Laborers In The Harvest – Part 3
Luke 10:1-20 (12-16)
January 27, 2019
As you know we are in a new section in Luke’s gospel;
One that we have called “The Necessity of Jesus”
And it begins with
• This mandate of Jesus to send out the 70
• As forerunners before Him to the villages and cities where He is about to go
• As He travels toward Jerusalem to be crucified.
The very presence of these men in your town
Would only emphasize just how necessary Jesus actually is.
YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS HIM.
We have been looking at the specifics of Jesus sending these 70
And at the same time have been challenged in regard to our own calling
To take the gospel to the world.
To quickly recap.
#1 THE SOVEREIGN APPOINTMENT
Luke 10:1
And here we were simply reminded that ultimately the call to missions
Is NOT about compassion or desire or ability (though certainly all those things have their place)
Ultimately the call to missions is about obedience.
The Lord APPOINTED these men
And He COMMANDED them to go on this mission.
While we are familiar with the Isaiah commissioning where the Lord asked “Whom shall I send?” and Isaiah volunteers saying, “Send me!”
We also understand that at times it is not about volunteering.
At times it is about submitting.
• We are slaves of our Lord Jesus Christ
• We were bought with a price
• We live for the Lord
• And so when He says, “Go”, we go.
It really is that simple.
#2 THE SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT
Luke 10:2a
Here we were reminded of the spiritual landscape.
It is a spiritual reality that our Lord was keenly aware of.
Namely that “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few”
• The harvest is ultimately a picture of the coming judgment.
• The workers are those who prepare the field for the judgment.
And according to Jesus, in light of the greatness of the coming harvest
There are not nearly enough workers.
We live in a world of over 7 billion people,
And according to the Bible they will each one face judgment.
Workers are required.
That’s just SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT offered by Jesus.
And because of that, we understand specifically what Jesus expects of these 70 here and ultimately of all His followers.
#3 THE SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENT
Luke 10:2b-11
FIRST, the command was to pray.
• Not necessarily for the lost
• Not necessarily for open doors
• Not necessarily for current missionaries
• (though we pray for all those things)
The first call to pray was that more workers would be sent.
More people need to answer the call to work in the fields.
And so for us missions begins with a call to pray
That God’s people would respond to God’s call to work the fields.
And the SECOND command falls right in line with the first.
(3) “Go”
We are commanded to go and take the gospel to the world.
It is extremely clear.
• I’m not saying you have to go to Malawi
• I’m not saying you have to go to China or Russia or even Oklahoma
But if you spend your life and never take the gospel anywhere or to anyone, you have failed to obey the simple commission of our Lord.
You cannot live this life obediently without taking the gospel to the world.
And what we SAW LAST TIME is that Jesus commanded us to go DESPITE the evident barriers and difficulties.
He was aware of the Danger.
• He said, “I send you as lambs in the midst of wolves”
He was aware of the Logistics.
• He knew it required money and lodging and supplies
He was aware of the potential for Rejection
• He knew that you would run across those who would not receive you.
He wasn’t naïve to what He was requiring.
He was sending His people into danger
At great financial cost to face rejection.
AND HE SENT THEM ANYWAY
Because the truth about Jesus is NECESSARY
• This world must hear the truth about judgment.
• This world must hear the truth about the coming Kingdom.
• This world must hear the truth about the Savior.
And the Lord has sovereignly appointed that the way this occurs
Is for His people to GET UP, GO to the field,
And do the WORK of an evangelist.
And this is NOT FAR-FETCHED to consider.
This is precisely what our Lord did.
He left the comforts of heaven to enter a world of hostile sinners
That He might proclaim to them the gospel.
And then He said:
John 20:21 “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
So we see the specific assignment.
• Pray for more workers
• Go join the work
But AS WE MOVE ON in the text, we come across a very important piece of information that Jesus wanted these 70 to have.
He just addressed with them the reality that not everyone would hear their message.
He said, (10-11) “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.’”
He just informed the 70 that not everyone will listen,
But that their compliance had no bearing on the command to preach.
If they listen, great! Preach the gospel.
If they won’t, fine! Preach it anyway.
Go out into their streets, shake the dust off your feet, and tell them they just made the biggest mistake they have ever made in their life.
They rejected the invitation to enter God’s kingdom.
And we understand the gravity of such a mistake.
Matthew 22:1-7 “Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”‘ “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire.”
And that story gives us added insight
Into why rejecting the kingdom is such a big deal.
Not only are you outside of the realm of salvation,
But there is also the issue of offense.
It is one thing to be outside of the kingdom. That is certainly judgment.
But to have been personally invited and to turn it down is an even greater offense.
And you see there the rage of the King who has been so offended.
And that is PRECISELY THE TRUTH
That Jesus is about to relay to these 70.
The Sovereign Appointment, The Spiritual Assessment, The Specific Assignment
#4 THE SOBERING ANNOUNCEMENT
Luke 10:12-16
Jesus here gives some insight to the 70
About the spiritual condition and expectation
Of those who hear their message and reject it.
And I have to tell you, this is VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
And not just important for the world,
But this is very important information for those who sit in church pews
With continual access to the preaching of the gospel.
• When the 70 go and they offer to people the truth of the kingdom,
• But the people they offer it to do not receive it;
• Jesus first says to shake the dust off your feet as you warn them.
But then He makes this remarkable statement:
(12) “I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.”
Now let’s process this for a moment and grab what He is saying.
“in that day” is a reference to the time of the harvest.
Jesus is talking about the Day of Judgment.
He is talking about the day
When all men are rewarded according to their deeds.
It is the day when all men give an account
And receive their just treatment.
• The day when the wheat is gathered and the chaff is burned up
• The day when the sheep are sheltered and the goats are slaughtered
He is talking about the judgment.
And he is talking about HOW BAD it will be for specific people.
He uses the term “more tolerable”
SO WE ARE TALKING ABOUT just how “tolerable”
Or bearable the judgment will be.
It is the day when God pours out His fury on the lost.
It is the day when God pours forth His just wrath on sinners.
And the question is, “How bad will it be?”
And the answer is, “It is different for everyone”
Everyone will face judgment,
But not everyone will face the same degree of judgment.
That is made clear here with the statement “more tolerable”
The judgment will be “more tolerable” for some than others.
Just as there are degrees of reward and treasure in heaven.
There are degrees of torment in hell.
Not all men are punished to the same extent.
So now that we know that
• Judgment is coming
• And it will be worse for some than others.
I suppose we ask the question, “WHO GETS IT THE WORST?”
THIS WEEK I was sickened/saddened by the new law signed in New York state.
The door was opened for and a law was signed that under certain circumstances a baby could be legally aborted right up until birth.
Listen, all abortion is detestable.
I don’t care if it is right after conception or right before birth, it is all detestable.
And don’t give me the “But what about…” arguments of various circumstances.
I don’t want to hear it.
But the law this week has drawn special rage (and rightly so)
And I’ve seen numerous references and statements like
“THEY’LL GET THEIR DUE SOMEDAY”
And rest assured, they will.
And this morning I would ask, “Do you suppose anyone could receive a greater judgment than those who promote abortion?”
And this morning I’m going to tell you, “Yes”.
There are people who will receive a greater judgment than that.
Let me state it like this:
While immorality certainly brings just judgment
IMMORALITY IS NOT THE CAUSE OF THE GREATEST JUDGMENT
And Jesus proves that here.
“I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.”
We already know Jesus is speaking about THE DEGREE OF JUDGMENT.
And here Jesus compares 2 cities.
• One is any city where the 70 proclaim the truth
• The other is the ancient city of Sodom
So let’s talk about Sodom for a moment.
• We read all about Sodom in the book of Genesis.
• It is a city especially famous for one vile incident and the judgment that followed.
TURN TO: Genesis 19
(READ 1-11)
• Obviously this is a vile city.
• Men so corrupt that all they can think about is sexually defiling visitors to the city and even a physical judgment (blindness) cannot refrain their madness.
• Here famous for homosexuality.
And we read in in Genesis and we see what God did to that city.
(READ 15-26)
Certainly homosexuality had a part in that.
But I would also tell you that homosexuality was not here only sin.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. “Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.”
• There we learn that Sodom also had an issue with pride and a lack of compassion.
• They lived in arrogance and abundance and carelessness.
• This added to their judgment.
So I think we are safe is saying that God was angry at that city.
NOW LISTEN.
The judgment you read about in Genesis 19
Is NOT the final judgment of Sodom.
THAT WAS THE TEMPORAL JUDGMENT OF SODOM.
Sodom still awaits the final judgment.
But after seeing how bad God judged them there,
I think everyone would expect that their final judgment is going to be bad!
WHAT IS MORE:
God made that city an example for all sinful people since that day.
When God really wanted to show Israel just how sinful they had become, do you know what He called them? “Sodom”
Isaiah 1:7-15 “Your land is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire, Your fields — strangers are devouring them in your presence; It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers. The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. Unless the LORD of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah. “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies — I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.”
In the New Testament Sodom’s reputation still lingers.
2 Peter 2:6 “and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter;”
Jude 7 “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”
So can we all just agree that Sodom greatly offended God and suffered a horrific punishment for that offence?
• Sodom was a bad city.
• Sodom was the poster child for immorality.
• I don’t know that any city has ever garnered more of a reputation for immorality than Sodom did.
But now look again at what Jesus said.
Referring to any city which rejects the message of the gospel from these 70 Jesus said: “it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.”
WHAT?!?
You read it right.
When God pours out His final judgment on sinners,
There are people who will receive a more severe judgment
Than even the immoral people of Sodom.
Clearly immorality does not produce the harshest judgment.
• Judgment? Yes
• Harsh judgment? Yes
• But not the harshest judgment.
• That is reserved for someone else.
So who gets the harshest judgment?
THE INDIFFERENT
Those who have heard the truth and still rejected it.
Let me put it to you this way.
• Will people who promote abortion receive the just wrath of God? Yes
• Will people who live in vile immorality receive the just wrath of God? Yes
• Will people who practice homosexuality receive the just wrath of God? Yes
But do you want to know who will receive worse judgment than them?
UNSAVED CHURCH PEOPLE
People who have clearly heard the message but remained indifferent to it.
Jesus makes that clear here.
Let me give you a doctrinal truth
That everyone who frequents the church should know.
KNOWLEDGE INTENSIFIES JUDGMENT
And this is the really the tricky part;
The other side of the coin; the double-edged sword.
On one hand we just learned last week that a lack of knowledge is why so many are lost.
Did we not read Romans 10?
Romans 10:13-15 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”
And we learned that it was their lack of the knowledge of Christ that kept people from believing and ultimately calling on the Lord.
If people are going to be saved they need the knowledge of the gospel.
So knowledge is essential to salvation.
But at the same time knowledge is extremely dangerous to the indifferent because it makes them more accountable to God.
LET ME EXPLAIN THIS A LITTLE TO YOU.
In Romans 2 Paul reveals this a little.
He is speaking about the difference between Jews and Gentiles in the judgment.
Romans 2:12 “For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law;”
There you see that people are judged by what they know.
• Gentiles (who in Paul’s day didn’t have the Law) will not be judged by a Law
they don’t know.
• Jews however will be held accountable for the Law they know.
Does that mean that people who don’t know the truth won’t be judged?
NO. Everyone will be judged because everyone has some truth.
Remember Romans 1
Romans 1:18-20 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
We are clearly taught in Romans 1 that every man has two great forms of information from God.
• They have creation which reveals God’s invisible attributes, eternal power,
and divine nature.
• They have the conscience where God makes truth evident within them.
And Paul says those two things are enough knowledge to condemn men.
It renders them without excuse.
So all men are under judgment.
In order to be saved from that judgment they need the truth.
In this sense the Law is a very good thing.
It drives people to God for mercy and forgiveness.
Remember what Paul said:
Romans 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.”
The Law was good for Paul because it showed him God’s displeasure.
• However once Paul read it, he could not un-know it.
• He was instantly made accountable to God regarding the sin of coveting.
SO JUST TO CLARIFY.
An uninformed lost man will be judged before God and will abide under God’s wrath for all eternity.
• And the basis of his judgment will be that he ignored the testimony of creation and the testimony of his conscience.
But the religious man who also had God’s Law
Will be judged more severely
Because not only did he ignore creation and the conscience,
He also ignored God’s Law.
And we could go even further and say
The person exposed to the gospel will be judged even more severely
Because they also rejected the Savior, Jesus Christ.
All are judged, but those who know more are judged more severely.
Luke 12:42-48 “And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. “But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”
So we can clearly say that while knowledge is essential for salvation,
We can also say that knowledge is also very dangerous
Since it makes you more accountable to God.
• The person who hears the gospel and obeys is counted extremely blessed for having received it.
• The person who hears the gospel and ignores is now in greater danger than if they had never heard it at all.
That’s what Jesus just told the 70.
It will be better for Sodom in the judgment
Than any city you go to that refuses to listen to you.
And then TO ILLUSTRATE HIS POINT Jesus reveals to the 70 that several cities have already fallen under this extreme judgment.
Those cities are the cities of Galilee where Jesus has already ministered.
(13-15) “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!”
It’s the same truth.
Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, where all Galilean cities.
We don’t have record of what Jesus did in Chorazin, but we do know what He did in the other cities.
BETHSAIDA
• Not only was Bethsaida the hometown of Philip, which indicates that enough
truth was spoken in Bethsaida to get at least one follower.
• Beyond that the feeding of the 5,000 took place there.
• Mark 6 reveals that Jesus gave sight to a blind man there.
But all of those miracles were not enough
To convince the city of Bethsaida to believe.
And so Jesus said to Bethsaida
“it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you.”
The best way to describe Tyre and Sidon is to remind you that they were pagan port cities. (That should suffice to speak of their immorality)
CAPERNAUM
• Capernaum was even worse than the others.
• Capernaum was the ministry headquarters of Jesus.
Matthew 4:13 “and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.”
• In Capenaum Jesus cast a demon out in the synagogue.
• In Capernaum Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law
• In Capernaum Jesus healed an unnamed multitude of people with all manner of illnesses and problems.
• In Capernaum Jesus healed the Centurion’s slave.
In fact so many miracles had occurred in Capernaum
That Jesus’ actual hometown of Nazareth was jealous.
Luke 4:23 “And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.'”
They had heard and witnessed the truth over and over,
And yet they did not believe and Jesus assures them that
They “will be brought down to Hades”
Matthew’s gospel gives more insight:
Matthew 11:23-24 “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. “Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”
So Jesus tells the 70 that when they go they should proclaim the truth
AND THEY WILL DO SO WITH DIVINE AUTHORITY.
If anyone hears their truth and doesn’t receive it
It will be worse for them than Sodom just like it already happened to the cities of Galilee where Jesus has most recently been ministering.
So do you understand the principle?
Truth is valuable, truth is necessary,
But it is also dangerous because we are judged based on what we know.
And that is why I say this is a message
The AVERAGE AMERICAN CHURCH GOER needs to hear
Because in America it is easy to hear the truth.
People fill church pews week after week and receive knowledge of Christ.
Accountability runs high in America.
And on the day of the harvest,
It would be far better to have been an abortion doctor
Who never heard the gospel
Than to be a moral church goer
Who has heard it but never obeyed it.
BUT THERE’S MORE
We also understand that the reason Jesus told this to the 70
WAS NOT because they were in danger of judgment.
Rather Jesus told this to the 70 because
They needed to know the authority of their message.
• You aren’t just preaching a suggestion to the people.
• You aren’t just preaching a better way to the people.
• You are preaching to them the divine mandate of the eternal God and men do
not have the luxury of rejecting it without severe repercussions.
In fact Jesus goes on to say:
(16) “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.”
Have you every realized that?
When you go into this world to proclaim the gospel,
You aren’t proclaiming man’s message.
You are proclaiming God’s message.
And when people reject that message, they aren’t rejecting you. Ultimately they are rejecting God.
What encouragement to the 70!
What encouragement to you!
We are sovereignly appointed by the King of the World to go and proclaim His message to the nations.
• We warn them of the coming judgment
• We explain to them the way of salvation
When they respond, we rejoice!
When they reject, we are certainly saddened,
But we do not give up or change the message
Because it is the divine message.
So can I remind you of something?
People seem to think that if they go and preach the gospel
And people don’t respond that somehow they failed.
Some even say, “I’m just not good at that” and they quit doing.
Look at what Jesus said here.
• He doesn’t tell the 70 that if they go and preach and no one listens that they had better improve their delivery.
• He doesn’t tell the 70 that they had better learn how to do it better.
• He doesn’t tell the 70 that if no one listens then He’ll replace them with someone more effective.
Not at all!
• Jesus tells the 70 that if no one listens, that’s not their problem.
• People are failing to respond because of your incompetence.
• People are failing to respond because they are rejecting God.
And to be indifferent to God is a terrible problem.
Let me leave you with ONE LAST COMMISSIONING PASSAGE
To illustrate this point a little more.
TURN TO: Isaiah 6
(1-7)
• You remember this chapter, it is famous when discussing missions.
• It starts with God working in the heart of Isaiah to humble him and lead him to submission and worship
Important to note is that
• After Isaiah repented we read (8) “Then I heard…”
• It doesn’t say, “Then God said”
• It is true that at times the reason people don’t hear God’s call to missions is because they are in need of repentance.
• After Isaiah repented he heard God’s call and of course you know the story, he volunteered. (see verse 8)
But look at the mission God appointed for him.
(9-10)
• God didn’t tell him to go and save people.
• God told him to go and condemn people.
• “You go prove just how blind and deaf and hard hearted they are”
(Incidentally, no O.T. passage is more quoted in the New Testament than this one)
And Isaiah understands what the Lord is saying,
For look what he says next:
(11) “how long?”
And look at the Lord’s answer.
Until judgment is complete, but while the majority will reject and their judgment will be secured a remnant will believe and be saved.
So we understand Isaiah’s calling.
• He was going to lead some to salvation
• He was going to render others without excuse.
• But he was not to allow negative circumstances to sway his commitment.
And this is what Jesus told the 70.
• You are on My mission.
• You go to work.
• If they listen, great!
• If they don’t, tell them anyway.
I REMIND YOU OF THE SAME
You are on a mission from the King to simply take the truth to the people.
God deals with the rest. Just go share the truth.
And as an additional truth, I would remind that any who have heard the gospel (even in this room) you are accountable for that gospel which you have heard.
• And while Ignorance is a problem…
• And while Immorality is a problem…
• The greatest problem by far is Indifference to the truth.
Respond to the gospel call of Christ.
