12 & 72
"One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. “Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes. Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town. And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.” So they began their circuit of the villages, preaching the Good News and healing the sick." [Luke 9:1-6 NLT]
The most important aspect of Jesus’ ministry on earth was, of course, His sacrificial and redemptive work on the cross - paying the price for our sins and providing the way for believers to gain eternal life. Second in importance behind that work was, IMHO, His training of disciples to go into the world and spread the gospel after His ascension and the day of Pentecost. Jesus possessed tremendous leadership abilities and traits. Sure, He preached the gospel – ‘turn from your sins and turn to God’ – during His earthly ministry, but the spread of the gospel and the beginning of the Christian church didn’t occur until afterwards.
Jesus knew this was God’s plan so He invested Himself deeply in training and equipping His disciples to carry out the great commission upon His departure from earth. He knew it was a work that would require the entire length of His 3 year ministry. His 12 apostles, the future leaders of the church, lived and followed Him full-time during those years. Other disciples followed Him part-time. The 12 followed an apprentice-like model of living with the Rabbi, learning from His teachings and observing His actions, interactions, healings, miracles and personal behavior 24/7. They asked many questions and even attempted to emulate His actions at times, a good example being Peter walking on water out to Jesus during a storm on the Sea of Galilee one night. Jesus knew that His disciples needed some practice on their own to develop further. So, He first sends out the 12 to go preach the gospel in Israeli villages and towns. He empowers them to heal the sick and cast out demons. He gives them explicit instructions on what to take (not much) and not to take, where to stay in each town, and what to do if the town refused to listen to their message. Luke tells us off they went on the circuit of villages. We don’t know how long they were gone, but when they returned they shared every detail of what happened with the Rabbi.
Sometime later Jesus sends out 72 of His other disciples, in pairs, to do the same thing. He gives them equally explicit instructions on what to do and not to do and off they go. Luke 10: 17-20 tells us, “When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!” “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”
Great leaders, like Jesus, always provide appropriate training opportunities to best prepare their subordinates for ‘the real thing’. The 72 were giddy with excitement at the results of them using His name to cast out demons. I really like Jesus’ reply in bold text above. We truly should rejoice – always - at knowing our names are registered in heaven!
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