The Commission
The Work of Missions Is not Restricted to the Twelve, vv. 1-6, cf 9:1-6
A. Jesus commissions 72, one for each nation of the world, Genesis 10.
B. “Sent them two by two” = to bring the condemnation we read of in Luke 10:11-15, cf. Deuteronomy 19:15 and Numbers 35:30.
C. “The harvest is plentiful,” v. 2
D. “Do not greet anyone,” v. 4 = Oriental greetings were long and time-consuming, so such greetings were best avoided. The urgency of the mission did not permit such lengthy niceties.
E. Verse 7
- “The worker deserves his wages” = this involves sustenance, not luxury.
- “Do not move around from house to house” = this injunction warns against the manipulation of ministry to gain better housing and food.
F. Verse 13
- Chorazin and Bethsaida was where Jesus fed the 5000.
- Tyre and Sidon = the pagan world. The Galileans would experience greater condemnation than the pagans.
G. Rejection of You = Rejecting Jesus = Rejecting God
The Results of the Mission, vv. 17-20
A. The Joy of the Disciples
- experience the power of Jesus in exorcisms
- experience the range of joy of salvation
B. The Fall of Satan, vv. 18-19
- As the witnessing saints tell the Good News and the Truth, Satan loses ground.
- “Lightning” = Satan’s sudden fall.
- “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions”
- Snake is a symbol of Satan, Genesis 3:1-15
- Scorpion is a symbol of Satan’s minions.
T. Levi 18:12–“Belial shall be bound by him [the Messiah], and he shall give power to his children to tread upon the evil spirits.”
C. “Nothing will harm you,” v. 19 = Satan is not permitted to harm us permanently, see Job.
Jesus’s Teaching on Rejoicing
The disciples’ true joy should not arise from missionary accomplishments, but from their eternal salvation.
Jesus gave another warning against the kind of attitude that boasts in what one has done for God, or, more piously, “in what God has done through me.”