Shmoose Not!
Luke 10:1-24 – Jesus Sends out the Seventy Two.
- “Shmoose”
- After yesterday when we realize that Jesus chose more disciples than actually followed Him, it is also important to note how many He sent out at various times. The 12 representing the 12 tribes of Israel and the 70/72 representing the Sanhedrin. The latter for obvious reasons.
- At the very beginning of this passage, Jesus seems to have in mind a potential problem.
- He tells them [in the Jewish New Testament] not to shmoose along the way.
- Shmoose is the yiddish word that best translates the full meaning of the greek ‘melena aspasesthe’, translated in most Bibles as ‘don’t salute’. Shmoose is what Messianic Jews would say is a much better translation. To Shmoose [smooze in eglish] – is to chit-chat, press flesh, win people over to liking you. It borders on manipulation.
- At the very beginning, Christ is concerned about the disciples pride in what they are doing and how it may distract them. He knows they have a tebndancy to get caught up in their vision rather than the vision. In their standing before men rather than in their standing before God.
- This first half of the passage is the basis of the Pais Philosophy of mission.
- But today I will concentrate on the second half.
- Specifically – why on earth Jesus responded this way;
The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 18He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. Luke 10:17-20 – 17
- Something odd is going on here.
- Jesus appears to pour cold water on their success; he seems to be-little their excitement.
- Why?
- Well there is a clue in what he hints at when he says;
The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest.
- Jesus invokes Remez – He hints at Isaiah 11:8. He is invoking the whole of Isaiah 11 to their minds which is a description of the branch of Jesse – it describes the Messiah and His Kingdom.
- He is saying I am the messiah and my Kingdom is coming.
- He is reminding them of the Big Picture – of what’s really important.
- The Point – It is not about your ministry!
- The disciples got excited about the wrong thing.
- I need to get excited about His thing not my thing!
- For instance I know of a church partnered with a schools ministry whose elders questioned whether or not they wanted to keep investing in their school outreach. Each week students were getting touched but they still doubted. Then one day a local newspaper quoted a well-respected teacher saying how great they thought the schools team was and the elders suddenly put all their support behind it. They appeared more pleased about their local standing in the community than what was being supernaturally accomplished.
- That incident really made me question their motives…. and mine.
- Do I get excited about what God gets excited about?
- Did the disciples get excited about being sent out and the standing it gave them? In the opportunity that ministry and leadership gave them to impress others? Were they tempted to use the opportunity to ‘press flesh’ like any other politician?
- And another question.
- Why did Jesus bother saying any of this? – bit of a wet blanket wasn’t He?
- No.
- It is because His religion is a heart connection.
- And so as soon as Jesus gets a whiff of what is going on here He crushes it!
- Does what we get excited about reveal something of our hearts?
- Do we get excited by what we should be getting excited about?
- Does that effect what we reproduce?
- Because our passions transfer not simply our beliefs.
- Jesus instead encourages them saying;
“However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
- This idea is reflected heavily in Judaism – it is something the disciples would have been aware of.
- The liturgy for Rosh HaShana [The Jewish New Year] includes a prayer for being written in the Book of life. And the Yom-Kippur[Day of Atonement] liturgy has a prayer for being “sealed” in the Book of Life. The idea being that the decision is made on the final day.
- Jesus again is pointing to what is truly important to Him… the advancement of the Kingdom.
- Much of evangelism now concentrates on social justice – which is great! But if it leaves out the heart transformation of people getting saved, then we are missing the point and getting excited about what we can see and hear but becoming blind to what we cannot.
- And it is this ‘what we cannot see’ that is the thing that excites Jesus!
- Can I encourage you not to get caught up in what is important to you.
- Or simply put: smhoose not!
- If this helps – please click below or on the left hand side and pass it onto others!
