March 24
“He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me,” Luke 10:16.
The Lord Jesus sent out 70 of His followers, two by two, into the cities and towns in Palestine and Judea where He Himself intended to go. He said, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest . . . Behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves,” Luke 10:2-3. They were to do some preliminary work to prepare the people for Jesus’ visit to the territories.
He warned the seventy that everyone would not gladly welcome and receive them. He was sending them on a dangerous job, and they were told not to worry about food and other necessities of life. They were to depend upon the graciousness of those who would welcome them into their homes. Actually, they were going on a home mission tour, during which they would witness about Jesus as the Son of God and the promised Savior.
They were to conduct themselves as courteous and polite Christians. In our witnessing for Jesus, we should remember that a courteous and kind word does not cost anything, but it can bring a rich blessing to those who hear it.
As the seventy came into contact with people who did not want to hear the Good News about Jesus the Savior, they were told not to waste their time endlessly trying to convince those who openly and blatantly reject God’s Word. They were told to warn the hardhearted and those who were spiritually ungodly and stubborn that the day would come when they would have to face the almighty God. They were told to shake the dust off their feet and move on to tell the story of God’s love to people who were in the dark spiritually and who would be willing to hear the message of forgiveness for their sins.
The seventy were reminded that the message they were sent to proclaim was not their own message. It was God’s message – the message of God’s love, revealed in Christ Jesus, whom the heavenly Father sent to be the Savior of all people. If people received and believed that message, they were receiving and believing in Jesus. When people rejected the Word of God spoken by the seventy, they were rejecting Jesus and also the heavenly Father.
Today, pastors and lay witnesses of the Gospel face the same situation as the seventy did. When we proclaim the message of the Gospel, there are people who gladly hear and rejoice to know that they have a Savior, and there are those who turn a deaf ear. The Word of Jesus still stands: “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”
We pray: Dear God, touch the hearts of those who hear Your Word and lead them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, who suffered, died, and rose again to conquer sin, death, and the devil. In Jesus’ name. Amen.