Luke – Doors Wide Open!
When sent by God to do His work for His glory, instructions must be given by the One who has a direct line of communication to God. Jesus is sent by God. God tells Jesus what to do and what to say. Then Jesus tells others what God wants done. All that God, through His Holy Spirit, invites us to do must be done in the Name of Jesus Christ. Any other way of being and doing is ME-nistry, not ministry.
Jesus sent them out two by two. There is significance here. Perhaps it’s for reasons of holding each other accountable. We go with a buddy. We help each other. Two is better than one for confidence, strength and assurance. We assure each other that we heard Jesus correctly so we can do exactly what He asks us to do.
Jesus never did his ministry of healing, seeking the lost while declaring God’s Kingdom come alone, there were always others with him. There are two things He did alone, however. One was to pray to His Father. When He prayed, He was asking God for his next direction as well as praying for his disciples (which included followers to come like you and me!) The only other task He did alone was to be the perfect sacrifice for our sin on the cross. No one else could have done that. No one on earth is perfect. Only Jesus could have completed the mission to save us by laying down is life for ours. That is why only In Jesus Name, by His power working in us, His Spirit living in us who believe, can anything of significance and value be done for God’s Kingdom and for His glory.“Thy will be done” takes on a fresh meaning when all that we think, do or say is In Jesus Name.
Luke 10, New Living Translation
Jesus Sends Out His Disciples
The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. 2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. 
3 Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.5 “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ 6 If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. 7 Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.
8 “If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. 9 Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’ 10 But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this—the Kingdom of God is near!’ 12 I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day.
13 “What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. 14 Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you. 15 And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead.”
16 Then he said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.”17 When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”
18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
WHAT DO WE LEARN?(With help from Warren Wiersbe, Commentator)
Whether we are in the harvest field, on the highway, or in the home, our highest privilege and our greatest joy is to do the will of God.
This event should not be confused with the sending out of the Twelve (Matt. 10; Luke 9:1–11). There are similarities in the charges given, but this is to be expected since both groups were sent by the same Master to do the same basic job. The twelve apostles ministered throughout Galilee, but these men were sent into Judea, and the men in this chapter are not called apostles. They were anonymous disciples.
These men were not called “apostles,” but they were still “sent (aposello) with a commission” to represent the Lord. They were therefore truly ambassadors of the King. Not only were they sent by Him, but they were also sent before Him to prepare the way for His coming. Their calling was certainly a dignified one.
Their calling was a dangerous one. As they invaded enemy territory (Luke 10:17), they would be like “lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:3). But as long as they relied on the Lord, they would win the battle. “Any man who takes Jesus Christ seriously becomes the target of the devil,” Vance Havner often told audiences. “Most church members do not give Satan enough trouble to arouse his opposition.”
It would require discipline and faith for them to do the job (Luke 10:4–8). There was an urgency about the work, and the Lord did not want them to be overburdened with extra supplies or be delayed on the road by elaborate Eastern greetings.They had to trust God to provide homes and food for them, and they were not to be embarrassed to accept hospitality.
They were ambassadors of peace, bringing healing to the sick, deliverance to the possessed, and the good news of salvation to lost sinners. Like Joshua’s army of old, they first proclaimed peace to the cities. If a city rejected the offer of peace, then it chose judgment. It is a serious thing to reject the ambassadors God sends.
It is important to note that the special power that Jesus gave to His apostles (Luke 9:1) and to the Seventy is not ours to claim today. These two preaching missions were very special ministries, and God did not promise to duplicate them in our age. Our Lord’s commission to us emphasizes the proclamation of the message, not the performing of miracles (Matt. 28:19–20; Luke 24:46–49). To hear Christ’s ambassadors means to hear Him, and to despise His representatives means to despise Him. “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21; see also 2 Cor. 5:18–21).
We can well understand the joy of the Seventy as they returned to report their victories to Jesus. He had given them power and authority to heal, to cast out demons, and to preach the Word, and they were successful! In the midst of their great joy, they were careful to give God the glory (“in thy name”).
Our highest joy is not found in service or even in our salvation, but in being submitted to the sovereign will of the heavenly Father, for this is the foundation for both service and salvation. Here we see God the Son rejoicing through God the Holy Spirit because of the will of God the Father! “I delight to do thy will, O my God” (Ps. 40:8).
Christ’s ambassadors were indeed privileged people. They were able to see and hear things that the greatest saints in the Old Testament ages yearned to see and hear but could not. The Messiah was at work, and they were a part of His work!
HOLY PAUSE…
Do you feel sent by God?
Is all you think, do or say done in Jesus Name?
What does “Your will be done” mean to you?
Dear Heavenly Father, Lord and Savior,
There is so much to learn here in this passage! There is much to think about concerning where we stand in your eyes. May all we do be done according to Your will and not our own today. May all we do, as part of your work, be done in Your Name. To You be all glory, honor and praise forevermore.
In Jesus Name, Amen. I believe.
Consider this. Products are marketed in ways to command a “following”. Following is used as a noun to describe a group of supporters and dedicated admirers. “New on the market” products need a world-wide following to thrive and continue. A successful business person knows that marketing should command the greater part of the budget because without a “following”, it will not survive for long. A following is a group of people who will religiously buy the product without considering any other alternatives.
Jesus invites us to His work when we are willing to follow, to leave the world behind us, with His cross before us. He wants us to know what we are in for as we leave what the world has to offer, to follow Him. There is a cost. We will leave those who do not follow Jesus. We leave what is comfortable. We leave what others want us to be and do. But there is also the reward of eternal peace and unspeakable joy as we put our complete focus, faith, trust and attention on Him. It a peace that the world will never be able to deliver. It is an eternal joy, coupled with hope, that brings us through all the storms of life. It is Jesus. Only Jesus. It is knowing where we are going and to whom will greet us when you get there. Jesus. Only Jesus.
The Cost of Following Jesus
Dear Heavenly Father, Lord and Savior,
Think of a time when God got your attention. Think of the power used to do something you could not do by yourself. What you thought impossible God made possible. Reverence, amazement, wonder and even fear gripped you with awe.
37 The next day, after they had come down the mountain, a large crowd met Jesus. 38 A man in the crowd called out to him, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, my only child. 39 An evil spirit keeps seizing him, making him scream. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It batters him and hardly ever leaves him alone. 40 I begged your disciples to cast out the spirit, but they couldn’t do it.”
Dear Heavenly Father,
In a classroom of students there will always be talking until the teacher of the group calls them to attention. “Stop talking and listen!” That usually means to be quiet and turn all your attention to the teacher for your next instruction or direction. Do all the students hear the call? Do all stop and listen? 
Not even Jesus could hold the attention of his students for long. He was constantly telling them things that were hard to understand and showing them what they had never experienced before meeting and following Him as their Master Teacher. Peter had just declared, “You are the Messiah, sent from God.” But even Peter, without thinking, which is the way most students who must get a word in, speaks when he should be listening. 
God steps in as the Supreme Authority. Peter, along with the rest of his small class, is told quickly and dramatically by God, the Father, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.” In other words, Peter, stop talking. Watch and listen to Jesus. Do what He does for He is part of me. He is my Son! God shows Peter that it’s not about building monuments, as in the past, it is about building your life on His Son. Listen to Him!
21 Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. 22 “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”
The Transfiguration
As far as the gospel record is concerned, the Transfiguration was the only occasion during Christ’s earthly ministry when He revealed the glory of His person. Luke did not use the word transfigure, but he described the same scene (Matt. 17:2; Mark 9:2). The word means “a change in appearance that comes from within,” and it gives us the English word metamorphosis. 
There is also a practical lesson here, for we can have a spiritual “transfiguration” experience each day as we walk with the Lord. Romans 12:1–2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18 tell us how. 
SO LISTEN TO HIM!
HOLY PAUSE…
It is no wonder people of this world are confused. They were confused before Jesus came down from heaven. People were confused as Jesus walked the earth, teaching people about God and His Kingdom, His ways, His love, and His Truth. Why? Because it was the opposite of what was being taught and lived.
Someone with a biblical worldview believes his primary reason for existence is to know, love and serve God.
Have I confused you even more? Stay with me…
HOLY PAUSE…
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).
Simple faith in the Creator of all, Who is in all and controls all is what living the life of a believer is all about. Jesus sends out his disciples to be an extension of Himself. He has invited them to follow Him in His mission to seek and to save the lost, to heal and restore in His Name and by His power, to show mercy and walk humble with Him. He still invites us today to do much the same.
Luke 9, New Living Translation
THINK ABOUT IT…
There are times in our lives when God acts in such mighty ways that fear sweeps in as our first response. For believers, this kind of jaw-dropping fear, shock and surprise, in the impossible made possible, quickly turns to awe and reverence of God. If you know God, you know what God can do. Nothing is impossible with God.
26 So they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. 27 As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him. For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in the tombs outside the town.
32 There happened to be a large herd of pigs feeding on the hillside nearby, and the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs.
–Jesus has power over all demons.
From demon possessed to a minister of the Gospel? When pigs fly? Yep!
The disciples battled the storm by themselves. (Don’t judge, we do the same!) When it looked like too much to handle, they finally yelled for help of the One who was there at the creation of the sea. Or did they? They yell, “Master, we’re going to drown!” This doesn’t seem like an actual cry for help, just a acknowledgement they were all in trouble and the boat might capsize. Their small faith prevented them from asking for his help as soon as trouble loomed in the skies of storm. Most were fishermen on this sea, they could sense trouble. They relied on their own understanding to fix the problem. They trusted in themselves first. They thought they could handle this storm based on past experiences. Besides that, what would a carpenter’s son know about handling the sea?
We learn from this faith lesson to trust that God is sovereign and has a purpose in every pain or fear of the unknown. We learn that if we seek his face in every situation, he will show us what he has for us. Jesus brings peace to the waves of water rolling in on top of them. We learn from this episode of Jesus’ power to be content in any and all circumstances. We learn to trust him even when it seems dangerous. We learn to turn to Jesus first and not “lean to our own understanding” of life.
22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and started out. 23 As they sailed across, Jesus settled down for a nap. But soon a fierce storm came down on the lake. The boat was filling with water, and they were in real danger.
Dear Heavenly Father, Lord and Savior
We are family
Everyone can see we’re together
Who doesn’t like to hear and sing along? This uplifting, joyful song sung by Sister Sledge almost has it right. Include the brothers and sisters together in Christ and you’ve got it! Here’s my lyric modifications: 
19 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they couldn’t get to him because of the crowd. 20 Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to see you.”
Jesus took this as an opportunity to teach another spiritual lesson: being a part of His spiritual family is much more important than any human relationship and is based on obedience to the Word of God. It is not enough to “hear” the Word of God; we must also “keep it” (Luke 8:15). 
We are family!
