Sending Out the Seventy-Two

1After 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. 2He told them, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest. 3Now go; I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4Don’t carry a money-bag, traveling bag, or sandals; don’t greet anyone along the road. 5Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ 6If a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 7Remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they offer, for the worker is worthy of his wages. Don’t move from house to house. 8When you enter any town, and they welcome you, eat the things set before you. 9Heal the sick who are there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near you.’ 10When you enter any town, and they don’t welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11‘We are wiping off even the dust of your town that clings to our feet as a witness against you. Know this for certain: The kingdom of God has come near.’ 12I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.

Unrepentant Towns

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. 14But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will go down to Hades. 16Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

The Return of the Seventy-Two

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

18He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19Look, 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. 20However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

The Son Reveals the Father

21At 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. Yes, Father, because this was your good pleasure. 22All 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.”

23Then turning to his disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see! 24For 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.”

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

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

26“What is written in the law?” he asked him. “How do you read it?”

27He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself.”

28“You’ve answered correctly,” he told him. “Do this and you will live.”

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

30Jesus took up the question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him up, and fled, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32In the same way, a Levite, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan on his journey came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. 34He went over to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. When I come back I’ll reimburse you for whatever extra you spend.’

36“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”

37“The one who showed mercy to him,” he said.

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

Martha and Mary

38While they were traveling, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what he said. 40But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.”

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