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!
Part way through Jesus’ ministry, He sends His followers out on a short missionary trip to the surrounding towns to preach the good news about God with the people in that area. During His instructions to them before sending them out, Jesus shares an interesting word-picture that may describe how He wants all of His followers to be.
Luke shares Jesus word picture when He tells us Jesus said, “Go now, but listen! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.” (v. 3)
This is a profound word picture because it does not give the picture of safety. Jesus did not call His followers into a life filled with safety and security. (Actually, in one way He did, because Jesus secures our future lives in heaven and our eternity is safe with Him. In this instance, I am referring to our lives here on earth during the present age.)
Jesus calls us to be “like sheep among wolves”. I doubt Jesus intended for this illustration to prompt us to huddle in groups awaiting persecution from the “wolves” of the world. I do think Jesus shared this illustration because sheep are peaceful, sheep are calm (unless frightened), and sheep are not aggressive.
When we look at God’s ideal for how His people should live, behave, and act, I believe peaceful, calm, and not aggressive are all character attributes He would want us to possess. This means that an aggressive, mean, domineering Christian might remind me more of a wolf living in the world than a sheep Jesus is challenging to go into the world.
Jesus describes His disciples as sheep, and I believe this is because God wants His followers to be more sheep-like in our behavior rather than wolf-like. We should model peace, calm, love, and community in our own lives and avoid modeling our lives after the aggressive, predatory nature of a wolf that many in culture display.
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!
Subscribe to this blog and never miss an insight.