Luke 10

Seventy-Two Disciples Sent Out, The Parable of The Good Samaritan, And Jesus Visits Mary And Martha

Knowing His remaining time was short, Jesus sent out a larger group of followers to announce His arrival in the towns and villages He would visit.  Along the way, He instructed a Jewish teacher on how to love his neighbor and his friend Martha on how to worship while she worked.  Almost all material in this section is unique to Luke’s account.  

Jesus Sends Seventy-Two Disciples 

Seventy-Two Others

Vs. 1 - After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and he sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself was about to go.

Only Luke described this second mission.  Some translations indicate that 70 disciples were sent out. Others say 72.  Scholars note textual evidence for both, but this detail is mostly irrelevant to Luke’s account. 

Earlier Jesus had sent twelve apostles into the northern areas because the work was more than he could do by himself in the short time available. Now, for a similar reason, he sent a much larger number into the southern regions through which he was travelling (Luke 10:1-2). The instructions Jesus gave to the seventy were similar to those he had given to the twelve.                      - Don Fleming

The Kingdom of God Is Near

Vs. 3-5 - Now go; I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves. Don’t carry a money-bag, traveling bag, or sandals; don’t greet anyone along the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’

The Seventy were given practical instructions about items to take on their mission, where to stay, and even what to say.  Jesus warned them of the dangers and potential rejection they would encounter, but also of the opportunities they would have to heal and to herald the good news of His coming. 

Vs. 9 - tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near you.’

These disciples were instructed to go ahead of Jesus to the towns and villages on His route and announce that the Messiah had come and that His kingdom was imminent. 

Shake Off The Dust

Vs. 10-11 - When you enter any town, and they don’t welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘We are wiping off even the dust of your town that clings to our feet as a witness against you.

Jesus had given very similar instructions to the Twelve (Luke 9:5, Matthew 10:14-15).  For this mission, to shake the dust from their feet (a Jewish practice upon returning from Gentile territory) became symbolic for that particular town’s rejection of the Messianic message. (See Luke 9 notes)

Whoever Rejects (Matthew 11:20-24)

Vs.13 - Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

The common characteristic of Sodom and these Palestinian cities was failure to repent when given a warning by God.  The Sodomites could have saved their city by repenting, but these cities could have entered the messianic kingdom. Therefore their guilt was greater than that of the people of Sodom.  Jesus’ point was the dire fate that would come on people who spurned His offer of salvation       - Thomas Constable

Vs. 16 - Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.

Jesus added further importance to their mission by explaining that acceptance or rejection of the Seventy amounted to acceptance or rejection of Himself and God the Father who had sent Jesus (Matthew 10:40). Jesus was authorizing these disciples to act for Him.            - Thomas Constable

The Seventy-Two Return

Your Names in Heaven

Vs. 17 - The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

Vs. 20 - However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

Jesus saw this success as a triumph over Satan and a guarantee of his ultimate destruction. But the servants of God should always remember that their greatest cause for praise is not what they have done for God, but what God has done for them.                  - Don Fleming

Throughout scripture, across all genres, multiple authors reference heavenly books or records of important names or deeds.  Because an omniscient God has no real need of a written record, many commentators interpret this as figurative language indicating that God recognizes and acknowledges His faithful followers. 

Satan And Snakes

Vs. 18 - He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning.

When Jesus says that he saw Satan fall from heaven, he is not speaking of Satan’s prehistoric fall, nor is he referring to a vision he had during the disciples’ ministry, nor is he predicting Satan’s future fall. He is merely describing, in symbolic terms, the impact of the disciples’ ministry.  The kingdom of God is making inroads in Satan’s domain.             - Thomas Schreiner

Vs. 19 - Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing at all will harm you.

Jesus probably referred to snakes and scorpions because they represented these spiritual foes. In other words, we should probably take His words figuratively rather than literally. This was evidently a special protection that Jesus gave His disciples during this mission.            - Thomas Constable

Revealed to Infants (Matthew 11:25-27)

Vs. 21 - At that time he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants.

Jesus rejoiced that unlikely people were taught of God and used by Him. The babes were the seventy; simple believers who received real wisdom from the revelation of God.              - David Guzik

Jesus probably meant that He praised God that although He had hidden the gospel of the kingdom from the humanly wise, He had, nevertheless, revealed it to the humble.           - Thomas Constable

Blessed Are The Eyes

Vs. 22 - All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal him.”

In verse 22, we have one of the most important verses in the Synoptic gospels on the mutual relationship between the Father and the Son.  Some scholars have questioned the authenticity of the verse, but the Jewish character of the saying shows its authenticity.            - Thomas Schreiner

Luke 10:22 tells of the unique relationship between Jesus and God. This is what the Fourth Gospel means when it says, "The Word became flesh" (John 1:14), or when it makes Jesus say, "I and the Father are one," or, "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 10:30; John 14:9). To the Greeks, God was unknowable. But when Jesus came, he said, "If you want to know what God is like, look at me."     - William Barclay

Vs. 23-24 - Then turning to his disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you see but didn’t see them; to hear the things you hear but didn’t hear them.”

Matthew 13:16-17 - “Blessed are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see the things you see but didn’t see them, to hear the things you hear but didn’t hear them.

There is a similar saying to this among the rabbis, in Sohar. Genes., where it is said, ‘Blessed is that generation which the earth shall bear, when the King Messiah cometh.’               - Clarke

Luke 10:23-24 tells us that Jesus is the consummation of all history. In these verses, Jesus said, "I am the One to whom all the prophets and the saints and the kings looked forward and for whom they longed." This is what Matthew means when over and over again in his gospel he wrote, "This was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet saying . . ." (compare Matthew 2:15; Matthew 2:17; Matthew 2:23). Jesus was the peak to which history had been climbing, the goal to which it had been marching, the dream which had ever haunted men of God.                - William Barclay

The Parable of The Good Samaritan

What Must I Do?

Vs. 25 - Then an expert in the law stood up to test him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

The incident that Mark recorded in Mark 12:28-34 is quite similar to this one, but the differences in the accounts point to two separate situations. In view of the question at stake it is easy to see how people might have asked it of Jesus many different times. Furthermore this particular question was of great concern to the scribes, who studied the law professionally.              - Thomas Constable

This was an interesting question from a Jewish teacher of the law because there are almost no references to any kind of afterlife in the Torah.  Beliefs about resurrection and the afterlife developed slowly and varied greatly in ancient Judaism.  Perhaps this “expert” was of a sect that looked for a resurrection, or maybe he was questioning Jesus’ own references to eternal life (John 3). 

Jesus initially answered the expert’s question with another question, and the teacher identified what all Jews knew to be the two laws under which all other laws could be summarized (Deut. 6:4-5, Lev. 19:18).  Jesus agreed and stated that, if a faithful follower of God would keep these laws, he would “live.” 

Who Is My Neighbor?

Vs. 29 - But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

The teacher was disappointed with this answer and, in an attempt to excuse his own failings, asked how anyone could know who was or was not his neighbour (Luke 10:29). In reply, Jesus told a story in which a traveller was beaten, robbed, and left to die.             - Don Fleming

Many people in Jesus' day believed that a neighbor was a fellow Israelite. When asked to define "neighbor, " however, Jesus cited the parable of the good Samaritan, a person who knowingly crossed traditional boundaries to help a wounded Jew. A neighbor is anyone who is in need.       - Glenn E. Schaefer

Go Do The Same

Vs. 37 - Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”

The lawyer had missed the point of the parable.  He was focused on defining “neighbor” rather than simply demonstrating love. 

Jesus then forced the questioner to answer his own question. The example that he had to follow was not that of the religious purists, but that of the despised foreigner. If a person loves his neighbor as himself, he will act kindly towards anyone that he happens to meet, even enemies.        - Don Fleming

He (Jesus) reversed the lawyer’s original question and focused attention where it should have been, on the subject of showing love rather than the object receiving it.        - Thomas Constable

This parable is intended to show that love does not allow limits on the definition of neighbor. … We cannot say in advance who the neighbor is; rather, nearness and need define “neighbor.”       - Klyne Snodgrass

This doesn’t mean running after every need that might present itself. After all, the Samaritan didn’t establish a hospital for unfortunate travelers. But it does mean a concern for the ones plain before us, in both social and spiritual needs. “The world would be a changed place if every Christian attended to the sorrows that are plain before him.            - Alexander Maclaren

Martha’s Worry And Mary’s Worship

Mary And Martha

Vs. 38-39 - While they were traveling, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what he said.

John recorded that Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus lived in a village called Bethany, just outside of Jerusalem.   Mary had once washed Jesus’ feet with her hair (John 12 - A different event from Luke 7).  And Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from death (John 11). 

Martha and Mary, along with their brother Lazarus, were two dear friends of Jesus who lived in Bethany. It’s easy to imagine that Martha wanted everything perfect when Jesus came to visit.           - David Guzik

The Right Choice

Vs. 41-42 - The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things,  but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Barclay notes that Martha and Mary were probably of very different personalities and priorities and that Jesus was not rebuking Martha for her service-oriented temperament. Rather, it seems, Jesus was drawing attention to Martha’s anxiety and fretfulness over trivial matters. 

Perhaps Mary should have offered more support to her sister, but Jesus noted that she had perceived the meaning of the meeting, the gravity of the gathering, and was listening closely to her Lord. 

One other significant component of this event that many commentators note is how Jesus encouraged women to learn and participate in His teaching, a very uncommon practice of Jewish teachers at this time.