Text -- Luke 10:1-20 (NET)

The Mission of the Seventy-Two

10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 10:2 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest. 10:3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs surrounded by wolves. 10:4 Do not carry a money bag, a traveler’s bag, or sandals, and greet no one on the road. 10:5 Whenever you enter a house, first say, ‘May peace be on this house!’ 10:6 And if a peace-loving person is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you. 10:7 Stay in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, for the worker deserves his pay. Do not move around from house to house. 10:8 Whenever you enter a town and the people welcome you, eat what is set before you. 10:9 Heal the sick in that town and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come upon you!’ 10:10 But whenever you enter a town and the people do not welcome you, go into its streets and say, 10:11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.’ 10:12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town! 10:13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 10:14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you! 10:15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to Hades! 10:16 “The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” 10:17 Then the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!” 10:18 So he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 10:19 Look, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and on the full force of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you. 10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names stand written in heaven.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 10:1

¹ tn Grk “And after these things.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² tc There is a difficult textual problem here and in v. 17, where the number is either “seventy” (א A C L W Θ Ξ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï and several church fathers and early versions) or “seventy-two” (Ì⁷⁵ B D 0181 pc lat as well as other versions and fathers). The more difficult reading is “seventy-two,” since scribes would be prone to assimilate this passage to several OT passages that refer to groups of seventy people (Num 11:13-17; Deut 10:22; Judg 8:30; 2 Kgs 10:1 et al.); this reading also has slightly better ms support. “Seventy” could be the preferred reading if scribes drew from the tradition of the number of translators of the LXX, which the Letter of Aristeas puts at seventy-two (TCGNT 127), although this is far less likely. All things considered, “seventy-two” is a much more difficult reading and accounts for the rise of the other. Only Luke notes a second larger mission like the one in 9:1-6.

³ tn Or “city.”

NET Notes: Luk 10:2

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² sn The phrase Lord of the harvest recognizes God’s sovereignty over the harvest process.

³ tn Grk “to thrust out.”

NET Notes: Luk 10:3

¹ tn Grk “Behold I.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

² sn On the imagery of lambs see Isa 40:11, Ezek 34:11-31, and John 10:1-18.

³ sn This imagery of wolves is found in intertestamental Judaism as well; see Pss. Sol. 8:23.

NET Notes: Luk 10:4

¹ sn On the command Do not carry see Luke 9:3. The travel instructions communicate a note of urgency and stand in contrast to philosophical teachers, who often took a bag. There is no ostentation in this ministry.

² tn Traditionally, “a purse.”

³ tn Or possibly “a beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145; BDAG 811 s.v. πήρα).

⁴ tn Or “no one along the way.”

NET Notes: Luk 10:5

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² tn Grk “Into whatever house you enter.” This acts as a distributive, meaning every house they enter; this is expressed more naturally in English as “whenever you enter a house.”

³ sn The statement ‘May peace be on this house!’ is really a benediction, asking for God’s blessing. The requested shalom (peace) is understood as coming from God.

NET Notes: Luk 10:6

¹ tn Grk “a son of peace,” a Hebrew idiom for a person of a certain class or kind, as specified by the following genitive construction (in this case, “of peace”). Such constructions are discussed further in L&N 9.4. Here the expression refers to someone who responds positively to the disciples’ message, like “wisdom’s child” in Luke 7:30.

² sn The response to these messengers determines how God’s blessing is bestowed – if they are not welcomed with peace, their blessing will return to them. Jesus shows just how important their mission is by this remark.

NET Notes: Luk 10:7

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² tn Grk “eating and drinking the things from them” (an idiom for what the people in the house provide the guests).

³ sn On the phrase the worker deserves his pay see 1 Tim 5:18 and 1 Cor 9:14.

NET Notes: Luk 10:8

¹ tn Grk “And whatever town you enter,” but this is more often expressed in English as “whenever you enter a town.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Or “city.” Jesus now speaks of the town as a whole, as he will in vv. 10-12.

³ tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people who live in the town) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Luk 10:9

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

sn Ministry (heal the sick) is to take place where it is well received (note welcome in the preceding verse).

² tn Grk “in it”; the referent (that town) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

⁴ tn Or “come near to you,” suggesting the approach (but not arrival) of the kingdom. But the combination of the perfect tense of ἐγγίζω (engizw) with the preposition ἐπί (epi) most likely suggests that the sense is “has come upon” (see BDAG 270 s.v. ἐγγίζω 2; W. R. Hutton, “The Kingdom of God Has Come,” ExpTim 64 [Dec 1952]: 89-91; and D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 2:1000; cf. also NAB “is at hand for you”). These passages argue that a key element of the kingdom is its ability to overcome the power of Satan and those elements in the creation that oppose humanity. Confirmation of this understanding comes in v. 18 and in Luke 11:14-23, especially the parable of vv. 21-23.

NET Notes: Luk 10:10

¹ tn Grk “whatever town you enter,” but this is more often expressed in English as “whenever you enter a town.”

² tn Or “city.”

³ tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people who live in the town) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ sn More discussion takes place concerning rejection (the people do not welcome you), as these verses lead into the condemnation of certain towns for their rejection of God’s kingdom.

⁵ tn The term πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to the “broad street,” so this refers to the main roads of the town.

NET Notes: Luk 10:11

¹ tn Or “city.”

² sn See Luke 9:5, where the verb is different but the meaning is the same. This was a sign of rejection.

³ tn Here ὑμῖν (Jumin) has been translated as a dative of disadvantage.

⁴ tn Or “has come near.” As in v. 9 (see above), the combination of ἐγγίζω (engizw) with the preposition ἐπί (epi) is decisive in showing that the sense is “has come” (see BDAG 270 s.v. ἐγγίζω 2, and W. R. Hutton, “The Kingdom of God Has Come,” ExpTim 64 [Dec 1952]: 89-91).

NET Notes: Luk 10:12

¹ sn The allusion to Sodom, the most wicked of OT cities from Gen 19:1-29, shows that to reject the current message is even more serious than the worst sins of the old era and will result in more severe punishment. The noun Sodom is in emphatic position in the Greek text.

² tn Or “city.”

NET Notes: Luk 10:13

¹ sn Chorazin was a town of Galilee that was probably fairly small in contrast to Bethsaida and is otherwise unattested. Bethsaida was declared a polis by the tetrarch Herod Philip, sometime after a.d. 30.

² tn This introduces a second class (contrary to fact) condition in the Greek text.

³ tn Or “powerful deeds.”

⁴ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

⁵ sn Tyre and Sidon are two other notorious OT cities (Isa 23; Jer 25:22; 47:4). The remark is a severe rebuke, in effect: “Even the sinners of the old era would have responded to the proclamation of the kingdom, unlike you!”

map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

NET Notes: Luk 10:15

¹ sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.

map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

² tn The interrogative particle introducing this question expects a negative reply.

³ sn In the OT, Hades was known as Sheol. It is the place where the unrighteous will reside (Matt 11:23; Luke 16:23; Rev 20:13-14).

NET Notes: Luk 10:16

¹ tn Grk “hears you”; but as the context of vv. 8-9 makes clear, it is response that is the point. In contemporary English, “listen to” is one way to express this function (L&N 31.56).

² sn Jesus linked himself to the disciples’ message: Responding to the disciples (listens to you) counts as responding to him.

³ tn The double mention of rejection in this clause – ἀθετῶν ἀθετεῖ (aqetwn aqetei) in the Greek text – keeps up the emphasis of the section.

⁴ sn The one who sent me refers to God.

NET Notes: Luk 10:17

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² tc See the tc note on the number “seventy-two” in Luke 10:1.

³ tn Or “the demons obey”; see L&N 36.18.

⁴ tn The prepositional phrase “in your name” indicates the sphere of authority for the messengers’ work of exorcism.

NET Notes: Luk 10:18

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ reply in vv. 18-20 follows from the positive report of the messengers in v. 17.

² tn This is an imperfect tense verb.

³ tn In Greek, this is a participle and comes at the end of the verse, making it somewhat emphatic.

⁴ tn This is probably best taken as allusion to Isa 14:12; the phrase in common is ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (ek tou ouranou). These exorcisms in Jesus’ name are a picture of Satan’s greater defeat at Jesus’ hands (D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 2:1006-7).

NET Notes: Luk 10:19

¹ tn Or perhaps, “trample on” (which emphasizes the impact of the feet on the snakes). See L&N 15.226.

² sn Snakes and scorpions are examples of the hostility in the creation that is defeated by Jesus. The use of battle imagery shows who the kingdom fights against. See Acts 28:3-6.

³ tn Or “I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and [authority] over the full force of the enemy.” The second prepositional phrase can be taken either as modifying the infinitive πατεῖν (patein, “to tread”) or the noun ἐξουσίαν (exousian, “power”). The former is to be preferred and has been represented in the translation.

sn The enemy is a reference to Satan (mentioned in v. 18).

⁴ tn This is an emphatic double negative in the Greek text.

NET Notes: Luk 10:20

¹ tn Grk “do not rejoice in this, that.” This is awkward in contemporary English and has been simplified to “do not rejoice that.”

² tn The verb here is a present imperative, so the call is to an attitude of rejoicing.

³ tn The verb here, a perfect tense, stresses a present reality of that which was a completed action, that is, their names were etched in the heavenly stone, as it were.