Many Christians see 'witnessing' as a task. What they often miss in Jesus' instructions are his words about engaging in a reciprocal relationship of giving and receiving when we share the Gospel with others. Before we give them a blessing of peace, news about the kingdom of God and healing for anyone who was sick, we are to first receive hospitality from them. Now which is easier: to give or to receive? Giving is easier because it puts us in a position of power. Yet when we take the weaker position of first receiving from the other, he or she finds it easier to receive something from us. When you speak about or demonstrate the Gospel to others, do you receive anything from them? Or do you do all the giving? This reciprocity, though, goes beyond what we receive and give; for when others receive us they are actually receiving Jesus. And Jesus, in turn, wants to come and build a relationship with them himself. Yet his ultimate goal in sending us as his witnesses is to reveal the Father.

By giving authority to seventy-two ‘others’, Jesus also shows that bearing witness to the kingdom—also by casting out demons—is not just a privilege given to a few apostles, missionaries and church leaders. He also sends out ordinary people to learn how to bear witness to his kingdom in partnership with the Father. For it is the Father who reveals the ‘things’ of his kingdom to these disciples; and whether people receive or reject us, it is ultimately the Father—‘the One’ who sent Jesus—that they are receiving or rejecting (Med.#83). This aspect of witnessing in partnership with the Father, however, is not obvious to these disciples. Nor is it usually the first thing we see in this text. What most impresses the seventy-two, and many disciples today too, is the exercise of supernatural power—such that we too tend to view it as the highest form of witness. Like the disciples of Jesus' day we forget what Jesus had already taught them—that ‘many’ who had performed such miracles in his name will ultimately find themselves excluded from the Father's kingdom because they did not do his will—because their powerful ‘witness’ was not done in a relationship with him through Jesus (Med.#16).

We like power signs because everybody sees them; and many are impressed. But a relationship with the Father is something you develop ‘in secret’ (Med.#16). While the people of Jesus' day could see the powerful things he did, they were unable to see the relationship that undergirded the authority behind his actions—the relationship of an adult Son working with his Father (Med.#63). What Jesus now reveals to these ordinary disciples is that a partnership relationship with the Father, of walking as a son or daughter in authority with him, is also for us! For he seeks to reveal the Father to ‘anyone’ he chooses so they can more 'thoroughly know' the Father like he does. For it ‘delights’ the Father that we too should enjoy such a relationship. But like Jesus, we must bear witness to people as ‘lambs among wolves’ since our partnership with the Father is invisible. Further, any power that goes through us—while exercising his authority—is not about us! So after a successful time of witness in partnership with him, we need to respond like Jesus did: by acknowledging our Father as the One who reveals such wonders through us. We too must choose to ‘rejoice in the Holy Spirit’ over the eternal relationship we enjoy with the Father, and not in the manifestations of supernatural power we have seen.

When our rejoicing is tied to manifestations of power, we will likely end up being disappointed when Jesus gives us the ‘privilege’ of sharing in his sufferings (Phil.1:29; Col.1:24). Those who always expect, or ‘claim’ immediate victory will not be able to ‘endure’. As co-heirs with Jesus, we must also expect to suffer with him (Med.#5), even when we do powerful things. Victory in Jesus is about overcoming ‘all the power of the enemy’; and this includes standing in the authority and joy of an indestructible relationship with the Father (Med.#37), with confidence that even during the dark times no eternal ‘harm’ will come to us. When we fully grasp the nature of this relationship with the Father, that Jesus reveals both to us and in us, we are truly ‘blessed’.

And we are able to ‘rest’ while walking with the Father under the same ‘yoke’ with Jesus, as our Eldest Brother. Many disciples, however, still lack a revelation of the security we enjoy in this relationship; and they experience their attempts at ‘witnessing’ or at ‘Christian ministry’ as a heavy and burdensome task. So they strive for ‘more knowledge’ to carry out ‘the Lord's work’. Yet Jesus tells his disciples here that the Father doesn't reveal these things to ‘the wise and the learned’. Or they ask for ‘more power’ or ‘more faith’. Yet on another occasion, Jesus tells them that faith isn't about size or quantity; for even a tiny ‘mustard seed’-size faith can move mountains. And he illustrates this with a parable (Lk.17:5-10). This parable always bothered me; for I thought it taught that faith is about learning to think of myself as an unprofitable servant who can happily go from completing one task to taking on another. Now I realize I was reading the parable through a flawed filter—through a ‘lens’ colored by my earthly father's tendency to be a ‘workaholic’ in serving Jesus.

Now I see that that the master doesn't just give the servant some other job. Instead, he tells him to ‘dress appropriately’ and ‘serve’ the master while he is eating his meal. We do not need ‘more faith’ to do more work. We need faith to put on Jesus' ‘yoke’ of partnership with the Father so that as we serve Jesus we also learn from him how to sit and eat at our Father's table like Jesus did. For he intends that we already begin doing this here, with our enemies still around us (Lk.22:28-30, Med.#67; Ps.23:5)—especially after a time of powerful witness. If you are like me, you don't automatically know how to enter into such true refreshment and rest in the Father's presence. Jesus tells us to begin this rest by celebrating our eternal relationship with our Father and by joyfully thanking him in Jesus' name—for all the powerful things that he has done through our words and our deeds (Med.#81).

As we pray for more laborers to be sent out into the harvest, let us also pray that they too will receive a revelation of the Father as they joyfully work and rest in their witness together with him, and with Jesus.

Thank you, Father, for revealing these things to me through Jesus. Thank you for giving me authority in Jesus to be your son/daughter by the Spirit. I choose to not rejoice in supernatural power signs, but in knowing my name is written in heaven, and to rejoice in the Spirit that you know me and that I know you—even if others can’t see this. Send more laborers into the harvest, Lord Jesus, but please reveal the Father to them too. (Lk.10:19-22; Jn.1:12-13; 3:5-6; Mat.11:27; 9:28)

[i] The Scripture passage is taken from J.K. Mellis, The Good News of the Messiah by the Four Witnesses: pp.132-134.