I Sent Out Seventy-Two Disciples

Meditations based on readings from

The Story of My Life As Told by Jesus Christ

November 4, 2019

I Sent Out Seventy-Two Disciples

Page 181-182

Matthew 11:20-30; Luke 10:1-24

When Jesus went into the wilderness following his baptism, he was tempted by Satan. In John’s Gospel, Jesus called Satan a liar. He said he was the father of lies; that the truth was not in him. Satan comes only to kill, steal and destroy said Jesus. (John 10:10) Jesus’ victory over temptation in the wilderness was an individual victory. In today’s reading, Jesus has a vision of Satan falling because he saw his mission as the Messiah gaining momentum as the seventy-two go out to defeat the works of the evil one. Jesus’ ultimate victory over Satan was again a one-on-one contest, fought on the Cross of Calvary. Jesus’ resurrection made God’s victory over sin and death complete as it is our victory also when we come to God through faith in Jesus. .

Many years ago, I discovered in Clearwater, Florida a place of prayer on the shores of Tampa Bay. Near one of the buildings there was a rose garden and in the center of the rose garden there was a ten foot high statue of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, with a lamb across his shoulders. That statue captivated me because of the way it expressed the gentleness and kindness of Jesus. Maybe that is the reason I focus on the words weary, rest, gentle, humble, easy, and light in today’s closing verses. However, when I do that, I miss the point Jesus was making. That point is within a word used twice in the passage: yoke. (Matthew 11:29-30)

For Jesus, the yoke represents obedience to God. To take Jesus’ yoke is to be obedient to His commandments about the Kingdom of God. It means a willingness to serve others with humility and mercy. His yoke is easy and his burden is light, not because there is little to do for His followers; this is a yoke he is offering, not a hammock. Being yoked with Jesus means, in a world that can be very hostile to God’s Kingdom, we will affirm each day our desire to fulfill God’s will in our lives,

My Takeaway: Even though Jesus’ yoke calls me to a self-sacrificial life, it is appealing to me because his yoke is the only place my soul has found true comfort, rest and satisfaction. That’s because yoked to Jesus is where I was created to be.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2019 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.