34  Essential Elements for Evangelism  (Luke 10:1–16)

Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles hadbeen performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades! The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.” (10:1–16)

Most of Christ’s followers were motivated by self-interest and eventually abandoned Him (cf. Matt. 7:14; 19:25–26; Luke 13:23–24; John 6:66). There were, on the other hand, His true disciples who refused to leave (cf. John 6:67–69).This passage introduces seventy of them, the first kingdom missionaries, who were sent by the King to announce His presence. The seventy were willing to deny themselves, take up their crosses daily, and follow Him. Like the Twelve they were ordinary men, chosen for an extraordinary task.

The message the seventy proclaimed was that the kingdom of God had come near because the King, the Lord Jesus Christ, was present—the same message proclaimed by John the Baptist (Matt. 3:2), Jesus (Matt.4:17, 23; 9:35; Luke 4:43), and the apostles (Matt. 10:7).A kingdom is a realm, sphere, or territory ruled by an absolute monarch who functions with absolute authority In the kingdom of God, He is the “blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15). In a general sense, all creation is included under His sovereign rule in His universal kingdom (Ps. 103:19), but the kingdom of salvation is the theme of all gospel preaching. Those who enter that aspect of His kingdom through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ submit themselves completely to His authority and receive all the benefits of eternal life. The rest of humanity is in the kingdom of the world (Rev. 11:15), under the rule of Satan (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Acts 26:18; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2); there are no free agents. The gospel is the good news that sinners can be forgiven, delivered from the kingdom of darkness into “the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:13), and thereby reconciled to God, who gives them permanent peace, comfort, and joy both in time and eternity.

The phrase after this indicates that the sending of the seventy took place subsequent to the events of chapter 9, which marked the close of the Lord’s Galilean ministry and the beginning of His journey to Jerusalem. That journey would last for several months, and take place mainly in Judea and east of the Jordan in Perea. It would end with Christ’s arrival in Jerusalem for the events of Passion Week, which would culminate in His death, resurrection, and ascension. Early in that journey, the Lord appointed these seventy messengers (some translations read “seventy-two”; the manuscript evidence is not clear as to which reading is correct). Anadeiknumi (appointed) appears elsewhere in the New Testament only in Acts 1:24, where it refers to the Lord’s choice of Matthias to replace Judas as an apostle. Jesus sovereignly chose the seventy, just as He did the twelve apostles. Why the Lord chose seventy is not revealed, but it may have been a parallel to Moses’ choice (at God’s direction) of seventy elders to help him govern Israel (Num. 11:16–17, 24–25).

After choosing these seventy men, Jesus sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place in Judea where He Himself was going to come. The question arises as to why He diluted their impact by having them travel in pairs (as He had earlier done with the Twelve [Mark 6:7]). First, the Lord in His wisdom knew they would be able to support and encourage each other, a principle Solomon stated in Ecclesiastes 4:9–12:

Second, and more important, the Old Testament law required that “on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed” (Deut. 19:15).Thus the testimony these men gave about Jesus in the towns and villages would conform to the law’s requirements.

The Lord’s instruction to the seventy provides insight for believers today, who are all called to distribute the good news of salvation. Three requirements rise from His charge to the seventy: all who proclaim salvation in Christ must be content with the Lord’s provision, faithful to the Lord’s message, and diligent to declare judgment.

CONTENT WITH THE LORD’S PROVISION

And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. (10:2–4)

The attitude Jesus expected of the seventy is composed of five elements, all of which are transferable to believers today Luke’s record of what He was saying to them is most likely only a rich summary of our Lord’s instruction. As is the case in all the records of His teaching, weassume He said much more on the matters that are only briefly referred to by the writers. This section presents aspects of dependence on the Lord.

SHARING HIS COMPASSION

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; (10:26)

Since we do not naturally care for souls and do not fully understand hell’s horrors, we must borrow from the Lord’s compassion expressed in this statement. That it is a statement flowing from compassion becomes clear from another text. In Matthew 9:37, just prior to commissioning the Twelve, He said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.’“ In verses 35 and 36 Matthew shows that compassion prompted Christ’s remark: “Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.” Throughout His ministry the Lord continually demonstrated His deeply felt sympathy for desperate and despairing sinners. In Matthew 14:14 “He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.” Before feeding the four thousand “Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, ‘I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way’” (Matt. 15:32). Similarly just before the feeding of the five thousand “Jesus … saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). “Moved with compassion” for two blind men, “Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him” (Matt. 20:34). Mark 1:41 records that after a leper pleaded with Him to be healed, Jesus was “moved with compassion [and] stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I am willing; be cleansed’“ Near the village of Nain the Lord’s compassion prompted Him to dramatically interrupt a funeral procession:

The word translated “compassion” in those verses, splangnizomai, derives from the noun splangnon, which literally refers to the internal organs (it is translated “intestines” in Acts 1:18).The verb reflects the reality that intense emotions can have physical effects, like the English expression “to feel it in the pit of one’s stomach” Isaiah’s prophetic description of Jesus as a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3), is reflected in the strong emotions He displayed at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:33, 35, 38), and when He wept over lost, unbelieving Jerusalem (Luke 19:41).

Jesus, of course, understood perfectly the doctrines of the sovereignty of God, predestination, and election. He knew that all those who would believe had their names “written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain” (Rev. 13:8; cf.3:5; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27; Phil. 4:3). But that did not keep Him from grieving over the lost, who of their own volition rejected Him (cf.Matt.23:37; John 1:11; 3:19; 5:40; 12:37). God’s sovereignty in salvation does not cancel out human responsibility, and it must not be allowed to rob believers of their evangelistic zeal. The same apostle Paul, who strongly emphasized God’s sovereignty (Rom.9:14–24), cried out passionately concerning the lost, “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Rom. 9:1–3).

The Lord’s compassion was prompted by His knowledge of what awaits those who refuse to repent; the harvest of which He spoke was not one of bringing people into the kingdom of God. It was the gathering of sinners for their final judgment (cf. Joel 3:12–14; Matt. 13:30, 39–43; Rev. 14:14–15). Compounding the matter, although the harvest is plentiful … the laborers are few. The mass of humanity moving inexorably toward divine judgment and eternal hell, while only few are working to reach them with the saving truth of the gospel, moved the heart of the Savior as it should move us. True evangelism begins with a proper assessment of the plight of sinners; with an awareness of their desperate condition and with the realization that they all face the terrifying reality of eternal punishment.

SEEKING HIS RESOURCES

therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. (10:2c)

In light of the impending harvest of divine judgment, believers are commanded to pray for the salvation of the unregenerate. In Romans 10:1 Paul wrote, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them [unbelieving Israelites] is for their salvation.” But the prayer in view here is that God would raise up people to evangelize the lost; that the Lord of the harvest would send out laborers into His harvest to rescue people from the coming judgment.

The Lord of the harvest is the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom the Father has committed all judgment (John 5:22, 27–29; cf.2 Thess. 1:5–10). The compassionate Lord seeks to rescue people from His wrath and judgment through the prayers of believers. This is the paradox and wonder of the gospel. The judge commands His people to pray that more sinners be saved from His judgment; more than that, that more evangels be sent to those sinners, because the judge and executioner was Himself executed to save others from being executed by Him.

OBEYING HIS COMMAND

Go; (10:3a)

The present imperative form of the verb hupagō (go and keep going) reflects the urgency of the Lord’s command. There was no time for delay or extensive training; the cross was only a few months away and there were many villages that needed to hear the message and be prepared to receive Jesus when He came. Since the seventy were themselves part of the kingdom of salvation, they knew enough to tell others how to be as well. While specific training in evangelism and apologetics is helpful, the lack of it is no excuse for believers, from the moment of their conversion, not to bring to other sinners the gospel truth they have believed.

A rich illustration of evangelistic urgency by a new believer is found in our Lord’s command to the transformed Gerasene demoniac (see the exposition of 8:26–39 in chapter 23 of this volume): “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” In response, with only a childlike knowledge of Christ’s salvation, “he went away proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him” (v.39).

TRUSTING HIS POWER

behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. (10:36)

By likening the seventy to lambs in the midst of wolves, Jesus stressed the reality of the threats that awaited gospel witnesses and their need both for innocence and vigilance. Like innocent, helpless lambs in the midst of a wolf pack, the seventy had no strength of their own and were only as safe as the strength of their Shepherd. As He did the apostles (cf. Matt. 10:16–18; John 16:1–4, 33), Jesus warned them of the hostility, hatred, and danger they would face. All of the apostles faced persecution, and as far as is known, all were martyred except for John. The seventy also would face persecution in the synagogue courts, by religious and secular authorities, and even from their own families, and perhaps a number of them were martyred as well. But they were all protected by the power and strength of their Shepherd until their work was done.

ACCEPTING HIS PROVISION

Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. (10:4)

As He had done with the Twelve (Luke 9:1–3), the Lord did not allow the seventy to take any extra provisions for their journey, such as a money belt, bag, and shoes. Nor were they to greet anyone on the way. Jesus was not referring to giving a polite greeting in passing, but rather to stopping and indulging in the elaborate greetings that were part of the culture (cf. Ex. 18:5–12). They were not to establish relationships from which they could expect support. Nor was doing so essential to this mission of evangelizing people; people would be saved by the power of the gospel, not the power of friendship. This mission was to be a time of training, of learning to trust God to supply all their needs (cf. Phil. 4:19). The seventy were not only to trust the Lord to protect them from the wolves, as noted above, but also to supply their basic necessities.

As was the case with the apostles, this austerity was for temporary training purposes and not permanent, as Jesus’ later reference to His sending the Twelve indicates: “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?’ They said, ‘No, nothing’” (Luke 22:35). But the pattern for future ministry would be different, Jesus told them: “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one’” (v 36). The rigorous rules the Lord enforced during the initial training of both the apostles and the seventy were relaxed after it was completed.

FAITHFUL TO THE LORD’S MESSAGE

Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ (10:5–11)

The message the seventy were charged to preach would inevitably divide people based on one of two responses: acceptance bringing peace, or rejection bringing punishment.

PEACE

Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ (10:5–9)

These itinerant evangelists from Galilee would be strangers in virtually every Judean town and village that they entered. In His instructions to the Twelve, Jesus had told them, “Whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city” (Matt. 10:11). In other words, they were to look for someone receptive to the gospel message, a true Jew who was one inwardly (Rom.2:29); who was waiting for the Messiah as Simeon was (Luke 2:25).The seventy were likewise to look for those who were ready, eager, and divinely prepared to hear the gospel.

Then the Lord gave them specific instructions as to how to find such a person, “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’” They were to seek out a house where there was an interest in the message of peace with God that Messiah, the “Prince of Peace”(Isa. 9:6; cf. Luke 1:79) would bring. This saying was more than merely a polite greeting since, as Jesus went on to say “If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him”; in other words, the gospel message would find a home with him. The phrase man of peace literally reads “son of peace.” In Jewish vernacular, to say that someone was a son of something meant that person had a disposition or nature consistent with it. A son of peace would be receptive to the message of eternal peace with God and entrance into His kingdom that comes only through the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Rom. 5:1). On the other hand, Jesus told them that if the message is not accepted it will return to them, an expression signifying rejection. In that case the seventy, like the Twelve (Matt. 10:13), were not to waste any more time with the rejecters, but to go somewhere else (cf.Matt.7:6).

When they were welcomed into the house of a man of peace, they were to stay in that house, eating and drinking what they were given, since the laborer is worthy of his wages (cf. Matt. 10:10; 1 Cor. 9:14; 1 Tim. 5:17–18).The seventy were strictly forbidden to keep moving from house to house seeking nicer accommodations or better food. This was the same charge that the Lord gave the Twelve when He sent them out to preach (Luke 9:4). The point was to distinguish the true preachers of the gospel from greedy false teachers. The latter were constantly looking to stay in the most comfortable and wealthy homes for a while and then move on, seeking to take advantage of as many people as possible. Obeying Christ’s command would demonstrate the integrity sincerity and honesty of His messengers and their message, as opposed to the false teachers.

Broadening the scope of His instructions, Jesus then told the seventy, “Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you.” In contrast to the false teachers, they were not to put a price on their ministry by demanding certain living arrangements or quality of food. Nor did they need to be concerned even about the Jewish dietary laws should they stay in a Gentile home, since Jesus had already declared all foods clean (Mark 7:18–19).

Finally, the Lord charged the seventy to heal those in each city they visited who are sick. Verse 17 indicates that they also received power to cast out demons. Those miraculous powers, which may have been granted only for the duration of their mission, served to authenticate their message as it did the apostles (Luke 9:6) in the time before the completion of the inspired New Testament. The message they proclaimed, as noted above, was that the kingdom of God had come near because the King was present.

DILIGENT TO DECLARE JUDGMENT

But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades! The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me. (10:10–16)

The seventy could not expect to find a favorable reception in every city they visited; the Lord Himself had just been rejected by an entire Samaritan village (9:52–53). When a city did not receive them, they were not to slip away quietly, but go out into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.” This was a public pronouncement of judgment on those who rejected the King and His kingdom. Wiping off the dust from one’s feet was a demonstrative expression of disdain in Jewish culture (cf. the exposition of 9:5 in chapter 25 of this volume). This was a final call to those who had rejected the King, graphically warning them that they themselves were being rejected by Him. Despite their rejection, they could be sure of this, that the kingdom of God had come near. God’s kingdom moves inexorably through history and those who are not swept up into it are crushed by it.

Understanding the good news of the gospel is predicated on understanding the bad news about what happens to those who reject it. To be faithful to the Word of God, a gospel presentation must include not only the promise of heaven, but also the threat of judgment and hell (Ps. 96:13; John 5:28–29; Acts 17:31; 24:25; Rom. 2:5; 2 Thess. 2:12; 2 Tim. 4:1; Heb.9:27;2 Peter 2:9;3:7; Rev.20:11–15).

In the conclusion of His charge to the seventy, the Lord Jesus Christ emphasized the reality of comparative judgment. Those who rejected the message the seventy proclaimed will face a severer judgment than those who have never heard the truth. Jesus gave the seventy the principle of comparative judgment, some examples of comparative judgment, and then personalized the principle of comparative judgment.

THE PRINCIPLE OF COMPARATIVE JUDGMENT

I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day … it will be more tolerable (10:12a, 14a)

The Lord’s emphatic declaration I say to you (cf. Matt. 5:18, 20, 22, 26, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44) indicates the importance of this truth. The warning given here is not hearsay or inference, but firsthand information straight from the judge’s mouth. The Lord listed six cities, three Jewish and three Gentile, and then shockingly proclaimed that the Jewish cities would face a severer judgment in that day. It will be more tolerable refers to the degree of punishment dropped on the unbelieving sinners at the Great White Throne judgment, the final sentencing of the lost to the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11–15). In that place of unceasing torment there will be different levels of punishment. To be exposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ and reject it is to incur greater guilt and punishment.

But while all who reject the gospel and refuse to repent of their sins will face eternal punishment in hell, the degree of their punishment will depend on the amount of knowledge they had. The severest punishment belongs to those who had the most knowledge of the truth. The writer of Hebrews expressed that principle when he wrote, “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”(Heb. 10:29; cf. Luke 12:47–48).

THE EXAMPLES OF COMPARATIVE JUDGMENT

I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades! (10:12–15)

To illustrate His point, Jesus gave three examples of cities whose judgments would be different based on their level of exposure to the truth. All three of the examples He gave would have shocked the Jewish people. First, the Lord declared that it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city. The unspecified city is any city thatrejected the seventy and their message about Christ (v. 10). That Sodom would face a lesser judgment than any city in Israel was incomprehensible. The appalling evil of Sodom, especially its gross homosexual sin, would seem to merit the most severe judgment. God Himself declared of Sodom and its sister city Gomorrah, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave” (Gen. 18:20). Yet Jesus declared that any city that rejected the gospel would face a more severe judgment than Sodom.

The second example contrasts the Old Testament cities of Tyre and Sidon with Chorazin and Bethsaida. Chorazin was a small village near Capernaum, the headquarters of Jesus’ Galilean ministry Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew, Peter, and Philip (John 1:44), was another village near Capernaum. The two cities’ proximity to Capernaum ensures that the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida were familiar with Jesus’ miracles and His message. Their rejection of Him prompted the Lord to pronounce woe (i.e., judgment) on them, and then to reveal the shocking truth that if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in Chorazin and Bethsaida they would have repented long ago. Tyre and Sidon were seaports on the Phoenician coast. The two cities epitomized evil in the Old Testament, and both Isaiah 23 and Ezekiel 28 prophesied the judgment that fell on them. Yet if they had had the information that the inhabitants of Chorazin and Bethsaida had, they would have put on sackcloth and ashes, a symbol of deep mourning and contrition (1 Kings 21:27; 1 Chron. 21:16; Neh.9:1; Est.4:1, 3; Job 42:6; Jer. 6:26; Dan. 9:3; Jon. 3:5–9), to demonstrate the sincerity of their repentance.

If the Jewish people had been asked to name the most evil people in history, those two cities and Sodom would have been at the top of the list. Yet because of their stubborn rejection of the truth and refusal to repent and trust Jesus Christ, the Jewish people faced a more severe judgment than those wicked Gentile cities who had never heard from God.

The Lord then turned His attention to Capernaum which, He warned, will not be exalted to heaven as its self-righteous inhabitants imagined, but will be brought down to Hades! Like the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida, their religious pride would plunge the people of Capernaum into punishment. Hades is a general word for the place of the dead, but when used in contrast to heaven it can only refer to hell (cf. Luke 16:23–24). Capernaum had been the Lord’s headquarters throughout His Galilean ministry Its people had heard His teaching and repeatedly witnessed the countless miracles He performed. There is no record in the Gospels of any overt hostility to Jesus on the part of that city; its inhabitants never persecuted Him, mocked Him, ridiculed Him, or triedto run Him out of town. They merely tolerated Him. But indifference to Christ is just as damning as outright rejection since, as Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters” (Matt. 12:30).

THE PERSONALIZATION OF COMPARATIVE JUDGMENT

The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me. (10:16)

This statement brings the issue down from the city level to the personal one. Because the seventy represented Him, Jesus told them, “The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me.” When His faithful messengers proclaim the message of the gospel, the Lord speaks through them. Each gospel writer records this truth that Jesus reiterated in John 13:20, “Truly truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me” (cf. Luke 9:48; Matt. 10:40; Mark 9:37). When those who hear the message respond to it in faith, they are listening to Him; but when they refuse to listen, they are rejecting Him. Furthermore, the one who rejects Jesus rejects the One who sent Him. The idea that someone can honor God while rejecting Jesus Christ is a damning lie. In John 5:23 Jesus said to the hostile Jews, “He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him,” while in John 8:42 He added, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.” In John 15:23 Jesus told the apostles, “He who hates Me hates My Father also.” The apostle John wrote, “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23), and “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God” (2 John 9).

Evangelism, when done in dependence on the Lord, with loyalty to the gospel message, and strong in words of warning about the judgment of hell, will follow the pattern set on this occasion with the seventy.