When I was younger, I was active in community theater. One of the lessons theater kids learn early is that they cannot always be in the spotlight, even though most theater kids always want to be in the spotlight. They cannot always have the lead role or even a pivotal supporting role. In fact, most of the roles in any production are bit parts, which are listed way down on the playbill. Even with bit parts, actors must learn to practice and pour themselves into those small roles just as much as they would a leading role. There is even a familiar quote that says, “There are no small roles, only small actors” (Konstantin Stanislavski). Of course, this is little comfort when you get the part of “Panda 2” or “Old Street Woman” or the role that probably convinced me that acting was not in my future: “Fat Man,” which I got because I can roar with laughter on cue.

In the Bible, just like in the theater, there are big parts and bit parts. Of course, we all know the big parts — Jesus, Peter, James, John, and later, there’s the Apostle Paul. From there, things get a little muddier. In today’s passage, there are 70 other guys that the Bible does not bother to even name. Their story is only found in the Gospel of Luke, yet just like in the theater, there are no small parts in the Bible. Like the 70 other guys, you and I are not likely to be at the top of the church’s playbill. Our names will not go down in history like William and Catherine Booth or John Wesley. We will not write any deep theological treatises like N.T. Wright or even a best-selling devotional like Max Lucado. The good news is that, like the 70, our contribution to the Kingdom is no less important or precious in God’s sight.

The words of Jesus to the 70 are true for us today: “He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go!’” (Luke 10:2-3a NIV). God is calling for workers in His Kingdom. God has enough work for everyone. The calling of the other guys certainly illustrates that God’s calling goes out to more than just the 12. God’s calling is much more expansive and inclusive than our assumptions of that calling. God is calling you.

Social scientists have determined that in an emergency, around 10% of people find themselves completely frozen, around 80% will be passive observers, and only about 10% of people are prepared to act and assist. The same is often true in the church. There is a small group of Holy Spirit-empowered lay leaders and professional church leaders. Then there are people who believe that they have nothing to contribute. They rationalize that God is certainly not calling them. They either freeze where they are or walk away from the scene. They have disqualified themselves for service. The majority are like the crowd with their phones videotaping the unfolding emergency. They recognize the problem but cannot see themselves as the solution to that problem. They might have heard Jesus say, “Go!” but have failed to heed the instructions ahead of time.

Note what Jesus says before he says, “Go!” He sends out the 70 by twos. This might be the reason why about half of our Bibles read 72 instead of 70. The oldest Greek manuscripts we have disagree on whether the text reads “70 by two in pairs” or “72 in pairs.” Some manuscripts reiterate the fact that the other guys were not supposed to go alone! Jesus intends for us to do his work in community. The church is a group project. It cannot be done alone, and yet among church leaders (both lay and professional) loneliness and isolation are common. Even in The Salvation Army, we sing about God’s soldier standing alone:

Accepting burdens not his own;

A lonely work he cannot shirk,

Where dark and deadly dangers lurk.

While we often find ourselves standing alone, God’s plan is for us to stand together.

The Apostle Paul is one of those big names in the Bible. He wrote most of the New Testament. When we look closely, we find that Paul rarely did his work alone. Some of his companions are common names that we recognize, like Timothy and Luke. Some are less common, like Silas, John Mark, and Barnabus. Then come names that most of us barely recognize, like Epaphras (Colossians 1:7), or this famous list from Acts 20:4 — Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius and Tychicus. Sometimes, we assume that God’s calling only rests on the apostles and leaders of this world, but God’s calling rests on us together. Every leader and teacher needs people to come alongside them with support and encouragement. This is work we cannot do alone.

Moreover, look closely at the first priority that Jesus gives to these 70 other guys. Before Jesus tells them to, “Go!” Jesus tells them to pray. The Message says, “What a huge harvest! And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to send harvest hands” (Luke 10:2). We must be careful to seek God’s will before we go about doing God’s work. The Salvationist holiness teacher and preacher, Samuel Logan Brengle, wrote that we must sharpen the axe before we chop wood. Since many of us probably do not have a lot of experience chopping wood, we might think of it as reading the directions before we assemble the Ikea furniture, but it goes beyond that.

When we are in the warehouse picking up our boxes, what does it say right on the box? “Team Lift.” Ikea does not want us to do this alone. Then we get our furniture home, hopefully with the help of a friend, we open the box, and the first thing we look for is the instruction book and the little package of parts. Without these two important things, there is no way our furniture will go together or stay together. If we still need help, Ikea has even set up a helpline. We only need to pick up the phone and make a call for help.

If this is the right way to put together a bookshelf, how much more important is it when assembling the people of God? Jesus has instructed us to work as a team. God has provided us with a book of instructions and has promised us a package of parts which he calls spiritual gifts. Gifts that are specifically designed and given for the building up of God’s church. In addition to all of that, we have the 24/7 support of the Holy Spirit to be our advocate, our helper, our comforter and our guide.

God has provided His disciples with everything they need to successfully carry out His mission in this world. Jesus is so confident that he instructs the 70 in verse 4, “Do not take a purse or bag or sandals.” It is surprising that Jesus does not include a big stick in this list since this instruction comes right after Jesus warns them that he is sending them out “like lambs among wolves.” Perhaps this explains why Jesus instructs us to bring along a partner. Luke left out the part about making sure your partner was slower than you, for when the wolves show up.

Be assured. The promise of John 6:39 still stands, “And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.” God is not setting us up for failure, but God is warning us that the life of a disciple, the life of radical faith, is not an easy choice. Jesus assuring us that we have in Him everything that we need is not the same as Jesus guaranteeing an easy or uncomplicated existence. We will have trials. We will experience difficulties. We will come up against opposition. There are times when our message will bring joy, but also times when it will be ignored and times when it will be met with hostility. Our job is not to control how our message is received, but to rely on faith in the one who gave us the message.

When we follow the instruction of Jesus and venture with His message out into this world, something amazing happens. Luke 10:17-20 (NIV):

[They] returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Having gone out with nothing but each other, they returned with praise on their lips and power in their souls. Their names may not be recorded in the Bible. They might go down in history as the 70 other guys, but Jesus assures them that their names are recorded in the most important book, the Lamb’s book of life in heaven.

I do not know who else besides me had dreams of their name being in lights or at the top of playbills, but I do know that being known is a basic human need. Everyone longs to be a unique individual. We all want our name to mean something. The story of the 70 other guys concludes with the only real meaningful measurement in that regard — not how many people know our names here on this earth, not how famous or beloved we are by people, but if our names are recorded in heaven.

All I once held dear, built my life upon,

All this world reveres and wars to own.

All I once thought gain, I have counted loss,

Spent and worthless now compared to this.

Knowing you, Jesus, knowing you. There is no greater thing.

Jesus Sends Out His Disciples: Luke 10:1–12

The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road.

“Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay.

“If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’ But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this — the Kingdom of God is near!’ I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day.”

Illustration by Rohan Eason | This article was originally titled “The Other Seventy-Two: Luke 10:1–24” in the July 2026 issue of The War Cry.