#DailyDevotion Lord, Send Us More Harvesters & Take Care Of Them

Luk 10:1-9  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.’

Jesus is on his way to die for us on the cross in Jerusalem. On his way there he sends out the seventy-two disciples, which includes the twelve apostles as far as we know. Their mission, to proclaim the kingdom of God has come near to them. No doubt part of that message included Jesus is the very Messiah of God. These must have been men who had been with him almost as long as the twelve. They would have heard the whole teachings of Jesus and seen his miracles. So they would be sharing the same message as Jesus and like the twelve before their message would have the authority of Jesus as they do the same miracles, particularly healing, Jesus did.

I think Jesus sent them out for this reason, that after Pentecost, they would be going through these same towns proclaiming, Jesus is the true Messiah having been raised from the dead and offering repentance and forgiveness of sins. Their initial preaching would be accompanied by their follow up preaching.

Now as Jesus sends the seventy-two out he gives them these directions, to pray for more laborers for the harvest and to trust in God to take care of them. Now what he is doing is not setting up the plan for future missionary or evangelistic efforts. Much of what he tells them to do is for their now. However, praying for more laborers is still for us to do. The harvest is still plentiful. This gives us encouragement as we witness to our faith in Christ through our vocations. God has already done the hard work. We don’t have to weed, plant, water, and weed. No, as we witness to Jesus in our lives and as the prayer for laborers is answered, we and the laborers simply have to harvest those whom God has chosen to believe and persist in the faith.

It is also there to teach us that the laborer deserves his wages. We see that in our epistle lesson in Galatians when Paul says, “Share all good things with those who teach you,” i.e. those who teach you God’s word, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those who receive all good things are to receive them with grace and thanksgiving. Paul also recalls this teaching of Jesus here, 1Co 9:14 “In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.”

Heavenly Father, the fields are white but the harvesters are few. In your great mercy raise up men from the body of Christ to be missionaries, pastors and teachers in your Church to proclaim the kingdom of God, to bring people to faith in Christ and salvation. Also give us generous hearts towards those who bring the good news that Christ Jesus may be glorified by our giving. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.