Daily Reading: (Luke 10:1-2):
“After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Some manuscripts say seventy others seventy-two. I believe that Jesus sent out seventy and I will explain why that is and what message that conveyed moving forward.
Jesus just sent out seventy other individuals to every place Jesus was about to go. The word “others” here is important because this word derives from (heterous), which means “others of a different kind”. This tells us that the seventy are totally different disciples of Jesus that does not include the original twelve.
“And sent them two by two”. They were sent out in pairs. I cannot stress how powerful and important it is to go and do ministry together with others. Why would Jesus send them out in pairs? It provided the 4 C’s of courage, cover, companionship, and credibility.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 13:1 “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” When somebody tells you something it is more likely to be believed when more than one person is saying the same thing. The news the Messiah that has been waited upon for centuries has finally come, and you can see Him if only one person is telling you this at this time it would have been hard to believe. You might share the miracles you have witnesses but who would believe you? Chances of you reacting to a single person telling you this is not great. But with two, there is credibility to what they are sharing.
Also, when you are together with another it gives you courage. You are not alone, you have someone to pray with, someone to encourage you, you are embolden to speak and share the Gospel because you have the support of another with you. There is also the building of companionship through the adventure that ministry brings. Going out on mission can be dangerous when you find yourself in a new area all by yourself. Together you are safer, there is protection and cover as you traveled the highways and the byways. Jesus sent them two by two.
Why did Jesus send seventy? The number sent on this mission had spiritual and symbolic overtones and this is why I believe it was seventy and not seventy-two. The Jews held that the Gentiles were made up of seventy nations; and at their feast of Tabernacles, “seventy bullocks were offered on behalf of the Gentile nations to make atonement for them.” The cities and places to which these seventy were dispatched was in the Trans-Jordan where Gentile population predominated[1] and so Jesus sending seventy was a sign for the Gospel to be for all people, the Gentiles as well as the Jews, and the Samaritans.
Jesus sent out seventy and it seemed like a lot but Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
Jesus gives us the answer when there is so much Kingdom work to be done and there are seemingly not enough people engaged in disciple making.
“Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Luke 10:2).
Praying, “Lord, send out workers to Your harvest” is just the kind of prayer that builds a harvest-interest within the one who prays. If you will pray this prayer, it will change you. When we will pray this way, your heart will become focused on Kingdom work. We are now actively seeking and expecting the Lord of the harvest to send workers. Imagine praying for God our Father to send us more Kingdom laborers and then believing He will, and then being ready when He does, to disciple those He sends us.
[1] Coffman’s Commentary on the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bcc/luke-10.html
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