Sending of the 72

Rev Andrew Gamman  6 July 2025

Readings: Psalm 30; Luke 10.1-11, 16-20

Jesus had set his face to head to the city of his destiny: Jerusalem. Along the way he had attracted quite a crowd. Countless people had come to hear his wisdom and watch his interactions with people. A large number had responded to his message by choosing to join his band of followers. From these followers, Jesus selected 72 (or 70, depending on the Bible translation you are using. Both options are well attested) and sent them out ahead of him to the villages he was about to visit. According to tradition, the 72 did not include the 12 disciples of Jesus’ inner circle.

He instructed them to travel light. There was to be nothing pretentious or offensive in the way they presented themselves. And their two-fold message was to be simple. To their hosts they were to say, “God bless this home with peace” (Luke 10.5), and to those who welcomed them, God's reign will soon be here! (Luke 10.11). What could possibly go wrong?

As a pastor of a local church, I often find myself sitting in the someone’s lounge praying that their home will be blessed with God’s peace. In my experience, I’ve had no one object to that. Of course, I’m most often visiting people who have already welcomed the message of Christ. However, when the reign of God comes close to someone who, for whatever reason, is trying to steer clear, my reception has not always been so warm. I can think of many examples.

One dramatic event occurred when I was visiting a person from my congregation in hospital. The hospital room had four patients. My usual routine is to have a brief chat than offer to pray. On this particular occasion, another family member was also visiting the person I had come to see.

After a short chat, I asked the patient I was visiting if I could pray for her. I guess, at this stage, the other visitor realised that I was a minister and that sparked something – for she immediately started running and shouting the foulest obscenities. She ran away from us down the hospital corridor, still shouting and swearing as she went!

Expect rejection

Simply because we want to represent the goodness of God, and his desire to receive and love everyone equally, in no way guarantees our acceptance. In fact, Jesus warns those going out to witness to this good news that they are to expect rejection. “I am sending you like lambs into a pack of wolves” (Luke 10.3). For many underlying reasons, there are those who simply do not want the reign of God to come near. For one thing, the closeness of God exposes our own short-comings and, rather than responding by accepting forgiveness, some would rather get as far as they can from the divine presence. Or, it may be that the idea of a God who loves everyone equally is just unacceptable to those who are proud of their position in life. There are always those who see a person of a different ethnicity, gender, income group or sexual orientation as being inferior or of lesser value. Such people will necessarily reject the idea of the grace offered when God comes near. We simply can’t both prop up our own egos with a sense of superiority, and allow the reign of God to come to us.

We are charged to go with God’s message of peace and grace, but some people do not want God to come near! And that’s okay. Talk about practising kindness… and you may be called a snowflake. Talk of peace… and you’ll be told that’s simplistic and unrealistic. Yes, Jesus tells us that we can expect that. Rejection hurts. It’s tough. But Jesus says to shake the dust off our feet and move on. And, whenever we are rejected, for whatever reason, it is also helpful to have someone we can talk to about it. It helps us to let go our disappointment and hurt. Those who were sent out were part of a group of 72 who reported back. And they were never alone, as they were sent out two by two. Our journey of following Jesus is something we do together with others. (We recognise this this morning as, after communion, we will receive new people into the membership of this church.)

Rejoice in a welcome

However, the point of the passage is not about the rejections. The point is the fact that many people in the towns welcomed them and welcomed the message. The 72 disciples returned excited. How important it is, in our own day, to be those who carry a message of peace out from our congregational gatherings. In an international environment, where there is so much trouble and conflict, there is a yearning for a place of peace and tranquillity.

We need to take note that Jesus does not picture a big-budget army of God marching into town to defeat his enemies. Instead, we have humble and barefoot messengers travelling without money bags and bringing peace! Christian mission is not arrogant, proud or self-righteous. Jesus offers his peace. We are to carry that into our communities and into our world.

How exciting it is to be involved in God’s mission. What a thrill it is when we see God coming near to people. How exciting it is on those occasions when we get to see him bring peace and restoration and wholeness into troubled lives. The 72 were overjoyed that God had worked through them. But Jesus said, “Be happy that your names are written in heaven!” Yes, we have a certain satisfaction in knowing we are followers of Jesus. And we long for peace in our world. But there is a bigger picture of eternity that is known to God. We can truly rejoice that God has brought us into a plan for eternity that is bigger than ourselves.

All of which causes us to ask (in the words of our next hymn), will we be those who hold God’s people in our heart? Will we go where the Lord leads us?

Image: Calling of the Apostles by Domenico Ghirlandaio