Be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near

Luke 9:51-10:12 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; ⁵² and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. ⁵³ And they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ And they went on to another village.

⁵⁷ As they were going on the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ⁵⁹ And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say goodbye to those at my home.” ⁶² But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

10 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. ² And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. ³ Go; behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. ⁴ Carry no money belt, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one along the way. ⁵ And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ ⁶ And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they provide; for the laborer is deserving of his wages. Do not move from house to house. ⁸ Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is served to you; ⁹ and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹² I say to you, it will be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that city.

In today’s text it says: When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. And they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But He turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.  Even when we see the terrible evil and darkness in the world, it is not our place to judge or curse others. In Matthew 7:1-2 Jesus says: “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” If we speak judgment against others, it is us who the Lord will rebuke. Romans 12:19 says: Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. A day and time will come when those who have chosen evil and darkness will know the wrath of God. Christ will return as the righteous judge. For now though, that day has not come, nor do we know when it will. 2 Peter 3:9 says: The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. The promise that it speaks of is His promise to come as judge. Now though God’s grace is given so that all have time to repent.

The full context of Romans 12:19, vengeance is mine says the Lord, is seen in verses 14-21: Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  When it says that we are to respect what is right in the sight of all people, it does not mean that we are to accept whatever they say is right. It does not mean that we respect lies over truth or darkness over light, simply because others say that it is their right. In the sight of all people, we are to respect and adhere to what God says is right. We can bless people without blessing their sin. That is how we overcome evil with good. In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says:  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”  Rather than cursing the darkness, we need to shine the light. Rather than judging those who do evil, we need to do what is good and right in their sight.

The text says: Now after this the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go; behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money belt, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one along the way. And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they provide; for the laborer is deserving of his wages. Do not move from house to house. Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is served to you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say,  ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ I say to you, it will be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that city.” Our unwavering stand for what is right should be our judgment against others. The world says we are hypocrites if we do not embrace whatever people say is right. Romans 12:9 says: Love must be free of hypocrisy. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. In Matthew 7:6, just after saying that we should not judge others, Jesus says: “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”  It is possible that there may come a time when rather than continuing with love and patience toward those who do not receive the truth, that we should wipe off the dust that clings to us, leaving room for the wrath of God.

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.