The Great Gospel of John
Volume 7
Jesus' Precepts and Deeds through His Three Years of Teaching
The Lord on the Mount of Olives. (cont.) Gospel of John, Chapter 8
- Chapter 166 -
The sending out of the 70 laborers as messengers of the Savior.
Nicodemus called immediately his servants who were present and sent them down to bring sufficient bread and wine. They went down as fast as possible and brought sufficient bread and wine, just like it was instructed to them.
2
When it was taken care of in this way, I called the still present 70 laborers to Me and said to them: "Here are bread and wine. Take, eat and drink and strengthen yourselves, because after this I will send you out before Me to cities, markets and villages to prepare the people for My coming. But first you should eat and drink. Later we shall talk further about this important matter."
3
Those who were called took bread and wine and strengthened themselves.
4
When they were finished with that, they gave thanks and one of them said: "Now, Lord and Master, we are ready to receive Your instructions that in Your grace You want to tell us. Your will be done. Only this will from now on be our only strength out of which we will act."
5
I said: "Well, all right then. Look, the harvest is great, the field with ripe fruits is stretching out over the whole Earth, but there are still few laborers. Therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out many laborers into His harvest."
6
The speaker said: "Yes, Lord, for this reason we are also asking You, because You alone are the Lord of the harvest."
7
I said: "Then go 2 by 2 to all the places of the Jewish land, and also to the land of the Samaritans.
8
I am sending you as lambs among the wolves, which however you do not have to fear because My strength will give you courage against them. Therefore, do not carry a purse, no bags, no sticks, no shoes on your feet, and also you will not wear 2 skirts. Be serious, and yet, also meek. Do not greet anyone on the street. However, do also not demand from anyone to greet you, because all of you are truly the same children of one and the same Father in Heaven. Only One is your Lord and Master, but all of you are brothers. Let your greeting be the true mutual brotherly and neighborly love. Whatever is less or more than that is evil. They will be able to see that you truly are My disciples from the fact that you love one another, just as I love you.
9
When you will enter a house in a city or village, then say: 'Peace to this house'. If there is a child of peace, then your peace will also rest upon him. If this is not the case, then your peace will return to you. Where you will find peace, you should stay in that house, and eat and drink without fear or conscientious objection whatever will be set before you, for if you are in a house as laborers for God's Kingdom, then you are also, like any other zealous worker, worthy of your wages.
10
When somewhere 2 of you have been taken up into a house, then stay there in that same house and do not go from one house to another in order to be served, for this is not proper. Because you are not coming into a house as some beggar who is afraid to work, but as a richly gifted messenger of My Word and thereby as someone who brings the true Kingdom of God and His eternal blessing.
11
Even if you come into a city with mostly gentiles, and they would take you hospitably into a gentile house, then you should also stay there and eat whatever they put upon the table. Because what goes into the mouth does not make man unclean, but it is what goes out of the mouth that makes man unclean, just like I have already clearly shown to you on the Mount of Olives, of what it consists, what it is that goes out of the mouth and makes man unclean.
12
However, if you come into a city or in another place where no house will give you accommodation, then go outside in the free alleys and streets and say: 'Also the dust of your city that is clinging to our feet, we shake off back to you, but know well that through us the Kingdom of God was near to you.'
13
I tell you however, that on the day, which I have shown to you on the Mount of Olives, it will be more tolerable for the city of Sodom than for such a city that does not want to accept you. Woe Chorazin, woe Bethsaida! If what happened among you would have happened in Tyre and Sidon, then they would have repented in sack and ashes! Therefore, it will be more tolerable for Tyre on the day of judgment than for you! And you, Capernaum, exalted unto Heaven, will be cast into Hell!"
14
Then some of My first disciples said among one another: "Listen how He is again so zealous against those cities which already in Kis near Kisjonah He once threatened with so much fire. It is certainly true that there, as far as the whole place is concerned, He has found the least of faith, but some of them still accepted Him and recognized Him as the true Son of God and Mediator of the Jews. We also belong to Capernaum. It is curious what on certain days He has to do with Capernaum."
15
I said to the disciples who were so much surprised: "What are you sulking among one another? What is Chorazin, what Bethsaida, and what Capernaum? Those are the ones who do not want to accept My teaching, and who despite all signs do not believe that I am the promised Messiah who has now come into the world. I already have sent you also once to these cities and other places ahead of Me, and how were you accepted in those places? You called down fire from heaven over them. Can you now be surprised that, when by this opportunity I am now also sending out disciples ahead of Me in the world of abominations, I am using this expression again, so that they also would know how they have to behave before such people who I am now indicating with the names of those cities, where you did not have a good experience at all.
16
Therefore, I say now to all of you, and not only to these 70: whoever will hear you, will also hear Me, whoever will despise you, will also despise Me. However, the one who despises Me, will certainly also despise Him who has sent Me into this world, because I and He are one."
17
Hereupon I stretched out My hands over the 70 and said: "Accept the power of My will. When you will come to all kind of sick and crippled people, then lay the hands upon them in My name, then it will go better with them. When you come to people who are possessed by devils (unclean spirits in the flesh), then command them also in My name. Then they will leave the body of those who are tormented and will go to those places you want them to go.
18
I give you also power over the evil spirits in the air, over those in the water and over the evil spirits in the caves of the Earth. Further I also give you power to tread on scorpions and to walk over snakes, and also to chase away every enemy of yours, and nothing will be able to harm you.
19
Be also not afraid to be on the road in the dark, and do not fear for storms, for lightning and thunder, because also over those things you can command. And the malicious animals of the forests and the deserts will flee before your eyes. And equipped like this you can go now from here, dressed like you are now.
20
But also remember the following thing: freely I have given you now all this, in like manner you should distribute it again to those people who are worthy of it. But you should not throw the pearls to human swine. And now stand up from here and go wherever the Spirit will lead you."
21
Then the 70 thanked Me for those great gifts of grace and left 2 by 2 in all directions.