From our Sunday service on October 18, 2026, Luke 9:51-10:24. This is part 20 of our Gospel of Luke series. Watch the full message: Sending the Seventy – The Gospel of Luke #20 on YouTube.
We’re continuing our series in Luke, in Luke chapter 9 starting in verse 51. Last time, we saw Jesus gather the twelve disciples for a serious discussion about the importance of humility. Jesus warned them to change their minds, or they might still reject salvation, if they chose not to humble themselves as a child and realize that their ministry wasn’t about them but about serving Christ.
Today Jesus continues his preparations to make his way to the cross. Remember, earlier in this series, on the Mount of Transfiguration, he was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, and Moses and Elijah appeared next to him, and they talked about his decease that he must accomplish in Jerusalem. Since then, Jesus has been preparing himself to go to Jerusalem to die on the cross. But that’s still months away. There’s still an opportunity to go city to city and preach the good news of the kingdom of heaven before he goes to the cross. So today he’s setting things up for his big, long trip to Jerusalem over the next few months. And as he prepares this, he gives us a lesson for each and every one of us today:
God wants you to prepare others to meet him.
Rejected in Samaria
Here we see Jesus begin to look towards Jerusalem, in verses 51 through 53.
And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
Luke 9:51–53
As I said, after the transfiguration, Jesus’ next phase of ministry was going to Jerusalem to die on the cross for the sins of humanity, and so he was going to begin his journey to Jerusalem. He’s up in the north in Galilee. Jerusalem’s down in the south. And in between them lie the cities of the Samaritans.
If you remember back to the beginning of the series, early in Jesus’ ministry he went straight to Samaria and met the woman at the well. The woman at the well told everybody the good news about Jesus, and they came out and sat at Jesus’ feet, and they learned from him, and they were excited, and they embraced him. Now it’s time for Jesus to go through Samaria again, and we see that the scene isn’t the same as it was before.
Jesus sends some disciples ahead to talk to the Samaritans and find someone in the city who can take in all the disciples. Right now Jesus has twelve disciples traveling with him, but by the end of today’s lesson there are going to be seventy disciples that Jesus is sending out. Jesus doesn’t just have twelve people traveling with him anymore. He’s got tons and tons of people following, so he needs a place for them to stay. So he says, “Go to Samaria. Go to the cities that received me, and tell them I’m coming back and I’m on my way to Jerusalem.” And when they get there, things aren’t the same. They find out, “Oh, he’s going to Jerusalem.” They know what time of year it is. They know that a feast is coming, and this creates a cultural divide between Jesus and the Samaritans.
Why the Samaritans Turned Him Away
Unfortunately, the Samaritans didn’t respond positively to him this time, due to petty religious and cultural differences between the Samaritans and the Jews. If you remember back when we talked about the Samaritans, the Samaritans had been banned from worship in the temple, the very place Jesus was intending to go. The Samaritans were a mix of Assyrians and Jewish people, and because of their mixed heritage, the Jews didn’t allow them to go to Jerusalem and worship. They were kicked out of the temple entirely. The Jews hated them so much. So Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to worship, and the Samaritans say, “Jesus is going to Jerusalem to worship? We’re banned from there. That’s a little insensitive, don’t you think?”
What the Samaritans did is they compromised: “If you won’t let us worship in Jerusalem, we’re going to build a temple on Mount Gerizim.” For a while, they had their own temple outside of Jerusalem where they worshiped God, because they weren’t allowed to go. And the Jews hated it: “That’s an abomination. Worship can only happen in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem temple is where God chose to put his presence.” Is that really true? The tabernacle existed before Solomon’s temple. But they created this divide: “You can’t come.” So the Samaritans said, “We’ll make our own temple.” During the intertestamental period, those 400 years, the Jews had had enough, so they sent a military campaign into Samaria and tore down and utterly destroyed the Samaritans’ temple. Because of this, the tensions between the Jews and Samaritans had never been greater.
So when Jesus came preaching the kingdom of heaven and talking about how the kingdom of God is within you, boy, oh boy, were they excited: “Finally, we can get over this.” They asked the Messiah, “Where is the proper place to worship? Is it in Jerusalem, or is it here in Samaria?” And Jesus dodged the question. But now he’s going to Jerusalem for Passover. He’s going to go worship in the temple. No longer can that statement be ambiguous.
And they say, “Wait, Jesus, we thought you were on our side. We thought you stood for what we stood for. If you’re going to Jerusalem, then we want nothing to do with you, because we still worship on Mount Gerizim in the ruins of our former temple. By going to Jerusalem, you’re denying our worship of God and saying that we don’t worship properly.” So they said, “Guess what, Jesus? You’re no longer welcome here. Go around Samaria. I wouldn’t step in this land if I were you.” Suddenly Jesus is the enemy of the Samaritans, because they didn’t like what Jesus had to say. Because of this, they had to come up with a new plan.
The Sons of Thunder
The disciples speak up in verses 54 through 56.
And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
Luke 9:54–56
As we’ve seen happen a lot over the last few messages, the disciples confidently speak up and have something completely wrong to say. James and John are remembering a time in the Old Testament when Elijah was in Samaria, and some people rebuked God, and God called down fire from heaven.
Here James and John live up to their name, the sons of thunder. Jesus calls them this because of their aptitude to get out of line and maybe speak out too much. They’re too bold. They’re like thunder: when they’re around, you just can’t ignore it. Here it’s kind of appropriate, because “fire from heaven” is a phrase that means lightning. So the sons of thunder live up to the idea of thunder, because where there’s thunder, there’s lightning: “Call lightning out of heaven to burn and strike these Samaritans. Isn’t that what we should do?”
They pull from 2 Kings 1:9-12. In this passage, King Ahaziah had sent men to arrest Elijah for delivering God’s condemnation, and the disciples think that’s what’s happening here. To them, Jesus, by choosing to go to Jerusalem, is making a statement that Jerusalem is the right place to worship. And what happened in that passage? If we look at it, this is what happened:
And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
2 Kings 1:10
The disciples saw the situation and thought, “It’s the same thing. Jesus has taken our side in this debate between the Jews and the Samaritans.” Is that really what Jesus did? Did he take a side, or did he just say, “I’m going to Jerusalem to worship”? He never made a statement that “you’re wrong” or “they’re right.” He was just traveling. And it became politicized and turned into this whole ordeal, where the Samaritans thought he was saying something, and the disciples thought he was saying something, and Jesus has to get everybody in line and say, “Did I say that?”
Not Come to Destroy Men’s Lives
What does he say? Verse 55: “But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.”
The truth was, Jesus was going to make the temple a moot point. That temple was going to be destroyed within about four decades. The temple would be useless in a couple of months, when Jesus dies on the cross and the veil of the temple rips in two. It wasn’t really important right then. Jesus wasn’t making a theological statement. He was making it obsolete. Why would he care one way or the other? By the time the news got around, who would be going to the temple to worship anymore? We worship him in spirit and in truth, and the Spirit of God dwells inside each and every Christian, not inside a temple made with hands.
So he rebukes them and says, “You don’t know the point of my mission. I’m not here to destroy people.” This was a misconception in the first century, time and time again: that the Messiah was going to be a man of war. That’s not who Jesus was. That wasn’t what the Messiah came to do. He was there to save humanity, not destroy them. The disciples saw this as a theological debate, and they thought punishment was necessary. But all the prophecies said that Jesus would do no harm. You could look at Isaiah 42:3. There was no destruction to come. It was salvation for those who had faith in him.
Three Who Fell Short
After this, some men approached Jesus wanting to follow him on his journey to Jerusalem. We see the first man approach Jesus in verses 57 and 58.
And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
Luke 9:57–58
We’re going to see three potential disciples show up on the scene: three people with the opportunity to follow Christ who are going to fall short of following him.
The Impulsive Disciple
The first one we see is the impulsive disciple. Matthew gives us more detail and tells us that this was specifically a scribe, somebody responsible for copying down the words of Scripture and passing them on to the next generation. This would have been someone very well aware of the theology of the Messiah and his purpose. He’d have all the qualifications to go around and preach the gospel, because his day job was writing down the words of God and teaching them.
He’s a scribe, so he probably has a pretty cushy life. He’s working in religious work that’s all funded by tax money; we saw that with the miracle of the coin last time. There was no risk of him losing his job or not having work. He lived a comfortable life. And he says, “I want to follow you, Jesus.”
Jesus has some words of warning for him: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” The people who followed Jesus had no permanent home. They traveled city to city for months at a time. There was no comfort in this lifestyle. “Scribe, you’ve lived in comfort your whole life. Once you became a scribe, you had everything taken care of. You’d always have housing, you’d always have food, you’d always have money. Do you know what it costs to follow me? Do you know where I’m going? In a couple of months, they’re going to try to crucify me. Do you think you’re ready for this? You might be excited about Christ, but have you really counted the cost? Because it’s going to take you into places that are uncomfortable.”
Jesus doesn’t even have a pillow to his name. He doesn’t even have a place to lay his head. He relied only on others’ kindness to survive, because his need was to travel where he needed to preach. This would-be disciple had not considered what it would truly cost to follow Jesus and preach the kingdom of God. And when Jesus tells him this, it’s implied that he walks away because the cost is too much.
The Procrastinating Disciple
In verses 59 and 60, we see a man who is invited to follow.
And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
Luke 9:59–60
The next disciple we see is not one who was impulsive, but one who was procrastinating. This time Jesus is the one who invites him. He doesn’t jump in after one of Jesus’ lessons and say, “Make me a disciple.” Jesus goes to him and says, “You have what it takes to be a disciple. Come and follow me.” But the man is not ready to make that commitment. He asks for permission to wait until his father passes and he has been able to bury him.
We know this isn’t a situation where his father had already died, because it was legally required in that day and age to bury a person on the day of his death, preferably within a couple of hours. You see in Luke 7:12 that the widow’s son was being carried out to be buried the same day. This man isn’t saying, “I’ve got a couple of hours of work to do.” He’s saying, “My dad’s old. He’s well advanced in years. He probably has a couple of months left, maybe a year or two at most. How about I take care of him and have my last moments with my father, and then, after he’s gone and buried and I’ve done the role of a son, when it’s more convenient, I’ll follow you.”
What does Jesus say? “Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.” Jesus says, “Do you not understand? I’ve offered you an opportunity to do a greater mission. Let the dead bury their dead.” In other words, let those who are spiritually dead wait for their father’s death. “You are spiritually alive. I see in you the joy of my Spirit, and you can go and preach and teach and bring people to me. I see your potential.” But the man says, “It’s not convenient right now.”
We can be like the first disciple: eager to jump in, but when we see the difficulty, we back off. But we can also be like the procrastinating disciple. Jesus says, “You are ready to serve me. You understand me. You’ve felt Christ’s love in your life. You know what it is, and you know how to tell others about it.” And we say, “Jesus, I know I could do it, and I want to do it, but right now it’s not a good time. There are some things I need to take care of, some things in my life I need to set in order before I go do that. Maybe later.”
But Jesus gives him this encouragement: “Go thou and preach the kingdom of God. Let the dead bury their dead. You’re not spiritually dead. Go preach the kingdom of God. Go to the higher calling. What I’m offering you is something better, something bigger.” Do you think your father’s going to care, when you’ve changed the whole world along with these disciples? We’re talking about this man 2,000-plus years later. Wouldn’t it have been much better if he were listed among the disciples who followed, rather than among those who said, “No, Lord, not today. Not right now. Maybe later”? Our temptation is to be just like that man.
The Dispassionate Disciple
When he declines, another man jumps up, in verses 61 and 62.
And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Luke 9:61–62
Next we see the dispassionate disciple. This man jumps up to volunteer when he sees the other man say no, but he’s still not ready to go. He doesn’t want to wait a couple of months till his father dies. He just wants to go back home and take care of things with his family. He’s got people staying at his house, and he wants to bid them farewell. It was clear to Jesus from the start that he wanted the benefits of pursuing the kingdom while he held on to the comfort of home, and he could not have both.
Notice the phrase Jesus uses in verse 62: “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Jesus is pulling a parallel from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, with Lot and his wife. They’re called out of the city of Sodom, that city of wickedness, to pursue righteousness. And as they are fleeing Sodom, and it burns with fire from heaven, Lot’s wife longs for the sinful world that lies behind her. In that moment of weakness, she looks back, longing for the pleasures of Sodom, and in that moment God turns her into a pillar of salt. Jesus is pulling from this imagery about this man: “I understand what you’re doing here. You want to pursue the kingdom while still preserving the comfort of home. No disciple looking back at the simple pleasures of this life is fit for the kingdom of God. You can’t serve yourself and serve me. You can’t do both.”
Elisha Burned the Tools of His Trade
Another interesting parallel is the story of Elijah and Elisha. When Elijah calls Elisha, he throws his mantle over Elisha as a symbol that he’s next in line and could receive a double portion of Elijah’s ministry. And Elisha says, “Let me go and kiss my family goodbye.” And Elijah says to him, “What have I done to thee? I just put my mantle on you. It’s no big deal.” And Elisha realizes what Elijah is saying: “You can’t have the comfort of home and follow me.” So Jesus is pulling from this story as well.
So what does Elisha do? He goes home and kills the cattle he uses to plow the field, and he takes the tools of the field and makes a dinner, gives it to the people, and follows Elijah. Elijah says, “What is it to you to follow me?” And Elisha says, “I get what you’re saying. I’m going to go burn the tools of my trade, and I’m not looking back.”
See the difference between those two disciples, the disciple who wanted to follow Jesus and the disciple who did follow Elijah? The one says, “I want home to be all ready for me when I want to come back to it.” The other says, “I don’t want a backup plan.” That’s what this man should have said: “I don’t want a backup plan, Jesus. I’m going to pursue you fully, and I’m not making a plan to go home if I change my mind. I’m going to be fully devoted to you.”
God Rarely Waits
Jesus is saying that if we are unwilling to do the work God invites us to, he’s going to find someone else who is willing. This man wasn’t willing to give up everything. He wanted to have his cake and eat it too. But you can’t have it both ways. God rarely waits on you to change your mind if he asks you to do something.
Remember the story of Moses. He said he wasn’t good enough to do it: “But Aaron’s good.” And God said, “Okay, let’s get Aaron to do it.” Moses tagged along, but God didn’t wait on Moses to change his mind. He didn’t say, “Okay, I’ll check back in two weeks.” He let Aaron do it, and Aaron wasn’t good at it. Aaron created the calf cult because he got put in a position of authority that God didn’t want him to have. God wanted Moses to have it. If Aaron had never been put in charge, the calf cult could never have taken place, because Aaron wouldn’t have had the respect he had, which he got when Moses didn’t want to step up.
God rarely will wait for you when he calls you to do something. If God says, “Go witness to that man and give him the gospel,” and you say no, he says, “Okay, I’ll send somebody else to do it.” You’ll miss out on the blessing. You’ll miss out on the goodness. And maybe things won’t go as well as if you had just stepped up and said, “God, I’m leaving whatever’s behind me behind me, and I’m looking forward to what you’ve called me to do.”
So we see these three people, invited or volunteering to follow Jesus, who for whatever reason couldn’t get out of their comfort zone and follow Christ. The first wasn’t willing to leave the convenience of his job. The second wasn’t ready to go until he had his family taken care of. And the third wasn’t ready to go because he wanted to hold on to things that were comfortable to him.
The Seventy Appointed
So what happens? Life moves on, in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 10. We see the seventy disciples appointed.
After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
Luke 10:1–2
We’re introduced here to what these men were volunteering for. Jesus was beginning to get volunteers to go and preach the kingdom of heaven before his final trip to Jerusalem. He wanted every city on the way to know he was coming, so that when he arrived, they were ready to listen to his words. Those three men had the opportunity to work in one of the most important parts of Jesus’ ministry, preparing his way to the cross, yet they weren’t ready to step up. But what happens? Other people are willing. These seventy men gather together with Jesus and go two by two.
But what does Jesus say? “We may have these seventy, but the harvest truly is great, and the labourers are few. We may have seventy men here who are willing to go, but if we had 144 or 1,000 men willing to step up and preach my name, how many more people would know about me? How many more cities could we reach? How much more could the gospel be spread?” There are so many people who need to hear the Word of God, and so few people willing to step up and do it.
A Prophet Like unto Moses
Seventy is the number here. What’s significant about these seventy people? The Bible talks repeatedly about how Jesus was a prophet like unto Moses. If you look at the Gospel of Matthew and the way it’s structured, it’s structured to parallel the life of Moses. Matthew has five discourses, five speeches of Jesus, that mirror the five books of the Torah. It starts with the birth of Jesus under a persecuting king, just as Moses was persecuted under Pharaoh. You see him flee into Egypt, just as Moses fled from Egypt. You see him return, and you see him anointed in the wilderness, as Moses was anointed for his ministry at the burning bush. You see all these parallels with Moses.
And here we see another one in Luke, in the sending of the seventy. In Numbers chapter 11, God raises up seventy men to help Moses. I’ll read verses 14, 16, 24, and 25.
I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. … And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel … And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.
Numbers 11:14, 16, 24–25
Here we see another prophecy being fulfilled in Jesus being a prophet like unto Moses. Just as it was too much responsibility for Jesus to go to all these cities in six months, it was also too much responsibility for Moses to deal with all the people. So just as God prepared seventy men for Moses, God prepared seventy men for Jesus to go and spread his news with the Spirit of God, just as happened in Moses’ day.
Sent as Lambs Among Wolves
We see these seventy go out in verses 3 through 7.
Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
Luke 10:3–7
Just as when Jesus sent the twelve, he sends these seventy in a very similar way. He sends them with no money bag and no bag of food. They’re not allowed to bring a bag of snacks on this trip. That might be hard for some of us to even imagine, but that’s the way it was. It was not a safe thing to do. It was not a wise thing to do. But Jesus says, “That’s what I want you to do.” Why? Because Jesus wants them to rely on God, not on their own wisdom and ability. He wants to show them that he can provide for them. They’re not supposed to bring money or food for the trip. They need to trust that God’s going to take care of all their needs, and that at the end of this potentially month- or two-month-long journey, when they come back, they’ll be healthy and taken care of by God.
He also tells them this time to bring no extra pair of sandals and not to stop to greet anyone while they’re traveling. Why can’t they greet anyone? Jesus said the harvest is great and the laborers are few. There’s no time for small talk this time: “We only have seventy people, and I need people to know about what’s going to happen, because the next few months are going to be crucial for the entire world. Over the next few months, things are going to be prepared for me to die on a cross for the sins of the world. And guess what? Salvation is going to be open to everyone, and everyone needs to know the way to heaven. So go city to city, and don’t make small talk on the way. Go to the house. Knock on the door and ask to stay. If they let you stay, stay.”
And he says, “Eat what’s set before you.” They need to rely on the kindness of strangers: “Whatever people offer you, don’t complain. Don’t ruin my testimony. Just take whatever it is and enjoy it.” Then he says, “Go not from house to house.” In other words, don’t be greedy. If somebody takes care of you in one house, don’t go to the next-door neighbor and say, “I got my lunch here. You got any dessert?” “Just eat what’s set before you. Don’t be greedy, because I don’t want people to think, when I come to this city, that I’m here for a bunch of free stuff. If you go out and you’re greedy, they’re going to think that about me.”
The Kingdom of God Is Come Nigh unto You
He continues to talk about this ministry in verses 8 through 12.
And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.
Luke 10:8–12
Just like the twelve disciples, these seventy disciples are going to be sent out with the full authority of Jesus Christ. They’re going to be sent with the power of the Holy Spirit to do miracles. In each city they enter, they can preach, and their preaching is going to be backed up by inexplainable things. They’ll be able to cast out demons. They’ll be able to heal the sick, maybe even raise the dead. When these people came to a city, there was going to be no debate on whether or not they came with the authority of God.
Because of this, Jesus says, “If they reject you, they reject me. If they reject you, tell them what they’re rejecting. Wipe the dust off your feet and tell them that it’ll be more tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgment than for that city.” Why? Because when God empowers the believer, he indwells him. God’s Spirit was with them. When they rejected the Word of God spoken through them, they rejected God as well.
Jesus doesn’t distinguish between himself and us going and spreading the gospel. The way he sees it, if we go in his authority and preach the gospel, it is quite literally the same as if Jesus himself came down from heaven and preached the gospel to someone. It’s important for us as believers to understand how much God puts on our ability to give the gospel.
You might think, “Wow, that’s crazy. That’s not me.” Who were these seventy? They were just regular people, people who came and said, “You need volunteers? I’m ready.” Jesus said, “I’ve got no pillow. I need you to leave today. I need you to be fully devoted. If you can do those things, come.” And those people said, “I’m okay with sacrificing a little bit. I’m okay with leaving right now, and I’m okay with being devoted to you.” And he said, “Okay, that’s enough. Come. I’ve got the rest of what you need.” He gave them the Holy Spirit, and they could do miraculous things.
Guess what? If you can do those same things today, then God can use you in miraculous ways. All you have to do is be ready and willing to do what he calls you to do. But the temptation is to make excuses, and then we become like the three who said, “I just can’t right now.” And that opportunity to be Christ on this earth, to share the good news and to do great things for Christ, passes us by, and we miss out on one of the greatest opportunities of our lives.
Woe unto Thee
He then gives the woes in verses 13 through 16.
Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell. He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
Luke 10:13–16
Here Jesus doubles down on the concept that his followers are his representatives, and when you reject one of Christ’s representatives, you are rejecting Christ. Why? Because God indwells that person. The Spirit of God is in the believer. We’re a kingdom of priests. So when we share the gospel, we’re not just sharing it ourselves; the Holy Spirit shares it through us. God is involved in it. So he says, “Not everybody’s going to like this. Some people are going to despise you. Some people are going to hate you. But if they despise you or hate you, know it’s not about you, it’s about me. They despise and hate me and the one who sent me.”
So these seventy men go out into the world, to the cities of Israel, and prepare the way for Jesus. It doesn’t record what happened, but I’m sure what happened is exactly what’s foreshadowed here. In some cities they go to, they preach and people are receptive, and the lame walk, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised, and miracles come, and demons are cast out, and mighty works are done. But in some cities, people reject it. They don’t want to hear it, and they don’t provide hospitality to God’s workers. They say, “Get out of our town. Get out of our city.” And those workers go hungry for that day and have to live out that whole concept of the Son of man having nowhere to lay his head. There were good days, and there were bad days, but one way or another the work was done.
The Seventy Return with Joy
A month or two later, they rejoin Jesus and report on what happened. We see this in verses 17 through 20.
And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Luke 10:17–20
Out of all the things the seventy learned on their trip, one thing stood out to them the most: as they went town to town, they found that Jesus’ name had power over the demonic forces. This is interesting, because the disciples had just been struggling with this very thing. They had struggled with the pride of being a disciple, one of the special twelve. It was getting in the way of their ministry, and they couldn’t cast out demons because they were trying to do it in their own reputation instead of in the power of Jesus. The demons didn’t bow down to the disciples, or to Didymus, Thomas. They bowed down because Jesus commanded them.
So these seventy say, “Jesus, this is crazy. I know you told us this would happen, but when the demons came, they started running, because they saw us coming in your power. And when we said, ‘Get out,’ they ran and fled from the power of your name.” And Jesus says, “You know what? I was watching you.”
I Beheld Satan as Lightning Fall from Heaven
I think a lot of us miss this in verse 18: “And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” We see that and we don’t really think about what it means. Jesus is talking about what happened while they were doing this. He says, “While you were out there preaching and teaching and doing these miracles, I was watching the spiritual realm. I looked up and saw Satan in heaven panicking over the ministry you did, and he came to this earth like a lightning bolt to the ground in response to the work you were doing.”
Satan was fine staying up in heaven accusing the brethren, accusing the believers (not Christians yet, but you know what I mean). He was accusing them before the Lord and letting his little demons on the ground do all the work. But as those seventy went city to city to city casting out his demons and fixing the broken world he was making so that people wouldn’t turn to Christ, suddenly Satan panicked, and like a lightning bolt he dashed down to the earth: “This is out of control. These followers of Jesus are having victory over my forces, and I need to do this myself.”
These seventy people made Satan panic. Oh, what would have happened if there had been three more? What would have happened if there had been hundreds and hundreds of people going city to city preaching the kingdom with the Spirit’s power and in the name of Jesus, healing and casting out demons? If Satan panicked over seventy people, imagine what he could do with a whole church full of people in the name of Jesus. Boy, what’s faster than lightning? I don’t know, but Satan would be running from that power.
We look at that and say, “Oh yeah, Satan fell like lightning from heaven.” But no, believer, what are we supposed to take away from this? When the Christian does what God calls him to do, Satan panics. And when there are enough of us working together, even Satan’s forces have no power in this world.
Step Up to the Plate
If you want revival in America, or in the world as a whole, guess what? We’ve got to step up to the plate. We’ve got to volunteer. We’ve got to stop making these excuses that hold us back from being Christ’s representatives to the world: “It’s not comfortable. It’s not a good time.” Christian, if we all got out there, what would Satan be able to do?
You think your country’s falling apart? You think there are a lot of problems here? Well, guess what? Satan’s outnumbering us with his forces. There aren’t enough of us in this world standing up, ready to speak the truth, ready to give the gospel, ready to change lives. Because when the Holy Spirit indwells a man, Satan no longer has power.
If you think Satan’s taking over this world and you’re not doing anything to stop it, you’ve got nothing to complain about. You can’t complain about the political landscape, and you can’t complain about the religious background of the people here, if you don’t get out there and say, “I want to be on the front lines of this spiritual battle. I don’t want to be behind. I don’t want to be the guy trying to make my house comfortable and enjoy it. I want to be the one who’s on the front lines, who’s got the Spirit of God, who’s ready to serve Christ where he calls me.”
Power over All the Power of the Enemy
So Jesus wants them to understand what it means that they serve him. Satan fell from heaven. In verses 19 and 20, he continues: “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Some Pentecostals have taken this the wrong way, to think Jesus is talking about literal serpents and scorpions. Read the verse. He’s not talking about animals. He’s talking about demons: “serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.” Our enemy’s not snakes and scorpions, people. It’s pretty obvious. I don’t wake up in the morning going, “Ah, the snakes and scorpions!” No. It’s Satan and his forces. He says, “I’m giving you power to trample them. I’m giving you my Holy Spirit, Christian.” Each and every one of us has it. “I’ve given you the weapon that makes them run away. You can trample them. They have no power.” It says, “Nothing shall by any means hurt you.” The Christian is untouchable from the attacks of the enemy, and the demons must obey when they act with Christ’s authority.
But he says one thing, though: “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” “You have the power to change this world, to make Satan panic and have no power here. But don’t focus on that. Focus on the more important thing: that you are saved by your faith, that your name is written in heaven, and that when this story is over, you get to spend eternity with me. Focus on the grace, and the rest will fall into place.”
Revealed unto Babes
Jesus concludes by thanking God for these seventy faithful men. We see this in verses 21 through 24.
In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Luke 10:21–24
Jesus concludes our lesson today by thanking God for the wonderful work of these men. These seventy disciples understood what Jesus had just taught the disciples about having faith like a child. We talked last time about how we need to have faith as a child, a faith that demonstrates the humility, dependence, teachability, and trust that only come from a young child and the way he looks at his parent. Jesus had just warned the twelve disciples that they had to learn this lesson, and here we see that these seventy, sent out in addition to the twelve, did learn it.
Jesus says, “God, I thank you that these people have understood what it means to follow me: that they love me, that they cherish me, that they’re devoted to me, that they’re humble before me, and that they’ve let me use them to accomplish amazing, inexplainable things.” He thanks God that everything had been given to him, the very reason why Satan had so quickly fallen to the earth in the previous section.
Jesus turns to his disciples and tells them that those who are alive to see this moment have a very great blessing. Centuries of prophets and kings had longed to see the Messiah, and the day when the Spirit of God would be poured out among the men and women of the world, when all could prophesy and teach in Jesus’ name. They had longed for that day, but they did not see it. Now, for the first time, things were falling into place for the Spirit of God to dwell among his people and do a great work. “Don’t miss out on how significant this is.”
We Act Like We’re Powerless
Christian, we have the same problem. We have inherited this great blessing of having the Spirit indwelling us, the very presence of God walking with us, the ability to trample the power of the enemy in the name of Jesus, and we still don’t use it. It’s right there. We make excuses while we have the ability to be untouched by the power of Satan and to liberate those who are oppressed by him. And yet we stand by, because we’re too busy doing dumb stuff: “I’m too busy binge-watching my Netflix show. Too busy playing my sports games. I’m too busy trying to get my affairs in order for my business or my job or my bank account.”
Time after time, God has given us the chance to just go and reach the lost. Just something. Just reach out your hand a couple of feet to that lost person beside you. And we act like we’re powerless, like there’s nothing we can do. But if we actually leaned into it and believed what God says about us, about the power he gives us, if we all just stood out for a moment, Satan would panic and run: “Oh no, I need to make a new plan, because guess what? The Christians are doing something.”
If you look at history, when does the world change? When Christians step up and do what the Bible says. When do societies get transformed? When Christians stand up and do what the Bible says. When does the enemy get defeated? When Christians step up and do what the Bible says. Not when they tell other people to do what the Bible says. That’s not what I’m saying. But when Christians step up, look at the Word of God, and say, “Guess what? I’m going to do this. When God calls me to reach somebody, I’m going to do it.” And when that happens, what can the world do to stop it?
Prepare Others to Meet Him
To tie all this together: as Jesus prepared for his journey to Jerusalem, he began preparing his disciples for the work that lay ahead. He reminded them that their responsibility was not to condemn those who reject him, but to prepare the willing to receive him. He needed followers who were willing to obey his calling, trust him to provide, and faithfully share his message, so that when others encountered Jesus, they were ready to receive him at a moment’s notice.
The seventy successfully demonstrated that kind of faithfulness, and they returned rejoicing over what God had accomplished through them. Jesus reminded them that their greatest joy should come not from what they accomplished, but from the salvation they had received through faith in Christ.
Today we have also been given that wonderful gift of salvation, and we have that same opportunity to share it with others and prepare them to meet Christ for themselves. So how can we do that? We can pray for those who don’t know Christ. We can show kindness and compassion to people who need to see his love. We can invite someone to church. We can answer people’s questions about God, or take the time to explain the gospel to a friend or neighbor. And when someone rejects our message, we can respond with patience rather than condemnation, leaving the door open for another opportunity down the road from some other faithful believer.
None of these things require us to be pastors, missionaries, or even a Bible scholar. They simply require us to be willing to do the work God has invited us to partake in. The question today is, are you willing to do it? Or are we letting distractions like comfort, busyness, and other excuses keep us from the work God has invited us to share with him? God wants you to prepare others to meet him. So what are you doing to help others know Christ today?
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