70 or 72?

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday July 4, 2010, the 14th Sunday in Ordinary time.

2Kings 5:1-14
Psalm 30
Galatians 6:1-16
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

So today, our gospel reading begins with Jesus appointing the seventy and sending them ahead in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go, or is it the seventy-two? As I read this morning, the New Revised Standard Version has the number at seventy. The New International Version has the number at seventy-two. Just to keep everything interesting, the ancient Greek versions of Luke are split answering this question.[1] Well, it is said that it is best that scripture interpret itself; so let’s find why the number could be either seventy or seventy-two.

The New Interpreter’s Bible[2] reminds us that Genesis 10 lists the nations that sprang from Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. It says that it is quite probable that these are the nations where Jesus sent the others. These nations are the “every place and town” mentioned in Luke that Jesus intended to go to. It would make sense, if Jesus’ first mission was to redeem the nation of Israel, these are the places he would go and the people he would see.

By now, you may have noted one little problem with my answer, it’s not a number. I haven’t said whether the number of folks he’s sending out, and now where he’s sending them out to, should be seventy or seventy-two.

Hold on, here comes the answer. You see, in the Hebrew Scriptures, seventy nations were listed in Genesis 10 and in the Greek version there were seventy-two. So the answer to the question is quite probably, “The choice of seventy or seventy-two most likely depends on which translation of the Old Testament was used by which manuscript writers and editors to interpret the question of how many nations sprang from the loins of Noah-slash-How many towns and places Jesus intended to go.”

Again, there isn’t a number in the answer to my question, is there. Now instead of a good answer we have another question.[3]

Really, it may be as close to an answer as we can get. To answer the question just decide for yourself which ancient manuscript of the Old Testament floats your boat and once you make that decision the choice of seventy or seventy-two is easy.

As for me, I love the question and I find the answer interesting. I learned more than I intended seeking the answer to it. I have even learned enough to spend a few minutes on a Sunday morning sharing it with you. But as for the importance of this question, “seventy or seventy-two?” it doesn’t mean much in the kingdom of heaven.

What is important, what is of great evangelical and biblical importance is that Jesus set aside a number of people, and sent them off in pairs, breaking ground for him in all of the towns and places he intended to go taking God’s peace to the nations.

If there’s one thing to take from this question, it’s not which number, it’s why the number. The why is sharing God’s peace and preparing the Lord’s way.

There are ten elements to Jesus’ commission to the disciples.[4]

The commissioning of these disciples affirms that there is a need for the church in the world. Jesus sends the disciples to the places he himself intended to go. They were sent first to prepare his way. Yes, these are the places the Lord intends to go and the disciples are sent first.

The commission emphasizes the importance of prayer. They are told that they are to pray for laborers, fellow laborers to join them in the field and reap the harvest which is plentiful. They are to seek God for the glory of the gospel.

They are called to be active in their work in the kingdom of God. They are not called to simply sit at the feet of the Lord and seek their own spiritual growth. The disciples are sent into the world. They are sent into the field to seek the growth of the kingdom.

The commission does not come without a warning. The commission is dangerous. They will be like lambs in a world of wolves. They will be the young and defenseless in a world that is wily and treacherous.

The next part of the commission seems out of line with the rest, they are to greet no one upon the road. If I were sent out to share God’s peace, I would think that telling everyone I met would be a good thing; but this is not their commission. They were called to a specific time and place and it was not on the road. They are called to focus on their journey and not be distracted by the priorities of other travelers.

The commission then specifies the purpose of their mission to the nations, to offer God’s peace. For the cities that accepted the gospel, the disciples were to enter the house and say, “Peace to this house.”

After extending the peace of God to the household, they could receive the peace of God in hospitality. They were told to stay at the first household where they were welcomed; they weren’t to cherry pick for better digs. This means that the host sets the context of the witness. They are not to impose restrictions upon their hosts.

They were to accept food and water to quench hunger and thirst. This foreshadowed the problem that Peter would face later in Acts. If the household that welcomed them was not a Jewish family but a gentile God-fearing family, dinnertime could be dicey. They could be offered things that they would not eat under Jewish culinary restrictions. Yet, this is what the Lord demanded. They were to accept the hospitality provided and not seek other “more suitable” accommodations.

When they entered a town where they were welcomed, they were to heal the sick and declare “The kingdom of God has come near you.” Together, community was developed through hospitality, care of physical needs, and proclamation of the gospel.[5] This is how the disciples were commissioned to take Jesus’ work into Galilee.

Their commission also took into account that the peace will not always be accepted. This is always a difficult thing to imagine, but some will reject the wonder and the glory of God’s peace.

So despite any rejection they face; they were to persevere in their mission. As for the towns that would not accept them, they were told to go out into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you.” Strong stuff, it’s like saying “If that’s the way that you want it, oh that’s the way I want it more.”[6] It’s tough, but they are called to keep on despite the rejection of God’s peace.

As for the word of God, the redemptive word was nearly the same for the nations that do not receive the peace of God. They still receive the Word: “The kingdom of God has come near.” They just don’t hear, “The kingdom of God has come near you.” Now that’s a difference.

So again I say that the answer to seventy or seventy-two isn’t so important. It is when we as the Body of Christ over-focus on the minutiae, the “seventy or seventy-two” type of questions, that we fail to answer the call to the bigger questions of the church’s mission.

Last week I said that our single minded focus is to abide in the First Commandment, “I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other Gods before me.” Today we learn what it means for us to share that commandment with others.

God’s commission Jesus gives in this passage is still important for us today. There is still a place for the church in the world. There is still a place for disciples to go before the Messiah returns. We too are called to pray for the church which is the Body of Christ. We are to pray as we go into the world and we are to pray for others to join in the fellowship and work of God’s bountiful harvest. We aren’t to pray for folks in the pews just to bring in more offerings (as nice as that would be); we are to seek disciples for the work of the kingdom of God.

We are to be active as well. I praise God for everyone who comes to hear the gospel of the Lord, but hearing the gospel is not all that discipleship demands. We are called not just to come, but also to go in the name of the Lord. We are called to go into a dangerous world.

We are called to go concentrating on what it means that we are focused on the gospel and not every cause that crosses our path. We are to extend God’s peace to a world that sorely needs to hear the good news of its coming.

We are not to impose ourselves and our way of life on others. In the first century, this would mean that we were not to demand circumcision on all men or humiliate your host for offering shrimp wrapped in bacon. We are all children of God and as a wise man once said we must seek to understand then we can seek to be understood.[7]

We are to know that the peace will not always be seen by others as peace. This is particularly true today when God’s peace is often offered with a dose of bigotry and fear. We need to remember that fear seeks safety, love seeks the truth; and our truth is in God’s peace. We are to take God’s peace as our commission to take the word that “the kingdom of God has come near” and share it with the world. The message of God’s redemptive peace does not change regardless of whether it is accepted or not.

What’s important about our reading is that it gave the folks Jesus sent out their commission and it gives us our commission for taking God and God’s peace into the world too. It’s not so important whether it’s seventy or seventy-two. In this case it’s not so important whether the Hebrew of Greek Old Testament texts are more accurate. What’s important is the commission.

The question of why these numbers are important is the better question. We now know the reason for the number is that Jesus was laying the path, using disciples to make straight his way into the world. Jesus gave them a commission to go into the world sharing the nearness of the kingdom of God with all would listen. Their commission is our commission too.

We are called to take God’s words to others. We are to take God’s peace to those who live across the street and across the globe. So let’s remember to take the most important things. Things like “I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other Gods before me.” Things like God’s peace. Things like “the kingdom of God is coming near.” We need to keep a single minded focus on these most important things. Remember, we can’t agree whether it’s seventy or seventy-two disciples and there are bigger fish to fry.

[1] This was edited from the sermon for the sake of time: “Measured in sheer bulk of textual witness, the number Jesus sends out is split pretty evenly between seventy and seventy-two. Considering the textual significance, the academic importance of the manuscripts, the number Jesus sends out is split pretty evenly between seventy and seventy-two. All righty then, if we can’t solve the mystery of seventy or seventy-two using ancient Greek manuscripts, then where do we turn next? ”
[2] Culpepper, R. Alan. “The New Interpreter’s Bible.” “Luke” section. Leander E. Keck, Senior New Testament Editor. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995, page 219.
[3] This was edited from the sermon for the sake of time: “Scripture has a way of doing that. People say it’s an instruction book, but I always found when you look past the shiny coat and look at the meat of holy writ, there’s always more than meets the eye.”
[4] Ibid, Culpepper, page 222
[5] Ibid, page 220
[6] Croce, Jim, “One Less Set of Footsteps.” (The man could write a break-up song.)
[7] Covey, Stephen R. “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” The Free Press, 1989