“Go! I am sending you
out like lambs among wolves” (Luke
10:3).
The Scripture for today describes the sending of the 72 disciples to
prepare Jesus’ way on His journey towards Jerusalem.
What chance of survival has a la”mb among wolves?
Did Jesus know what the survival rate of lambs among wolves was? He
knew. What if sending the disciples like lambs among wolves wasn’t about
survival…?
The disciples were sent to proclaim the “coming” kingdom of God by word
and deed. They were to say, “The kingdom of God is near you…” And to “heal
the sick who are there…” (Luke 10:9).
They were messengers – commissioned messengers of the King whose
kingdom was near.
They were authorised and empowered to speak and to act in His Name.
Speaking about lambs…let us take another look at our Scripture. The
disciples were sent:
-With prayer and with a prayer to pray;
-With authority to disperse peace…they were people of peace;
-With power to heal the sick;
-With some “good news”…they were people of the Word.
Consider the importance of these “good for nothing” lambs: they were
the voice of God Himself.
God sent Jesus into the world. Jesus was God’s messenger bringing the
good news of God’s grace. Jesus, in turn, sent the seventy two as His
messengers.
“He who listens to
you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects
him who sent me.” (Luke
10:16).
Take heart: being sent like lambs among wolves is not a matter of
survival but a matter of faithfully delivering the message and trusting God for
the immediate results and for the eternal results: eternal life.