The Kingdom Is Near: Job’s Redeemer, the Psalmist’s Hope, and the Mission of the Seventy-Two

Job longs for his Redeemer, the psalmist seeks God’s face, and Jesus sends His disciples to announce that God’s reign has drawn near.

Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

At first these readings may seem to move in different directions. Job speaks from the depths of suffering. Psalm 27 is both a plea for God’s presence and a declaration of hope. In Mark, Jesus announces that the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Then in Luke, He sends seventy-two disciples ahead of Him, two by two, to proclaim that the Kingdom has come near.

Together, they show the movement of biblical hope: in distress, we seek the living God; in Jesus, God’s saving reign draws near; and those who encounter Christ are sent to carry His peace to others.

Job’s hope in the living Redeemer

Job has suffered loss and feels misunderstood. He pleads, “Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends,” and then declares, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:21, 25). He longs for God to vindicate him and trusts that his story will not end with the injustice and suffering he now sees.

Job is not offering a neat explanation for why the innocent suffer. He speaks from anguish, yet he refuses to let anguish have the final word. Christians hear in Job’s hope a powerful anticipation of the victory God reveals fully in Jesus Christ, who dies and rises from the dead. The Redeemer is not an idea that makes pain disappear; He is the living Lord who enters human suffering and promises that death will not have the last word.

The psalmist seeks God’s face and learns to wait

Psalm 27 moves from urgent prayer—“Hear, O Lord, the sound of my call”—to the desire to seek God’s face, and finally to a call to wait for the Lord with courage (Psalm 27:7–9, 13–14). The psalmist does not pretend to have every answer. He asks God not to hide His face, then chooses to trust that he will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.

This is not passive resignation. Biblical waiting is an act of hope: we continue to turn toward God even when deliverance is not yet visible. Job’s cry and the psalmist’s prayer meet in this trust. Neither denies affliction; both refuse to believe that God has abandoned His people.

“The Kingdom of God is at hand”

In Mark 1:15, Jesus announces: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” The Kingdom is not simply a place we go after death, nor is it a political territory. It is God’s saving reign: His rule of truth, mercy, justice, and life breaking into the world through Jesus.

The Catechism teaches that Jesus inaugurates the Kingdom on earth and calls all people to enter it through conversion and faith (CCC 541–543). In Jesus’ words and works, especially His healing, forgiveness, and victory over evil, the reign of God is already present. Yet it is not fully complete. Suffering, sin, and death remain, and the Church still prays, “Thy Kingdom come” (CCC 2816–2821).

So when Jesus tells the seventy-two, “The kingdom of God is at hand for you” (Luke 10:9, 11), He is not merely saying that Heaven is nearby or that the disciples should deliver a slogan. He is telling each household that God’s saving action is arriving in their midst through the mission of Jesus. The disciples announce it, offer peace, and heal the sick. Their words and deeds make the King’s mercy tangible. Where Christ is welcomed, His reign is being received; where He is rejected, the offer is still real, even if it is refused.

Why send seventy-two, and why in pairs?

Luke says Jesus appointed seventy-two others and sent them ahead of Him in pairs to every town and place He intended to visit (Luke 10:1). Some ancient manuscripts read seventy rather than seventy-two. The Gospel does not explain the number directly. A long-standing Christian interpretation connects seventy or seventy-two with the nations listed in Genesis 10, seeing in the number a sign that God’s invitation is meant to reach all peoples. It is a fitting symbol of the universal mission, not a number we need to treat as a separate doctrine.

Jesus sends them in pairs. The passage does not give one explicit reason, but the arrangement reflects that His mission is shared, not self-appointed or solitary. Companions can support one another, share the work, and give truthful witness together. The Law itself recognizes the importance of two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15). The disciples’ partnership also embodies the community they are sent to build: the Kingdom gathers people into communion with God and one another.

Their instructions underline dependence on God. They go as “lambs among wolves,” carrying no purse, bag, or sandals, and they are told not to let greetings delay the mission. They are to offer peace, receive the hospitality given to them, care for the sick, and announce the Kingdom. Their poverty is not a command to neglect reasonable safety or planning in every situation; in this mission, it teaches them to rely on God and the welcome He provides.

When a town refuses them, they are to leave and shake its dust from their feet as a sign that the people have been given a real choice. They are not told to force belief. The urgency of the message goes together with respect for human freedom.

How these readings belong together

Job trusts that his Redeemer lives. The psalmist keeps seeking God’s face and waits for His goodness. Jesus announces that God’s promised reign has drawn near in Him, and He sends His disciples to carry that announcement into ordinary homes and towns.

The disciples do not erase every person’s suffering as they travel. They bring the presence and promise of Christ into it. Their mission gives a concrete answer to the hope voiced by Job and the psalmist: God has not remained distant. In Jesus, He has come near; through His followers, His peace and healing continue to be offered.

We, too, are called to prepare the way for Christ. We can do so by sharing the Gospel without arrogance, offering peace rather than hostility, caring for the sick and lonely, and walking with others instead of trying to carry the mission alone. And when our own prayers seem unanswered, we can pray honestly, seek God’s face, and wait with the hope that our Redeemer lives.

For reflection

• Where am I longing for God to show His presence in the middle of hardship?
• What does it mean for me to seek God’s face and wait for Him with courage?
• How can I bring Christ’s peace to someone in my home, parish, or community?

A prayer

Living Redeemer, hear us when we call and teach us to seek Your face. Deepen our hope when we must wait. Send us to carry Your peace and mercy to those who need it, and let our words and actions show that Your Kingdom has drawn near. Amen.

Scripture and Catechism references

• Scripture: Job 19:21–27; Psalm 27:7–9, 13–14; Genesis 10; Deuteronomy 19:15; Mark 1:15; Luke 10:1–12.
• Catechism of the Catholic Church: CCC 541–543 (Christ’s Kingdom and the call to enter it); CCC 550 (the signs of the Kingdom); CCC 2816–2821 (the Kingdom in Christian prayer).