An Effective Witness
Scripture: Acts 1:8; Luke 10:1 – 4
Context of the message: Luke 10:1-4 is a familiar passage in which Jesus tells us the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few (verse 2). Why so few recruits? We usually rush over Christ’s next words (verse 3). He says, “Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.” Maybe Christ’s words explain why few step up and go. It’s not an easy calling. In John 6 it says that “many of Jesus’ disciples turned back and no longer followed Jesus” (v. 66) because the call was just too hard. No wonder the workers are few.
Getting started: Sharing Stories
- What image comes to your mind when you think about Jesus’ words, “Go, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves?” (Luke 10:3). Discuss what the phrase implies for you.
- Have you known someone who lived their life like a “lamb among wolves?” Do you know someone who lives that way today? What does that lifestyle look like?
Going Deeper:
- Discuss: is the Great Commission for everyone who follows Jesus?
- Miriam connected Acts 1:8 with Luke 10:1-3. She suggested that when Jesus said, “You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8), He probably used the Aramaic/Greek word from which we get the English word “martyr.” (witness / Μάρτυρας/ Martureo/Martyr). So those who first heard the Great Commission most likely heard Him say, “You will be my witnesses/martureo/martyrs.” Does that change the way you answer question #1? Does it change the way you think about being a witness? Maybe it depends on how you define martyr.
- Richard Wurmbrand*, a Romanian pastor who for many years was imprisoned in a Romanian prison because of his faith, defined a “martyr” as “one who sacrifices something important to further the Kingdom of God on earth.” Does this definition of a “martyr” change your answer to question #1?
- The “lamb among wolves” description suggests a lifestyle of absolute dependence on the Good Shepherd. Without depending on Him there is no chance of survival. Is this calling (lambs among wolves) only for the “sent ones” (those whom we send as IWs to hard places in the world) or does it include all of us? How so? How might you enter into the “lambs among wolves” lifestyle?
Prayer:
- Richard Wurmbrandt defined a martyr as “one who sacrifices something important to further the work of the Kingdom of God in this world.” Spend some time in prayer pondering the question, “What sacrifice is God asking me to make for the sake of His kingdom?”
- Conclude your group prayer time by praying the Lord’s Prayer together.
*A newly released (2018) movie about the life of Richard Wurmbrandt is now available. https://www.torturedforchrist.com/ It was filmed entirely in the prison where Wurmbrandt spent years of imprisonment for his faith. Take a look at the trailer.
