Firsthand and Equal: The Calling of the Seventy
It wasn’t about who was official — it was about who was willing to go where the Lord was heading next.
Devotional Credit: In Christ by E. Stanley Jones
Photo Credit: Unsplash
E. Stanley Jones draws our attention to a beautiful moment in Luke’s Gospel when Jesus corrected the disciples' creeping exclusivity by sending out seventy others—ordinary laypeople—two by two into every town He planned to visit. The Twelve had begun to see themselves as a spiritual elite. They quarreled about who would be greatest, silenced others ministering in Jesus' name, and even wanted to call down fire on the unwelcoming Samaritans. But Jesus, rather than rebuke with words alone, issued a course correction through action: He appointed seventy others to go ahead of Him, giving them the same commission and authority as the Twelve.
This was a radical declaration that the Christian life is not confined to a select few. The authority of Christ flows directly to all believers, without intermediaries. “He who hears you hears Me,” Jesus told them. The Seventy were not theological heavyweights—they were everyday people entrusted with the full weight of Christ’s message. And when they returned, rejoicing at the power working through them, Jesus Himself rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, thanking the Father for revealing these things to "babes"—not scholars, not the elite, but simple, available people who believed and obeyed.
This devotional reminds us that there is no inner circle in Christ. There is only fellowship, only calling, only unity in Him. The Spirit commissions all who are in Christ to live, speak, and go in His name.
Personalized Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You are Mine—not because of your status or experience, but because I chose you and appointed you to bear fruit. You are a branch abiding in the vine, and My life flows through you. I have given you My word and My Spirit, and you lack nothing. The one who hears your voice when you walk in Me hears Mine, and the one who receives your kindness receives Me.
You are not waiting for permission from man, nor are you beneath another in authority when you walk by My Spirit. The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead dwells in you. I have poured out My gifts on all My children—not a few, not the famous, not the favored. I do not show partiality. The body has many members, but all belong. Each one is necessary.
Rejoice not only that the works of the kingdom are manifest through you, but rejoice that your name is written in heaven. This is your identity. You are not less because you are not known. You are not forgotten. I have revealed My will to you because you are willing to receive it like a child—dependent, available, and full of trust.
(John 15:16; Romans 8:11; Luke 10:16, 20; 1 Corinthians 12:4-27; James 2:1; Acts 2:17; Matthew 11:25)
Real-Life Analogy
Think about being at a busy family gathering where everyone assumes the “important” jobs—grilling, setting up tables, giving announcements—will be handled by the parents or older siblings. But then, one of the youngest teenagers quietly notices that the trash is overflowing. They don’t ask permission, they don’t make a big show—they just take the bag out, replace it, and keep going. No one told them to do it. But their small, unnoticed act kept the gathering clean and peaceful. Later, someone realizes what they did and says, “That made more of a difference than you know.”
That’s how the kingdom of God often works. Authority in Christ doesn’t come from titles—it comes from abiding. It comes from walking in union with Jesus and being willing to go, speak, serve, or act when others might overlook the moment.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that I am not on the outside looking in. I am Yours, fully loved and fully commissioned. I don’t need a position to carry Your presence. I rest in the truth that Christ lives in me, and I am free to walk in the Spirit, speak with Your authority, and serve without hesitation. I thank You that no calling in Your kingdom is minor when it flows from union with You. Today, I rejoice not in what I do for You, but in the privilege of belonging to You. Let that be enough for me always.