Mission of Seventy/Seventy-two

Reflection on the Mission of Seventy/Seventy-two

Key scripture:- Luke 10:1-12; 17-20.

Reflection:-

This mission of the Seventy or the Seventy-two has this confusion between these numbers. But there is a lot of history involved in it which brings us back to the Old Testament. In the book of Number 11:36

So the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their place there with you. So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord ; and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp.

Numbers 11:16‭, ‬24‭-‬24‭, ‬26 NRSV

In the above verse we see something similar happening. There are 70 elders but also 2 another men who also get anointing from the Lord, making them 72 in number. Is this some kind of coincidence? 
No, it's not. Jesus was setting up a new hierarchy. 

In the New Testament, this has been followed by the "mission of the 12". (Lk. 9:1-6) 
And something parallel to this, in the Old Testament where Moses chooses able men (probably 1 from each tribe). (Exo. 18:25-26)

Today if we see, we have the Deacons, the Priests, the Bishops and a Pope; all having their God gifted abilities which they can perform in the service of the Church. 

Spiritual reflection:- 

A person can never do a task all by himself, he therefore needs a partner with him always. (Ecc. 4:9)

We all have received the seed of faith i.e. the Word of God; which will reach it's harvest only when it is ready i.e. only when one responds to the call of God and makes a 180° conversion of his life. In doing this now, we need the help of many Spiritual people to guide people is this path, therefore Lord Jesus tells us to pray for such vocations.

The world is becoming wicked day by day. Evil is lurking all around us; therefore we need to be vigilant against all such forces of the evil one. In short, need to make our roots strong in Christ like a foundation on a rock! Then only we will be victorious in our mission.

Jesus says not to carry purse, bags, sandals and also not to greet people when you are on a mission. Why does He say so? Just imagine, you are a boss who has received a tender of 1 crore, and you have a deadline of 1 month. Will you spend leisure time with your friends or mind you business? Similarly, when you are on a mission of Christ, you should not divert your attention from the goal. 

Jesus tells them to greet peace be with you in every house they enter, and if they accept it, it will be theirs and if not it will return back to them. When we encounter Christ, we are left with 2 options like this, whether to accept the Prince of Peace or to reject Him. But, the fact that the judgement day that will happen, will surely happen irrespective whether we like it or not.

With this, I'll end my today's blog. May we all respond to the call of the Lord😇🕊❤

Praise God❤