Disciples: The Mission of The Seventy Disciples (Luke 10:1-24)

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In today’s Christian Religious Studies class, We will be discussing The Mission of the Seventy Disciples. We hope you enjoy the class!

The Mission of The Seventy Disciples (Luke 10:1-24)

Jesus sent out another set of seventy disciples to win more souls because there are many souls to be saved. Jesus said the harvest was plentiful but the labourers are few and that the disciples should pray to God to send in more labourers. He was sending them out as lambs in the midst of wolves and charged them not to carry any purse, no bag, no sandals and not to salute anyone on the way.0.

He instructed them that any house they enter, they should first say “peace be to this house” if a son of peace was there, their peace would remain, otherwise it would return to them. They should eat whatever food is given to them, for the labourers deserve their wages.

They should heal the sick and say to them that the kingdom has come near them, but when rejected in any town or village, they should go into the street and say “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you, nevertheless, know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you”.

Jesus told them that it would be more tolerable on the Day of Judgment for Sodom than for that hostile town. The chief cities in Galilee, Korazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, were condemned for their refusal to repent after seeing His mighty works, and He said it would be more tolerable on the Day of Judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for them.

Jesus ended His charges to the 70 disciples by saying anyone who heard them had heard Him and anyone who rejected them, had rejected Him.

The outcome of the Mission of the 12 Disciples

The 12 disciples were successful on their mission because they were able to win more souls for God and they performed many miracles of healing which make people believe and were converted.

The outcome of the Mission of the 70 Disciples

The 70 disciples had a successful mission. They told Jesus that the demons were subject to them in His (Jesus) name. Jesus told them He saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. He further gave them the power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over the power of the enemy, and nothing would hurt them, He told them to rejoice because their names were written in heaven.

The Effect of the Disciples’ Activities on Nigerian Christian Today

The activities of the disciples have contributed immensely to the growth of the church in Nigeria today.

The disciples who later became apostles carried the gospel message to the world including the African Continent.

The various churches that were established in Europe and America later sent Missionaries to Nigeria and they were able to convert a large number of Nigerians to Christianity and also established many churches.

These Churches are:

1 Roman Catholic Mission (R.C.M)

2 Protestant Churches are

(i) Anglican.

(ii) Methodist church.

(iii) Baptist Mission.

(iv) Wesleyan church.

(v) Presbyterian church.

(vi) Salvation Army.

(vii) Seventh-Day Adventist.

(viii) Jehovah Witness.

(ix) Sudan United Mission (S.U.M).

(x) Latter-Day Saints.

(xi) Sudan Interior Mission (S.I.M).

(xii) Assemblies of God Mission.

(xiii) Church of Scotland Mission (C.S.M).

These activities of the disciples serve as a point of reference for any step or decision to be taken by Nigerian Christians. For example, Nigerians have learnt to preach the gospel and also exercise authority in the name of Jesus over demons and sickness, as the disciples did.

Also, the kingdom of Satan is being destroyed and depopulated day by day as a result of the activities of Nigerian Christians.

Problems to be Faced When Embarking on Christian Mission

1 Unfavourable Climate.

2 Interpreter

3 Opposition from other religion groups

4 The traditional Religion

5 The mode of travelling

6 Tropical disease

Despite these problems, Christianity has spread to all parts of the country as a result of the coming of Western Education and Western Civilization.

Moral Lessons

As Christians, we should be part of the work of the kingdom of God by playing the role for which God has called us in the spread of the gospel to the whole world.
We must learn to help missionaries and evangelists when they come for a crusade in our areas to win souls for God.
There is a reward for preaching the gospel. The most important of these rewards is that our names will be written in heaven.
As Christians, we should know that Jesus has given us the power to heal and deliver the oppressed therefore we should exercise this power when necessary while evangelizing.

We have come to the end of this class. We do hope you enjoyed the class?

Should you have any further question, feel free to ask in the comment section below and trust us to respond as soon as possible.

In our next class, we will be talking about The Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are very much eager to meet you there.