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Luke 10:1–2
“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. 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.’ ”
In traveling to Jerusalem for His death and resurrection (see Luke 23–24), Jesus did not set aside the work of gathering more disciples for Himself. As we saw in Luke 9:57–62, along the way Jesus explained the costs associated with following Him to several individuals. He also sent people ahead of Him, today’s passage reveals, to prepare those in the towns for His arrival.
Luke 10:1 tells us that Jesus “appointed seventy-two others” as His heralds. There is some debate regarding the significance of the number. Some note that seventy-two is six times twelve, which hints that Jesus’ work will have ramifications for the whole world. Remember that Jesus earlier sent the Twelve on a similar mission. That gives a total of seven groups of twelve whom Jesus sent out during His earthly ministry, and since seven is a number that signifies wholeness or completeness in Scripture, there may be an allusion in these sendings that the gospel is for the whole world. That certainly fits well with how Luke elsewhere emphasizes that the gospel will go forth even to the ends of the earth (see Acts 1:1–8). We should note, however, that some Greek manuscripts say that Jesus sent forth seventy people, not seventy-two. Older commentators such as John Calvin and Matthew Henry see a parallel with the seventy elders whom Moses ordained in Numbers 11:16–30 to assist him in leading God’s people. The men sent out on a mission in Luke 10 in this case are prototypical elders to lead the church. Either way, the key thing to note is how Jesus once again enlists others to carry on the work of the kingdom of God. It is a privilege to be used by Him to take the gospel to the world.
When Jesus commissioned the seventy-two, He told them that the harvest of disciples would be plentiful but that the number of laborers was few, so they were to pray earnestly for God to send more laborers (Luke 10:2). This statement is instructive. First, it calls us to pray for the ministry of the church, reminding us that our efforts will be of no benefit unless the Lord blesses them. Second, Jesus’ statement implies that we should be grateful when God provides more workers and not envious if other laborers seem to have more success. Finally, prayer for the Lord to send more laborers indirectly encourages us to keep our eyes out for those who can join in ministry with us. God will supply the resources to carry His gospel to the nations, so we should look for the people whom He is calling to the work.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
There remain many people who have not heard the gospel and are unprepared for the final advent of Jesus Christ. The first step in preparing them for Jesus’ second coming is to pray for the Lord to raise up laborers for the harvest of disciples that He will surely bring in at the proper time. Let us pray often for God to provide preachers of the gospel, missionaries, and others who will take the gospel to the nations.
for further study
- Isaiah 6:8
- Matthew 9:35–38
- John 4:31–38
- Romans 10:14–15
the bible in a year
- 2 Kings 15–17
- John 6:1–21