Luke 10
1 Now after these things, the Lord also appointed seventy others, and sent them two by two ahead of him into every city and place, where he was about to come.
2 Then he said to them, “The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he may send out laborers into his harvest.
3 Go your ways. Behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.
4 Carry no purse, nor wallet, nor sandals. Greet no one on the way.
5 Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’
6 If a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.
7 Remain in that same house, eating and drinking the things they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Don’t go from house to house.
8 Into whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat the things that are set before you.
9 Heal the sick who are therein, and tell them, ‘God’s Kingdom has come near to you.’
10 But into whatever city you enter, and they don’t receive you, go out into its streets and say,
11 ‘Even the dust from your city that clings to us, we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that God’s Kingdom has come near to you.’
12 I tell you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.
13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14 But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you.
15 You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades.
16 Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me. Whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
18 He said to them, “I saw Satan having fallen like lightning from heaven.
19 Behold, I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will in any way hurt you.
20 Nevertheless, don’t rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
21 In that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight.”
22 Turning to the disciples, he said privately, “All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is, except the Father; and who the Father is, except the Son, and he to whomever the Son desires to reveal him.”
23 Turning to the disciples, he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things that you see,
24 for I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.”
25 Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “You shall 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 He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus answered, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion,
34 came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said to him, ‘Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.’
36 Which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?”
37 He said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
38 As they went on their way, he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she came up to him, and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister left me to serve alone? Ask her therefore to help me.”
41 Jesus answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
42 but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10 Commentary
Chapter Overview
Luke 10 continues Jesus’ journey toward Jerusalem by showing what life under God’s Kingdom looks like in mission, revelation, mercy, and discipleship. Jesus sends a larger group ahead of him, warns cities that reject God’s visitation, rejoices over the Father’s gracious revelation, tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, and enters the home of Martha and Mary.
The chapter moves from public ministry to deeply personal questions. What should Jesus’ messengers depend on? What should produce their greatest joy? Who truly knows the Father? Who qualifies as a neighbor? What deserves first place when many good responsibilities compete for attention? Each scene presses disciples beyond religious status toward humble trust and obedient love.
Luke also joins proclamation and compassion. The messengers announce that God’s Kingdom has come near and heal the sick. The Samaritan does not merely feel concern but interrupts his journey to care for a wounded stranger. Mary receives Jesus’ word, while Martha learns that service can become spiritually disordered when anxiety overwhelms attentive fellowship with the Lord.
Key Themes
Jesus appoints seventy others and sends them two by two into places he intends to visit. Some ancient manuscripts read seventy-two, but the central point is unchanged: the mission extends beyond the Twelve. Jesus prepares communities through ordinary disciples who go under his authority, in partnership with others, and ahead of his own arrival.
The plentiful harvest and few laborers call first for prayer and then for obedience. The disciples must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers, yet they themselves are immediately sent. Prayer for ministry is not a substitute for participation. Jesus also describes them as lambs among wolves, so fruitfulness must not be confused with safety, dominance, or worldly strength.
The instructions to carry no purse, bag, or extra sandals emphasize dependence and urgency for this particular mission. “Greet no one on the way” does not command habitual rudeness; extended roadside greetings could delay their assignment. The messengers are to remain focused, trusting God to provide through receptive households rather than building security before they obey.
Upon entering a house, they announce peace. If the household is receptive, that peace rests there; if not, the blessing is not wasted or controlled by the hearer. Remaining in the same house prevents the mission from becoming a search for better hospitality. Receiving food is legitimate because a laborer deserves support, but ministry must not become social climbing.
In receptive towns, the disciples are to eat what is set before them, heal the sick, and announce that God’s Kingdom has come near. The instruction requires humility toward their hosts and joins message with mercy. The healings do not replace the proclamation; they visibly point toward the restoring reign that has drawn near in Jesus.
Towns that reject the messengers still hear that the Kingdom has come near. Wiping off the dust is a public warning that refusal has consequences, not an expression of personal revenge. The comparison with Sodom shows the seriousness of rejecting greater light. Judgment corresponds not only to obvious wickedness but also to hardened resistance against God’s gracious approach.
Jesus’ woes over Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum expose the danger of spiritual privilege without repentance. These Galilean towns had witnessed mighty works unavailable to Tyre and Sidon, yet extraordinary exposure did not guarantee a faithful response. Familiarity with teaching, miracles, churches, or Scripture increases responsibility when it leaves the heart unchanged.
“Whoever listens to you listens to me” gives solemn weight to the authorized message, not unlimited authority to every claim made by a religious representative. The disciples are accountable to speak what Jesus gave them. To reject the true apostolic witness is to reject Jesus, and rejecting Jesus ultimately rejects the Father who sent him.
The returning disciples rejoice that demons submit in Jesus’ name. Jesus answers that he saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. In context, the statement celebrates the enemy’s defeat becoming visible through the Kingdom mission. Jesus is not impressed by evil’s apparent power; the advance of his saving rule signals that Satan’s dominion is being decisively overthrown.
Authority over serpents, scorpions, and all the enemy’s power expresses Christ’s protection and victory in the mission. The language should not be used to encourage reckless handling of dangerous creatures or to promise that believers will never suffer physical harm. The larger assurance is that hostile spiritual power cannot finally defeat those acting under Jesus’ authority.
Jesus redirects the disciples’ joy from successful power to secure belonging: their names are written in heaven. Ministry results can rise and fall, and visible victories can tempt servants toward pride. The deepest ground of joy is not what believers accomplish for Christ but that they belong to God by grace and have a place in his coming Kingdom.
Jesus rejoices in the Holy Spirit and addresses the Father as Lord of heaven and earth. The scene displays the Father, Son, and Spirit together within Jesus’ worship and mission. His joy is theological as well as personal: God’s saving purpose is unfolding according to the Father’s gracious will rather than according to human systems of prestige.
The Father reveals these things to “little children” while hiding them from the self-assured wise and understanding. Jesus is not condemning careful thought or learning. He confronts pride that assumes God must fit human standards before he can be received. Kingdom truth is welcomed through dependent trust, humility, and willingness to be taught.
Jesus’ private words about the Father and Son make an extraordinary claim. The Father has entrusted all things to the Son, and true knowledge of the Father comes through the Son’s revelation. Jesus is more than one teacher pointing toward God; he uniquely knows the Father and makes the Father known to those he chooses to reveal him.
The disciples are blessed to see what prophets and kings longed to see. They stand within the fulfillment of promises generations anticipated. Privilege, however, calls for response. Hearing Jesus’ words and witnessing his works should produce faith, gratitude, and obedience rather than the complacency already condemned in the unrepentant towns.
The lawyer asks what he must do to inherit eternal life, intending to test Jesus. Jesus directs him to Scripture and asks how he reads the Law. The man correctly summarizes it as wholehearted love for God and love for one’s neighbor. “Do this, and you will live” affirms the Law’s true demand while exposing how far self-justifying obedience falls short of perfect love.
Desiring to justify himself, the lawyer asks, “Who is my neighbor?” The question seeks a boundary around obligation—an acceptable definition of the people he must love. Jesus does not provide a narrow list. Through the parable, he changes the issue from identifying who deserves neighbor-love to becoming a neighbor through mercy.
The wounded man lies on the dangerous road from Jerusalem to Jericho. A priest and then a Levite see him and pass by. Jesus does not state their motives, so explanations based on ritual impurity, fear, or scheduling remain speculation. What matters is that respected religious figures recognize the need yet do not respond with the love the Law requires.
The Samaritan is the unexpected compassionate figure. Jews and Samaritans carried deep religious and ethnic hostility, so Jesus deliberately makes the outsider the example of obedience. He sees the man, feels compassion, treats his wounds with oil and wine, provides transportation and overnight care, pays the innkeeper, and accepts responsibility for further expense. His mercy is practical, costly, and inconvenient: compassion moves toward suffering and uses available resources to seek another person’s good.
Jesus asks which traveler “seemed to be a neighbor” to the victim. The lawyer cannot bring himself to say “the Samaritan,” but he answers correctly: the one who showed mercy. “Go and do likewise” does not make compassion a way to boast before God. It destroys self-protective boundaries and calls those who receive God’s mercy to embody merciful love.
Martha welcomes Jesus into her home, and her hospitality is valuable. Mary sits at Jesus’ feet and listens to his word, the posture of a disciple learning from a teacher. Martha’s problem is not service itself but service made distracted, anxious, and resentful. Jesus’ tender “Martha, Martha” identifies the inner disorder that has allowed good work to draw her away from the guest she intends to honor.
“One thing is needed” places attentive reception of Jesus above the pressure of many competing demands. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken from her. The contrast is not between active and contemplative personalities; it is between service ordered around Jesus’ word and service that has become too anxious to listen.
Important Verses
Verse 2 joins prayer to mission: “The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few.” The harvest belongs to God, and he sends the workers. Churches should pray for laborers while also asking whether God is answering that prayer by calling them to go, give, teach, welcome, or serve.
Verse 20 corrects misplaced spiritual excitement. Authority over evil is real, but the disciples’ greatest joy is that their names are written in heaven. Identity rooted in God’s grace protects ministry from pride when it succeeds and despair when visible results are small.
Verse 22 presents Jesus as the unique revealer of the Father. The Son’s identity is known by the Father, and the Father is known through the Son. Christian knowledge of God is therefore centered on receiving Jesus rather than constructing an image of God independently of him.
Verses 36–37 reverse the lawyer’s question. Instead of deciding which people count as neighbors, disciples are to show neighborly mercy to the person in need. The command “Go and do likewise” makes love active, crossing hostility, inconvenience, and social boundaries.
Verses 41–42 address anxious distraction without despising faithful work. Jesus calls Martha back from many troubles to the one necessary priority of receiving his word. Service becomes healthier when it flows from listening rather than trying to replace listening.
Practical Applications
Pray for workers with an open willingness to become one. Ask God to raise up faithful people for local churches, missions, mercy ministries, teaching, and pastoral care. Then identify the next concrete part you can play, remembering that Jesus sends disciples in dependence and partnership rather than self-sufficient heroism.
Measure spiritual joy by belonging before accomplishment. Give thanks for answered prayer, effective ministry, and visible freedom from evil, but do not build identity on unusual experiences or public results. Return regularly to the deeper grace that your name is written in heaven because you belong to God.
Refuse to narrow neighbor-love around comfort or similarity. Notice the person whose need interrupts your schedule, especially when social, ethnic, political, or religious distance makes indifference easier. Mercy may require time, money, risk, practical care, and follow-through rather than only sympathetic words.
Examine good service for hidden anxiety and resentment. A crowded schedule can make people blame others, assume Jesus does not care, and lose sight of why they began serving. Simplify where necessary, ask for help without accusation, and let time with Christ reorder the work instead of treating his word as another task.
Keep proclamation, hospitality, and compassion together. Speak clearly that God’s Kingdom has come near in Jesus, receive support without entitlement, offer peace without manipulation, and meet bodily needs where possible. The chapter portrays faithful witness as truth carried by humble, merciful, attentive disciples.