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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
“After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, 'The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'” (Luke 10.1-2).
Some of the most beautiful vistas are made picturesque by the contrasts they contain. A brilliant moon against a black velvet sky, poverty in the midst of opulence, and superior intellect in a family of average Joe's, all of these stand out all the more because of the contrasts associated with them. So much the more also is the contrast in our Lord's words in today's focus text. The laborers are few; i.e., they are very small in number. However, not every thing in this passage is small. One thing of note is the harvest. It, according to Jesus, is great. Literally, it is much, great, huge! Few laborers and a huge harvest; such demands fast and decisive action.
Harvest time is almost always a small window of time that must be taken seriously. If the harvest draws on too long, the crop will either lose its value, or in severe cases, be entirely lost or ruined. Thus come the need for decisive action. It is not a time to contemplate; it is a time to act. Such also was the harvest of which Jesus was speaking. His ministry was a ministry with a purpose of far greater value than an ordinary crop of wheat or barley; it was a harvest of souls. The window of opportunity was defined by the ministry into which Jesus was entering and the brief time He would be allowed to stay here upon this earth. Like a literal harvest, the time to harvest the souls of which He was speaking was but a short time and the consequences of failing to act decisively were too severe to even contemplate!
His mission was to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. His purpose was to prepare them for the greater blessings and responsibilities that were to come. The failure of the religious hierarchy to grasp the principles of the law, especially and particularly the ones that dealt with the heart of man, was a fearsome flaw in the fabric of Israel. There were many, many people who rejected the calloused formalism of their leaders but who had no one to whom they could turn. Jesus was, for them, a breath of fresh air, hope in the midst of despair! When Jesus sent out his apostles and also the seventy as in today's text, their mission was limited and their purpose was well defined. Repentance was the common cry of the disciples of Jesus; the hearts of the fathers needed to be turned back to their children and the hearts of the children needed to be turned back to the fathers (see Luke 1.17 and Malachi 4.6). Such had been the mission of John and it was continued with even greater fervor under the direction of Jesus.
The time constraints were not favorable either. An entire nation needed to be called to repentance but only a short time could be allotted for this to occur. Soon the enemies of the Christ would be emboldened to stand openly against Him and the free course of His ministry would be cut short. His popularity among the common people was one way of insuring that His ministry had a longer life; as was proven later, the religious leaders were frequently constrained from harming Jesus because of the favor He had with the multitudes. The time was short, but more laborers could serve to lengthen that time. No wonder He told the seventy to pray that the Lord of the harvests would send laborers!
The harvest then and the time constraints then are not the same as now. However, the “odds” are still the same. The harvest is great, and the laborers are few. Before we pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers, we should at least headed for the field ourselves!
Questions:
1. To what segment of people did Jesus send the seventy? What was their mission?
2. What had been John the immerser's mission? How did it differ (if it did) from the mission of the seventy?
3. What effect did more followers have on the religious leaders as far as restraining them from bringing harm to Jesus?
4. What is different today? Are there still few laborers? What about the time? How is that different?
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