Luke 10:1-24

All right, so if you were with us last week, you know that we started a new series here in the evening service on discipleship.

What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus?

Here we are sort of after Easter.

We celebrated in the course of the church year the sort of great events of our faith, the incarnation at Christmas, the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter.

And now we're thinking, what does it look like?

What does it mean to live in light of all that Jesus has done?

And what does it mean to be his follower?

Last week, we looked at the end of chapter 9 and we thought about priority in discipleship.

And what we saw there was that Jesus challenges and almost demands of us that we put him first above all else.

That's what it means to be a disciple, to be working in all of life to put him first.

This week, we're going to see in the Gospel of Luke chapter 10 that being a disciple means having a mission.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

So, if you would open up your Bibles or the Pew Bible there to Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

What page is that in the Pew Bible?

Does anyone have it?

Want to shout it out?

868?

868.

Okay.

So, you can turn there to 868 in the Pew Bible or you can turn there in your own Bible or on your tablet or whatever you're using to Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

And we are going to look at the first half of chapter 10 this week and then we're going to look at the second half of chapter 10 next week.

And I think what you'll see over the course of these next two weeks is this whole chapter really is about our sort of mission as disciples.

But this first half, we're going to look at sort of our word mission.

So, let me read Luke 10, 1 through 24 for us.

After this, the Lord, that is the Lord Jesus, appointed 72 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'm sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

Carry no money bag, 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.

But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say,

even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you.

Nevertheless, know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.

I tell you it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

Woe to you, Chorazin.

Woe to you, Bethsaida.

For if the mighty works done in you have been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.

And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven?

You shall be brought down to Hades.

The one who hears you hears me.

The one who rejects you rejects me.

And the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.

The 72 returned with joy, saying,

Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.

And he said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

Behold, I've given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions,

and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you,

but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

In that same hour, he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,

I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,

that you've hidden these things from the wise and understanding

and revealed them to little children.

Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father,

and no one knows who the Son is, except the Father,

or who the Father is, except the Son,

and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Then turning to the disciples, he said privately,

Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.

For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,

and did not see it, and to hear what you hear,

and did not hear it.

Okay, we'll stop there for tonight.

So remember the context of where we're at in Luke's gospel.

Back in chapter 9, verse 51,

Jesus finally has set his faith to go to Jerusalem.

Here he is, he's heading up to Jerusalem for the last time in his earthly ministry

to accomplish what he said at the transfiguration,

to accomplish his exodus, his departure, his going forth.

And I think it's very fitting that Luke uses the term exodus

to describe what Jesus is going to accomplish in Jerusalem,

because it's going to be a new liberation for the people of God,

their new moment of redemption,

just like the exodus was in the Old Testament for the people of Israel.

So this is where we're at, and Jesus is on his way,

and his disciples are going with him,

they're following on the road.

You remember last week, the reason why we're studying this middle section of Luke

is because as we think about discipleship,

here we have, in a gospel,

the disciples literally following Jesus on the road,

and Jesus along the way teaching them all about what it means to be his follower.

And here, in our text in chapter 9,

Jesus sends them.

He sends them out.

And that's what our word mission actually means.

It's a Latin word that just means,

you're sent.

And I think in this section of chapter 10,

we see two big ideas when it comes to our mission as disciples.

First, in the first half of the chapter,

we're going to take a look at some of the things that have to deal with the practice

of gospel mission, how we do it,

what's the nature of it, the practice of it.

And then secondly, in the second half of the chapter,

we're going to look at the heart of mission,

the heart of our gospel mission as disciples.

So, practice, that's verses 1 through 18,

heart, verses 17 through 24.

So, let's look first then at the practice of gospel mission.

Now, one thing we have to understand looking at this kind of text,

this isn't one of those texts we can just say,

okay, here we go.

Jesus tells the disciples to do this,

so we should do this.

Whenever I'm going to evangelize to my friends,

I need to carry no money,

no knapsack, no sandals,

and greet no one on the road.

That's how you do contact work.

No, okay, obviously,

this is,

John's thinking, yeah, I could do that.

No sandals, you've got it.

No, of course, this is,

so this is a unique event in redemptive history.

Jesus, for the last time in his earth,

is going to Jerusalem.

He wants to tell the towns that are on the way that he's coming.

He wants them to receive him

and to acknowledge him as king

before he goes and accomplishes his work on the cross

and his resurrection.

So, this is a unique sort of moment.

And yet, even though it's a unique moment

and not everything sort of maps on one-to-one

to what we need to be called to do today,

there's still a lot of principles that we can learn.

A lot of the principles remain the same,

and that's what we're going to try to look at.

And what we see, really,

is that one of the things we glean

from a passage like this at the high level

is that every Christian

is a gospel ambassador,

and every church, every local church,

is sort of like a gospel embassy.

That this is a place that exists

to sort of spread the message

of what Jesus has done.

So, what do we learn, then,

about our gospel mission today

from this text?

We're just going to kind of walk through

and look at some of the things we learn.

What do we learn from verse 1?

Jesus appoints the 72.

Now, you remember earlier

in the gospel stories,

Jesus chose 12 disciples,

or 12 apostles,

and he sent them out on mission.

Now, here, he's doing something similar,

but a little different, right?

This isn't the 12.

This is 72 others

that he's sending out in this way.

Now, almost every commentator

on this passage says

that that number is significant.

That 72 is a representative number

of all the nations of the world.

Where do they get that from?

Well, back in Genesis chapter 10,

Genesis 10 · chapter mention

there's a genealogy there

where it's describing

the sort of spread of humanity

across the earth,

and there are 72 names and tribes

that are listed there.

So, that became sort of

a representative symbolic number

of all nations.

So, I think what we have Jesus doing here

as he's sending out the 72

in a very symbolic way,

just like the 12 apostles

represented the 12 tribes of Israel,

and Jesus was saying,

I'm renewing the people of God.

Here, he's sending out 72

and saying,

we're going out to the nations.

Thus, what we'll see

in the second part

of Luke's two-part work,

Luke-Acts,

in Acts,

we see the Gentile mission

going full force, right?

And here,

in Luke chapter 10,

Luke 10 · chapter mention

it's kind of prefigured.

Jesus is sort of telling them

in a symbolic way,

it's going to happen.

You're going to go to the nations.

So, what we're learning here

is that the good news of Jesus

is good news for the whole world.

Now, this isn't just something

for a few select people

in one little nation

in one little time.

No, this is for everyone.

This is what God is doing

for the whole world.

And that means that

our mission as the church,

our mission as disciples,

is to go out to everyone

to tell them about Jesus

and to urge them

to believe in him.

That's our mission.

To go out to everyone,

to tell them about Jesus,

and to urge them

to believe in him.

Now, to go out to everyone, right?

Not just, you know,

the people that we like

to hang out with.

Not just the people that,

you know,

are of a certain

socioeconomic class.

Not just the people who are,

you know,

this, that, or the other thing.

Not just the people

that are convenient

to hang out with.

Everyone.

Not just the good people.

Even the people

who seem like on the surface,

they need a lot of help.

And not just the people

who seem like they're not help.

The people who seem

to have it all together.

We need to go out to everyone.

And we need to tell them

about Christ.

What was the message

that he told them to say

when they go?

Well, peace on the one hand.

We'll talk about that

in a few minutes.

But the kingdom of God

has come near.

Whether they receive him

or whether they reject them,

the kingdom of God

has come near.

In other words,

the disciples were to go out

and say,

the king is coming.

Did you notice

that he sent them out

into every town and place

where he himself

was about to go?

So he's saying,

okay, look,

in a couple days,

I'm going to end up

in Brantford.

So you guys go to Brantford

and tell them

that I'm coming.

Tell them the kingdom of God

is coming near

and then I'm going to come.

So he's saying,

I'm coming.

And the message

was about him

and his kingdom.

And that's true for us today.

We're supposed to be

telling people about Jesus.

The message of the church

isn't merely

and really isn't even at all

sort of a moral program.

That's not what we're telling people.

We're not telling people,

here's how you clean up your act.

Here are 10 steps

to financial freedom

or whatever.

No, we're telling people

that there's a God

and a king

who loves them

and who died for them

and wants to reconcile you

and heal you

in every possible way.

We're telling them about Jesus

and then we're urging them

to believe in him.

Now that's going to look different

in different contexts,

you know,

but we're not just sort of saying,

hey, this is good for me

and if you want to take it,

great.

If not, no big deal.

No, there is a sense

in which we're calling people

to believe it.

There was an urgency

to what the disciples

were doing here

in chapter 10.

So this is our mission.

Now what else do we learn

from this section

in chapter 10?

How does Jesus instruct them

in verses 2 through 12?

Let's just sort of

go through there.

Look at verse 2.

He tells them to pray.

The harvest is plentiful

but the labors are few.

Therefore, pray.

And then he says,

go your way.

I'm sending you out

like lambs.

What do we make of that?

Well, I've never met a lamb

who could actually sort of

coerce or force someone

to do anything.

Right?

I think Jesus is saying here,

look, you're not going

with a sword.

You're not going

as sort of representatives

of some political kingdom.

No, you're going like lambs

in the midst of wolves.

The nature of gospel ministry

is that we're

preaching good news,

inviting hearers

to respond willingly.

We're not sort of

forcing them

or compelling them.

But at the same time,

it's urgent, right?

Carry no money bag.

What's that all about?

No money bag,

no knapsack,

no sandals,

greet no one on the road.

Well, I think

given the context,

Jesus was saying,

look, this,

we're on our way.

We're not turning back.

We're going

and we're going

and we're going.

There's an urgency to this.

We're on the move.

And even though today

we might, you know,

some of you might be

in New Haven long term.

Some of you might be

thinking about missions

work long term

in other places

of the world.

But there is still

an undercurrent

of urgency

to our mission.

This is something

that must happen now.

Now's the time

for us to do it.

We don't want to have

anything hold us back.

There's going to be

no extra baggage

on the way.

We're going to try

to limit our concerns

so that we can focus

around this mission.

Then look at five and six.

Whenever you enter a house,

say peace to this house.

Peace.

Peace is the message

that they bring.

It's interesting.

J.C. Ryle,

who was an English bishop

in the 19th century,

sort of was reading

this passage

and he said,

you know,

isn't it interesting

that this is the message

that Jesus tells them

to bring?

Now on one hand,

in the Jewish world

in the first century,

peace was just like

a way of saying,

hey, what's up?

Like, peace.

How's it going?

It was a greeting, right?

And yet,

isn't it resonant

that what the gospel message

is is a message

of peace?

And Ryle makes

the observation

that this shows us

what he calls

the simplicity

of the gospel message.

It's a straightforward thing.

That peace with God

is what we're talking about.

Verse seven,

accountability

and provision.

Jesus says,

remain in the same house

eating and drinking

what they provide

for the laborer

deserves his wages.

So he says,

on the one hand,

it's okay to receive provision.

That's good.

But then he says,

don't go around

from house to house

because in the ancient world,

what traveling sort of

teachers would do

is they would sort of like

peddle from house to house

as a way to just sort of

get lots of money,

you know?

So, okay,

well, I like Shanghai'd

these people out of their money

and then I'll go to the next one

and then I'll go to the next one

and then I'll go to the next one.

He just says,

no,

go,

find one place,

stay,

be accountable,

be transparent,

receive the wages

that they give you,

receive the food

that they give you.

Don't look like all these other

sort of shady teachers

who are traveling around.

Interesting,

if you're here in the morning service,

this verse,

the laborer deserves his wages.

Paul actually picks up

this idea a couple times

in his writings

when he's sort of talking about

the way in which

those who give themselves

a full-time gospel ministry

ought to be supported,

supported financially

and given provision

for their work.

And he says,

this is where the Lord

sort of gave us

a precedent for that.

And in fact,

in 1 Timothy 5 actually,

if you look at 1 Timothy 5,

Paul actually quotes

this saying of Jesus

along with a verse

from Deuteronomy.

And he says,

here's what the scripture says,

this verse from Deuteronomy.

Don't muzzle the oxen

as it treads out the grain.

And here's what the scripture says.

The laborer deserves his wages,

a quote from Jesus.

Now here's what's really fascinating.

The only recorded place

where we know

that that saying of Jesus is,

is right here

in Luke chapter 10,

Luke 10:7

verse 7.

The laborer deserves his wages.

And Luke says,

or excuse me,

Paul says in 1 Timothy 5,

this is what the scripture says,

the laborer deserves his wages.

This is what's been written

about the Lord's commandment.

Very fascinating

that Paul is saying

there's a scripture

that has that writing of Jesus

and we all ought to obey it.

So,

sort of makes your historical imagination

start running.

Did Paul actually know

about Luke's gospel?

Was he referring to Luke's gospel

when he said,

this is what the scripture says?

And,

was he referring to Luke's gospel

as scripture

for the first century church?

Very interesting.

We don't know for sure,

but,

I think it's not implausible.

Well,

that's a bit of a sidebar.

Anyway,

let's look at the response.

The response in verses

8 and 9

and 10 and 11.

On the one hand,

if they receive you,

bless them,

say the kingdom of God

has come near.

But,

if they reject you,

shake the dust

and move on

and say the kingdom of God

has come near.

What is,

wow,

what is Jesus saying here?

And,

how does this sort of apply to us?

I think one of the things

that we see here

is that ultimately

there's no neutral response

to the message of Jesus

and his kingdom.

Either at the end,

now some people are in process,

right?

Some people are in process

of figuring things out

and they're on the road.

But,

you know,

at the end of the day,

you can't just be sort of neutral

or ho-hum

about Jesus

and the claims about Jesus.

You can't just say,

he's a good guy

and that's great for you.

This mission that we have

is serious business.

People are rejecting

or receiving the king of life.

And we see the seriousness

of that in the next paragraph

in verses 13, 14, and 15, right?

There's going to be accountability

in the coming judgment.

On the one hand,

to whom much is shown,

much is required.

There are some towns

in that day

where Jesus spent a lot of time

and they didn't repent

and Jesus says,

it's going to be harsh for you

in the judgment.

But,

interestingly,

these two cities

that Jesus points out,

Tyre and Sidon,

they were Gentile cities.

So,

there's a sense

in which Jesus is saying

that on the one hand,

to whom much is shown,

much is required.

But on the other hand,

the gospel is the great leveler.

That

these Gentile cities,

which weren't even

a part of the covenant community,

Jesus says,

look,

your status

when God comes

and renews all things

and sets up his kingdom,

your status

is not going

to be determined

by your family

or your formal

religious heritage,

no matter how devout you were.

You know,

these cities,

Capernaum,

Chorazin,

Bethsaida,

these are good Jewish cities.

And Jesus is saying,

that's not what's going to count

at the end of the day.

It's going to be better

for the Gentile cities

than for you

because if they had heard it,

they would have repented.

I think there's actually

a warning for us there.

Friends,

I wonder,

have you been under

the word?

Have you been around

Christian things?

Have you heard the gospel?

Have you

encountered Jesus before

in the life of the church?

Maybe you grew up in church.

Maybe you've

been around Christian things

for a long time.

How

are you responding to that?

Do you continue

to push it off

and push it off

and push it off?

Jesus is saying

that can be

a very dangerous

place to be.

Now's the time

when you need

to receive it

and trust in him.

Well,

one last thing

about the practice

of ministry here,

about the practice

of mission.

Look at verse 16.

The one who hears you

hears me,

and the one who rejects you

rejects me,

and the one who rejects me

rejects him who sent me.

That is a fascinating verse.

Do you see the tight bond there

that Jesus is drawing

between his messengers

and himself

and the Father?

The Father

sends the Son.

The Son

sends the church.

Almost in an

unbroken chain.

And the point

that Jesus is making here,

to reject the church,

is ultimately

to reject God itself.

If that church

is preaching

the apostolic gospel

that the Bible gives us.

So we see here

that Jesus himself

is affirming

that disciples are ambassadors

of his in the world,

that they're taking his words

to the world.

And I think ultimately

that should give us confidence

in our mission.

You know,

that the things

that we're bringing

to people

aren't just sort of things

that we've kind of made up.

But that these,

this is the very message

of God

given through his Son,

entrusted to the church,

that will bring joy

and hope

to all nations.

But I think this verse

also speaks to a big issue

that we all face.

In mission

and in evangelism,

which I know for me,

this is like sort of

number one problem.

There's a fear of rejection,

right?

Why are we hesitant

to share our faith?

Why are we hesitant

to do,

to take part in this mission?

Because we're afraid

that people will reject us

and won't like us.

We'd like to be liked.

But what's interesting here,

do you notice

what Jesus says?

The one

who rejects you

rejects me.

You know,

ultimately,

if we're sharing

the message

about Christ

prayerfully

and winsomely,

it's not ultimately

us

that's being rejected.

In some sense,

it is.

But ultimately,

it's Christ.

And that ought to take

some of the focus

off of ourselves,

I think,

when we're engaged

in just sharing Jesus

with our friends

and taking part

in this great mission.

that really Jesus

is at the center.

It should put our focus

back on Christ

and put our focus

back on those

whom we're loving

and those whom

we're serving

and those whom

we're trying to share

because the one

who rejects me

rejects him

who sent me.

It's interesting,

we get so focused

about this third thing

in the line.

Me,

oh,

rejecting me.

But we don't see

that they're rejecting

actually Christ.

They're actually rejecting

the one who sent Christ,

the Father,

the God of all creation.

I think that will

de-center us a little bit

and help us to see

that there are bigger

things at stake here

than my own ego.

So stepping back then,

there's the first half

of our section

about the practice

of gospel mission,

of discipleship mission.

I think it's easy to,

as we think about

our mission as disciples,

as we think about

our mission as a church,

it's really easy to feel

like we're falling short,

right?

I mean,

if we were to sort of

go around the sanctuary

and say like,

hey,

how'd you do in evangelism

this week?

Or let's talk about

spiritual disciplines.

How'd you do in Bible reading?

Great.

How'd you do in prayer?

Eh,

pretty good.

How'd you do in fasting?

What's that?

How'd you do in evangelism?

Oh,

then we all sort of

get embarrassed and quiet.

And I'm the same way,

right?

I wish I was much more bold

and much more winsome

and much more engaged

in sharing my faith

than I am right now.

I think we all feel like,

gosh,

I have so much to grow

in this area.

So what are some things

we can glean in for our own hearts

as we sort of come to this text

with that kind of realization?

Well,

I think some very straightforward things.

Jesus begins his instruction

to his disciples

by saying,

pray.

I mean,

he encourages them

that the harvest is plentiful,

but the labors are few.

Pray earnestly.

Pray.

Pray.

That should really be

the first step for all of us.

We think about the neighbors

that we wish we could have

spiritual conversations with,

or we think about our roommate

who just seems so far from the Lord.

Pray.

And second,

Jesus says,

go.

Go your way.

And then he says,

go where there's opportunity,

right?

If there's a son of peace there,

that's as if someone receives

your message,

you know,

it will rest.

I may have not returned to you.

Remain in the same house.

You know,

so if there's an opportunity there,

go.

Step out in faith.

See what happens.

Go where there's opportunity.

And as you go,

keep the main thing,

the main thing.

Verse five,

peace be to this house.

You don't have to answer

every single apologetic question

that's ever been devised

by every sort of thinking,

skeptical mind in the world,

right?

I think oftentimes

when I think about evangelism,

I think,

if I have a spiritual conversation

with this person,

they're going to ask me

all the questions

I don't know how to answer,

right?

They're going to be like

the most like hardcore,

doubtful,

skeptical person on the planet.

Friends,

most people are not that way.

And at the end of the day,

the message of peace

is the one that all our hearts want.

It's the one that we're all longing for.

And I think lastly,

just listen.

Just listen to people.

Pray and go

and keep the main thing

the main thing

and listen to what they're saying.

Listen to their questions.

Attend to them.

If you want some good books to read

that will help you

sort of think through

communicating the faith,

I think Tim Keller's

Reason for God is good.

I think C.S. Lewis'

Mere Christianity

is still pretty good.

Those are two that I think

get your juices flowing.

They're really written well

to explain Christianity

to those who are outside of the faith.

That will help you.

If you're looking for

a really simple gospel outline

that you can sort of digest

if you're thinking about,

man, I don't even know

what I would say.

Two Ways to Live

is a good gospel outline.

It's kind of long.

It's sort of detailed,

but that's okay.

I think we've got some

on the back back there.

Two Ways to Live

is a good sort of

simple gospel outline

that you can read

and pray over

and think about sharing

with someone.

So there's some resources

to think about.

So that's what we see

about the practice of mission.

Let's keep going

and let's look at

the heart of mission.

This is probably

one of my favorite parts

in this passage.

Look back at verse 17.

The 72 return with joy

saying,

Lord, even the demons

are subject to us

in your name.

So the disciples come back

and they have like

had a lot of ministry success.

Like they've gone out.

Who knows what they were thinking

when they went out.

Maybe this is going to work.

Maybe this isn't going to work.

They show up in the towns

and suddenly God shows up

and he starts doing stuff.

And they're sort of

seeing the exercise

of spiritual authority.

Even demons

are subject to his name.

You know?

They're coming back

like kids from the candy store.

Can you believe it?

And Jesus celebrates with them.

I saw Satan fall

like lightning from heaven.

High fives.

Okay?

I've given you authority

to tread on serpents

and scorpions

over forces of evil.

Jesus being metaphorically there.

And over all the power

of the enemy.

Nothing shall hurt you.

He's saying,

yes,

when you're with me,

that is the kind of confidence

you should have.

Nevertheless,

Jesus says,

nevertheless,

do not rejoice in this,

that the spirits

are subject to you,

but rejoice

that your names

are written in heaven.

There's an incredible principle

in this paragraph.

Jesus tells us emphatically

not to rejoice

in our ministry success,

but to rejoice

that our names

are written in heaven.

To find our joy,

our delight,

not in our performance,

not in how well

things have gone for us

in ministry or in mission,

not to make that

our heart's delight,

but to make the fact

that our names

are written in heaven

our hearts delight.

What does that mean

that our names

are written in heaven?

Well, it means

that God knows us

and God's justified us

and accepted us

and made us a part

of his family forever.

And how does that happen?

How do our names

get written in heaven?

Is it sort of like

an all-star list?

Okay,

Laura Takasugi,

10 converts,

she gets on the list.

No, right?

How do our names

get written in heaven?

Not by our works,

but by his grace,

through faith as a gift.

When my children were born,

we had to fill out

this paperwork

for each one

to make sure they'd like

get a birth certificate

and get a social security card

and have a name

and all this sort of stuff.

So I'm assuming

that through all that,

their names are written down,

somewhere,

at City Hall

and their names

are written down somewhere

at the social security office.

And what they have

written down there

is that Jack and Claire

and Owen

are the children

of Nick and Beth Lauer,

born in New Haven,

Connecticut,

et cetera, et cetera.

And their names

were written down

before we really knew

anything about them.

You know,

we didn't even know

what color their eyes

were going to be.

Before they'd done

anything good,

their names were written down

as our children.

And friend,

it's the same thing

spiritually with us.

when God redeems us

in Christ,

before we had done

anything good,

he writes our names down

permanently in heaven.

you belong to my family now.

And Jesus says,

rejoice in that.

Make that your joy.

In other words,

rejoice more

for what God

has done for me

rather than

what God might do

through me.

Make my joy

more

that I'm

loved by God

in Christ

more than

that I'm used

by God

in Christ.

And what's the danger

if we get that mixed up?

Why is Jesus so adamant?

I mean,

he's kind of,

he's sort of raining

on their parade

right here.

Great!

But,

right?

What's the danger?

Well,

there's a massive danger

if we place

our worth

as disciples

in our success

in mission.

Because isn't that

just another form

of self-salvation

and self-justification?

That my sort of

present,

subjective

joy

and peace

in the Lord

is based on something

that I do,

how well things

are going

in mission.

And if that's

the sort of

thing we're trying

to base

our joy on,

our stability on,

then we're just

going to ride

a rollercoaster

of up and down

when things are going

great in mission

and we had a really

good conversation

with our neighbor.

We're going to feel

awesome and we're going

to feel like we're doing it

and we're even going to

start to feel proud

because I did it.

But then when things

are going really bad,

maybe when we kind

of messed it up

with our co-worker

at the water cooler

or whatever,

said something

kind of awkward,

you know,

then we get out

despairing.

Ah, I blew it.

They're never going

to come.

Ah, I'm such a failure.

Beat ourselves up.

Jesus says,

I don't want you

to ride that rollercoaster.

I want you to rejoice

that your names

are written in heaven.

Put your joy there.

Because the reality

is if we don't

put our joy there

and we put it

in our ministry success,

then what's going

to happen

is that our mission,

our ministry

is actually going

to be motivated

more by fear

than by love.

This is the other danger.

We're going to be

motivated by fear

that we're falling short.

And I better get

out there and do it.

Motivated by fear

that we're not

measuring up.

Oh, I'm not

as good as Christian

as this person.

I better get out there.

Motivated by fear

that we might be

losing God's favor.

And friends,

a mission motivated

by fear

is not going

to be a fruitful mission.

It's not going

to be winsome.

It's not going

to be glad.

It's not going

to be attractive.

But if we place

our joy,

if we place

our self-worth

in the fact

that our names

are written in heaven,

then,

then,

our mission

is going

to be motivated

by love.

Because we know

that God loves us.

Regardless of what we do.

Even if we stink

at evangelism,

God still loves us.

And then we can go out

just because we love

the other person.

Because we love God.

God.

And Jesus ends

his teaching

in this chapter

on mission,

anyway,

reinforcing

kind of this

joyful confidence

in two ways

in these last

two paragraphs

of our text.

Starting in verse 21

and in the second paragraph

starting in verse 23.

In verse 21,

it's very interesting.

In that same hour,

Luke says,

Jesus rejoiced

in the Holy Spirit.

It's one of the few times

where we're told

that Jesus rejoices

in the Bible.

Here is a window

into the joy

of our Savior.

And what is it?

What gives Christ joy?

That the Father

has revealed

these gospel truths

to his disciples.

And then in 22,

he kind of unpacks

that a little more.

And in 22,

we have this

incredible,

mind-blowing statement.

All things

have been handed over

to me and by my Father.

And no one knows

who the Son

is except the Father

or who the Father

is except the Son

and anyone to whom

the Son chooses

to reveal him.

That is a wild statement.

The problem is

that we're used

to reading the Bible.

So when we read

a verse like that,

it seems kind of familiar.

But when we look

at a verse like that

with fresh eyes,

you have to realize

that that is an insane

thing to say.

If I were to say

that Matt knows me

really well,

okay, that's fine.

We spend a lot

of time together.

But if I were to say

that the only one

who can really know me

because I'm so great

and so profound

and so awesome

is the Father,

what in the world

would I be saying?

these are the kind

of verses

that you expect

to find in the

Gospel of John,

right?

In the Gospel of John,

Jesus is always saying

stuff like this.

I've come from the Father.

I'm one with the Father.

Don't you get it?

And then sometimes

critical scholars

will say,

oh, Jesus never says

anything like that

in the synoptics.

And then we've got

verses like this

that just blast

right out of the page.

As stark

and as clear

of a statement

of Jesus' high

identity with God

as we find anywhere

in the Gospel of John.

Jesus himself saying,

no one knows

who the Son is

except the Father

or who the Father

is except the Son.

Now why does that

bring Jesus joy

in anyone to whom

the Son chooses

to reveal him?

I think in the context

of thinking about mission

and our joy,

and mission,

the heart of mission,

what Jesus is saying here

is that look,

I'm the one

who's at the center.

What matters

in all of this

is knowing me.

Knowing the Father

through the Son

because the Son

has chosen

to reveal it to you.

That's what it's all about.

Knowing God.

Not performing.

John 17, 3 says,

Jesus says,

this is eternal life

that they know you,

the only true God

in Jesus Christ

whom you have sent.

This knowledge,

this fellowship

that we have with God,

with the Father,

through the Son,

that's what brings Christ joy.

That that has sort of

broken up.

That the vertical axis

between us and God

has been split open

and there's fellowship now

between us

because the Son

has chosen

to make it happen.

second thing

that Jesus points us to

in verse 23

is that what the disciples

are seeing and hearing

is the climax

of the Old Testament.

That everything

that God had been doing

horizontally in history

is coming to its

point of climax

right now.

Interesting.

I tell you,

many prophets and kings

desire to see

what you see.

David wanted to see

what we see.

Solomon wanted to see

what we see.

Isaiah,

Jeremiah,

Ezekiel.

Scott and I were talking

about Ezekiel

before the service.

And the amazing thing,

you remember what Ezekiel saw

in Ezekiel chapter 1?

Ezekiel 1 · chapter mention

He saw a representation

of the glory

of God itself.

And it kind of freaked

him out.

And yet,

Jesus says,

all of them

were wanting to see

what you see

and hear what you hear.

The great fulfillment

of all these promises.

The glory of God revealed

and his saving work done.

So friends,

this is the heart

of our gospel mission.

That our names

are written in heaven.

That the Son reveals

the Father

and we can know him.

And that that long story

of the Old Testament

has come to its climax

and we're living

in the midst of it.

And to just end,

I think if we take

these things to heart,

we'll at least

have three results.

I think if we really

sort of push down

on these things

that Jesus points us to here,

if we really take them

to heart,

I think that's going

to give us first

a lot of freedom

in our mission.

when we know

that our place

in God's family

isn't based

on our ministry productivity,

suddenly we're free.

It frees us

from the burden

and the guilt.

Second,

I think it gives us

a lot of confidence.

The Son

has revealed the Father.

Jesus is very clear there.

I'm the one

who reveals the Father

to people.

I'm the one

who chooses to do it.

The Son

has revealed the Father

and the reason

that gives us confidence

in mission

is because the Son

continues to reveal

the Father.

It's not ultimately

my words or your words

that's going to change

someone's heart.

It's God's work.

I'm just the messenger.

And Jesus is faithful.

He loves the lost

and he's going

to accomplish his work.

This is going to give us

a lot of confidence

in mission

if we take these things

to heart.

And last,

I think this gives us

a lot of excitement

in mission.

To know

that what's happening

through Christ

in the church,

the kingdom advanced

to all nations,

that this is what history

has been waiting for.

That this is what

God's history

has been leading to.

And this is the trajectory

into the new heavens

and the new earth.

That the rightful

King and Savior

is here.

That the one

who can restore

our hearts

and reconcile us

to God

and to one another

has come.

And that should

give us excitement.

That we're not

just trying to convince

people to believe

something that we believe.

We're beckoning

them into life.

We're beckoning

them into the thing

that God made them for.

And that ought to be

thrilling

and that ought to be

exciting.

Because ultimately

mission is just that.

It's an overflow

of joy.

joy.

You know,

you see it here

that Jesus

sends out the church

just like the Father

sent him out.

The sending of the Son

results in the sending

of us as his disciples.

And why did the Father

send the Son?

Why did Jesus

go to the cross

and endure all that shame?

Hebrews says,

for the joy set before him.

It was a mission of joy

that sent the Son out.

That's why he's rejoicing.

Because the disciples

are finally starting

to see it.

That their relationship

with the Father

has been healed

through the Son.

And they can take part

in sharing that news

with everybody.

Well, let's pray together.

Father, we're so grateful

that you not just

call us to yourself.

But Lord,

you give us a place

in your kingdom

and you give us

a purpose and a mission.

Lord, we confess

the ways in which

we've been scared

or been fearful

to share with others

the news about you.

Lord, we thank you

for the confidence

that we have

that you're a good God

who loves your children

and you love the lost.

And Lord,

we need not fear rejection

or alienation.

Lord, because

ultimately,

God, the joy

of seeing others know you

is greater than

the potential loss

of perhaps experiencing

rejection or alienation

or not being liked.

Lord, I pray that those

things would well up

in our hearts,

that we would bring

our neighbors

and our coworkers

and our friends

before you in prayer

and God,

that you would draw them

to yourself by your spirit.

Help us, Lord,

to be faithful

in this mission,

we pray.

Amen.

Friends, we're going

to sing one song

in response to close.

So let's stand

and let's respond

and let's sing together.

Amen.

Amen.