In The Word
Read: Luke 9:57-10:12
Exacting Discipleship
57 As they were going on the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 60 But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say goodbye to those at my home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
The Seventy-two Sent Out
10 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2 And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 Go; behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no money belt, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one along the way. 5 And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6 And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they provide; for the laborer is deserving of his wages. Do not move from house to house. 8 Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is served to you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I say to you, it will be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that city.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
We see in our reading today Yeshua’s following expanding. His ministry had impacted the regions to which He traveled so much so that, even though the religious leaders were angry at what He had done, men chose to follow anyway. The climate of danger for the life of Yeshua and His followers was at an all-time high. He warned His disciples of His impending death twice, and the leaders of Jerusalem had made it known of their displeasure with them. What an inopportune time for the disciples to decide to follow Yeshua. You see, this was not the ideal situation to enlist in the army of the Lord.
Many people began to follow Yeshua and His teachings under the precepts that they were escaping persecution. The truth is: to follow Christ is to suffer with Him. The scriptures teach us that the disciples were hated because Christ was first hated (John 15:18). We have to understand that the world is an enemy to the things of God; therefore, it wants to destroy Him and everything that is connected to Him. Luke 10:3 says, “Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” This is a remarkable picture of what following our Savior is like because we too will be faced with opposition.
As a follower of Christ, facing opposition and persecution from the world does not mean that He has abandoned you. Instead, it reveals just how closely you are following Him. Do not allow the world’s tactics to influence you. Rather, be on alert and face your enemies with compassion and gentleness, just as Yeshua did.