The Minor Festival of St. Luke – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. Luke 10:1-7a “Stubborn Like an Ox, Or the Ox that Serves”
October 18, 2026 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
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Eternal Son of God, You know our ways and You know our faults. You know our pain, and You know our sadness. As we sojourn in this life, remind us that through Your cross, You give us hope. Give us the strength we need to follow You daily and to testify that You are the only Savior. Through Your Spirit, remind us that our feelings fade and, in Your Word, where we hear Your voice, lasts forever. We have come to see You and may we follow Your ways, now and forevermore. Amen.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)
The sermon text for today is taken from the 10th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages.”
These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)
In Christ Jesus, who through the work of faithful Evangelists has His name go out throughout the world, who has a plentiful harvest and provides for His laborers, dear fellow redeemed:
If you have watched bull riding, you see the bulls buck and buck to try and get the rider off of them. They turn this way and that, looking angry to rid the rider from their back. After the ride, they are even stubborn at times to go back. This stubbornness comes forward in the saying stubborn as an ox or stubborn as a mule. Maybe you have heard those. There can also be a good stubborn like being stubborn in facts. St. Luke dealt with facts because of his profession as a physician. And with facts, he recorded how the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. Men who were appointed, selected, or chosen, and with no room to bring in stubborn attitudes. Jesus had previously sent out the twelve. Their journeys were similar. And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal…And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere (Luke 9:1-2, 6). Seventy-two now go out as well with one goal of their mission. To not be stubborn or to be stubborn with the facts. Stubborn like an ox, or an ox that serves.
And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” These words of Luke we hear at graduations of our seminary, ordinations, and installations. They are a prayer that Jesus urges His followers to have on their lips continually and in this moment, we continue to have them as well. We pray because not only are they needed, but because the harvest field doesn’t just have the harvest in it. Jesus continues to tell the seventy-two, Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” How do animals defend themselves from wolves? They work together and stay together. These men were together to encourage one another on their mission, but also because of the danger around them. How can the message of the kingdom of God be so dangerous? This Christian witness will often be met with opposition and even persecution, for it there is a part of it no one wants to hear. This is also for their protection according to the law. “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established” (Deuteronomy 19:15). Witnesses for a crime, but also witnesses for the truth.
“Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.” Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Like the disciples when they went out to the Jews, they could take nothing. And this could be a little scary to think about for a Pastor, as they arrive at congregations with their moving truck of belongings. These seventy-two, were to put their trust in God on this trip. He is also not telling them to be rude. To greet someone then was like giving them a Midwest greeting. As great as a greeting is that gives an entire life story, the message they had was to be taken out to people urgently. It still must be taken out urgently.
It must be urgent because Jesus says, “Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.” Luke pinpoints the dangers that will be there. The reliance will be on Jesus’ message and the Father’s blessings through the entire mission. Are we capable of doing this? Scripture records the disciples needed to hear this over and over again. The fact that we gather every single week reveals our stubbornness. We are in the harvest field. We see how few the workers are. And though we know that there are ways we can help, there are times we catch a glimpse of those wolves that surround us and instantly we forget about the message we have and the blessings we are receiving. Blessings that reveal we can have absolutely nothing, but because of the message we have everything.
And there is evidence of the blessings we have. “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.” As we witness the work of the Word, the work of the Gospel, it truly does bring us peace and we truly see the definition of what true peace on earth looks like with sons of peace hearing our words. Because of the work of the wolves in the harvest field, we will see our peace come back. Not all towns will have sons of peace. In fact, there were towns that caused Jesus to say, “But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town” (Luke 10:10-12). It will be more bearable for the town that was so stubborn in their ways that only three people were saved from it before its divine destruction. A divine destruction all deserve because of sinful stubbornness to hear the Word and live according to it.
The ox in searching for the facts, records not of a divine destruction that falls on all people. He doesn’t record people getting what they deserve because of their stubbornness. Even with the sending out of men into a harvest field that needs more men to be in it, many hear this great message about the kingdom of God and still reject it. But thankfully, the plentiful harvest sees a harvest of those ready for the kingdom of God. The sending of seventy-‘two reveals Jesus’ great care for His people. This was His compassion heading toward the cross. He wanted to see hearts prepared with the message of His coming sacrifice and redemption. He wanted His people to know and trust that their Savior was not coming any more, but that He was there with them.
They were not to depend on themselves, but their trust was in the Lord of the mission and his promise that not even the devil will hurt them. Jesus would then tell them, “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you” (Luke 10:19). The wolves will bare teeth and that is all they can do. They can stalk and even bite the lamb, but they can’t take the lamb out of the divine fold it is a member of. The evangelist who records facts, presented the facts of the seventy-two witnessing everything that Jesus said would happen. And when they reported the glorious wonders that took place as they shared the gospel, Jesus told them the glorious works were not the best part. “Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). Names that should be read off to account the facts of every bad thing they have ever done. Names of harvesters who most likely witnessed the message they went out to preach as Jesus appeared to five hundred disciples at one time after His resurrection.
The message of the seventy-two, the message revealed to five hundred brothers at one time, is the same message delivered to you today. You are here today because through the stubbornness of the world, there were ears that were opened and, “sons of peace” who had peace resting on them. Peace that has been given to you. And it’s not the peace that the world searches for, but peace that reveals the truth of salvation. And as St. Luke records the facts of this event, in his findings, he notes the blessing that is received by those who take in the messengers. But it wasn’t the work of these sons of peace. As these sons of peace are hearts that receive God’s messengers worthily, these sons of peace have peace because of the peace given by the One who truly brought and bought them peace.
This true peace, the peace that is continued to be preached to you, is a peace that as you want it, you must see the facts laid out in front of you that you can be stubborn like an ox, responding indifferently and, at times, rejecting God’s will for your lives. In holding the message from the seventy-two, a factual message, the ox records why he is considered the ox. This companion of Paul, Luke the beloved physician greets you (Colossians 4:14a), is Luke the beloved physician who knows what is needed to heal. He would record the outcome of the message of the seventy-two. Their message, the message you have, would come alive and do its work as a serving ox who gave His life on the cross to bring peace to souls. Peace that sees even the wolves lose their teeth as the peace of heaven is found in an empty tomb. A tomb that truthfully has no body in it. And with this message, the Word’s of your Savior still apply when He says, “For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it” (Luke 10:24). With hearing it, you can continue to be stubborn like an ox. Stubborn in the truth and faith you have in this message as recorded by a man who searched for the truth to make a living. A message he records of Jesus giving up His life on the cross and rising from the dead. A message that reveals you do not need to be stubborn in this life, for you have all you need. And like the seventy-two, you are confident in your abilities, for the harvest is ripe, and your name is written by your serving ox in His kingdom. Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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