1 After this, the Lord chose seventy-two others and sent them out in pairs ahead of him into every town and place where he planned to go. 2 He said to them, “There are a great many people to harvest, but there are only a few workers. So pray to God, who owns the harvest, that he will send more workers to help gather his harvest. 3 Go now, but listen! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. 4 Don’t carry a purse, a bag, or sandals, and don’t waste time talking with people on the road. 5 Before you go into a house, say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ 6 If peace-loving people live there, your blessing of peace will stay with them, but if not, then your blessing will come back to you. 7 Stay in the same house, eating and drinking what the people there give you. A worker should be given his pay. Don’t move from house to house. 8 If you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat what they give you. 9 Heal the sick who live there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ 10 But if you go into a town, and the people don’t welcome you, then go into the streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dirt from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. But remember that the kingdom of God is near.’ 12 I tell you, on the Judgment Day it will be better for the people of Sodom than for the people of that town.
13 “How terrible for you, Korazin! How terrible for you, Bethsaida! If the miracles I did in you had happened in Tyre and Sidon, those people would have changed their lives long ago. They would have worn rough cloth and put ashes on themselves to show they had changed. 14 But on the Judgment Day it will be better for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No! You will be thrown down to the depths!
16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever refuses to accept you refuses to accept me. And whoever refuses to accept me refuses to accept the One who sent me.”
17 When the seventy-two came back, they were very happy and said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we used your name!”
18 Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Listen, I have given you power to walk on snakes and scorpions, power that is greater than the enemy has. So nothing will hurt you. 20 But you should not be happy because the spirits obey you but because your names are written in heaven.”
Read Luke 10:1-20 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus and you have ever feared what people thought about you as a follower of Jesus, you are not alone.
Many people throughout the past 2,000 years have wondered that – from the first Christians stretching all the way up to us living today. I have also been challenged by this fear of what others might think. If you have struggled with these thoughts, or are currently facing doubts about what others will think, Jesus has something reassuring to tell you in this journal entry’s passage.
Part way through Jesus’ ministry, He decides to send the disciples out in pairs to all the villages in the region. We could call this an outreach training exercise. However, some of the disciples, probably the introverted, reserved ones like me, were a little worried about what might happen to them and what others would think.
I believe this is why Jesus finishes His instructions with the following words in verse 16, “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever refuses to accept you refuses to accept me. And whoever refuses to accept me refuses to accept the One who sent me.”
Jesus is basically saying: It’s not about you!
Too often, our fears and insecurities stem from not feeling good about ourselves. However, Jesus wants to step into this area of our lives and tell us that we should not have any worry or concern over what others think of us as followers of Him. If we do our best to be like Jesus, then if there are those who reject us, Jesus tells us they are really rejecting Him, and also the One (God the Father) who sent Him.
In my own life this has taken a huge burden off of my shoulders. Jesus takes the fear that wants to distract us in our relationship with Jesus, and He redirects it onto Himself. This means that I can more fully focus on being like Him, without any worries about what others think of me. What matters most is that I am growing closer to Him each and every day.
Jesus may be telling you the same thing today. If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus, your life is not about you. If others reject you, they are really rejecting Jesus and the Father. Don’t injure your relationship with Jesus over something that Jesus has taken away. Our focus is to be on growing our relationship with God, and being like Jesus. If something distracts you away from that goal, then it is not something God wants for you.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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