Seventy-Two Sent Out

[0:00] You can be turning to Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10. We're going to read together the first 16 verses. Really this account goes down to 24. But there's too much there for us to deal with in one service.

[0:28] ! We're going to actually split an account here. We don't do this very often. We're going to split the account. As you look at your Bible, Jesus sends out the 72. Some of you may be wondering, wait a minute, he's already said something wrong. We'll talk about that in just a minute.

[0:47] If you remember in the last chapter, chapter 9, verse 51, we saw that there was this turn. Jesus then sets his face to Jerusalem.

[0:59] He's going to die. He's going to perform his exodus. He's going to suffer, be killed, buried, raised again, and ascend to heaven.

[1:15] He set his face to go and do that. I have tried. I do not know. I cannot figure out for sure how long from 951 until Jesus is crucified.

[1:27] I've heard anywhere from a year down to three months down to less than that. And no one's been able, that I, to this point, have been able to find out how long that is.

[1:38] But as he turned his face to Jerusalem, he immediately just simply dropped below Galilee into the area of the Samaritans, where immediately he experienced rejection. Remember, he had sent two messengers on ahead to prepare for his stay there in Samaria.

[1:59] We don't even know the town. But they rejected him, and they rejected him not because of his message so much. They rejected him because he was going to Jerusalem. And remember how at that time, those in Samaria were worshiping at the temple of Mount Gerizim, and they were furious towards any Jews who would travel through their country to go to that other temple.

[2:25] And so they rejected Jesus and his disciples. Remember, though, that in that happening, now James and John didn't necessarily, weren't necessarily the ones who went to this village, probably not.

[2:41] But James and John, upon hearing this, began to take on the Elijah complex and said, Lord, let us bring down fire from heaven and burn them up.

[2:53] But Jesus rebuked them. James and John wanted to do this because, well, two things.

[3:04] One, the Samaritans were not accepting the rule and reign of Christ. But two, because they hated the Samaritans. And remember that Jesus rebuked them, and he simply went on to another village.

[3:20] And we're going to see today that Jesus' mission to save was not based on what nation people were from, but rather what they did with the news of the kingdom of God that was at hand.

[3:36] What they did with the gospel. So let's look at Luke chapter 10, and I want to read the first 16 verses. Follow along, please, as I read.

[3:50] After this, the Lord appointed 72 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.

[4:07] Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way. Behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

[4:20] Carry no money bag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, peace be to this house.

[4:33] And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you and remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide. For the laborer deserves his wages.

[4:47] Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, the kingdom of God has come near you.

[5:02] But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, even the dust of your town that clings to your feet, we wipe off against you.

[5:16] Nevertheless, know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you. I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

[5:30] Woe to you, Chorazan! 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.

[5:41] But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum! Will you be exalted to heaven?

[5:54] You shall be brought down to Hades. 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.

[6:09] Let's pray together. Father, I thank you. For what you did in sending out the 72. Thank you for what you're teaching.

[6:22] Thank you for the way that Luke put it in here. And I thank you for the grace and the mercy that it shows. Thank you, Father, for the calling that it lays upon us.

[6:35] I thank you, Father, for the instruction and how to think. And how to love and how to go in spite. In spite of.

[6:46] I pray that you would be with us in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, my Bible at the beginning here says Jesus sends out the 72.

[7:00] I've kind of tagged this, these first 12 verses. Rather, the gospel to the nations. And you'll see why I'm saying that in a few minutes.

[7:11] It says, first of all, that after this, the Lord appointed 72. Now, I failed to do this a little bit ago in another text. And it left some confusion.

[7:24] Some of you are sitting here maybe with an ESV or an, not an ESV, an ASV or a King James or a New King James. And you might read something like this after the Lord appointed 70 others.

[7:39] And there's a difference between the many English texts. Actually, there's just two groupings. They all fall into one of the two groupings. And I'll just take just a minute to explain this.

[7:53] Actually, it helps us even as we think forward to what we're going to look at. But when they translated the Bible, they have thousands and thousands of manuscripts of the New Testament.

[8:08] There is no limit to the resources they have. But there are two camps of the manuscripts that are able to, I don't want to say contribute, that people can look at in relation to this.

[8:27] About half of the good manuscripts mention that there are 70 disciples sent out. About half mention that there are 72. There are also good manuscripts.

[8:37] And when it comes right down to it, there is absolutely no way to determine which way is right. These are both good groupings. And you say, well, is that a problem?

[8:48] No, I don't want you to think about that being a problem at all. There is good reason for that. And it's probably what it's, well, we'll get into the reasoning in just a minute.

[8:59] I'll get ahead of myself. So, you may see 70 in your Bible. You may say 72. Don't let that worry you. It doesn't matter. It points to something that we will see in just a moment that's important.

[9:13] And the something that we'll see is covered by either 70 or 72. So, Jesus sends out, I'm going to say 72 because the ESV says 72.

[9:24] And I won't get as confused as quickly if I jump back and forth. But Jesus takes and calls those 72 people to go out and share in different places.

[9:38] They were to go out two by two. And it says that they were to go into all the places that he was going to go. You remember, he had been in Galilee, which was in the northern part of Israel.

[9:49] He had to travel south to Jerusalem. Although they would say it was up to Jerusalem because Jerusalem was on a mountain. And they were going south to Jerusalem. They went into Samaria and were rejected.

[10:04] And Matthew points to how they took a turn towards Perea. Where's Perea? It's just the other side of the river. So, as they came down from Galilee, you would have Samaria on one side, Perea on the other side.

[10:18] And they simply went across the Jordan River to the other side. Now, I am fairly well convinced that in their trek down, they may not have just stayed on the Perea side.

[10:32] They may have made treks into the Samaritan side of the river. Okay, so they're going out two by two and they're going to all the places.

[10:44] Now, two by two means that there are either 35 or 36 groups of people going out.

[10:57] And I don't want you to automatically think it was just 36 different places that Jesus went. Could have been more. A group may have spent time and gone to more than one place.

[11:11] We just have no idea. But if you think about the whole situation that Jesus has been in Galilee. And he's now traveling to Jerusalem on his way to die. He is going to visit an awful lot of cities on his way to Jerusalem.

[11:29] I think that's an amazing fact. One, it's an amazing fact because he was able to do it. Another, it's an amazing fact in relation to what he's pointing to in this passage.

[11:43] So I want you to put that into your brain and remember it. I'm not going to explain it all now. But that he went to at least 36 different places before he went to Jerusalem.

[11:59] And he was going to Jerusalem to accomplish his exodus. Now, the 70 who went out, or 72 that went out, I do not believe included the 12.

[12:16] I think they stayed there and Jesus taught them. It says that the 72 others were appointed. So I think the 12 stayed with Jesus.

[12:26] And so these were people who were sent out beyond that. Why 72? Now, certainly you could say, well, maybe Jesus knew how many cities he was going to.

[12:38] And said, probably 72 should cover it. If we go two by two, that could have been some of the thinking. But I read scads of commentaries this week that said the same thing I'm going to point out to you.

[12:51] Is that the number 72 or 70, again, we come to the same kind of situation. The NASB, King James, and others will say 70.

[13:05] In reference to the passage I'm going to mention. Others, ESV and others will say 72. Most agree that this number 70 or 72 points back to Genesis 10.

[13:17] Now, I don't care if you flip there and look at it. It's not the kind of place you're going to look and say, ooh, yippee, I'm going to read all this. In Genesis 10, you're going to find that it's just after the flood.

[13:30] Noah has come out of the ark. And they've begun to multiply. And there in Genesis 10, you'll find a list of 70 or 72.

[13:41] And it's going to depend on whether you look at the Hebrew. Or you look at the Greek. As to whether it says 70 or 72. So that's another thing that points back to we're not uncomfortable with the number of people, whether it's 70 or 72, that were sent out.

[13:58] So, most people say the number of people corresponds to the nations that resulted from Noah after the flood.

[14:09] Now, you're going to say, okay, pastor, that's a little bit of a strain. And like I said, there were many, many who agree with me on this topic.

[14:21] But I want to point out that many things in the book of Luke point to what I believe this passage is pointing to. As we've studied the book of Luke.

[14:32] As we've studied the book of Luke. One of the things I endeavored, and I didn't do this on my own. I had help from surveys of the book of Luke.

[14:43] One of the things that I learned about the book of Luke is that Luke is a man whose theme is the gospel to the nations.

[14:56] He, and I've tried to do this as we've gone through. He has pointed to things. The whole idea of talking about women. The whole idea of talking about those who are the cast out of society.

[15:06] Often, Jesus interacting with Gentiles. All point to the fact that Jesus has all along been planning on sharing the gospel of the nations.

[15:20] And the book of Luke. Luke has written this account to Theophilus. A Gentile. To show that the gospel is not just for the Jews. That all along, Jesus has been intending.

[15:33] The gospel has actually already always been for the whole world. But he's intending that the message go out to the whole world. And Luke does his best through scripture to point to that fact.

[15:50] And so, I think the idea of the 70 pointing back to the nations agrees with the theme of Luke's gospel. Luke is the only one who includes this account of the 70 or 72 going out.

[16:06] Why? Because I think he's trying to get these Gentiles to see. This is for you also. And I mentioned that Jesus, when he left Galilee, turned south.

[16:19] And was rejected in Samaria. And so, he turned into Perea. And he may have made incursions back into Samaria. But both places were full.

[16:32] Not exclusive. But full of Gentiles. Jesus was sending these 72. Very probably. To cities that had many Gentiles in them.

[16:48] Remember when he sent out the 12? Do you remember how Luke specifically said, Go into none of the cities of the Gentiles. Only to the nation of Israel. He doesn't say this here. And he sends them out into these areas.

[17:03] Where he is going to go. He's not going back to Galilee. He's on his way to Jerusalem. And so, Jesus sends these ahead.

[17:14] Pointing to the fact that many Gentiles would hear. There's another clue, I think, here. There's also the idea, the odd thing.

[17:27] That he says to them, when you go into a town. Eat what is set before you. If you were a Jew. You had food regulations.

[17:38] But if you were a Jew. Going to eat with Jews. It would have not been something that they even considered. Because the Jews would have eaten what you, as a Jew, would have eaten.

[17:50] But Jesus is sending these 72 out. And he says, when you go into a town. If they set something before you that maybe wasn't clean. Eat it.

[18:02] Because you're there to take the kingdom of God to them. And so, overall, I think this account is pointing to the fact that the gospel is to go out to the ends of the earth.

[18:18] 70, 72, pointing back to the nations of Genesis 10. 70 or 72 nations. They're to go into areas where there are Gentiles. They're to eat whatever is set before them.

[18:32] I think Luke is making a very strong argument. That the gospel of Christ is not just going to the Jews.

[18:43] It's going to the whole world. And this is very good news for us. John 3, 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

[18:56] The idea world there is not pointing to every specific person. The gospel is offered to every specific person.

[19:08] But the word world there is pointing to all the nations. John 3, 16 fits very well with what Jesus is doing here.

[19:18] What Luke is showing us here. That the gospel is not just meant for the Jews. The gospel is to go out to all the world. The gospel is for all the nations.

[19:30] So as we look down into verse 2. We see some instructions. As they're to go out. First of all. They're to pray for more laborers.

[19:45] Why would they be praying for more laborers? Now certainly you could see. It would be good to pray for more laborers. If the gospel was going out to the Jews. Because they want the gospel to go out.

[19:55] And reach everyone. But if you're painting a picture. And you think about it. Jesus sent out 12 before to the Jews. And now they're sending out 72.

[20:08] To all these cities he's going to go to. And he's pointing towards the gospel to the nations. His first instruction is.

[20:20] Pray to the Lord of the harvest. That he sends forth more laborers. The gospels to all the nations. Revelation 5 verses 9 and 10.

[20:33] Says and they sang a new song. Saying worthy are you to take the scroll. And to open its seals. For you were slain. And by your blood. You ransomed people for God. From every tribe.

[20:44] And language. And people. And nation. And you have made them a kingdom. And priests who are God. And they shall reign on the earth. The gospels going to the ends of the world.

[20:56] Pray for laborers. Pray for laborers. He mentions here also.

[21:10] That the harvest will be great. And we're going to talk more about that in just a minute. But if the harvest was to be few. Then maybe 70 was enough. But he's saying pray.

[21:23] That there be more laborers. He says in verse 3. Go your way. Behold I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. It'll be dangerous.

[21:36] And that's what that phrase means often in scripture. It's dangerous for those people to be there. I'm sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. But God will take care of them.

[21:47] God will watch over them. He tells them what to take. Carry no money bag. No knapsack. No sandals. And greet no one in the road. And so it's a mission.

[22:01] That is to be expedient. It's to be. We've got to get this done. We can't wait. Remember he was just speaking. The last time we spoke about the person who would say. Oh let me. Let me go home.

[22:13] Maybe even in the last phrase. He's talking to some of these people. He's asking to go on in this. On this. Mission trip. No. No. It's not time to say.

[22:23] Go home. Go home and say goodbye to your dad. It's time to go. This is expedient. It needs to be done. It needs to be done now. And so it's dangerous.

[22:37] What to take. Well you don't take all these things. Because it's. It's got to be done quickly. You don't take all these things. For safety sake. If you're out there. And you're carrying a knapsack.

[22:49] And you're walking with one of those. Walking sticks with a golden duck head on the top. You're just advertising. That you're rich. You're just advertising. Come rob me.

[23:01] But if you're walking along. And you're carrying nothing. Just what you're wearing. Man. Well maybe you're the farmer. From. 20 yards back.

[23:14] Just going to the next farmer. And people would leave them alone. They're to trust in the Lord. Now. One of the things we have to be careful of. Is Jesus is not setting a standard.

[23:25] Just like. When we. When he sent out the 12. We said the same thing. He's not setting a standard. This is how missionaries go out. Pour as dirt. With nothing. That's not.

[23:36] Because later in the book of Luke. Jesus is about ready to send them out again. And he says. Take this. Take that. Take the other thing. And they're all things. That would prepare you for a long journey.

[23:48] These are not the standards. It's there to show. How. Quickly. They must be about this business. In verses. Five through seven. He talks about.

[23:59] What. About their lodging. And their provision. So they're to go out. Into these towns. And when they get there. And. And it was normal. In that day and age.

[24:10] That. Say you went to the. City square. And stood around a bit. People would say. You can see this in the book of Judges. You can see this in. Other places of scripture. Book of Genesis even.

[24:21] Where. If you stood around the square. People would say. Oh. Do you need a place to stay? Come to my house. Didn't matter. You could be from anywhere.

[24:33] You could be. And actually. You were to even offer hospitality. To your enemies. So. If you went to the square. Someone would say. Come to my house.

[24:43] Jesus says. That's the way you're to live. You're just to. You're just to. Go to the town. And. Be invited to someone's house. House. And he says. The first thing you're to do. When you get there.

[24:54] Is to say. Peace be to this house. Now. That's a greeting. It's a normal thing. But. I think it's. More than that. In this instance.

[25:08] If there was someone there. Who would accept. The message of the kingdom. That you're going to give. To the town. Then God's blessing. Would rest upon them. If they were willing. To accept that.

[25:18] Then God's blessing. Would rest upon them. But if there was no one there. Who would accept your message. It was their tradition. That they would continue to host you.

[25:29] For the three or four days. That was normal. That you. Could be expected to host anyone. They would continue to host you. While you did your business. Of preaching the gospel.

[25:40] In the town. And so. They would stay there. And God said to stay there. And just eat what's provided for you. Whether it was a Jew. Or a Gentile city. Or food.

[25:52] You know. Just accept that. That's your payment. Okay. And. So they weren't to go. From house to house. Just like with the. The twelve went out. They weren't to look for the better situations.

[26:03] The one that had the pool. Or. Or the jacuzzi. Or anything like that. So. He's talked about them going out. And they go out. And they. They present themselves. And they are allowed to stay in a town.

[26:15] Or in a house. And while they're in that house. They're then to go on with their. Preaching ministry. And Luke 10. 8 and 9. Whenever you enter a town.

[26:25] And they receive you. Eat what is set before you. Heal the sick. And say to them. The kingdom of God. Is near you. So. We're going to see two classifications. We're going to see if they receive you.

[26:37] Or if they don't receive you. So if they receive you. You've gone into the town. You've been welcomed into a house. And you go out. And begin your preaching. Of the kingdom of God. And they.

[26:48] They. Accept you. They hear the word that you're saying. They don't reject it. They don't cast you out. Or. Or they don't. Boo you. Or whatever the case may be. Then.

[26:59] While you're in that town. You should. Heal the sick in that town. As a testimony. To the truthfulness. Of their message. And you're to make sure. That they know.

[27:11] The kingdom of God. Has come near. Now we. We see this whole idea. Of the kingdom of God. Through the book of Luke. In several places. It speaks of Christ. Rule.

[27:22] And reign. In their heart. It will ultimately. Become easier to see. As time goes on. For them. That. That's speaking also. Of Christ. Dying. On the cross.

[27:32] For them. Being buried. And raising. From the dead. And the gospel. Of the kingdom. Or the kingdom. News of the kingdom. Of God. Entails his rule. And reign. Not the Jews.

[27:43] Idea of the rule. And reign. But Christ's idea. Of rule. And reign. That of Christ. Coming. To die for them. And reigning. In their heart. And them serving. Him. So.

[27:53] If a person. Came into town. And he preaches this. And they're acceptable to it. Yes. Yes. We want to know more. Of course. It wouldn't be long. Before Christ. Would be coming. To that place. And he would be able.

[28:05] To explain more. So you were to bless them. With healing the sick. And continuing to preach there. But also.

[28:16] When you enter a town. And they don't receive you. In verses. 10 through 12. You go out. Into the streets. Say. You've been in the house. You've been preaching. Or you've been in the house.

[28:27] And you go out. And preach. And come back. When you finally conclude. These people aren't receiving me. The host hasn't received me. The people aren't receiving me. Then you go out. Into the streets. And you shake the dust. From your feet.

[28:40] And that's to be a witness. Even the dust of your feet. That clings to your. Dust of the town. That clings to your feet. We wipe off against you. And so they're giving a witness.

[28:52] To these people. They have not received. The message. That the kingdom of God. Is near. They have rejected. The messenger. We'll see more of this. Down in verse 16.

[29:03] They've rejected the messenger. And they've rejected the message. And they will face judgment. Appropriate judgment.

[29:15] So. Their coming. Was to announce that. The kingdom of God is near. They were to accept that. If they didn't accept it. There was witness to them. That they would face judgment.

[29:25] Now judgment didn't fall. Just like that. Just like James and John. Wanted to do. City in Samaria. But judgment would come. Now.

[29:36] There would be. A time. Of grace. And I think. That even though. Many of these cities. May have had people in them. That rejected.

[29:47] Initially. I wonder. If over time. Having heard. What Christ actually did. Maybe some of them. Did come. To know Christ. But even though.

[29:58] They were rejecting. One of the things. Jesus says. To make sure to do. Is to tell them. Still. The kingdom of God. Is near you. Now.

[30:10] I wrestled with this. This week. Was Jesus still. Going to go to the towns. Where the men. Shook the dust off. The towns. Dust off their feet. I think so. I think he still went. But they were.

[30:24] The messengers. Were to go. And to make sure. They heard. The news. Maybe stop. In just a second. You think about.

[30:34] Us taking the gospel. To people. There are all kinds of people. Who don't want to hear. And of course. We don't get up. In people's face. And you know. Sputter.

[30:45] And spit at them. As we try to. Share the gospel. We do our best though. Even if people. Don't want to know Christ. To present the gospel. As clearly. And as tenderly.

[30:56] As we can. Because Jesus says. Even if they reject. Let them know. The kingdom of God. Is near. What's their only hope.

[31:08] You think of Paul. Who was. At first. Called Saul. He would certainly. Have been classed. Amongst those. Who rejected. The messengers. Message.

[31:19] And even the savior himself. Until God. Broke in on his heart. And he had heard. Enough of the message. He had heard enough. Of the kingdom of God.

[31:30] Is near. That when. The Lord. Came down. And shone the great light. And spoke to him. And says. Saul. Saul. Why do you persecute. Me. He knew enough.

[31:41] To say. Who are you Lord. He knew enough. That when Christ. Told him. To go. And. And. Wait for. The.

[31:53] Simon. To come in. And heal him. He knew enough. To know. That he had to be trusting. This one. Who showed himself. To be. Truly God. He went from. Vile rejecter.

[32:05] To. Heartfelt follower. For. And so. We need to be people. Who are careful. To share the gospel. As effectively.

[32:16] And. Compassionately. Even with those. Who. Don't. Want it. Again. We need to be careful. We don't. We don't. You know.

[32:28] Jack their arm up. Behind their back. And say. I'm. I'm not going to stop. Until. Until you get the whole. But. You know. There may be times. When we have to walk away. We give what we can. But.

[32:44] Jesus. Goes on to say. If. They reject. And you. Brushed the dust off. Of their town. Off from your feet. And they never. Turn. He says.

[32:56] They're in a worse situation. Than Sodom. Sodom. Was held up. As the most. Vile city. In the Old Testament. It was a city.

[33:10] That rejected. Angelic. Messengers. And a person. Who rejects. The gospel. Is in a worse situation.

[33:27] Than Sodom. Who rejected. Angels. Who simply said. These people. Need to flee. Sodom. Sin.

[33:39] And rejection. Brought. Quick. And utter. Judgment. And destruction. In a most. Visible way. Those.

[33:50] Who reject. The gospel. Are in a worse. Situation. Than Sodom. Sodom. We ought to pray.

[34:02] Earnestly. That the Lord. Send forth. Labors. Lest. There be people. Around us. Who ultimately. Reject the message. Of the gospel. Because. Those. Whether it be.

[34:13] The sweet. Little old lady. Or the. Gruff. Man. Who curses. God. To the day. Of his death. Whatever the case. May be. Young or old. Those. Who refuse.

[34:23] The gospel. Are in a worse. Situation. Than Sodom. And then. Jesus. Goes on. In verses.

[34:34] 13. Through 16. And gives. A warning. Based on. Three Jewish. Cities. Frankly. I didn't understand. These verses. At all. Until I.

[34:44] Working through this. And now. I'm like. Wow. This is amazing. He says. In verses. 13. To 16. Woe to you. Chorazan. Woe to you. Bethsaida.

[34:54] For if the mighty works. Done in you. Had been done. In Tyre. And Sidon. They would have. Repented long ago. Sitting in sack. Coth. And ashes. But it would be. More bearable. In the judgment. For Tyre.

[35:05] And Sidon. Than for you. And we'll stop there. For just a second. Jesus mentions. Three cities. And one. We recognize. But the other two.

[35:16] We've heard one. Before. The other one. Maybe. We've heard before. Chorazan. And Bethsaida. Bethsaida. Was the town. That Peter. Andrew. And James. Peter.

[35:26] And Andrew. And Andrew. Were from. Probably. James. And John. It was a city. Where he. Grew up. He moved.

[35:36] To Capernaum. Later. They. Chorazan. And Bethsaida. Were. Two cities. Near Capernaum. Less than. Two miles. Or two and a half miles.

[35:48] For Capernaum. And these. Well. We'll just limit. Ourself. To these two cities. Because Jesus. Takes. Capernaum.

[35:58] By itself. But these two cities. Were the second. And third. Cities. In a list. Of those. Who heard. Christ. The most. And saw.

[36:11] The most. Of what Christ. Did. So Jesus. Saying. Woe. To Chorazan. And Bethsaida. They've. Seen. More. Of what I have done.

[36:22] They have heard. More. Of what I have preached. Than anyone. Even those. In Jerusalem. Now. Without a doubt.

[36:33] Because a great group. Followed Jesus. From. Capernaum. Down to Jerusalem. Not saying. For sure. All of them. Were. Saved. But. There was a great group.

[36:43] And. He was able to send. Seventy. Of them out. As messengers. So it was a pretty good sized group. So there were people. In these cities. Who did accept.

[36:56] But the cities themselves. The vast numbers of people. Did not accept Christ. Now. Tyre and Sidon.

[37:07] They were Gentile cities. Over on the Mediterranean coast. Some of our strongest. Some of our strongest. Old Testament. Condemnation. Of Gentile cities. Are. The condemnation.

[37:19] Of Tyre and Sidon. In fact. Many passages. That. Relate. To. The condemnation. Of Tyre and Sidon. Are passages. That we link.

[37:30] As being. Yes. Talking to Tyre and Sidon. And the king of. Tyre or Sidon. But also. Are linked. To Satan. And. His.

[37:41] Life. Before. He rebelled. They were considered to be. Vile. Gentile cities. The vilest.

[37:54] And here. Jesus is saying. Whoa. Judgment to you. Chorazim. And Bethsaida. For if the things. That were done.

[38:05] In you. You could look. Through the first. Nine. Or probably. Chapter four. Through chapter nine. All those things. And many. Many more.

[38:15] Were done. In that area. Jesus said. If the things. That were done. In you. Were done. In Tyre. And Sidon. They would have been. Laying on the ground.

[38:27] In sackcloth. And sitting on ashes. Putting ashes. On themselves. As a sign. Of utter repentance. Think of. Nineveh. When Jonah went. When he finally went. What did they do?

[38:37] They wore sackcloth. And ashes. They turned. From their sin. And they repented. And Jesus said. If. Tyre and Sidon.

[38:48] Had seen what you see. They would have repented. But you saw it. And you didn't repent. And then he talks about.

[39:03] Capernaum. Jesus lived in this city. For over a year. He probably rented a house there. For over a year. This city. Had the greatest privilege.

[39:15] By far. It was the place. Absolutely. The place. Jesus spent. Most of his time. And many. Many. Many. Many. Of the miracles. That we see.

[39:26] Took place. Right in the city. Many. Of the miracles. Took place. In the fields. Right around. The city. Or just. Several hundred yards.

[39:37] At the edge. Of the lake. Of the sea of Galilee. This city. Had the greatest privilege. Greatest privilege. By far. One might think.

[39:50] That Capernaum. Would. Would certainly. Be blessed. As the most. Exalted city. In the world. Because they had allowed. Jesus to live.

[40:01] In that city. For over a year. And Jesus says. No. You. Excuse me. Think you. Would be exalted. To heaven. Capernaum. You will be cast.

[40:11] Down into hell. Why? Because you saw. All this stuff. And only. One hundred. People. Walked out.

[40:21] With him. The rest. Rejected him. The rest. Did not want. Anything to do. With the kingdom. Of God. In spite. Of all. That he did there.

[40:32] Capernaum. Would be cast. Into hell. Those. Who hear. The truth. And are more.

[40:43] Frequently. Faced. With the truth. Are under. Greater. Condemnation. If they. Reject it. Than those. Who hadn't.

[40:53] Heard the truth. That puts. Many of us. In a difficult. Situation. If you're not. Trusting Christ. Christ. And you've been.

[41:05] Raised. Here as a child. And you have. Refused. To trust. Christ. As savior. We hope. You turn. Before. We hope. You trust. We hope.

[41:15] You repent. Before. It's too late. But be it. Known. Unto you. The most. Privileged. Situations. In the world.

[41:27] Only. Bring. Greater. Condemnation. To those. Who do not. Accept. Christ. As savior. Now.

[41:37] I'm not. Trying to make. The person. Who. Who. Is wondering. About their. Salvation. Doubt. You're trusting. Christ. You're safe. But if you're not.

[41:50] Trusting. Christ. You're. In. A very. Dangerous. Situation. And the bible.

[42:01] Says. Those who reject. The ones. Jesus. Sins. Reject him. And those. Who reject. Him. Reject.

[42:12] The father. Someday. You know. That's the response. That some will say. Someday. I'll trust. Christ. That someday.

[42:23] Could be. That it turns. Into. An absolute. Rejection. Of Christ. And God. The father. Hebrews.

[42:33] 10. 26. The 31. Says. For if we go on. Sinning. Deliberately. After receiving. The knowledge. Of the truth. There no longer. Remains. A sacrifice. For sins.

[42:44] But a fearful. Expectation. Of judgment. And fury. Of fire. That will consume. The adversaries. Anyone. Who has set aside. The law of Moses. Dies. Without mercy.

[42:55] On the evidence. Of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment. Do you think. Will be. Deserved. By the one. Who has. Trampled underfoot. The son of God. Has profaned.

[43:05] The blood of the covenant. By which he has. Was sanctified. And has outraged. The spirit of grace. For we know him. Who said. Vengeance is mine. I will repay.

[43:16] And again. The Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing. To fall into the hands. Of a living God. God. And this is all. Very very very serious. And again.

[43:28] I'm not trying. To bruise the. Broken. Reed. Or. Snuff the. Burning wick. Trust Christ.

[43:39] Trust in Christ. Is what saves you. But if you're. Rejecting. Don't let that continue.

[43:52] It's a dangerous. Dangerous. Situation. A couple other things. What does that mean for us? Christ. Has always meant. For the gospel. To go to the ends. Of the earth. He has always meant.

[44:05] Luke wrote. This gospel. For Gentile people. To hear. And he made sure. He included the events. To point to the fact. That Jesus meant.

[44:15] For that to go. To the whole. World. If you're here today. The gospel. Is for you. Secondly. The harvest. Is plentiful.

[44:26] It's not just. In Jerusalem. It's the whole world. We do not labor. For the gospel. In vain. We go confidently. With the gospel. Because.

[44:37] Jesus says. The labor. The harvest. Is plentiful. The laborers. Are few. Christ. Will. Build. Build.

[44:47] His church. And the gates. Of hell. Will not prevail. Against him. In. Revelation 7. 9 through 12. After this. I looked. And behold. A great multitude. That no one.

[44:57] Could number. From every nation. From all tribes. And peoples. And languages. Standing before the throne. And before the lamb. Clothed in white robes. And with palm branches. In their hands. And crying out.

[45:09] With a loud voice. Salvation. Belongs to our God. Who sits on the throne. And to the lamb. And all the angels. Were standing around the throne. And around the elders. And the four living creatures. And they all fell on their faces.

[45:20] Before the throne. And worshiped God. Saying. Amen. Blessing. And glory. And wisdom. And thanksgiving. And honor. And power. Be to our God. Forever and ever. Amen.

[45:32] Someday. In heaven. There will be. An innumerable. Multitude. Of people. From the whole earth. Who will be singing God's praise.

[45:47] So. There's a lot. Of harvesting. To do. So pray. That God would send forth laborers. Pray.

[45:57] That we would go. And be bold. Pray. That God would save. More and more. And cause. More and more. To go. That. We would know. The shortness of time.

[46:08] And go. In all. Haste. And that we would tell. Even those who reject. That the kingdom of God. Is near. Because sometimes.

[46:19] God still works. In their hearts. Let's pray. Thank you. Father. For your word. And pray. That you would be with us. Lord.

[46:30] What we've talked about. Is so very serious. And. I don't mean. To diminish. That seriousness. At all. Lord. With those. Who need. To see. The seriousness.

[46:41] I pray. That today. Would be the day. They would trust. Christ. As Savior. But. But Father. The passage. Is beautiful. For those. Of us. Who know Christ. Not many.

[46:53] Of us. Are Jews. If any. Are Jews. Here. Today. But thank you. That Jesus. Included us. And he meant. To include us. From the very beginning. Lord.

[47:04] Make us. Be people. Who take the gospel. Take it quickly. Take it to all. And I pray. That you would bless. And build your church. In Jesus name. Amen.