Luke 10:1-24

1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.

16 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

The word gospel literally means "good news", but if we're honest and sober and see the true nature of the human heart, it's only good news to those whom God has prepared.

In other words, the natural man doesn't really want the gospel nor Jesus nor God, because the gospel is the "good news" (or bad news) of God's reign, God's kingship, and God's rule over His people (according to His image and His holiness and His perfect law). What that means is-- man cannot co-rule, man cannot have his own indepedent way, nor can man rebel against the King. That's bad news for many.

Luke 10:22 says "All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

Who would want a God that is so suffocating and stifling and telling us what to do and how to live and what to love and how to treat people? What if I want to hate people who hate me? What if I want to repay evil with evil? What if I want to be somebody and accumulate glory? What if I want that job or that raise or that kind of life? What's so wrong with that?

God must do the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit to make Jesus compelling, worthy, more valuable than all of life. To see His holiness and beauty, to see our sin that nailed Him to the tree, to repent, and to long after His courts.

Philippians 3:8 says "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ"

That is a miracle.

It's the cheating husband forsaking his mistress, remorseful, repentant, and longing to be one again with his beloved wife and bride. And that the wife would accept and love Him! Forgive him! That's a miracle! God is the faithful spouse, always waiting, always eager to cleanse, always full of mercy. He loves us! His Son bled and died to seal His covenant faithfulness and steadfast love.

Posted by Robert Han on 11/28/2016

Comments

Such undeserved grace and mercy. The joy in the journey of understanding the true value of the cross. Jesus makes it clear that not everyone will accept the gospel, but our job is to let them know what kind of love and grace is available. God already knows who is chosen and who is not. A pastor once said that it takes the pressure off of him; all he has to do is preach the gospel, and the rest is truly up to the Lord in regards to an individual's salvation. To know that we can be forgiven for even the most heinous sins is an amazing thing.

Diana Lim on 12/2/2016 at 8:16 AM