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. 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. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 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. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ (Luke 10:1-9 ESV)

Here we see Jesus in delegation mode.  He’s spent loads of time with his disciples, teaching them with his words and way of life.   Now, it’s time for them to learn by doing.  They have been in gathered mode, now is time to scatter.  So he sends them out with little…no moneybag, knapsack, sandals.   He sends them with so little they will need to have refrigerator rights in other people’s homes to survive.

He wants them to rely on others.    Full dependence on others, will teach them full dependence on him.

He asks them to find these people of peace by saying “peace on this house”.  It almost sounds like a code word, but this was more about who the people are, and what God has already been doing in their lives to prepare them for the missionary’s arrival, and less about their response to a code word!  If God has been making these people seek the peace of the kingdom of God, a travelling preaching proclaiming that message will be welcomed.

Look how deeply he wants these relationships to go.  He wants them to stay with one family, and not go from house to house.  He wants them to become family, to be vulnerable, completely known and trusted by others.

Question: Describe what you think a person of peace would be like.  How would the disciples’ travels be different if they had more supplies?

Ryan Sim - January 1, 2014

Wednesday - Change It - The Night That Changed the Wise

Happy New Year! We’ve been looking at the story of the Magi or wise men visiting Jesus, now we’ll contast them with the priests and scribes who were present at their meeting with Herod (see yesterday’s Bible reading). The scribes and priests are also knowledgeable, learned like the Magi. They are called to advise Herod on this apparent threat to his rule – is a new king of the Jews, or the Messiah, really going to be born? These experts on the scriptures end up helping him with his plan to have the wise men quietly scout things out for Herod, so he can swoop in and violently remove the threat. But first, Herod needed to know where in Judea this “king” would be born. This was a question the priests/scribes could answer immediately – they knew the scriptures, the history and answer that it’s Bethlehem, the city of David. The priests and scribes had all the information to know the messiah was coming, and coming imminently. But they did nothing but advise his enemy. Perhaps in their view, the arrival of the Messiah represents a threat to their power and authority in their culture, and to peace with the Romans. So they go home...Herod will neutralize threat. They advise and move on. Question: What intellectual risks are involved in following Jesus? How do you calculate those? Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community - so check out today's reading at https://www.redeemthecommute.com/readingplan Reminder: The best way to grow spiritually this year is to join our Christianity 101 in the Cafe Course in Pickering starting January 22nd. Register for you and a friend today at https://www.redeemthecommute.com/events/!

From Series: The Night that Changed Everything | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

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