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Ch. 9 began with the mission of the Twelve; ch. 10 begins with the mission of the Seventy, a group not mentioned elsewhere in the Scriptures. A tradition says that Luke himself was a member of this group, but no biblical evidence supports it. The number seventy, like the number twelve, may have a symbolic meaning. It could represent the seventy nations of the Gentiles, although this mission does not appear to have been to gentile territory. Or it could stand for Israel, since there were seventy elders with Moses on the mountain. Jesus sent out the Seventy two by two, not just for companionship, but because in Jewish law at least two witnesses were needed to establish the truth of evidence.
Like the Twelve (cf. 9:1-6), the Seventy were told to travel light, without money or extra sandals. They were instructed to shake the dust off their feet if they were rejected. They were also informed of the fate that awaited the cities that rejected them. The mission of the Seventy was successful. They were able to cast out demons. Jesus recognized it as a defeat of Satan and invested the Seventy with authority over the powers of evil, symbolized by serpents and scorpions, perhaps in fulfillment of Ge 3:15. In memorable words Jesus affirmed the closeness of his relation to God the Father (v.22). No other saying in this gospel more clearly asserts his uniqueness as the revealer of God.