Today, as we open God’s Word to Luke 10 we see the narrative begins as Luke 9 began, with a sending. In chapter 9, Jesus sent out His closest 12. In Luke 10 we see his disciple makers have multiplied!

After the 12 went out, according to Luke, extraordinary things happened. Herod the tetrarch, himself, began questioning who this Jesus was. Was he John, resurrected?! Was he Elijah? Was he a long ago prophet raised from the dead? Luke then records Jesus feeding 5,000 people from 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. The VERY NEXT story is Jesus, in private with the very 12 who were sent out, asking them the same question Herod was asking. Who do the people say I am? They record the same answers we saw were perplexing Herod!

Jesus then makes it personal. This isn’t about what generally people think. He asks directly…”What about you?...who do you say I am?” Luke 9:20. After Peter makes his famous declaration, “The Christ of God,” Jesus lays out the tremendous cost of this role for him personally and the cost for each of them to be His disciple.

The rest of Chapter 9 illustrates a one step forward and two steps back path as the disciples learn from God Himself. Remarkably the disciples remain and abide and multiply! Being Jesus’s disciple would cost these, now 72, EVERYTHING. And yet, they went...two by two...to prepare the way for Jesus throughout Judea. They were sent and they went into the harvest field, because Jesus told them the harvest was plentiful.

Jesus sent the 12, the 72, and He is sending me and you. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few...are you ready to bring “Peace” to a house this week?

[Luke 10.3-6]

3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ The NIV translates verse 3, “Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.” Read both translations of verse three aloud. How might Jesus have said these words?

+ What tone do you hear in His voice? What in the text supports your answer?

+ Who is sending? How does this make all the difference? What support will these 72 have?

+ Where is Jesus sending his disciples? [v. 3] What is Jesus expecting they will encounter? What simile tells us that?

+ Paint the picture of this figure of speech. What do you notice when you draw out the images?

+ Where else do you remember seeing lambs and wolves in Scripture? If you have time, put these nouns in Bible Gateway and see how prolific they are and the symbolism behind them. Isaiah 40;11, Ezek 34:11-3, John 10:1-18 could get you started with lambs.

+ How does verse 4 reflect the simplicity, dependency, and the urgency of the mission? As you reflect on verse 4, what often distracts us from the mission Jesus has sent us on?

+ What was the “entry” message of the 72 as they encountered a house? How would you translate this message? How is this different from how we first approach others with the Gospel? How is it similar? Is there a lesson to be learned from Jesus’s instruction?

+ The NET bible note says this about the entry message. “The statement “May peace be on this house is really a benediction, asking for God’s blessing. The requested shalom (peace) is understood as coming from God.” The NET bible note remarks that whatever house really means, “EVERY house they enter.”

+ Who are the 72 hoping to find as they enter every house? [v. 6] Are we hoping to find the same as we go to our neighbor’s?

+ As the 72 share God’s peace within EVERY house, what two outcomes can they expect? [v. 6] Do we expect God’s peace will be accepted? Do we realize that even if it is rejected by another, it returns to us as we proclaim it?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ Is it our practice, as we enter a house, to first say “Peace be to this house!”?

+ Do I truly believe that Jesus is “Christ, the Son of God,” as Peter proclaimed in Luke 9:20?

+ Am I willing to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Jesus?

+ Am I currently following Jesus in His call to me individually to go and make disciples of all nations? In a small group? In 72 or more? Do I see myself placed in a community of disciple makers...if not, why?

+ Do I know that I am a “sent” one? As I am sent, am I confident that Jesus and His power goes with me?

+ As I go about my day, am I bringing God’s peace to EVERY house?

+ Do I expect it to be received in every house? Do I feel like a failure if it isn’t or do I know that not all will receive God’s Peace?

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?

+ Who might God be sending you so you can go 2 by 2 into Annapolis to prepare the way for Jesus?

+ Am I praying or actively seeking a tribe to actively engage in proclaiming the Kingdom of God?