Welcome or Rejection?

Well, last Sunday we heard about how Jesus began to shift his attention towards Jerusalem and the people living in the towns and cities around it.

We heard about how Jesus was not welcomed by the people of one town in Samaria.

And we heard Jesus talk about the commitment required to be one of his disciples.

We're going to pick up the story here in Luke chapter 10, starting in verse 1.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

Let me just read the first number of verses here for us.

For the worker deserves his wages.

Do not move around from house to house.

When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you.

Heal the sick who are there and tell them the kingdom of God has come near to you.

But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say,

Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you.

Yet be sure of this, the kingdom of God has come near.

So Jesus sends out this large group of disciples to the towns and places that he is soon to visit.

And as we talked about last week, the bulk of Jesus' ministry has been focused up in the north, in Galilee.

But now he has his focus set on Jerusalem, where he will end up.

And on the people in the towns and the cities that are around Jerusalem.

And Jesus intends to visit many of these towns as part of his journey towards Jerusalem.

And so these guys that he's sending out are kind of, in a sense, preparing the way for him.

They're not going ahead just to find places for Jesus to stay, though.

This is more than just logistics.

These guys are coming to each of these towns to begin the work of Jesus there, on his behalf.

If you were here on January 18th, you might feel some deja vu as we read about this ministry trip.

That's because this is the second ministry trip where Jesus sends guys out to visit towns.

The first one we read about just in the previous chapter, Luke chapter 9.

Luke 9 · chapter mention

And there's some major similarities between these two trips.

In both cases, the guys that Jesus sends out are to travel light, taking almost nothing with them.

In both cases, they're to rely on God to provide for their needs as they go from town to town.

In both cases, they're given authority by Jesus to cast out demons and to heal people who are sick.

In both of these trips, they're to proclaim the message of the kingdom of God.

And Jesus gives specific instructions about what to do if the people don't respond well or if they reject them.

But there's also some differences between these two trips.

And that's what we'll focus on this morning with this second trip.

We've already mentioned the difference in location.

One in the north, one in the south.

But there's also the difference of who goes on this trip.

Who is sent.

On the first trip, Jesus sent the twelve apostles.

But on this second trip, we read that he is sending 72 others.

And that word, others, quite specific in the original language.

It means different than the ones already mentioned.

And so these 72, it seems, did not include the twelve.

The Lord appointed 72 others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.

Now some of you might be staring at your Bible and wondering why the number is not 72 and is 70.

This is one of those places.

You might even have a footnote that explains at the bottom of the page.

Some manuscripts have 70 or some have 72.

Basically, we don't have the original document that Luke penned.

We have copies that were made of that.

And our earliest copy is too fragmented to even read it at this place.

And the copies that we have later, well, we see both of these readings in them.

And so some, where's along the line, somebody either left out the word two after 70.

Or maybe added it in accidentally as he was looking down at the wrong line.

Because the number two is mentioned a couple times here in this verse.

Scholars and people who do these kinds of things, they look at the evidence.

They try to weigh it, all the different manuscript copies that we have.

And they're not sure which is the right number.

This shouldn't worry us too much.

We believe that the true number was on Luke's page as he wrote it down.

And it was either 70 or 72.

But some things have been lost to us 2,000 years later.

We should also maybe note that this is why our modern English translations are updated from time to time.

Committees of scholars sit down as new manuscripts are discovered.

And they continue to catalog them.

Sometimes we're able to settle these questions with confidence.

And look back on them and yeah, we know for sure this is the number that it was.

But these variants are relatively few.

And they have very little bearing on the overall meaning of the text.

In the places where they occur.

Either way, this is a big difference from the previous time that Jesus sent men out.

The first trip was 12.

This one is about 70.

And different men.

So put your imagination cap on here for a minute.

Can you imagine what it would be like if within a relatively short period of time,

two guys sent from the same man started showing up in cities and towns all over our province?

Traveling in pairs.

Traveling in pairs.

This means that once they branched off down the roads,

there would be about 35 different locations all receiving this message of the kingdom

and seeing miracles being done in Jesus' name.

All on the same day.

35 different locations across the region.

All witnessing healings and hearing two guys preaching about the kingdom of God in Jesus' name

and how it has come near.

This would have stirred the whole nation.

No wonder the religious leaders of the Jews were worried that everyone would believe in Jesus

if they let Jesus go on like this.

No wonder they cried out in frustration while the crowds listened to Jesus with delight in the temple courts saying,

See?

This is getting us nowhere.

The whole world has gone after him.

Jesus is stirring the nation in a very short period of time.

His good news of the kingdom of God is making its way into every home.

The people are talking at the dinner table about the miracles that they have witnessed.

And this is happening all across the nation.

As Jesus sends them out on this trip,

we notice that some of his instructions are different than we heard earlier in chapter 9.

It's possible that Jesus said the same kinds of things on both occasions,

but Luke gives us a little bit more here with the sending of the 72.

Jesus, we notice, uses this analogy of bringing in the harvest.

In verse 2,

The harvest is plentiful, he says,

but the workers are few.

Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore,

to send out workers into his harvest field.

So Jesus seems to be saying here that many will respond to the message.

Many will believe in Jesus in these towns

when these two guys come to each town to preach.

There's about to be a great multiplication of the followers of Jesus.

The harvest is plentiful.

And it seems from Jesus' words that there's just not going to be enough of them

to bring in the harvest.

Think of all the questions that people might ask

as these two guys show up.

But there's just two of them,

and they're being probably swarmed by a whole bunch of people.

He tells these 70 to pray

and ask God to send out more workers.

Then Jesus gives another analogy,

telling about the danger that they will face.

He says,

Go, I'm sending you out like lambs among wolves.

So many will believe,

but many will have the opposite reaction.

Not just indifference,

but opposition.

These guys will roll into town,

and some will be ready to tear them apart

as they leave.

These disciples will arrive in peace

with a message of peace.

With no weapons of any kind,

they will be like lambs,

and many will meet them with mocking

and insults

and even threats.

Maybe this is part of why Jesus instructed them

to travel light.

They needed to be ready to leave

if the welcome wears out

when the wolves gather round.

We notice in verse 4

that they're not to take a purse

or bag or sandals.

These instructions are similar

to the ones given to the 12 in chapter 9.

They were to take no money,

no backpack,

no extra footwear.

And here Jesus says,

Do not greet anyone on the road.

We might think that's kind of odd.

This is not a command to be unfriendly

or to ignore people.

But often,

when we greet someone,

what happens?

We start talking.

It can often turn into a long conversation.

That one thing needed at the grocery store

turns into an hour away

from the hungry family

that's waiting at home for it.

Jesus doesn't want them

to stop and talk on the roads

because this mission is urgent.

He wants them to do their talking,

their preaching

in the towns,

in the hearing of everyone.

He's basically telling them

to keep on moving,

stay focused on the mission.

Just as with the first trip,

they're to stay at only one house.

Traveling preachers of other varieties

would often go house to house

and try to get as much

from the people as they could.

And Jesus wants his men

to stand apart from them.

This isn't for personal gain.

He does allow them, however,

to receive hospitality

and food and lodging

as their wages

for the work that they're doing

from one house in the town.

And just as with the previous trip,

they are to proclaim

the message of the kingdom of God

that Jesus has been preaching.

Specifically,

that the kingdom of God

has come near.

In other words,

the things which God promised

long ago to our forefathers

are being fulfilled today.

We come in the name of Jesus.

And they were to heal the sick

in each town.

The miracles of healing

in Jesus' name

served to confirm the message

that they preached.

This message comes with

the power of God.

And not only did they heal,

but they also cast demons out.

We read about that in verse 17,

which we won't get to today,

but you can glance down there

and see about that.

Jesus also gives them

a fuller explanation

in this sending moment

than the previous trip

if the town rejects them.

We heard in the previous time

they're to shake the dust

off their feet.

This time we read

it's the same sort of thing.

When you enter a town

and are not welcomed,

go into its streets

and say,

even the dust of your town

we wipe from our feet

as a warning to you.

Yet be sure of this,

the kingdom of God

has come near.

The shaking of the dust,

if you weren't here

in the previous message,

was an act of completely

disassociating oneself

from the people of that town.

It was like saying,

then I will have no part of you.

Not even a little bit.

And again,

this is not a vindictive thing

or a thing done in frustration

by the apostles

or an attempt to try

to get the last word

or to insult.

Jesus is the one

telling his messengers

to say this

if they are not welcomed.

And they represent

Jesus himself.

They have been sent

by him.

And therefore,

if Jesus commands them

to do that,

it's really Jesus saying

to the people of that town,

since you will not

listen to me

and repent,

I cannot claim you

as my own.

And you cannot claim me

as your own.

There is now

a complete separation

between us.

I withdraw my messengers

and I leave you

to face God's judgment

without me.

Now that's a very

sobering thing.

But Jesus makes it clear

here in verse 16.

Whoever listens to you

listens to me.

Whoever rejects you

rejects me.

But whoever rejects me

rejects him

who sent me.

So,

rejecting any of these

pairs of guys

when they come to town

is a rejection

of Jesus.

Even more than that,

it is a rejection

of God himself

who sent Jesus.

This is their chance

to turn to God

and to be made

right with him.

And Jesus wants

every town

who rejects him

to know that.

This is it.

And Jesus explains

here

in great detail

what will be

for those towns,

those people

who reject him.

There will be

a greater punishment

on the day of judgment,

he says,

than there will be

for some of the

wicked cities

in ancient history.

Look at verse 12.

Jesus says,

I tell you,

it will be more

bearable on that day

for Sodom

than for that town.

Now,

these are shocking words.

But they help us

realize the seriousness

of this moment

for all the people

living in these towns

back then.

This was it.

This was their opportunity

to hear the good news

of God

and to repent

and believe.

This was their chance

to be saved

from the punishment

deserved

for their sins.

Sodom, of course,

was known

for its terrible wickedness.

You could read about that

in Genesis.

It was destroyed

by fire from heaven.

And yet,

Jesus says

that the people

of Sodom

will fare better

at the judgment

than the towns

that rejected him.

The ancient cities

of Tyre

and Sidon

were also

wicked cities

known for

their evil deeds.

And Jesus says this.

He says,

Woe to you,

Chorazin,

verse 13.

Woe to you,

Bethsaida.

Those are both

towns in Galilee.

For if the miracles

that were performed

in you

had been performed

in Tyre and Sidon,

they would have

repented long ago

sitting in sackcloth

and ashes.

But it will be

more bearable

for Tyre and Sidon

at the judgment

than for you.

These are shocking words.

He's basically saying

that the people

of Tyre and Sidon,

they would have

repented

if they witnessed

the miracles

that Jesus did

in Bethsaida

and Chorazin.

They had more,

in a sense,

spiritual discernment

in their day.

This truly was

a generation

more

unbelieving

and corrupt

than previous generations.

And then comes

the hardest

and most stinging

rebuke of all.

These are some hard words.

Verse 15.

Jesus says,

And you,

Capernaum,

will you be lifted

to the heavens?

No.

You will go down

to Hades.

Capernaum was a place

Jesus lived for a while.

It was his hometown

for a part of his

time here on earth.

It was the place

where Peter was from,

where his mother-in-law

who fell ill

was healed.

It was that fishing town

on the shore of Galilee.

And it was the place

where we read about

in all the Gospels.

Jesus did countless

miracles there.

Healings of all kinds.

Every kind of illness,

disease,

disability.

Many evil spirits

were driven out of people

there in Capernaum.

And all these people

saw it.

And yet Jesus says,

Even after witnessing

all that,

you will go down

to Hades.

to hell.

Why?

Because just having

Jesus live among you

isn't enough.

Having Jesus

preach in your streets

isn't enough.

Having him perform

many miracles

among you

isn't enough.

You must repent.

You must turn back

to God.

You must welcome

Jesus

and believe

the message

that he brings

because he is sent

from God.

Though Jesus

lived there

and did all those

wonderful things

there in Capernaum,

they rejected Jesus

on the whole.

And Jesus says,

they will go down

to Hades.

One commentary

I think explains

some of this

very well.

Cities that reject

these messengers

will have a more

severe judgment

because more

and greater

revelation

has come to them

making their sin

worse.

They witnessed

with their own eyes

the miracles

that Jesus

and these apostles

did and yet

they still rejected him.

And so Jesus says

that when the day

of judgment comes

they will be judged

appropriately.

They will get

the punishment

reserved

for those

who blatantly

and defiantly

push God's

Son away.

And again,

this is not

Jesus being

vindictive

by any means.

This is God

giving

what is deserved.

True

justice.

Jesus.

Well,

how did this

ministry trip

go

for these

70 guys?

We're going to

look at that

next week.

Jesus actually

debriefs the trip

with them

and there's

conversation

about it.

For today

though,

let's just

think about

what some

of these

things that

we've heard

how this

applies to us.

When it

comes to this

passage,

probably the

first place

we go in

our minds

is how

we should

be like

these

apostles

and go

out and

share the

good news

of the

kingdom.

The harvest

is plentiful

but the

workers are

few

is the

classic

Bible verse

used to

call people

to participate

in missionary

work.

Others,

as they look

at these

verses,

see a

pattern to

follow in

going from

place to

place,

sometimes even

in pairs

to preach

the gospel.

And there's

many questions

stirred up

by this

passage.

Is the

harvest still

plentiful

today?

What about

all those

missionaries

that have

gone out

and preached

for years

with very

little response?

What about

all the times

that we've

shared with

friends and

neighbors and

co-workers but

they don't

seem to

care?

Is the

harvest still

plentiful

today?

One thing

that

probably most

agree on

is that

the workers

are still

few.

What does

Jesus want

us to do

with this

passage?

Did he

want it to

become the

template or

the pattern

for how we

reach out

and do

ministry in

our world

today?

Does he

want us to

go out

two by

two?

Does he

want us to

travel light

going from

place to

place and

only staying

at one

house?

Or are

those

instructions

just for

this time

for these

particular

men and

this

particular

trip?

I wonder

if we get

so focused

on the

apostles and

what they

did and

whether we

should be

doing what

they did

that we

miss the

main truth

of the

whole

moment.

Isn't the

main truth

of this

moment in

the story

of Jesus

that the

king has

come,

that his

kingdom is

near,

that salvation

and forgiveness

of sins is

offered to

those who

repent and

believe God's

good news.

And yet the

sobering truth

of this passage

is that while

many accepted

Jesus,

many flat

out rejected

him.

We see those

two opposite

responses in

the towns of

Galilee and in

Judah.

Some welcomed

him.

They welcomed

the men that

he sent.

Others rejected

him, didn't

even let him

come into the

town.

We have that

same choice

before us,

each one of

us.

We can

welcome Jesus

and listen

to him

or we

can push

him away.

But Jesus

wants us to

know that if

we reject

him, we

reject God

who sent

him.

him.

And so I

think the

big question

that this

passage really

leads us to

in this moment

in the story

is what is

your response

to Jesus?

As his

words come

to the door

of your

heart,

what is your

response to

him?

Have you

opened the

door of your

heart to

Jesus?

Have you

welcomed him

in?

Do you

accept even

his difficult

words about

you?

About how

we all have

sinned against

God?

Do you

accept his

words about

how you need

to turn back

to God and

seek his

forgiveness?

Do you

believe Jesus'

message of

the kingdom

that it's

near,

that it's

coming?

Do you

believe Jesus'

words about

hell?

And how

those who

reject him

will go

there?

What is your

response to

Jesus?

For others,

the big

question of

this passage

is not

whether we

should do

as the

apostles did,

but maybe

the question

is how

can a

loving God

bring judgment

on people

and punish

them with

hell?

That word,

that gets

to us.

I read an

article earlier

this week about

how some have

embraced an

alternative,

progressive

Christianity,

and the

author of that

article said

that the

critical issue

is how we

define love.

He said

progressive

Christians tend

to hear the

word love

and define it

primarily as

compassion,

empathy,

and understanding,

which then

becomes

affirmation,

tolerance,

and acceptance.

But he

says by that

definition,

any moral

boundary imposed

on somebody

starts to

feel

unloving.

He says

that's not

the biblical

definition of

love.

The biblical

definition of

love is more

than just an

emotion.

It's in the

words of

Aquinas,

a conscious

decision to

will the good

of the

other,

which sometimes

means saying

the hard

thing and

not the

comfortable

thing.

For example,

no one would

look at an

80-pound

anorexic girl

who believes

she's overweight

and say the

loving thing is

to affirm

that.

We all

understand that

sometimes the

most loving

thing that you

can do is to

refuse to

affirm what

someone genuinely

believes about

themselves,

because affirming

that might

destroy them.

He says

anyone who's

loved an

addict knows

that removing

every boundary

doesn't set

someone free.

It just

removes the

only things

that might

have saved

them.

It's a

prison with

no walls,

a place where

you can wander

anywhere but

no one can

ever tell you

you've gone

the wrong

way.

Well, I

think those

words are

very thought

provoking.

Progressive

Christians are

right that

love is

compassion and

it is empathy

and it is

understanding.

But real

love is more.

It has those

things but real

love also

strongly desires

the good of

the other.

So much that

it's willing to

speak the hard

but needed

truth in order

to save the

other or spare

them from harm.

the reality

of our lives

as human

beings is that

we have all

sinned against

God.

We have all

become corrupt

and bent

and broken

by sin

and God

is perfectly

good and

righteous and

just and he

because he is

those things

must give us

what we deserve.

If he didn't

he would be

corrupt.

In order to

be completely

good you

must love

what is good

and you

must hate

what is evil.

You must

oppose what

is evil.

God is

completely

good and

we by our

sins have

become not

good.

We have

become evil

sinners and

so we are

deserving of

punishment.

That's part of

the message of

Christ too.

And yet

God's mercy

and love for

us is so

great that he

wants none of

us to get what

we deserve from

him.

He sent Jesus

down into our

world to save

us.

Down into our

world to live

among us.

To take the

punishment that

we deserve

upon himself

so that

justice could

be done for

our sins

without us

facing it

ourselves.

But to

receive this

gift of

grace we

must do as

Jesus said

and repent.

We must

welcome him.

We must

listen to his

words.

We must turn

to God and

seek his

forgiveness.

We must

acknowledge our

sins to him.

And so

Jesus coming

and sending

his apostles

through the

land with

this message

of good

news.

Even with

those words

of warning

for those

who reject

that is

the most

loving thing

that God

can do.

He is

refusing to

affirm what

we genuinely

believe about

ourselves

which is that

we can be

okay if we

ignore God

and just keep

on sinning.

He's refusing

to affirm what

we genuinely

believe about

ourselves because

affirming that

would lead

to our

destruction.

Real love

speaks the

truth even

when it's

not what

we want to

hear.

And Jesus

always did

that because

he really

truly loves

us.

And so it

pushes us

back to that

first question.

What is your

response to

Jesus?

Welcome

rejection.

Welcome

to the

Lord.

Or rejection.

Let's pray.

Lord, these are

not the words

that we like

to hear.

Some of us

may even feel

embarrassed to

hear some of

these words in

public spoken

aloud.

But these

are your words

to us

through your

son who

you sent.

and I pray

that we

would take

them to

heart and

that you

would make

us first

of all stop

and ask that

question to

ourselves before

you of where

we stand with

you.

May every one

of us bow

before you,

acknowledge the

sins that we

have done,

not just once

but continually,

and may we

follow you.

May we

believe in

your son.

And we

ask too that

you would

make us wise

with these

words,

Lord,

so that as

we look out

at the

world around

us and

our

relationships,

our friends,

our family

who don't

know you,

make us

wise.

Teach us

about how

we can

relate to

them.

Give us

courage,

give us

boldness,

help us not

to affirm

them and

they're walking

away from

you.

Give us

what we

need to

be salt

and light

and to

speak the

truth in

love.

We ask

for this

in your

name.

Amen.