Context No. 3580 of 4322 · Luke

Luke 10:1-12: in context

1Now after these things, the Lord also appointed seventy others, and sent them two by two ahead of him into every city and place where he was about to come. 2Then he said to them, “The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he may send out laborers into his harvest. 3Go your ways. Behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. 4Carry no purse, nor wallet, nor sandals. Greet no one on the way. 5Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6If a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 7Remain in that same house, eating and drinking the things they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Don’t go from house to house. 8Into whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat the things that are set before you. 9Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘God’s Kingdom has come near to you.’ 10But into whatever city you enter and they don’t receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11‘Even the dust from your city that clings to us, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that God’s Kingdom has come near to you.’ 12I tell you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.

Jesus sends out seventy others ahead of him, two by two, and his first words to them are both a burden and a prayer: the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. There is a great harvest of people ready to receive the gospel, and the shortage is not of harvest but of workers.

And notice that the first response Jesus asks for is prayer, pray the Lord to send laborers, and then he sends these very ones out as the answer to that prayer. There is a lesson in this: the way toward a great need begins with prayer, and then a willingness to go. He sends them dependent and vulnerable, as lambs among wolves, carrying little, bringing peace to each house, and announcing that the kingdom of God has come near. The mission is urgent, the harvest ready, the workers few, and every believer is drawn into it, both to pray for laborers and to be willing to become one.

Do I pray for laborers to be sent into God's plentiful harvest, and am I willing to be one of those laborers myself, going in dependence on him?

Sources

Luke 10:2: "The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he may send out laborers into his harvest."
Luke 10:3: "Go your ways. Behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves."
Luke 10:9: "Heal the sick who are there and tell them, God's Kingdom has come near to you."