Jesus?
How ready are you for people who are ready to respond to Jesus? How ready are you to look for people of peace? How ready are you to see the hunger unbelievers have for Jesus? In my own life, I’m more blinded to what unbelievers are hungering for because I’m still focused on myself and my needs, wants, desires, worries, and fears. When I'm focused on my own hunger, I struggle to notice someone else's. But if I truly believe that Jesus is Lord, then I can start surrendering my hunger—my needs, wants, desires, worries, and fears—to Jesus’ wise and good care; and that will take my focus off of me so that I can focus on others. This way, I’m mentally and emotionally unburdened to point others toward the only one who can unburden all of us and satisfy our hunger.
When we continue to move from our own unbelief to belief in Jesus as our Lord and provider, then we are freed up to more clearly point others to Jesus. This is how we can continue to prepare ourselves to be ready for people who are ready for Jesus. Are we ready for people who are ready for Jesus? Are you ready for people who are ready for Jesus?
Today, how do you sense God's Spirit calling you to respond? If you’ve never responded to Jesus as your one and only Lord, how ready are you to respond to Jesus? I invite you to consider where you are on that journey. Are you someone with many questions, and you’re still trying to wade through those? If that is you, I invite you to ask them and wrestle through them with me or another trusted follower of Jesus.
If you’re almost to where you’re convinced Jesus is Lord, what is that last question that is holding you back from surrendering all the way to Jesus? Again, I invite you to find me or another trusted follower of Jesus and ask us to walk with you in wrestling through that final question.
If you’re convinced Jesus is Lord, but have never drawn the line in the sand to confirm so, I invite you to consider baptism and uniting yourself with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus – entrusting your life to the good and wise care of the God revealed in Jesus.
If you’re already a disciple of Jesus, how ready are you for people who are ready to respond to Jesus? Are you going to people, or waiting for them to come to you? Do you know how to spot people of peace – people who are seeking and hungering for Jesus? Do you know how you’ll point people of peace toward Jesus?
Earlier this year, Sean Cronin led many of us through some tools (https://e3partners.org/training-resources/ [Person of Peace, 15s Testimony, 3 Circles]) to help us point others to Jesus – by sharing how Jesus has satisfied the deepest hunger in our lives. If you’d like to revisit those tools, or maybe go through them for the first time, please visit the site listed behind me. If you need further help going through them, please reach out to me, Sean, and Mitch, and we’d be glad to help you use these tools to help you be ready for people who are ready for Jesus. How is God’s Spirit prompting you to take another step to being ready for people who are ready for Jesus? Are we ready for people who are ready for Jesus? Are you ready for people who are ready for Jesus?