Mission of the Seventy and Parables

The Mission of the Seventy

(Lk 10:1-24)

^10:1After this, the Lord appointed seventy other men and sent them ahead in pairs to every town and place where he intended to go.

²He told them,

“It’s a big harvest with few workers, so ask the crew chief to put more workers in his harvest. ³I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves. ⁴Don’t carry a money bag, knapsack, or shoes. Don’t visit with anybody along the way. ⁵Whatever house you go in, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ ⁶If a peace-loving person lives there, your peace will rest on him. If not, it’ll return to you. ⁷Stay in the same house and eat what they provide. A worker is worth his wages. Don’t move around from house to house. ⁸Whatever town you go in and they welcome you, eat what they put in front of you. ⁹Heal the sick in it, and say, ‘God’s kingdom has come close to you.’ ¹⁰Whatever town you go in and they don’t welcome you, go out in the streets and say, ¹¹‘Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. But know this: God’s kingdom has come close to you.’ ¹²It’ll be more bearable for Sodom at the judgment than for that town.

¹³“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴It’ll be more bearable at the judgment for those cities than for you. ¹⁵And you, Capernaum, you won’t be exalted to heaven, will you? You’ll be brought down to hell.

¹⁶“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; whoever rejects me rejects the One that sent me.”

¹⁷The seventy came back excited, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

¹⁸He said, “I’ve been watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹I’ve given you authority to step on snakes and scorpions, and over the power of the enemy. Nothing will hurt you. ²⁰But, don’t get excited because the spirits submit to you; be excited that your names are recorded in heaven.”

²¹Right then he was really happy, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from wise, intelligent people and revealing them to infants. ²²Yes, Father, you delighted in doing that.”

“My Father has turned everything over to me. Nobody knows who the Son is but the Father, and who the Father is but the Son, and whoever the Son wants to reveal him to.”

²³He turned to his disciples aside and said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you’re seeing. ²⁴Many prophets and kings have wanted to see what you’re seeing and haven’t seen it, and hear what you’re hearing and haven’t heard it.”

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

(Lk 10:25-37)

²⁵A lawyer stood up, testing him, “Rabbi, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

²⁶Jesus said, “What’s the law say? How do you read it?”

²⁷He answered, “‘LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, SOUL, STRENGTH [Deut 6:5; 10:12; Josh 22:5], and mind’; and ‘LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF’” [Lev 19:18].

²⁸Jesus said, “You’re right. Do that and you’ll live.”

²⁹But he wanted to justify his question, so he said, “Who’s my ‘neighbor’?”

³⁰Jesus answered,

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him and beat him up and left him half dead. ³¹By chance a priest was going down that road and saw him and went around him. ³²When a Levite came to the place and saw him, he did the same thing. ³³But a Samaritan on a business trip came to the place and saw him and felt sorry for him. ³⁴He went over and poured oil and wine in his wounds, bandaged them up, put him on his own animal, and took him to an inn and took care of him.

³⁵“The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Take care of him. Whatever more you spend I’ll pay you when I get back.’ ³⁶Which of the three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man the robbers attacked?”

³⁷The lawyer said, “The one that showed him mercy.”

Jesus said, “Go do the same thing.”

Jesus with Mary and Martha

(Lk 10:38-42)

³⁸As they were traveling, he went in a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him. ³⁹Her sister Mary was sitting in front of Jesus, listening to him. ⁴⁰Martha was worried with serving, and came and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the serving by myself? Tell her to help me.”

⁴¹Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you’re worried and bothered about so much, ⁴²but one thing is necessary: Mary has chosen the good part; I’m not going to take it away from her.”

Discourse on Prayer

(Lk 11:1-13)

^11:1He was in a place praying. When he finished, one of his disciples said, “Lord, teach us how to pray like John taught his disciples.”

²He said,

“When you pray, say,

‘Father, you are holy.

Your kingdom come.

³Give us each day our daily bread.

4Forgive us of our sins,

because we forgive everybody that owes us.

Keep us from facing temptation.’

⁵“Which of you would go to a friend in the middle of the night and say, ‘Lend me three loaves of bread. ⁶A friend has come in off the road, and I don’t have anything to feed him’?

⁷“From inside he’d answer, ‘Don’t bother me. The door’s already shut, and the kids are in bed with me. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ ⁸Though he didn’t want to get up to give him something, because he persisted, he’ll get up and give him as much as he needs. ⁹Ask and you’ll receive, seek and you’ll find, knock and it’ll open for you. ¹⁰Everybody that asks receives, everybody that seeks finds, and everybody that knocks it’ll open for.

¹¹“If your boy asks for a fish, would you give him a snake? ¹²If he asks for an egg, would you give him a scorpion? ¹³If you evil people know how to give good things to your kids, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to people that ask him.”

The Pharisees’ Charge That Jesus Was in League with the Devil

(Lk 11:14-36)

¹⁴He was casting a demon out of mute man. When he’d cast it out, the man could speak; and the crowd was amazed. ¹⁵Some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of demons.” ¹⁶Others, testing him, were looking for a sign from him out of the sky.

¹⁷He was aware of their thoughts, and said to them,

“Every kingdom divided against itself falls. ¹⁸If Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand—because you’re saying I cast out demons by Beelzebub? ¹⁹If I cast out demons by Beelzebub, who do your students cast them out by? So they’ll be your judges. ²⁰But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then God’s kingdom has come to you. ²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his courtyard, his possessions are undisturbed. ²²When somebody stronger than him attacks and overpowers him, he seizes the armor the man depended on and scatters his plunder. ²³Whoever’s not with me is against me, and whoever doesn’t gather with me scatters out.

²⁴“When an unclean spirit leaves a person, it roams around in dry places, looking for rest. When it doesn’t find any, it says, ‘I’ll go back to the house I left.’ ²⁵When he goes, he finds it swept out and decorated. ²⁶Then he takes seven spirits more evil than he is and goes in and settles down there. The person’s last condition is worse than the first.”

²⁷While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts you nursed.”

²⁸But he said, “More important, blessed are people that hear God’s message and keep it.”

²⁹As the crowds were growing, he said,

“This is a wicked time. People are looking for a sign, but it won’t get any but the sign of Jonah. ³⁰As Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, that’s the way the Son of Man will be to people today. ³¹The queen of the south will stand up in the judgment with people today and condemn them. She came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon’s wisdom, and something greater than Solomon is here. ³²The people of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with people today and condemn it. They repented when Jonah preached to them, and something greater than Jonah is here.

³³“Nobody lights a lamp and puts it in the cellar [or under a bucket]ms, but on a stand so people coming in can see it. ³⁴Your eye is the lamp for the body. When your eye is clear, your whole body is full of light; but when it’s bad, your body’s full of darkness too. ³⁵Watch out so the light in you won’t be darkness. ³⁶If then your whole body is full of light, it’s like a bright lamp that gives you light.”

Denouncing the Pharisees

(Lk 11:37-54)

³⁷When he’d spoken, a Pharisee asked him to eat a meal with him, and he went in and directly reclined at table. ³⁸When the Pharisee saw it, he was amazed that Jesus didn’t dip his hands first before the meal.

³⁹The Lord said to him,

“You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you’re full of robbery and wickedness. ⁴⁰You foolish people, didn’t the One that made the outside make the inside too? ⁴¹Give the internal things over to charity, and everything will be clean to you.

⁴²“But woe to you Pharisees! You tithe mint and rue and every vegetable, and pass over justice and love for God. You should have done these without neglecting those.

⁴³“Woe to you Pharisees! You love the main seat in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴“Woe to you! You’re like unmarked graves that people walk on without knowing it.”

⁴⁵A lawyer spoke up, “Rabbi, when you say things like that, you insult us too.”

⁴⁶Jesus said,

“Woe to you lawyers as well! You load people down with heavy burdens, but you don’t touch them with one of your fingers.

⁴⁷“Woe to you! You build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. ⁴⁸So you’re witnesses and approve of your fathers’ deeds: they killed them; you build their tombs. ⁴⁹So the wisdom of God also said, ‘I’ll send them prophets and apostles. They’ll persecute some and kill some. ⁵⁰So the blood of all the prophets shed since the founding of the world will be required of this generation—⁵¹from the blood of Abel to Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, it’ll be required of this generation.’

⁵²“Woe to you lawyers! You take away the key for understanding. You haven’t gone in yourselves, and you stand in the way of the ones that are trying to go in.”

⁵³Before he left, the scribes became terribly hostile, and bombarded him with questions about all kinds of things. They were plotting to latch onto something he said.

Disciples Warned Against Fearing Men

(Lk 12:1-12)

^12:1Meantime the thousands in the crowd were so packed together they were stepping on each other. Jesus began to say to his disciples first,

“Watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ²Everything covered up will be revealed; everything hidden will be made known. ³What youpl say in the dark will be heard in the light, and what youpl whisper in the store rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

⁴“I say to you friends, don’t be afraid of who can kill the body and that’s all they can do. ⁵I’ll show you who to be afraid of: the One with the right to kill you and the throw you in hell. Yes, fear him. ⁶Aren’t five sparrows sold for two assarions? And God doesn’t forget about a one of them. ⁷Indeed the very hairs of your head are numbered. Don’t be afraid; you’re worth more than lots of sparrows.

⁸“Everybody that confesses me in front of people, the Son of Man will confess in front of God’s angels. ⁹Whoever denies me in front of people I’ll deny in front of God’s angels. ¹⁰Everybody that speaks against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes the Holy Spirit won’t be forgiven.

¹¹“When they bring you in front of synagogues, rulers, and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say. ¹²The Holy Spirit will teach you at the time what to say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

(Lk 12:13-21)

¹³A man in the crowd said, “Rabbi, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴Jesus said, “Man, who appointed me as a judge over youpl?”

15“Guard against every kind of greed, because even in abundance a person’s life doesn’t consist of what he owns.”

¹⁶He told the crowd a parable,

“A rich man’s land produced a bumper crop. ¹⁷He deliberated, ‘What am I going to do? I don’t have enough room to store my crop?’ ¹⁸He said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I’ll take down my barns and build bigger ones so I can store all my grain and good things. ¹⁹I’ll say to myself, ‘You have a lot of good things for years to come. Rest, eat, drink, celebrate.’ ²⁰God said, ‘You fool! Tonight they’ll ask for your soul, and who will these things belong to?’ ²¹That’s how it is with a person that lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Encouragement to Trust God

(Lk 12:22-34)

²²He said to his disciples, “So don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat, or your body, what you’ll wear. ²³Life is more than food; the body is more than clothes. ²⁴Think about black birds; they don’t sow or reap; they don’t have a storeroom or barn. God feeds them. You’re worth a lot more than birds. ²⁵Which of you by worrying can add eighteen inches to his height? ²⁶If you can’t do such a small thing, why worry about the rest? ²⁷Think how lilies grow; they don’t work hard or spin, but even Solomon in all his splendor didn’t dress like one of them. ²⁸If God dresses the vegetation in the field this way—which is here today and thrown in the oven tomorrow—how much more will he dress you, people with little faith. ²⁹Don’t concentrate on what you’ll eat, and don’t worry. ³⁰They’re what Gentiles strain after. Your Father knows you need them. ³¹Seek his kingdom, and they’ll come along with it. ³²You don’t need to be afraid, little flock; your Father delights in giving give you the kingdom. ³³Sell what you own and give it to charity. Make money bags that don’t wear out, never-ending treasure in heaven, where thieves don’t come around and moths don’t ruin. ³⁴Where your treasure is you heart will be too.

Parable of the Waiting Servants

(Lk 12:35—59)

³⁵“Be dressed and ready with your lamps lit. ³⁶Be like men waiting for their lord to return from a wedding so they can open the door when he knocks. ³⁷Blessed are the servants he finds watching. He’ll dress himself and have them recline at table, and come and wait on them. ³⁸Whether he comes in the second watch or even the third and finds them ready, those servants are blessed. ³⁹Be sure of this: if the home owner had known what time the thief would come, he wouldn’t have let him break into his house. ⁴⁰You be ready because the Son of Man will come when you don’t expect him.”

⁴¹Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us or to everybody?”

The Lord said,

⁴²“Who’s a wise and reliable property manager that his lord puts in charge of doing the feeding at the right time? ⁴³Blessed is the servant that his lord finds doing his job when he comes. ⁴⁴He’ll put him in charge of everything he owns.

⁴⁵“If that servant says to himself, ‘It’ll be a long time before my lord gets back’; and he starts beating the servants, men and women, eating and drinking and getting drunk, ⁴⁶the lord will come on a day he doesn’t expect at a time he doesn’t know, and he’ll severely flog him and assign him the fate of the disbelievers.

⁴⁷“The servant that knew his lord’s will and wasn’t ready or didn’t act accordingly will get many lashes. ⁴⁸The servant that didn’t know and committed things worthy of lashes will get few lashes. A lot will be expected from everybody that receives a lot. People ask more from somebody they’ve entrusted with more.

⁴⁹“I came to cast fire on the earth; how I wish it were already kindled. ⁵⁰I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I’m under stress till it’s done! ⁵¹Do you suppose I came to bring peace on earth? No, I’m telling you, but division. ⁵²From now on five members of a household will divide up three against two and two against three.

⁵³Father will be divided against son,

and son against father.

Mother will be divided against daughter,

and daughter against mother.

Mother-in-law against daughter-in-law,

and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴He told the crowd as well,

“When you see a cloud coming up in the west, right away you say, ‘A storm’s coming,’ and that’s what happens. ⁵⁵When you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It’s going to get hot,’ and it happens. ⁵⁶Hypocrites, you can read the earth and sky; why can’t you read the sings of the times?

⁵⁷“Why don’t you figure out what’s right on your own? ⁵⁸While you’re going with your opponent to a magistrate, make an effort to settle matters so he won’t drag you before the judge, the judge deliver you to the constable, and the constable put you in prison. ⁵⁹You won’t get out till you pay the last dime.”

Discourse on Repentance

(Lk 13:1-9)

^13:1Some people told him about the Galileans whose blood Herod had mixed with their sacrifices. ²He said,

“Do you suppose those Galileans were the most sinful Galileans because they suffered these things? ³No, but unless you repent, you’ll perish too. ⁴Do you suppose that the eighteen the tower of Siloam fell on and killed were the most sinful people in Jerusalem? ⁵No, but unless you repent, you’ll perish too.”

⁶He told this parable,

“A man had planted a fig tree in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it, but didn’t find any. ⁷He told the vineyard keeper, ‘For three years I’ve come looking for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down. Why’s it taking up space?’

⁸“He answered, ‘Sir, leave it this year too, till I can dig around it and manure it. ⁹If it has fruit on it next year, okay. If not, you can chop it down.’”

Healing on the Sabbath and the Coming Kingdom

(Lk 13:10-21)

¹⁰He was teaching in a synagogue one Sabbath, ¹¹and a woman there had a spirit that for eighteen years caused a deformity. She was bent double and couldn’t straighten up. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called out, “Ma’am, you’re freed from your deformity.” ¹³He laid hands on her, and at once she straightened up and glorified God. ¹⁴The synagogue ruler was indignant because Jesus healed her on the Sabbath. He told the crowd, “There are six days when you need to work. Come on those days and be healed, not on the Sabbath day.”

¹⁵The Lord answered him, “Hypocrites, don’t you untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it to water on the Sabbath? ¹⁶Wasn’t it necessary on the Sabbath to untie this daughter of Abraham that Satan had tied up for eighteen years?”

¹⁷His opponents were disgraced, and the entire crowd was celebrating over the outstanding things he was doing.

¹⁸So he said, “What’s God’s kingdom like? What can I compare it to? ¹⁹It’s like a mustard seed a man put in his garden. It became a tree, and birds nested in its branches.

20“What’s God’s kingdom like? It’s like yeast a woman put in three pecks of meal till it leavened the whole batch.”