Luke 9:1-6

The Sending of the Twelve Apostles

9:1 After Jesus called the twelve together, he gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 9:2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 9:3 He 10  said to them, “Take nothing for your 11  journey – no staff, 12  no bag, 13  no bread, no money, and do not take an extra tunic. 14  9:4 Whatever 15  house you enter, stay there 16  until you leave the area. 17  9:5 Wherever 18  they do not receive you, 19  as you leave that town, 20  shake the dust off 21  your feet as a testimony against them.” 9:6 Then 22  they departed and went throughout 23  the villages, proclaiming the good news 24  and healing people everywhere.

Luke 10:1-11

The Mission of the Seventy-Two

10:1 After this 25  the Lord appointed seventy-two 26  others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town 27  and place where he himself was about to go. 10:2 He 28  said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest 29  to send out 30  workers into his harvest. 10:3 Go! I 31  am sending you out like lambs 32  surrounded by wolves. 33  10:4 Do not carry 34  a money bag, 35  a traveler’s bag, 36  or sandals, and greet no one on the road. 37  10:5 Whenever 38  you enter a house, 39  first say, ‘May peace 40  be on this house!’ 10:6 And if a peace-loving person 41  is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you. 42  10:7 Stay 43  in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you, 44  for the worker deserves his pay. 45  Do not move around from house to house. 10:8 Whenever 46  you enter a town 47  and the people 48  welcome you, eat what is set before you. 10:9 Heal 49  the sick in that town 50  and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God 51  has come upon 52  you!’ 10:10 But whenever 53  you enter a town 54  and the people 55  do not welcome 56  you, go into its streets 57  and say, 10:11 ‘Even the dust of your town 58  that clings to our feet we wipe off 59  against you. 60  Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.’ 61 

Luke 24:47

24:47 and repentance 62  for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed 63  in his name to all nations, 64  beginning from Jerusalem. 65 

Acts 1:8

1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts 66  of the earth.”

tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tn An aorist participle preceding an aorist main verb may indicate either contemporaneous (simultaneous) action (“When he called… he gave”) or antecedent (prior) action (“After he called… he gave”). The participle συγκαλεσάμενος (sunkalesameno") has been translated here as indicating antecedent action.

tc Some mss add ἀποστόλους (apostolou", “apostles”; א C* L Θ Ψ 070 0291 Ë13 33 579 892 1241 1424 2542 pc lat) or μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ (maqhta" autou, “his disciples”; C3 al it) here, but such clarifying notes are clearly secondary.

sn Note how Luke distinguishes between exorcisms (authority over all demons) and diseases here.

sn “To send out” is often a term of divine commission in Luke: 1:19; 4:18, 43; 7:27; 9:48; 10:1, 16; 11:49; 13:34; 24:49.

tn Or “to preach.”

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.

sn As Jesus’ own ministry (Luke 4:16-44) involved both word (to proclaim) and deed (to heal) so also would that of the disciples.

10 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

11 tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

12 sn Mark 6:8 allows one staff. It might be that Luke’s summary (cf. Matt 10:9-10) means not taking an extra staff or that the expression is merely rhetorical for “traveling light” which has been rendered in two slightly different ways.

13 tn Or “no traveler’s bag”; or possibly “no beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145; BDAG 811 s.v. πήρα).

14 tn Grk “have two tunics.” See the note on the word “tunics” in 3:11.

15 tn Grk “And whatever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

16 sn Jesus telling his disciples to stay there in one house contrasts with the practice of religious philosophers in the ancient world who went from house to house begging.

17 tn Grk “and depart from there.” The literal wording could be easily misunderstood; the meaning is that the disciples were not to move from house to house in the same town or locality, but remain at the same house as long as they were in that place.

18 tn Grk “And wherever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

19 tn Grk “all those who do not receive you.”

20 tn Or “city.”

21 sn To shake the dust off represented shaking off the uncleanness from one’s feet; see Luke 10:11; Acts 13:51; 18:6. It was a sign of rejection.

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

23 tn This is a distributive use of κατά (kata); see L&N 83:12 where this verse is cited as an example of the usage.

24 tn Or “preaching the gospel.”

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

26 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 Ë1,13 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.

27 tn Or “city.”

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

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

30 tn Grk “to thrust out.”

31 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).

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

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

34 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.

35 tn Traditionally, “a purse.”

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

37 tn Or “no one along the way.”

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

39 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.”

40 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.

41 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.

42 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.

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

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

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

46 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.

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

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

49 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.

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

51 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.

52 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.

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

54 tn Or “city.”

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

56 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.

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

58 tn Or “city.”

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

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

61 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).

62 sn This repentance has its roots in declarations of the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew concept of a turning of direction.

63 tn Or “preached,” “announced.”

64 sn To all nations. The same Greek term (τὰ ἔθνη, ta eqnh) may be translated “the Gentiles” or “the nations.” The hope of God in Christ was for all the nations from the beginning.

65 sn Beginning from Jerusalem. See Acts 2, which is where it all starts.

66 tn Or “to the ends.”