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Luke 10

Chapter Text

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two

The Return of the Seventy-Two

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Mary and Martha

Summary

Jesus appoints seventy disciples and sends them out in pairs ahead of Him into every city and place He intends to visit. He gives them instructions similar to those given to the twelve and warns of judgment upon cities that reject their message.

The seventy return with joy, reporting that even demons are subject to them. Jesus rejoices in the Spirit and thanks the Father. A lawyer tests Jesus with a question about eternal life, and Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan. He visits the home of Martha and Mary, commending Mary for choosing the good part of sitting at His feet.

Meaning

The sending of the seventy extends the mission beyond the twelve, foreshadowing the spread of the gospel to the wider world. Jesus' warning that the harvest is great but the laborers are few establishes the ongoing urgency of the gospel mission throughout every generation.

The parable of the Good Samaritan redefines the question Who is my neighbour? by showing that genuine love transcends ethnic, religious, and social boundaries. The Samaritan, despised by the Jews, becomes the model of mercy. The story of Martha and Mary teaches that service for Christ must not crowd out communion with Christ.

Background

The number seventy may correspond to the seventy nations listed in Genesis 10, symbolizing the universal scope of Jesus' mission. The seventy were sent to prepare the way in areas Jesus Himself planned to visit.

Samaritans were descendants of intermarriage between Israelites and Assyrian colonists. The hostility between Jews and Samaritans was deep and centuries old. That Jesus made a Samaritan the hero of the story was shocking and deliberate.

Chapter Outline

  1. vv. 1-16The Sending of the Seventy
  2. vv. 17-20Their Joyful Return
  3. vv. 21-24Jesus Rejoices in the Father
  4. vv. 25-29The Lawyer's Question
  5. vv. 30-37The Parable of the Good Samaritan
  6. vv. 38-42Mary and Martha at Bethany

Key Verses

Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.10:2

A foundational missions text quoted across the church for centuries, framing evangelism as a prayer-driven response to spiritual urgency. It establishes God as the sovereign 'Lord of the harvest' who alone commissions workers.

Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.10:20

Jesus redirects ministry joy from spiritual power to settled identity in God, anchoring assurance in election rather than experience. A key verse on the believer's security and proper grounds for rejoicing.

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.10:27

The Great Commandment, joining Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, which Jesus affirms as the summary of the entire law. It defines the whole-person love that fulfills covenant obligation.

But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.10:42

A pivotal saying on the priority of attentive devotion to Christ over anxious activity. It has shaped Christian spirituality on contemplation, discipleship, and the place of women learning at the Master's feet.

People & Places

People

  • JesusThe Lord who commissions the seventy, teaches the Great Commandment, and tells the parable of the Good Samaritan.
  • The SeventyA wider group of disciples sent two by two to prepare cities for Jesus' coming.
  • SatanThe adversary whom Jesus says he beheld falling from heaven like lightning as the seventy ministered.
  • The FatherGod whom Jesus thanks for revealing the kingdom to the humble rather than the worldly wise.
  • A certain lawyerAn expert in the Mosaic law who tests Jesus with a question about inheriting eternal life.
  • The Good SamaritanThe compassionate traveler in Jesus' parable who rescues a wounded Jewish man ignored by religious leaders.
  • The priestA temple official in the parable who passes by the wounded man without helping.
  • The LeviteA temple assistant in the parable who likewise refuses to aid the half-dead traveler.
  • MarthaThe hostess who welcomes Jesus into her home and grows distracted by the demands of serving.
  • MaryMartha's sister who sits at Jesus' feet listening to his word, commended for choosing the better part.

Places

  • ChorazinA Galilean town Jesus rebukes for unrepentance despite witnessing his mighty works.
  • BethsaidaA fishing village near the Sea of Galilee condemned alongside Chorazin for spiritual hardness.
  • Tyre and SidonPagan Phoenician coastal cities judged less harshly than the unrepentant Galilean towns.
  • SodomThe proverbial city of judgment used to measure the greater guilt of those who reject the kingdom.
  • CapernaumJesus' adopted Galilean base of ministry, warned of being thrust down for its pride.
  • JerusalemThe starting point of the traveler in the parable, descending toward Jericho.
  • JerichoThe destination city of the wounded traveler, reached by a notoriously dangerous road.

Prophecy & Fulfillment

Jesus' vision of Satan falling like lightning (v. 18) echoes Isaiah 14:12 and anticipates the final overthrow of evil pictured in Revelation 12:9, signaling that the kingdom's advance through the seventy is already breaking the dominion of darkness. In verses 23-24, Jesus tells his disciples that prophets and kings longed to see what they now witness, declaring that the messianic age foretold by the Hebrew prophets has dawned in his ministry. The judgment oracles against Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum (vv. 13-15) draw on Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 26-28, applying ancient prophetic woes to towns that rejected the Messiah in their midst.

Devotional

Luke 10 holds together two callings that the heart easily separates: tireless service and quiet attentiveness. The seventy go out as lambs among wolves, the Samaritan kneels in roadside dust, Martha bustles in her kitchen — and Jesus blesses the work. Yet he also says only one thing is truly needful, and Mary has chosen it.

Real love does not flinch from the wounded stranger, nor does it skip the Master's feet. Let your rejoicing rest not in what you accomplish for God, but in the truth that your name is written in heaven, and from that settled place go and do likewise.

Literary Style

Gospel narrative weaving together commissioning discourse, prophetic woe oracles, a thanksgiving hymn, didactic dialogue, parable, and domestic scene. Luke uses paired contrasts — priest and Levite against Samaritan, Martha against Mary — and Semitic parallelism in Jesus' sayings to drive theological emphasis.