LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1998, Page 90

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90

CONVENTION ESSAYS AND BIBLE STUDIES

Luke 9:3–4
“And He said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey,
no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have
two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and
from there depart.’ ”
Staff, bag, bread, money—these are the usual necessities of travel. The Twelve need not take them now during
Jesus’ earthly ministry. As the Twelve now go into the
world, healing diseases and proclaiming the Gospel, they
do so as members of the household of faith. Wherever they
preach Christ and He is received, there is the household of
God. Their ministry, as it were, creates the new temple of
God by bringing Christ to the people (John 4:20–24). When
in their journeys they encounter resistance and rejection,
Jesus gives them these instructions:
Luke 9:5
“And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave
that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony
against them.”
The dust from any place that does not receive their
preaching is considered profane, to be shaken off, lest it
stain God’s people as they enter the presence of the “new
temple” in the preaching of the Gospel. Proclamation of the
kingdom and healing in Jesus’ name have replaced the
temple. The new place of redemption is the cross and wherever the cross is proclaimed.
Luke 10:1–20—The Sending of the Seventy-Two
Jesus prepares the seventy (-two) for the same mission.
They are sent, two by two, to continue Jesus’ ministry: to
preach the presence of the Kingdom, to heal and perform
miracles, and to say “peace” to houses where they are accepted with hospitality at the table.
Two aspects of the mission of both the Twelve and the
seventy-two are arresting: the character of these missionaries and their proclamation. The character of the Twelve
and the seventy-two is unusual. They have foregone the
things of this world and are dependent on the care and protection of others. They have renounced home and family;
their new family members are those who receive their message of peace. They are not to depend on themselves, but
their trust is in the Lord of the mission and His promise
that not even the devil will hurt them.
Luke 10:19
“Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy;
and nothing shall hurt you.”
The commission of the seventy-two is sacrificial in nature. When Jesus sends them He says:
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray
therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into
His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs
in the midst of wolves” (Luke 10:2–3).
By describing them as lambs, Jesus suggests that they
will be rejected and suffer the consequences of announcing
the presence of the kingdom of God. They enter a ministry
under the cross, and by preaching the Gospel and healing
diseases they will receive the hostility of the world that

may result in violence. Like their Lord, they will become
sacrificial victims of the Gospel that calls for a reversal of
the world’s values. They are sacrificial lambs who go forth
in full knowledge of the world’s hatred. But in their proclamation they will show that they are not ashamed of Jesus
and His words.
Moreover, the seventy-two carry in themselves Jesus’ redemption and His peace. The peace that comes down from
above in Jesus they now give—and receive back when it is
not received. The seventy-two, therefore, are sent out with
an agenda.
Luke 10:5–9
“Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this
house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest
upon him; but if not, it shall 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.’ ”
A greeting of peace that consummates in proclamation
of the Kingdom and hospitality at the table marks the mission of the seventy-two. They are told to heal the sick and
announce the arrival of the Kingdom. The Kingdom has arrived in the ministry of the disciples because they continue
the ministry of Jesus Himself. Peace and hospitality at the
table are combined as a sign that the message of the Kingdom has taken hold in that house.
As His emissaries, the seventy-two now represent Jesus.
As the Apology says: “For they do not represent their own
persons but the person of Christ, because of the church’s
call, as Christ testifies (Luke 10:16), ‘He who hears you
hears Me.’ When they offer the Word of Christ ... they do so
in Christ’s place and stead” (VII–VIII 28).
Luke 10:16
“He who hears you hears Me, and he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”
This mission of deed and Word continues the pattern of
the prophets, which Jesus fulfills in His ministry. This is
the pattern of the mission in Acts. Its effects are astounding.
Luke 10:17–19
“The seventy-[two] 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 have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing
shall hurt you.’ ”
When Jesus reports seeing Satan falling like lightning
from heaven, He is summing up the effects of the mission of
the seventy-two. In their preaching and in their healing, in
their activity of proclaiming Christ and His Gospel comes
the victory over Satan and His demonic armies. In the very
preaching of Jesus’ disciples, the kingdom of God has already become a present reality, and the kingdom of Satan
is firmly defeated. In their proclamation, the presence of
Christ to redeem a lost and dying world ensures that