The tenth chapter of Luke tells about the seventy going forth, and it lays down many of the principles of Kingdom evangelism. The word evangelism means good tidings, so it is related in this passage to the good news of the Kingdom that is to come and the way it is to be proclaimed. The seventy were told to carry no purse, no bag, no shoes, and to greet no one on the way or do anything that we would call clever evangelism, such as greeting everyone and hooking up P.A. systems on their cars. That is the way some would do it now. Jesus was laying down some principles of the Kingdom by which they would go forth and proclaim the Kingdom of God.
This chapter also includes the parable of involvement that Jesus gave when a lawyer was attempting to test and prove Him. There is no commercial value on the love that God asks us to give. It is an identifying mark: by this love all men will know that we are His disciples (John 13:35). It has no commercial value; to the contrary, it is very expensive.
Very few people can afford the love of the Kingdom because it means involvement without expecting anything in return—without expecting anything for yourself out of it. You become totally involved with everyone whom the Lord is identified with, simply because you love Him. This is a principle of Body ministry: you love your brother as you love the Lord Jesus Christ, for Christ is coming forth in your brother. “Inasmuch as you do it unto the least of these My brethren, you do it unto Me” (Matthew 25:40). This means you cannot say that you love the Lord and not love His brothers, because He is identified with them. Many times you have no reason to love people because they do not actually love you in return. It is not what you call a fair exchange in which you give something and receive something back again. Start loving where you will receive nothing back again. Start loving where there is no commercial value. Start losing your life. It is a sense in which the world looks at you and says, “You are a loser.” And you are. You lose the thing that the world is looking for: you lose the prestige; you lose the self-centeredness, that which denies the other fellow’s requests and makes demands if it isn’t something that is to your advantage to give him.
And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” And he answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” Jesus returned the Scripture to him.
But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied and said, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went off leaving him half dead. And by chance a certain priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.’ Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.” Luke 10:25–37.
Many sermons have been preached on how the Lord Jesus comes to us and has compassion and love for us. But this message is not given to illustrate Christ’s love; it is given to illustrate the love we are to have. It is to show us above everything else that we are commissioned: we are commissioned to an unprofitable walk; we are commissioned to the losing of our lives; we are commissioned to that which may not have any return.
Certain ones in the church are very dedicated. I see the way they work and what they do. I watch the battle and see that they are in the conflict. No one with good sense according to the world’s reasoning would do what they do. The endless hours of work and dedication do not even receive a “thank you.” No one pays much attention unless something is being neglected. Then there are those who say, “You’re working too hard; you need to get some rest, but do it just as soon as you take care of me.” If they are not met immediately, they become upset.
Sometimes I have felt that if I dropped dead there would always be those to kick me and be very upset that I did not get up to serve them some more. It does not bother me now, for I know that is the way some people are. Others would stand right at my side and work themselves into the grave with me. They would not hesitate a single minute to be right there doing everything they could as long as they had breath.
This kind of devotion that the Lord is giving is deeply involved. We should not minister to people to help them. We must minister to people to commit them and commission them to God’s service. There are too many people in this walk now who need ministry, and they have never had hands laid on them, or received a word of commission, or had a word of confirmation. We spend too much time dealing with problems instead of dealing with the business that should be done. We need to spend more time commissioning and committing people to the course of ministry, to that which has no commercial value, no thanks. It has nothing to return. It is the labor of love that the Lord calls you to do, the ministry He calls you to fulfill.
Meeting the need of those who want an answer for a problem is important, but it is secondary to what we should concentrate on in the ministry services. We need to find those who are called to preach, and prophesy over them. Rather than pray for the widows, we should pray for seven men who can minister to the widows. The Lord has more interest in dynamic deacons coming forth than in only meeting people’s needs. One may think the apostles ought to be more concerned about all the individuals needs, but they called the disciples and said, “We should not leave the Word of God and serve tables. Seek out seven honest men, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom to do this.” We will give ourselves continually to the Word of God and prayer” (Acts 6:2–4). What really counts is receiving a word from God and duplicating the ministries over and over again.
Unselfish dedication would say, “Yes, minister to me. I have problems, and the problems may stay there, and the elders can worry with me about it until God gives an answer. But what I really would like to have is an apostolic commission. I would like to know what my ministry is; I would like to have the brethren lay hands on me.” Let’s do first things first. Instead of merely asking for a blessing, go one step further: ask for a word of direction for your life.
This is the business of the apostolic company: finding the faithful men God is raising up to do the job. Even the inexperienced ones, though they may flounder, are teachable, and in the end they do the job right. You might think, “Some of the more experienced ministries could get right to my problem.” You may have had your problems a long time. Why hurry to see it taken care of in so many seconds? Let the brethren work with you and help you. Get the job done. Love each other. Keep on developing that initiative and aggressiveness of faith and love that is resting upon the brethren. Say in your heart, “I will put my head under the hands of the brethren and take seriously my commission to a life that often has no appreciation. I will be willing to live for Him, to live and serve the Body of Christ with no return, with nothing except the delight that I have to love the Lord.”
That Samaritan was quite a man. He found a man half dead and carried him on his beast to an inn while he walked beside on the rocks. He took care of him, and when he had to leave him to go on, he left money to feed and care for him, instructing that if anything more were spent, he would repay on his return. This is a good word for us.
Lord, make us like that hated Samaritan. Don’t let us be uninvolved when it comes to serving the Body. God is concerned that personalities and individuals should be submerged within the great apostolic company and the great Body. The issue has never really been the apostle, it has been the word the Lord has committed to His Body in this day. People will seek the will of the Lord; they will cry for it together; they will seek for confirmation together. They will be more careful and not quite so hasty to speak, knowing the issues will be weighed as they relate to the Body of Jesus Christ and to the will of the Lord.