Text -- Luke 10:1-9 (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!’

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.