AFTER THIS THE Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. 7Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. 9Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ 10But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’ 12I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
13“Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths.
16“He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
18He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
21At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
22“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
Original Meaning
AS LUKE 9:49–50 showed, ministry involves more than the Twelve. Jesus sends out another mission, this time involving seventy-two.1 The Twelve may have been a part of this mission (cf. 22:35), even though they are not counted among this number, for “seventy-two others” are in view here.
Jesus sends them out in pairs. What they do is only a start, since they are to pray for more workers for the harvest. Using agricultural imagery for a spiritual harvest was common in Judaism (see Isa. 27:11–12; Hos. 6:11; Joel 3:13; also Luke 10:10–16; John 4:31–38; Rom. 11:16–24; 1 Cor. 3:6–7).2 With conversion comes the responsibility to join the task of sharing the good news. The fact that these workers emerge as a result of intercession stresses that God is the sovereign source of such blessing. He is Lord of the harvest, he leads the mission, and he is responsible for “sending out” workers into the field. Missions is not a matter of marketing but of the Lord’s directing his people to share faithfully the grace they have experienced.
Such ministry is not easy, for the workers are “like lambs among wolves.” There is danger and hostile rejection on all sides (cf. 9:51–56). In Judaism, wolves often represented those who consume their enemy.3 Despite the danger, the disciples must go forth to perform their calling.
Such danger requires the workers to travel light. The instructions are similar to 9:1–6, yet they more detail is present here. They should not carry a purse, bag, or sandals. They should not stop to salute anyone on the road, for their mission is urgent. They must not be concerned with the normal affairs of life as other people are; ministry is their priority. They are also to rest in the knowledge that God will provide for them, since “the worker deserves his wages.”
When they arrive in a town, they must stay in one place, not running from house to house. They are to offer a blessing of peace to those who host them, an invocation of God’s good will.4 If some refuse to welcome them, then the blessing will recede from that house (Matt. 25:31–46). As guests, the disciples are to eat what is set before them as God’s provisions for them. Their main responsibility is to heal the sick and declare the arrival of God’s kingdom.
The mention of God’s kingdom is central, because these disciples reflect the approach of the new era Jesus brings. God’s ruling power in deliverance is coming. The expression in verses 9 and 11 about the “kingdom of God [coming] near” has been the subject of much scholarly discussion. Does it mean that the kingdom approaches but stops short of arrival? Or is the approach a way of announcing its arrival? The key to the answer is not in the Greek idea of drawing near in verse 11, but in the combination of the preposition with the concept of drawing near: to come upon you in verse 9, as it also appears in a parallel saying to this one in 11:20. That later text is a commentary on Jesus’ activity that explains the import of his ministry. It is a reaffirmation of what Jesus says in 10:9. Jesus’ activity is not just approaching; it has come “upon you.” This idiom also appears in Daniel 4:24, 28 in the Greek Old Testament translation tied to Theodotion, where the idea is clearly arrival. The preposition addresses locale and clearly speaks of more than proximity.
Verses 17–18 confirm this understanding by picturing the mission’s ministry as evidence of Satan’s fall.5 To announce the kingdom is not to say that everything associated with Jesus’ authority is now manifest, for he also taught that there are things he will do when he returns. But the rule of God through Jesus has begun. The power to deliver from Satan’s power has started to work itself out in history and among humanity. The deeds of ministry support that claim by showing that evil forces and the presence of death cannot resist Jesus’ authority.
If the disciples are rejected, then they must shake the dust from their feet and move on. This act declares a separation between God and the rejecting city, exposing their accountability to him for their decision (Luke 9:5; Acts 13:51; 19:6). To reject such a gracious invitation is dangerous, as Luke 10:13–15 reveals. Even Tyre and Sidon, two Gentile cities with reputations for evil, will come out better in the judgment than the Galilean cities of Korazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. This kind of threatening woe has Old Testament precedent (Isa. 23; Jer. 25:22; 47:4; Ezek. 26:3–28:24; Joel 3:4–8; Amos 1:9–10). The current era is so great, in other words, that even the most evil cities among the Gentiles would have responded to what Jesus is offering by repenting in sackcloth and ashes (1 Kings 20:31–32; 2 Kings 19:1; 1 Chron. 21:16; Joel 1:13; Amos 8:10). The destiny for rejection is “the depths” (the Greek word transliterates Hades). In other words, the risk of rejection is eternal.
What is not often appreciated is the unbreakable link Jesus places between himself and his messengers. They are commissioned in such a way that they represent him. For people to hear them is to hear Jesus; for people to reject them is to reject Jesus. People cannot separate Jesus from those who bear his message, and this link extends beyond the Twelve to all who faithfully preach his message. This type of linkage is not unlike the authority we give to an ambassador today. The ambassador represents his country, and what he says the government says.
The mission is a success, since the disciples return filled with excitement at the power they possess. In Jesus’ name, even demons have submitted to them! Such power was exciting to contemplate.
Jesus responds by picturing the fall of Satan. Satan’s descent from above, his loss of power, is evident from what has been taking place. The allusion is to imagery from Isaiah 14:12. Judaism associated Satan’s end with the Messiah.6 Jesus has given the seventy-two authority to overcome all types of evil power and representations. Later, in Luke 11:20–23, Jesus describes his own activity as pointing to the presence of a stronger one than Satan who plunders Satan’s domain. Given such power, nothing can harm them—a truth Jesus expresses strongly with the Greek emphatic particles ou me. Yet such power is not the true ground for their rejoicing. That is, the submission of evil spirits to them is nothing compared to the fact that they are registered among the saved in the Book of Life. Here is the real cause for joy. In fact, it is cause for continuous joy, as Jesus uses a present imperative (chairete) to make the point. The Book of Life refers to the great census of God where the blessed will be named.7 True and eternal life with the everlasting God is the essence of blessing.
To underscore the point Jesus intercedes with a note of praise to God. God’s sovereignty sends such blessings to “little children” rather than to the wise and learned. Those of simple faith, not those who rest in their own wisdom, have come to see the blessing of God (1 Cor. 1:25–31). He honors those who in simplicity rely on him.
But there is another fundamental link that holds the chain together. The authority of the Father is placed in the Son. In turn, it is the Son who reveals the Father to others. Those who come to God have the Son as the source of such revelation. As Jesus said in the Gospel of John, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). There is a chain of revelation that extends from God through the Son to those who respond and bear the Son’s message. That is why this mission was so important and why knowing him is so crucial.
There is a blessing of divine approval in sharing in the task of the Son. So Jesus concludes with a beatitude for those who see what the seventy-two have seen. King and prophets longed to experience what they are experiencing, but they did not get this special honor (1 Peter 1:10–12). As great as the eras of Moses, David, and Isaiah were, they are nothing compared to those who have seen the Messiah.
Bridging Contexts
THIS MISSION IS unique, given the direct involvement with Jesus and the type of authority the seventy-two possess to declare the arrival of the kingdom. Yet in 22:35–38, Jesus alters some of the instructions given here. Rather than relying on the kindness of others, disciples of the future will need to be better prepared for rejection and will have to rely more directly on their own resources. It is true that as things became more hostile in the first century, people had to be more careful. This distinction suggests different approaches are required by different preaching environments. When the environment is open and free, then we may rely on the kindness of others. But when the environment is closed and hostile, we must walk circumspectly. In our time, the difference is more easily seen in the difference in ministry style required in the more open Western states versus ministry in Muslim areas or certain parts of Asia. More hostile contexts require more care in meeting. There is one point that Jesus makes here that is repeated in 1 Timothy 5:18: The minister still deserves his wage.
God remains sovereign over the missionary task, and the world still needs more workers for the harvest. In a world of several billion, even several million Christians are not enough to reach everyone. Resources must be used wisely. Does every Christian tradition need its own missionary agency in a region, or might more cooperative efforts allow a pooling and more effective use of resources? Is the best goal always to send more foreign missionaries into a region, or should resources be expended to develop more local leadership? We must be wise in how we use the workers God gives for the task.
Special wisdom is needed as we seek to reach the unreached and those exposed to the gospel. Workers faithful to the basic message of Jesus are needed in parts of the world where the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is not well known, but also where he is so well known that he has been dismissed as irrelevant. Yet they must share that message with a sensitivity to the unique culture in which they serve. That is, they must understand that culture so they can communicate the gospel clearly in a way that ministers to people’s needs. The message form and ministry style of one who serves in a Latin American barrio will surely differ from the one who ministers in a major urban center to business leaders.
The principles of traveling light and with urgency are timeless. The gospel must never burden those who are served by it. One also has to watch out for the subtlety of watering down the message in order to earn a wage. We may never deny the uniqueness of the message, and the church must avoid the temptation of receiving funds because the message has been made culturally acceptable. When resources drive the message, the message is usually lost. This danger can exist for churches, missionary organizations, seminaries, or parachurch ministries. The message of one’s need for Christ must remain paramount. The church should support its various ministries strongly enough that survival does not dictate policy.
What is at stake is the destiny of every person who hears the gospel. There is no room for the suggestion that one does not need the forgiveness Jesus offers or that somehow sin is passé. That is why Jesus tells his messengers to make clear that God’s blessing rejection is at stake. That is also why Jesus issues woes to those Galilean cities that reject the message. The gospel does not involve a casual, private religious expression of opinion that is one option among many. It is the revelation of God. Many in our era doubt if God speaks at all, compounding both the problem of their responding to the message. In addition, preaching that Jesus is the only way means that the Evangelist risks being misunderstood as intolerant, dogmatic, or seeking to control others. But these obstacles do not remove from us the responsibility of declaring in love and with tears what is at stake in the choices called for by God.
A cosmic battle is in place with the gospel. That battle is being waged yet today, though the question of victory was decided on Calvary’s cross. What we see in the seventy-two are the first moments of triumph, much like D-Day was for the allies during World War II. The war lasted long after that battle, but the outcome was essentially decided in those first few days. Our ministry for Christ plays out that cosmic struggle, and we rejoice and share Jesus because in him rests the truth that allows one’s name to be found in the Book of Life.
Think of the blessing of sharing in the harvest. We belong to a two-thousand-year-old heritage of ministry. We contribute to a battle to reverse the presence of evil in the world. We partake in a relationship with the Lord of heaven and earth. We experience the blessing of forgiveness that only he offers—a blessing that comes to those who see Jesus. Two thousand years may have passed, but the greatness and uniqueness of that blessing never fades.
Contemporary Significance
THE APPLICATIONS OF this text are myriad. Christian ministry continues to need workers. Such work should not be undertaken by lone rangers. There is a sense of sharing, accountability, and protection for integrity in the fact that the seventy-two traveled in pairs. Such shared ministry prevents a dictatorial approach in ministry and helps to assure the veracity of the participants. There is wisdom in ministry that does not go it alone.
Mission must still be built through dependence on God. Such dependence starts with prayer and ends with a sense of joy in being a part of such a grand, long-standing mission. When I travel to Europe, there is something almost mystical about attending a university that was founded in the 1400s or seeing a location where the Lord has been worshiped regularly since A.D. 750. But the Christian mission depicted in Luke 10 makes all of those endeavors look young. Since the time of Jesus God has been calling workers to work the fields, always planted with emerging life that needs harvesting for him.
Through prayer, wise effort, and the strength to face rejection, each generation looks to God’s direction to supply workers to the task of evangelism. As rich as the history of the faith is, what is preached is what makes the task so precious. The call to share in God’s blessing is the greatest vocation one can possess. Every believing community needs to highlight and teach its people to join in the task. Some will go great distances; others will share with friends and neighbors. But all are called to do something. Jesus did not leave the ministry only to the Twelve. Neither today are pastors the only ones called to share God’s blessings with others.
Interestingly, Jesus says little about method, nor does he give his followers a developed message. Their ministry is to minister to needs, to reveal God’s power, and to share where it has come from. Many are intimidated to share Jesus because they feel they do not know what to say. Jesus sends the seventy-two and tells them simply to give of themselves and point to the presence of God. Sometimes we make evangelism more difficult than it needs to be.
There should be no doubt, however, that eternal life and death are the issue when it comes to Jesus. Our era has made it to easy to pass off religious opinion as if we were choosing flavors at an ice cream store. God is not so cold as to allow such important matters to be left to human whim. In offering his Son, he has put the true life to death, so that men and women can experience life. In death the true life has removed any obstacle that may stand in the way of relationship with God. Strange as it may seem, the world often accuses God of narrowness for opening the way so wide through his Son. What seems as a narrow way in Jesus is in fact a door that opens up to a vast field of blessing. Jesus will speak of his message as the narrow door in 13:24. Disciples know that the key is not the width of the door but where it leads.
What God asks of each person is to recognize before God that he or she has not lived in a way that honors God and should therefore embrace the forgiveness and relationship he longs to provide through Jesus. God shows evidence of his good faith by providing all we need to share in such blessing. All we need to do is turn in good faith and embrace the gift he has provided. The gospel is so simple in this basic element of turning to God for forgiveness in Christ that it is too hard for many to comprehend, much less accept. Yet it is this very simplicity that caused Jesus to compare those who see and embrace it to little children. The ways of God are not to be figured out when it comes to the gospel. For what Jesus offers are things that prophets and kings longed to experience. Those who know Jesus reside in a palace whose walls will never become a museum.