Disciple Making Disciples

So our scripture reading tonight is from the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke, chapter 10, verses 1-16.

Luke 10:1–16

And this is the word of the Lord.

After this, the Lord 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 am 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 had 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, and the one who rejects you rejects me.

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

This is God's holy word.

So last week, David started us on a new series on discipleship.

And we're in Luke, chapters 9 to 12.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

And in Luke, chapters 9, Jesus changes.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

Luke changes his tone, his direction.

And he starts talking about Jesus making his way towards Jerusalem.

It's kind of like a travelogue of Jesus' journey.

And along the way, Jesus teaches what it means to be a disciple.

So what is a disciple?

Well, we can think about a disciple as being a follower, somebody who follows after Jesus.

When Jesus was alive, when Jesus walked the earth, people did literally drop the tools that they were working with and followed after him.

They walked after him.

We can also think about a disciple as a learner.

So somebody who, in Jesus' day, wanted to learn from a great teacher would come and sit at their feet and would absorb their teaching, would listen, would try to emulate their life, trying to live their life the way that they did.

And today, as disciples, we metaphorically sit at Jesus' feet.

Through the power of the Spirit and the power of the Word, we sit at Jesus' feet and we learn from him.

Not in a physical way, but in no less real way.

Well, in the passage that we read today, we're going to see that to be a disciple also means to be a messenger.

So Corey just read Jesus appointing 72 disciples.

Others, they're called here, they're disciples.

And he sends them out before him.

He calls them in and he sends them out.

Tonight, I'd like to look through these 16 verses in three kind of parts, these sections.

So first of all, the way that Jesus sends them.

And then the message that he wants them to deliver.

And then just how serious, how important it is that they go.

So we can call it the sending, the saying, the seriousness, maybe.

Okay, so first off, the sending.

In the free church, we have a labor crisis.

There are so many vacant congregations all over the country.

And we need ministers to fill those pulpits.

That's maybe why certain people have been accepted for candidacy in the free church.

Is my mic on?

Yeah, that's better.

And it's not just those empty pulpits that we have to fill,

but the free church as a denomination wants to plant another 30 churches by 2030.

So we need guys to lead those works as well.

And then at the other end, there's lots of guys who are ministers in the free church

who are reaching retirement age.

So we need a conveyor belt of ministers to come in and replace those people.

And when we talk about the need for ministers,

we talk about it a lot at seminary.

We talk about it in churches.

One of the verses that we go to is verse 2 here.

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

And therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest

to send out laborers into his harvest.

So Jesus knows our needs, and he knows that we need ministers,

and he gives us a solution.

What we're supposed to do, we're supposed to pray.

We're to pray for that.

So I guess the first question I want to ask tonight is,

are you praying for more gospel workers,

for more ministers to fill these pulpits that are vacant all over the country?

How fervently are we praying?

Do we pray when we think about it?

Or is it something that we're constantly thinking of?

Because there's so many people in congregations all over Scotland

that don't have people opening the Bible for them on a weekly basis,

and not pasting congregations.

Those are difficult situations to be in.

But secondly, if we were to think about this passage in isolation,

not to think about what came before it or what comes after it,

we could think, we could be mistaken for thinking

that this passage is about the professionals.

God, please give us more full-time gospel workers.

And that is a good prayer to pray.

But here's the thing.

Right before this chapter, the start of chapter 9,

Jesus takes his 12 disciples, his closest confidants,

the guys that he's been with the most,

and he sends them out.

And then when he sends these 72 now,

the words that he uses to send them,

and what he tells them to do is incredibly similar

in language to what he says to the 12.

Our passage here doesn't say disciples.

It says 72 others.

But at one point in Jesus' life,

his disciples and his family had thought that he had lost it.

And they went out to find him and to take him back

and to save him from harm.

And they couldn't get near him because the house was so full.

And they gave message and said,

we need to speak to Jesus.

And they said to Jesus,

your disciples and your family are here.

And he pointed to the people that are around him.

And he said, these are my disciples.

This is my family.

So the role of disciple is not for a full-time employed person.

This is not a passage just about ministers.

This is a passage about anyone who listens and obeys to Jesus.

Because anyone who listens and obeys to Jesus is a disciple.

And part of being a disciple is being a messenger.

There's a big harvest that needs to be brought in.

Jesus is people out there who are to be brought into his kingdom.

And you're the one who's to go and tell them.

So Jesus sends out 72.

Often in the Bible,

we saw this morning,

Corey was talking about numbers are significant.

And I think this 72 is significant here as well.

And I think it relates to the book of Genesis.

So after the flood,

and of course the world was destroyed

because of his wickedness,

God saved Noah and his family.

And in Genesis chapter 10,

Genesis 10 · chapter mention

we have the nations of the world

that come from Noah's legacy,

from his lineage.

And they go out and they fill the earth.

And in the Greek version of the Old Testament,

which was really in common use when the letter of the gospel of Luke was written,

there's 72 nations.

So I think what we're saying here is the breaking news that Jesus has come,

that the kingdom of God is breaking in,

and we're being sent out into the world,

the whole world,

all the nations,

to tell them.

72 people,

72 messengers representing 72 nations.

but this is not

just merely a sending out.

It's sending out with a message

to go to all the nations of the world

and to bring those nations,

God's people in those nations,

back to him.

Not the same as before,

but as a new kind of kingdom people

under the kingship of Jesus.

This is the start,

if you think about it like that,

of a global mission trip.

And maybe when I say global mission trip,

you think of

fundraising

and getting on a plane

and going to Peru

or to Africa.

And those are great things to do

and important things to do.

But we can't all go in for a mission.

I don't think we're all supposed to.

And Paul helps us see that, I think.

He helps us to see that

to be on mission,

we don't have to raise funds

or get on a plane.

In fact, in Ephesians 2,

Paul helps us understand

that mission might be right

on your doorstep.

Because in verses 8, it says,

for by grace you've been saved

through faith.

And this is not your own doing,

it's the gift of God.

Not a result of works

so that no one may boast.

But then in verse 10, he says,

for we are his workmanship,

created in Christ for good works,

which God prepared beforehand

that we should walk in them.

So if you're a disciple,

you've been saved from something,

from sin and from death,

but you've also been saved to something,

to good works

that God has prepared for you.

God has made you new in Christ

to do the very specific work

that was prepared just for you to do.

If you think about it this way,

there's people in Edinburgh

whose names are on Jesus' list of disciples,

disciples,

and he's chosen me,

and he's chosen you

to go and tell them.

He's made you free in Christ,

born again,

and so you're truly free

to go into the city

and to love people,

and to love people,

you tell them

the thing that they need

to know the very most.

So we see in verse 1

that Jesus sent his disciples

to every place

where he himself is about to go,

and I think for us

that means every place,

everywhere,

everywhere we go.

Jesus says,

in your classroom,

in your office,

I need somebody right there

in Edinburgh,

just now,

wherever you're employed,

wherever you're studying,

wherever you're working,

I need somebody there

to go and tell them

about my peace,

to tell them about my kingdom.

And Jesus is telling these 72,

get out,

go,

don't hang a bahu.

And he's saying

the same thing to us.

I wonder

how that makes you feel,

because it can be quite

intimidating to think

about going out into the city,

even if it's people

you know really well,

and telling them

that Jesus has come

to save them

from their sins.

Maybe you're a little bit nervous.

Well,

when we read on,

you might become

a big bit nervous,

because in verse 4,

Jesus tells us 72

that he's sending them out

to be like lambs

among wolves.

Go and tell people

about my kingdom.

Oh, and by the way,

it's not going to be easy.

If you've gone out

yourself,

and you've shared

about Jesus,

you know that it's not easy.

You know that you will

meet opposition.

Maybe you've invited

people to church,

and they've just kind of

quietly listened to you,

and then ignored you.

And that can be hard to take.

Maybe it's awkward now

with those people.

Maybe they live next door,

or across the road.

Or maybe you've spoken

about Jesus to somebody

in work,

and they've just looked

at you like you're naive,

or like you're tied

to some silly superstition

that everybody else

has moved beyond.

And this can be

embarrassing for us.

It's hard to share

their faith.

But Jesus doesn't

ever promise us

that it's going to be

easy to be a disciple.

In fact,

the New Testament

is packed full of passages

that tell us exactly

the opposite.

It tells us

how hard it's going to be.

But the interesting thing

about lambs and wolves

is that even although

it's hard,

we can't let

the hardness

of sharing

the gospel

make us hardened.

It can't harden

our hearts.

We're to be lambs.

You can never argue

somebody into

accepting Jesus.

You can't fight anyone

into turning away

from their sin.

You can't trick anybody

into God's kingdom.

We're not naive.

We're not to be naive,

put ourselves

in dangerous situations,

but we're to tell

people

about Jesus

as though we were lambs,

gently leading them

to the shepherd.

Look,

if you find this daunting,

and it is daunting,

look at,

with me,

verse 16.

It says,

the one,

this is Jesus talking,

he says,

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.

Do you see what Jesus

is saying here?

This is extraordinary.

He's saying,

me and you,

we're in this together.

Don't be anxious

about having the right words,

just point them to me.

Don't be anxious

about converting anybody.

It's the power of the Spirit

that's going to do that.

Don't be anxious

about being rejected.

Look how they rejected me.

Just go.

So,

Jesus tells

the 72 to go,

and to go with urgency.

And he also tells them

the message

that they're there

to deliver,

the saying.

He says to them,

don't take any money with you,

don't take your money bag,

don't take a knapsack,

don't take extra shoes,

travel lightly,

greet no one on the road,

move swiftly,

and rely

on the new disciples

that you meet

to provide your food for you.

He says,

don't go from house to house

having a good time

enjoying yourself.

He's talking about

the urgency

and the importance

of what it is

that you're to do.

This isn't a holiday,

this is a mission trip.

And he tells them

the message

they're to deliver.

So,

in verse 5,

he says,

whatever house you enter,

first say,

peace be

on this house.

And if a son of peace

is there,

your peace

will rest upon him.

But if not,

it will return to you.

This is going

house to house

is reminiscent

to me

of the Passover.

So,

in the Old Testament,

ancient Israel,

they put blood

on the doorposts

and the lintel

of their houses

so that when

the destroyer

would come,

he would pass

over those houses

and they would

have peace.

And here,

when the disciples,

the 72,

go door to door

meeting people,

they say,

peace to you.

And if they receive

that peace,

then the house

will share peace.

But if not,

if they don't

recognize this peace,

they don't want

to know

about Jesus'

kingdom

that's coming,

then the house

is not going

to have peace

because real peace

can only be found

in following

after Jesus.

Jesus also tells

the 72

to perform healings.

So,

this is

physical healing

making people better.

But even

this physical healing

are signs

that Jesus'

kingdom

is breaking

into the world.

The brokenness

that's in the world

is beginning

to be restored.

God's kingdom

is coming near

to them.

It's so tempting

for us,

I think,

to default

to the idea

that people

need good advice.

When we see

people struggling,

with people

having a hard time,

we think,

I can help them.

I know what

they need to do.

They need to find

a new job.

I know what

they need to do.

They need to stop

doing that thing

that I know

is bad for them.

And maybe those

things are true.

Sometimes those

things are good

and helpful.

But we shouldn't

confuse the idea

that people

need good advice

with the truth

that people

need to know

the good news.

They need to know

that peace

is available

through Jesus.

In Luke 4,

Jesus tells us

that that's why

he's come.

He's come

to preach

the kingdom.

And then in Luke 19,

Luke 19:11

verse 11,

says to the people,

they supposed

that the kingdom

was going to appear

immediately.

So the 72

have been sent out

and they're going

door to door

and they're telling

people about Jesus'

peace and they're

saying the kingdom

of God is drawn near.

And the people

are expecting

a big military

or political turnover

and everything

to change

dramatically overnight.

But that's not

what Luke records

for us.

That's not what

happened.

For Luke,

the kingdom of God

is an end time

reality,

something that's

going to happen

one day

at the end

on Christ's return,

but it's broken

into the world

now in his day

when Jesus

came into the world.

It's broken in,

but it's still waiting

for its final

consummation.

This is the

already,

but not yet.

The kingdom

is drawn near,

but it's not

yet fulfilled

in its full state.

But while the

kingdom's come,

hasn't come

in its full form

yet,

God's promise,

his promised reign

is not just

a future thing.

It's begun

now

in Jesus

and it demands

a response.

There's two

options.

Receive it

and have peace

or reject it

and don't.

Jesus tells them,

shake off the dust

of your feet.

When you share

the news of the peace

of the coming kingdom

with these people

and they reject you,

shake off the dust

of your feet.

And this is a symbol,

this is an outward sign

for the people

of the New Testament

that when they went

outside the Holy Land,

the land that God

had given them,

they were to come back

and that land

was precious

and good

and set apart

for them

but to shake off

anything that doesn't

belong to it.

There's an outward sign

that the kingdom

has come near

and these people

who are rejecting

their message

are not going

to be welcomed in.

Okay,

finally,

the seriousness.

So you notice

in verse 1

that the disciples

are sent out

two by two.

There's 72 of them

and they're sent out

in twos.

And there's

shared power,

there's power

in shared ministry

and the fact

that we can support

one another,

we can pray

for one another,

we can provide

provisions for one another,

there's safety

in numbers,

these are all good things.

But I think

that being sent

in twos also

is to remind us

of another Old Testament

book,

this time the book

of Deuteronomy

because in Deuteronomy

19.15

it tells us

that if somebody's

convicted of breaking

the law,

they can only be charged

on the testimony

of two witnesses.

So you need two people

to witness a crime

in order

to make a charge.

And that legal language

is really fitting

because of what Jesus

is just about to say

when he comes to

the second half

of our passage.

Because he's going

to pivot from telling us

to go and share

the message,

that true peace

is available

through faith in him,

to laying out

the consequences

for the people

who refuse

to believe the message.

I had a friend

who studied theology

at university

and she used to tell me

that the God

of the Old Testament

and the God

of the New Testament

are really different gods

because the God

of the Old Testament

is angry and violent

and the God

of the Good Testament

is just loving

and kind.

But here,

Jesus literally

becomes a fire

and brimstone preacher

because the consequences

of not receiving

God's peace,

not entertaining

Jesus' kingdom

are catastrophic.

Jesus says

it will be more bearable

for Sodom,

which was wiped

off the map

with fire

and sulfur

from heaven.

that it will be

for the day

of judgment

for the people

who don't turn

to Jesus.

Last week,

Jesus,

last week,

David,

that's a Freudian slip,

preached on chapter 9

and James and John,

when people rejected Jesus,

James and John,

his disciples said,

well,

can we call down fire

from heaven

and just blast them?

And Jesus says,

no,

of course not.

He rebukes them

because this isn't

the time for judgment.

Jesus is saying,

this is a time

for salvation.

But the time

of judgment

is coming.

Jesus has come

and he's inaugurated

the kingdom.

He's come as a savior

and he is our savior.

But Jesus is going

to return in power

and in glory

and he's going

to judge the whole world.

And for those

outside of Jesus' kingdom,

he'll be more bearable

to be rained on

with fire and sulfur

than to face God's wrath.

Jesus said,

if Tyre and Sidon

had seen this,

they would have

repented of their sins.

Those were port cities,

gateways to the Gentiles.

But these towns,

these blessed towns

that have seen Jesus

perform miracles in them,

they've remained

hard-heartened.

These amazing works

of healing,

casting out evil,

they've been done

in places like

Horizon and Capernaum.

They're indicators

of what the fully

inaugurated kingdom

is going to be like.

No pain,

no illness,

no evil,

only good,

only peace.

Only peace with Jesus.

But confronting people

about the consequences

of their decision

not to come to Jesus

is difficult.

It's terrifying

in some ways.

We're often told

that it's okay

to be a believer,

it's okay to be a Christian,

it's okay to do

whatever you want

with your life,

but keep it to yourself.

As long as you're not

going out and trying

to convince people

that what they're doing

is wrong,

then okay,

knock yourself out,

do whatever you want

on a Sunday.

But to not share

the gospel with people

is not an option

for disciples.

I don't really know

much about the

magician's pen and teller,

but I do know

that Penn

is an atheist

and he was interviewed

one time

and he said,

he was asked

about Christians

sharing their faith

and he said,

if you believe

that there's a heaven

and a hell

and you think

it's not worth

telling somebody

about it,

how much do you

have to hate him

not to tell?

Even famous atheists

see that the truth

of Jesus

transforms everything.

If Jesus really is

who he says he is,

then not telling people

about him,

not telling people

about the situation

they found themselves in

when they're separated

from him

is wicked.

It's the most unloving

thing you could possibly

do to keep it

to yourself.

We have to be

constantly on mission,

constantly sharing

the gospel,

not just in one

and off occasions

over and over again

because people

who don't know

the truth

are facing

eternal separation

from God.

This is urgent.

It makes me think

about

an American soldier

called Desmond Doss

and he fought

in World War II

during the Battle

of Okinawa

and he was classified

as a conscientious objector

because he wouldn't

carry a gun.

He wanted to

fight for God

and country

but he wouldn't

take another

human life

and so his fellow

soldiers didn't

like him much.

There was a battle

that wasn't going

well

and a number

of men had gone

up the ridge

and he was a medic

and you might think

that because he was

a medic

he probably had a

red cross on his

shoulder

he'd be safer

but actually

he says in his book

that he wrote later

he says that

they knew that

shooting medics

killing medics

destroyed the morale

of the whole platoon

and so

if you were a medic

if you weren't

fighting

you actually became

a more prized target

for the enemy soldiers.

In the Battle

of Hacksaw Ridge

the whole platoon

was told to retreat

to come back home

but Doss

refused to leave

and he went up

and down that ridge

over and over again

dragging injured men

from the battlefield.

Extraordinary bravery

because he knew

how dangerous it was.

He knew that he was

a prized target

for the enemy.

Every time he got

a man down safely

he didn't stop

but he prayed

and do you know

what his prayer was?

Not

God keep me safe

if I go again

or God

please let this man survive.

It was

please God

help me get one more.

Help me get one more.

There's men and women

all over Edinburgh tonight

facing

certain death

separation from God

forever.

Jesus is on a rescue mission.

He's saving people

from death

to life

and if you're

a believer tonight

he's commanding you

to enlist

in that journey

in that mission.

How would our lives

change?

How much would they

change at work

or in the park

with the kids

or at a restaurant

or in class

or wherever we are

if our prayer

for our own lives

would be

Lord one more

help me get your gospel

to one more person.

Not that we can save anybody

it's the Holy Spirit

that can change

people's hearts

but if we love

our neighbours

if we love

all the people

round about us

we've got

a responsibility

to tell them

about the danger

that they're in.

If you're

not a Christian tonight

if you're here

and you're wrestling

with the claims

that the Bible makes

and you're thinking

that I've only been

speaking to disciples

to believers

tonight

well

you can know

right now

that the peace

of Jesus

is on offer

to you

right now.

Will you follow him?

Will you learn

from him?

Will you be his disciple?

Jesus has gone

to extraordinary lengths

to give us

his peace.

Jesus.

He wasn't just

a great teacher.

He wasn't just

a great example.

We were to be like

lambs among wolves

but Jesus was

the ultimate lamb.

He was the sacrificial lamb

who went willingly

to give his life

to satisfy

the consequences

of our sin.

He went up the ridge

up the hill

to save his people

not carrying

a medical pack

but carrying a cross

walking straight

into

the firing zone.

He paid the price

for our sin.

He gave his life

so that we can

have new life

in him.

That's the message

that we have to share.

Jesus came to suffer

and to die

but he rose again

and he's reigning

now in heaven.

He's coming back

and he's going

to bring

all his people

from his harvest

from all across

the world

who will accept

his peace.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Lord God,

we thank you

for your word.

We ask that you

would help us

to lay it to heart.

Lord,

we feel challenged

when we think

about going out

into the world

and sharing

the news that Jesus

has come,

what it means.

We feel challenged

by different groups

of people in our lives

who we feel

that we can't

share the gospel with.

But Lord,

help us

to be bold,

help us

to be clear.

And Lord,

we ask that you

would give us

opportunities

to proclaim the gospel

in every aspect

of our lives,

in school,

in work,

in college,

in uni,

wherever we are.

Lord,

we pray that you

would use us

to your glory.

We ask all these

things in Jesus' name.

Amen.