Seventy-Two Other Disciples
Isaiah 66:10-14c; Psalm 66:1-7,16,20; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12,17-20 (or Luke 10:1-9)
The number of disciples sent by Jesus to all the cities and places that he himself intended to visit is not without its significance. (Luke 10:1). According to the Septuagint version of Genesis 10, there were also seventy two nations (Gen 10:1-32). In this way, Luke shows the universality of the Gospel addressed to all humanity. They went without anything and entered the hostile world with the mission of peace. Defenceless, yet powerful, because Jesus gave them the power to heal and cast out demons. We do not fight against people, but against powerful forces of evil on high (Ephesians 6:12).
“Behold, I send you like lambs among wolves” (Luke 10: 3). Thomas Hobbes said that “man is a wolf to another man.” The disciples of Christ have a task of making ‘man a lamb to another man’. Jesus himself was sent by the Father like a lamb among wolves. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). This Lamb was sacrificed for my sins and your, and the death of this Lamb brings real life to us.
Joy overflows Christ’s disciples upon returning from their mission. What surprised them most was the fact that in the name of Christ even demons were subjected to them. Joy also fills the heart of our psalmist recalling God’s tremendous deeds. He particularly mentioned two events in the history of the chosen people – crossing the Red Sea and crossing the Jordan (Ps. 66: 6). The first took them out of slavery into freedom, the second brought the nation to the promised land. We find here the symbolism of the sacrament of baptism, which sets us free from the slavery of sin and the symbolism of heaven. The fact that our names are written in heaven fills us with joy (Luke 10:20).
J.P Sartre said that “hell is other.” According to him, people create the situation of hell for others. The message of the Gospel proclaims something completely different: “Christ is other”; “heaven is other.” The mission of seventy-two disciples of Christ purifies the world from the experiences of hell. This is the “new creation” of which Saint Paul writes to us today (Gal. 6:15). The symbol of this new creation is the renewed Jerusalem. There is no sadness in it anymore, because God, like a loving mother, comforts her children (Isaiah 66: 12-13).
“For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith acting through love” (Gal 5: 6). These words are written by the one, who himself was circumcised and who once was “breathing out murderous threats” against those who dared to say so. What changed him was the cross of Christ. The cross of Christ testifies to the truth that God loves sinners. At the foot of the cross of Christ, we experience mercy and peace. At the foot of the cross of Christ, we realise that apart from love nothing in this world has real value.
When a leader of a punk band proclaimed in the middle of a concert, “Jesus is the Lord”, the audience spit at him, shouted him down, and some even beat him. In few minutes from an adored celebrity he became an object of hatred – “like a lamb among wolves”. Yet, his sudden conversion and his testimony of faith went viral and drew a huge crowd of young people to Christ. The mission of seventy-two other disciples of Christ is not easy. Like Paul they bear the marks of Jesus’ suffering on their bodies (Gal 6:17). And yet, their testimony of faith brings God’s grace and peace to those empty hearts of people around the world.
You can also visit the author's page: Reading Bible
Isaiah 66:10-14c; Psalm 66:1-7,16,20; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12,17-20 (or Luke 10:1-9)
The number of disciples sent by Jesus to all the cities and places that he himself intended to visit is not without its significance. (Luke 10:1). According to the Septuagint version of Genesis 10, there were also seventy two nations (Gen 10:1-32). In this way, Luke shows the universality of the Gospel addressed to all humanity. They went without anything and entered the hostile world with the mission of peace. Defenceless, yet powerful, because Jesus gave them the power to heal and cast out demons. We do not fight against people, but against powerful forces of evil on high (Ephesians 6:12).
“Behold, I send you like lambs among wolves” (Luke 10: 3). Thomas Hobbes said that “man is a wolf to another man.” The disciples of Christ have a task of making ‘man a lamb to another man’. Jesus himself was sent by the Father like a lamb among wolves. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). This Lamb was sacrificed for my sins and your, and the death of this Lamb brings real life to us.
Joy overflows Christ’s disciples upon returning from their mission. What surprised them most was the fact that in the name of Christ even demons were subjected to them. Joy also fills the heart of our psalmist recalling God’s tremendous deeds. He particularly mentioned two events in the history of the chosen people – crossing the Red Sea and crossing the Jordan (Ps. 66: 6). The first took them out of slavery into freedom, the second brought the nation to the promised land. We find here the symbolism of the sacrament of baptism, which sets us free from the slavery of sin and the symbolism of heaven. The fact that our names are written in heaven fills us with joy (Luke 10:20).
J.P Sartre said that “hell is other.” According to him, people create the situation of hell for others. The message of the Gospel proclaims something completely different: “Christ is other”; “heaven is other.” The mission of seventy-two disciples of Christ purifies the world from the experiences of hell. This is the “new creation” of which Saint Paul writes to us today (Gal. 6:15). The symbol of this new creation is the renewed Jerusalem. There is no sadness in it anymore, because God, like a loving mother, comforts her children (Isaiah 66: 12-13).
“For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith acting through love” (Gal 5: 6). These words are written by the one, who himself was circumcised and who once was “breathing out murderous threats” against those who dared to say so. What changed him was the cross of Christ. The cross of Christ testifies to the truth that God loves sinners. At the foot of the cross of Christ, we experience mercy and peace. At the foot of the cross of Christ, we realise that apart from love nothing in this world has real value.
When a leader of a punk band proclaimed in the middle of a concert, “Jesus is the Lord”, the audience spit at him, shouted him down, and some even beat him. In few minutes from an adored celebrity he became an object of hatred – “like a lamb among wolves”. Yet, his sudden conversion and his testimony of faith went viral and drew a huge crowd of young people to Christ. The mission of seventy-two other disciples of Christ is not easy. Like Paul they bear the marks of Jesus’ suffering on their bodies (Gal 6:17). And yet, their testimony of faith brings God’s grace and peace to those empty hearts of people around the world.
You can also visit the author's page: Reading Bible
