Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two

10 After this the Lord appointed (A)seventy-two[a] others and (B)sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. (C)And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. (D)Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; (E)behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. (F)Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and (G)greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, (H)‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, (I)it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for (J)the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, (K)‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 (L)‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that (M)the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, (N)it will be more bearable on (O)that day for Sodom than for that town.

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

13 (P)“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in (Q)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 (R)But it will be more bearable in the judgment for (S)Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, (T)will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to (U)Hades.

16 (V)“The one who hears you hears me, and (W)the one who rejects you rejects me, and (X)the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

The Return of the Seventy-Two

17 (Y)The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, (Z)even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, (AA)“I saw Satan (AB)fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority (AC)to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of (AD)the enemy, and (AE)nothing shall hurt you. 20 (AF)Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that (AG)your names are written in heaven.”

Jesus Rejoices in the Father's Will

21 (AH)In that same hour (AI)he rejoiced (AJ)in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, (AK)Lord of heaven and earth, that (AL)you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and (AM)revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for (AN)such was your gracious will.[b] 22 (AO)All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is (AP)except the Father, or who the Father is (AQ)except the Son and anyone (AR)to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, (AS)“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you (AT)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.”

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 (AU)And behold, a (AV)lawyer stood up to (AW)put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to (AX)inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, (AY)“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and (AZ)your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; (BA)do this, and you will live.”

29 But he, (BB)desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man (BC)was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a (BD)priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise (BE)a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a (BF)Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and (BG)bound up his wounds, pouring on (BH)oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two (BI)denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Martha and Mary

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus[d] entered a village. And a woman named (BJ)Martha (BK)welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called (BL)Mary, who (BM)sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are (BN)anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary.[e] Mary has chosen (BO)the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Footnotes

  1. Luke 10:1 Some manuscripts seventy; also verse 17
  2. Luke 10:21 Or for so it pleased you well
  3. Luke 10:35 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
  4. Luke 10:38 Greek he
  5. Luke 10:42 Some manuscripts few things are necessary, or only one

The Work of the Seventy-Two Followers

10 Later the Lord chose 72[a] other followers and sent them out two by two to every town and village where he was about to go. (A) He said to them:

A large crop is in the fields, but there are only a few workers. Ask the Lord in charge of the harvest to send out workers to bring it in. (B) Now go, but remember, I am sending you like lambs into a pack of wolves. (C) Don't take along a moneybag or a traveling bag or sandals. And don't waste time greeting people on the road.[b] As soon as you enter a home, say, “God bless this home with peace.” If the people living there are peace-loving, your prayer for peace will bless them. But if they are not peace-loving, your prayer will return to you. (D) Stay with the same family, eating and drinking whatever they give you, because workers are worth what they earn. Don't move around from house to house.

If the people of a town welcome you, eat whatever they offer. Heal their sick and say, “God's kingdom will soon be here!”[c]

10 (E) But if the people of a town refuse to welcome you, go out into the street and say, 11 “We are shaking the dust from our feet[d] as a warning to you. And you can be sure that God's kingdom will soon be here!”[e] 12 (F) I tell you that on the day of judgment the people of Sodom will get off easier than the people of that town!

The Unbelieving Towns

(Matthew 11.20-24)

13 (G) You people of Chorazin are in for trouble! You people of Bethsaida are also in for trouble! If the miracles that took place in your towns had happened in Tyre and Sidon, the people there would have turned to God long ago. They would have dressed in sackcloth and put ashes on their heads.[f] 14 On the day of judgment the people of Tyre and Sidon will get off easier than you will. 15 (H) People of Capernaum, do you think you will be honored in heaven? Well, you will go down to hell!

16 (I) My followers, whoever listens to you is listening to me. Anyone who says “No” to you is saying “No” to me. And anyone who says “No” to me is really saying “No” to the one who sent me.

The Return of the Seventy-Two

17 When the 72[g] followers returned, they were excited and said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed when we spoke in your name!”

18 Jesus told them:

I saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 (J) I have given you the power to trample on snakes and scorpions and to defeat the power of your enemy Satan. Nothing can harm you. 20 But don't be happy because evil spirits obey you. Be happy that your names are written in heaven!

Jesus Thanks His Father

(Matthew 11.25-27; 13.16,17)

21 At that same time, Jesus felt the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit,[h] and he said:

My Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I am grateful that you hid all this from wise and educated people and showed it to ordinary people. Yes, Father, this is what pleased you.

22 (K) My Father has given me everything, and he is the only one who knows the Son. The only one who really knows the Father is the Son. But the Son wants to tell others about the Father, so they can know him too.

23 Jesus then turned to his disciples and said to them in private, “You are really blessed to see what you see! 24 Many prophets and kings were eager to see what you see and to hear what you hear. But I tell you they did not see or hear.”

The Good Samaritan

25 (L) An expert in the Law of Moses stood up and asked Jesus a question to see what he would say. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to have eternal life?”

26 Jesus answered, “What is written in the Scriptures? How do you understand them?”

27 (M) The man replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.’ They also say, ‘Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself.’ ”

28 (N) Jesus said, “You have given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life.”

29 But the man wanted to show that he knew what he was talking about. So he asked Jesus, “Who are my neighbors?”

30 Jesus replied:

As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, robbers attacked him and grabbed everything he had. They beat him up and ran off, leaving him half dead.

31 A priest happened to be going down the same road. But when he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. 32 Later a temple helper[i] came to the same place. But when he saw the man who had been beaten up, he also went by on the other side.

33 (O) A man from Samaria then came traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him 34 and went over to him. He treated his wounds with olive oil and wine[j] and bandaged them. Then he put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next morning he gave the innkeeper two silver coins and said, “Please take care of the man. If you spend more than this on him, I will pay you when I return.”

36 Then Jesus asked, “Which one of these three people was a real neighbor to the man who was beaten up by robbers?”

37 The expert in the Law of Moses answered, “The one who showed pity.”

Jesus said, “Go and do the same!”

Martha and Mary

38 (P) The Lord and his disciples were traveling along and came to a village. When they got there, a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat down in front of the Lord and was listening to what he said. 40 Martha was worried about all that had to be done. Finally, she went to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn't it bother you that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!”

41 The Lord answered, “Martha, Martha! You are worried and upset about so many things, 42 but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Footnotes

  1. 10.1 72: Some manuscripts have “70.” According to Jewish tradition, there were 70 nations on earth. But the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament has “72” in place of “70.” Jesus probably chose this number of followers to show that his message was for everyone in the world.
  2. 10.4 waste time greeting people on the road: In those days a polite greeting could take a long time.
  3. 10.9 will soon be here: Or “is already here.”
  4. 10.11 shaking the dust from our feet: This was a way of showing rejection.
  5. 10.11 will soon be here: Or “is already here.”
  6. 10.13 dressed in sackcloth … ashes on their heads: This was one way that people showed how sorry they were for their sins.
  7. 10.17 72: See the note at 10.1.
  8. 10.21 the Holy Spirit: Some manuscripts have “his spirit.”
  9. 10.32 temple helper: A man from the tribe of Levi, whose job it was to work around the temple.
  10. 10.34 olive oil and wine: In New Testament times these were used as medicine. Sometimes olive oil is a symbol for healing by means of a miracle (see James 5.14).