The Kingdom of Heaven is near you

Luke 10:1-24

Jesus' mission is expanding: back in 9:51, he sent a few messengers ahead of him to prepare the way for him as he went into one Samaritan village. Now, in chapter 10, he appoints 72 others and sent them out two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.

And this first mission was, in many ways, a pattern for the mission of the church – for our mission. It's not an exact blueprint because this was before the cross and resurrection of Jesus, before the HS was sent to every Xn. But there are principles here that still apply today.

And as these 72 go, their first task is to pray – to pray that the Lord of the harvest field will send out workers into his harvest field.  And as is so often the case, as these people pray, they are the answer to their own prayers – they themselves are to be the workers sent by God into the harvest field. Jesus is gathering a people together for God, just as a farmer gathers the harvest into his barns. And just as a farmer needs help at harvest, so Jesus needs help - he needs people to go ahead and prepare for his coming – people who are sent by God. And these 72 must pray that God would send people to help gather the harvest of people who are ready to be gathered together into the K of G – one multi-ethnic nation under God, the church.

'So', says Jesus in v3, 'Go!'

But as these people go into the harvest fields, they won't be sitting in comfortable, air-conditioned tractor cabs listening to the dulcet tones of Jeremy Vine on Radio 2 – no, they're going as 'lambs among wolves'. This doesn't mean it's a suicide mission, but it does mean there'll be danger and opposition, and it does mean that, despite the violence of those who oppose them, they are to be gentle and must not fight back.

And opposition will come: initially from within – from wolves in sheep's clothing – from those who claim to be God's people, but refuse to walk the way of the cross, preferring instead their self-made, pompous religion. But later, opposition comes from without – from the Romans authorities. Even then, Christ's followers will not retaliate. They are to be lambs-to-the-slaughter, not fighting dogs.

The 72 go relying on the provision of those who are sympathetic to the cause. No purse stuffed with money; no bag full of spare clothes. And as they go, they're to remain focused on the task in hand – they mustn't be distracted by lengthy greetings along the road. They've an urgent job to do. The harvest is ripe, there's no time to lose.

As they enter a town, they find a household that will welcome them, and they stay put.

Now we can see principles here that apply to us:

First, we must pray that God would send people into the harvest field, and be prepared to be the answer to our own prayers.

Second, we must be those who support the workers because, v7, the worker is worth his wages.

So, as Jamie & Helen Read tell us that they're struggling because the exchange rate has reduced the value of our support, we need to respond to their request for help. That's our form of hospitality – they should not have to move from house to house as it were to find the funding.

Now, as Jesus prepares the 72 for their mission, he tells them that there will be two possible responses to their message – their message that the Kingdom of God is near. 

Some people will welcome the, v8. When that happens, they must eat whatever is set before them, and give a sign of God's future blessing: they must heal the sick there and tell them, 'The K of G is near you.'

But others will not welcome them. When that happens, v10, they must give them a sign of God's future judgement – they must go into the streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this, the kingdom of God is near.'

So the message to both groups is the same – the k of G is near.

But notice that the ultimate destiny for each group depends on how they respond to the message of the K of G. For those who welcome the messengers and the message, there's a sign of the future blessings of the Kingdom: so, v8, When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you and heal the sick who are there. Those who welcome Jesus as their rightful ruler will be welcomed into his kingdom and receive the blessings of his rule and reign. And the healings are a sign of this.

But those who don't welcome Jesus as their rightful ruler will be judged for their arrogance. And so the 72 are told to completely reject those towns – to the point of refusing even to take the dust from their streets away with them.  When the K of God comes upon these people, they will discover that they are permanently, eternally, excluded.

These people, who have such a high opinion of themselves and their religion, will discover that actually they're worse than the sinful city of Sodom. And the point of vv13 – 15 is that the cities which thought they were righteous and worthy of God – Korazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum – have in fact committed the ultimate sin - they've rejected God's Messiah, Jesus and refused to repent of their sin. But the despised Gentile cities of Tyre & Sidon which haven't even had the advantage of witnessing Jesus' miracles, would have repented immediately if they'd witnessed the miracles.

And so Jesus pronounces judgement on all who are self-righteous, and who reject his workers who are his representatives, v16. Again, the message to us is clear: your eternal destiny is decided according to your attitude to Jesus – whether you welcome him or not.

Well, the 72 workers have a successful mission, and, v17, return with joy, 'Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.'

What's happening here, as Jesus goes on to explain with vivid imagery, is that the preaching of the K of God is overcoming and defeating evil. In its place comes the joy and blessing of the eternal knowledge of God. So, says Jesus, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

Now there are some weird videos on YouTube of churches in America where people dance about with live snakes as a sign that they have power over them. But Jesus is using the biblical image of Satan as a serpent or snake to show that Christians are freed from a far more dangerous power - the power of evil itself. When we receive Jesus as our Lord and master, he kicks Satan off the throne of our lives. No longer are we enslaved to his self-centred, self righteous, self-obsessed world of evil.

Instead, we come under the loving rule of our Lord Jesus. And so we rejoice that our names are written in heaven – we have our names written in God's list of his citizens – we have a passport to heaven because we welcomed Jesus the King.

And as Jesus thinks about all this, his joy overflows into praise, v21, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

Who is is that welcomes Jesus? And what sort of a person refuses to welcome him?

Well, God hides the truth about Jesus from those who think they're wise and learned. God refuses to force himself on those who think they're too advanced for talk of Satan or hell or heaven. There's no room in God's kingdom for such arrogance and pride.

But God delights to reveal himself to little children. That's not, as some have said, because children are especially trusting – most children have a healthy mistrust of strangers. No, the little children were those in society who were nobodies.God reveals the truth about Jesus to those who know they are no-one special. To those who know they don't deserve it. To the ones the wise and learned look down on and despise.

The only way we can know God is by admitting that by ourselves we cannot know God. Knowing God begins when we recognise that he must reveal himself to us. Of course we can't know God by examining him under a microscope or through a telescope. We won't get to God by doing a PhD in philosophy. We can only know God if he chooses to reveal Jesus to us: READ v22.

And God reveals himself by speaking. Whether it was Moses at the burning bush, or the prophet Samuel, or Paul on the road to Damascus, God revealed himself by speaking to them. And now we have his speech recorded in the Bible. If you want to know God, you must read your Bible. (Ask me if you don't know how to do this or where to start).

Well, Jesus' final words in this section sum up the immense privilege we have when God chooses to reveal himself to us: Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

Oh yes, the kings and prophets of the OT all wanted to meet their Messiah.They all hoped to be alive when he arrived on earth. But they were all too early.

The disciples were there at just the right time to see and hear the Lord Jesus – the Messiah. And not only did they see him physically, but they saw him as he really is – the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. And not only did they hear the sound of his voice, they heard his words and received his message.

And that's true blessing – true happiness of a kind that all the riches and power in the world cannot buy.