Paper 163 Overview: Ordination of the Seventy at Magadan

After returning to Magadan from Jerusalem, Jesus and his apostles assembled a special group of believers for intensive training, from which seventy teachers would be chosen and sent out to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom. This ordination of the seventy messengers represented a significant expansion of Jesus' ministry beyond the original twelve apostles. The seventy were carefully selected from devoted followers across Palestine and were sent out two by two to cities throughout Galilee, Samaria, and Judea to preach the good news that the kingdom of heaven was at hand.

During this period, Jesus also addressed important questions about wealth and commitment to spiritual values versus material possessions. After six weeks of preaching, the seventy returned to report their successful experiences, and Jesus both rejoiced with them and cautioned them against spiritual pride. This paper concludes with preparations for Jesus' final mission—a three-month tour of Perea that would ultimately lead to his final days in Jerusalem and the completion of his earth life.

A few days after Jesus and the twelve apostles returned to Magadan from Jerusalem, Abner arrived with about fifty disciples from Bethlehem. At the same time, the evangelistic corps, the women's corps, and approximately one hundred and fifty dedicated disciples from across Palestine gathered at Magadan Camp. From November 4 to November 19, Jesus and the twelve conducted intensive training for this select group of believers, from whom the Master would later choose the seventy teachers to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom.

Each morning, Jesus provided a talk to the entire company, while the apostles offered specialized instruction throughout the day. Peter taught methods of public preaching, Nathaniel instructed them in the art of teaching, Thomas explained how to answer questions, and Matthew directed the organization of their financial affairs. The other apostles contributed according to their particular expertise and natural talents, creating a comprehensive program of preparation for their upcoming mission.

The seventy were ordained by Jesus on Sabbath afternoon, November 19, at the Magadan Camp, with Abner appointed as their leader. This group consisted of Abner and ten former apostles of John the Baptist, fifty-one earlier evangelists, and eight other disciples who had distinguished themselves in kingdom service. The ordination ceremony took place on the shore of the lake of Galilee, witnessed by over four hundred believers gathered there between rain showers.

Before laying his hands on their heads to ordain them, Jesus addressed the seventy with important instructions for their mission. He told them to travel in pairs without carrying money or extra clothing since their work was urgent and temporary. They were to bring peace to welcoming households, remain in one home during their stay in each city, and proclaim that "the kingdom of heaven is at hand" while ministering to the sick in mind and body. Jesus emphasized that those who heard them would be hearing him, and those who rejected their message would be rejecting both Jesus and the Father who sent him. After this address, Jesus laid his hands on each man's head as they knelt in a circle around him, and the next morning, Abner sent them forth to all the cities of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea.

Over fifty disciples who sought ordination into the seventy were rejected by the committee appointed by Jesus to select candidates. Whenever the committee—consisting of Andrew, Abner, and the head of the evangelistic corps—could not reach unanimous agreement about a candidate, they brought that person to Jesus for a final decision. Although Jesus never rejected anyone who desired to become a gospel messenger, after speaking with him, more than a dozen candidates decided on their own that they no longer wished to join the mission.

A particularly significant encounter involved a wealthy young man named Matadormus, a member of the Jerusalem Sanhedrin, who approached Jesus asking what he must do to gain eternal life. After confirming that Matadormus had kept the commandments since youth, Jesus told him that to become one of his messengers, he would need to sell all his possessions, give to the poor, and follow him. The young man went away sorrowful because he had great wealth he was unwilling to surrender. Jesus explained to his apostles that while wealth itself wasn't the issue, Matadormus's attachment to his riches prevented him from fully committing to the kingdom. Years later, after the Jerusalem church was established, Matadormus did follow Jesus' instruction and became the church treasurer, though by then it was too late to join the seventy.

After Matadormus departed, Peter and several apostles gathered around Jesus, who observed how difficult it is for the wealthy to fully enter the kingdom of God. Jesus explained that spiritual worship cannot be shared with material devotions, as no one can serve two masters. When the apostles expressed astonishment, asking who then could be saved, Jesus clarified that with God all things are possible, even if they seem impossible to humans.

Later, as they sat by the lake, Peter asked what reward they would receive for having left everything to follow Jesus. Jesus assured them that anyone who sacrificed possessions or family relationships for the kingdom would receive manifold more in this life, plus eternal life in the world to come. He then shared the parable of the householder who hired laborers throughout the day but paid them all equally, regardless of when they began working. This parable illustrated God's sovereignty and generosity, showing how the divine approach to reward differs from human expectations of compensation proportional to time served. Jesus taught that God's fairness operates according to his own wisdom and grace, not according to human standards of merit.

On the morning when the seventy departed on their first mission, Jesus gathered them for final instructions, emphasizing several key points. He told them the gospel must be proclaimed to all people, including gentiles, and cautioned them against teaching people to expect miracles when ministering to the sick. Jesus directed them to announce a spiritual brotherhood of God's children rather than an outward kingdom of worldly power and material glory.

Jesus further instructed the seventy to avoid wasting time on excessive social visiting, to remain in one worthy household during their entire stay in a city, and to make it clear that the time had come for an open break with the religious leaders in Jerusalem. He summarized their teaching by stating that man's entire duty could be condensed into a single commandment: to love God with all one's mind and soul and to love one's neighbor as oneself—replacing the 613 rules of living expounded by the Pharisees with this simple but profound principle. After Jesus spoke, Peter took the seventy aside and delivered their ordination sermon, encouraging them to cultivate consecrated devotion, true courage, faith and trust, zeal and initiative, kindness and courtesy, and to minister to the sick in body and mind.

Jesus and the twelve apostles prepared to establish their final headquarters in Perea, near Pella where Jesus had been baptized in the Jordan River. After spending the last ten days of November in council at Magadan, the entire company of nearly three hundred people departed at daybreak on December 6 and lodged that night near Pella by the river—the same site John the Baptist had occupied with his camp years earlier.

Following the closure of the Magadan Camp, David Zebedee immediately began reducing his messenger service and storing the camp equipment at his father's house. He then proceeded down the lakeshore and along the Jordan to a location about half a mile north of the apostolic camp, where in less than a week he established accommodations for nearly fifteen hundred pilgrim visitors. This new camp was necessary because the rainy season had begun in Palestine, and shelter was needed for the growing numbers of people coming to hear Jesus. By late December, before the seventy returned, almost eight hundred visitors had gathered around the Master and found lodging in David's camp, all arranged on David's own initiative with minimal help from his former messenger corps.

On Friday, December 30, the seventy messengers began arriving at the Pella headquarters in pairs, accompanied by numerous believers. By five o'clock that evening, all seventy had assembled at the teaching site when Jesus returned to camp. The evening meal was delayed while these enthusiastic teachers shared their experiences. Although David's messengers had brought much of this news to the apostles in previous weeks, it was inspiring to hear directly from these newly ordained teachers how their message had been received by both Jews and gentiles.

When the seventy reported that "even the devils were subject" to them, they were referring to their successful healing of nervous disorders, although they had also relieved a few cases of genuine spirit possession. Jesus told them not to rejoice so much in their power over spirits but rather to rejoice that their names were written in heaven. Jesus then experienced a rare moment of emotional ecstasy, thanking the Father that these spiritual truths had been revealed to the "children of the kingdom" rather than to the wise and self-righteous. The following day, Jesus gathered the seventy and warned them against spiritual pride, reminding them that they had entered the great work of teaching that man is a son of God and encouraging them with his promise: "I always stand near, and my invitation-call is, and ever shall be, Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

The days following the seventy's return were busy with preparations for the Perean mission, which would be Jesus' last tour—three months of teaching throughout Perea before his final work in Jerusalem. Throughout this period, Jesus and the twelve apostles maintained their headquarters at the Pella camp, which became a hub of activity for the expanded ministry.

Jesus no longer needed to travel extensively to teach people, as increasing numbers came to him weekly from across Palestine and the Roman world. While he participated in the tour of Perea with the seventy, he spent much of his time at the Pella camp teaching the multitudes and instructing the twelve. The women's corps also prepared to join the mission, going out in pairs with the seventy to work in the larger cities. This expanded group included the original twelve women plus fifty more who had been trained in home visitation and ministering to the sick and afflicted. This final phase of Jesus' kingdom work was characterized by spiritual depth rather than the miracle-focused ministry of his earlier Galilean period, although many followers still struggled to understand that the kingdom of heaven was a spiritual brotherhood rather than a material or political reality.