After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of Him, two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to go. (Luke 2:1,2 ESV)
Part of the Plan
We do not know much about those 72 folk that Jesus sent out. He gave them specific instructions about what to take along, how to act, who to speak to, and how to accept hospitality. We also hear their joyful report, upon their return to the Master.
But the best part of those 72, is the ripple-in-the-pond effect. Because the people they spoke to are probably the foundation of the group that gathered at Pentecost in Acts 2. They probably were the people who formed the core of the New Testament church. They probably were the folk who ended up sending out Paul and Barnabas and the rest of the Missionaries in Acts.
Jesus attempts to give them the bigger picture when He says, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20 ESV).
We get excited about the food on our plate right in front of us… often for good reason. But we also get to be excited about the feast of being part of God’s BIG plan for His Kingdom.
We are peculiar, we are part of the plan.