Luke 10:1-11

Context

The Mission of the Seventy-Two

10:1 After this¹ the Lord appointed seventy-two² others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town³ and place where he himself was about to go. 10:2 He⁴ said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest⁵ to send out⁶ workers into his harvest. 10:3 Go! I⁷ am sending you out like lambs⁸ surrounded by wolves.⁹ 10:4 Do not carry¹⁰ a money bag,¹¹ a traveler’s bag,¹² or sandals, and greet no one on the road.¹³ 10:5 Whenever¹⁴ you enter a house,¹⁵ first say, ‘May peace¹⁶ be on this house!’ 10:6 And if a peace-loving person¹⁷ is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you.¹⁸ 10:7 Stay¹⁹ in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you,²⁰ for the worker deserves his pay.²¹ Do not move around from house to house. 10:8 Whenever²² you enter a town²³ and the people²⁴ welcome you, eat what is set before you. 10:9 Heal²⁵ the sick in that town²⁶ and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God²⁷ has come upon²⁸ you!’ 10:10 But whenever²⁹ you enter a town³⁰ and the people³¹ do not welcome³² you, go into its streets³³ and say, 10:11 ‘Even the dust of your town³⁴ that clings to our feet we wipe off³⁵ against you.³⁶ Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.’³⁷

[10:1] ¹tn Grk “And after these things.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:1] ²tc 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.

[10:1] ³tn Or “city.”

[10:2] ⁴tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:2] ⁵sn The phrase Lord of the harvest recognizes God’s sovereignty over the harvest process.

[10:2] ⁶tn Grk “to thrust out.”

[10:3] ⁷tn 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).

[10:3] ⁸sn On the imagery of lambs see Isa 40:11, Ezek 34:11-31, and John 10:1-18.

[10:3] ⁹sn This imagery of wolves is found in intertestamental Judaism as well; see Pss. Sol. 8:23.

[10:4] ¹⁰sn 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.

[10:4] ¹¹tn Traditionally, “a purse.”

[10:4] ¹²tn Or possibly “a beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145; BDAG 811 s.v. πήρα).

[10:4] ¹³tn Or “no one along the way.”

[10:5] ¹⁴tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:5] ¹⁵tn 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.”

[10:5] ¹⁶sn 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.

[10:6] ¹⁷tn 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.

[10:6] ¹⁸sn 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.

[10:7] ¹⁹tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:7] ²⁰tn Grk “eating and drinking the things from them” (an idiom for what the people in the house provide the guests).

[10:7] ²¹sn On the phrase the worker deserves his pay see 1 Tim 5:18 and 1 Cor 9:14.

[10:8] ²²tn 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.

[10:8] ²³tn Or “city.” Jesus now speaks of the town as a whole, as he will in vv. 10-12.

[10:8] ²⁴tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people who live in the town) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:9] ²⁵tn 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.

[10:9] ²⁶tn Grk “in it”; the referent (that town) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:9] ²⁷sn 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.

[10:9] ²⁸tn 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.

[10:10] ²⁹tn Grk “whatever town you enter,” but this is more often expressed in English as “whenever you enter a town.”

[10:10] ³⁰tn Or “city.”

[10:10] ³¹tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people who live in the town) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:10] ³²sn 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.

[10:10] ³³tn The term πλατεῖα (plateia) refers to the “broad street,” so this refers to the main roads of the town.

[10:11] ³⁴tn Or “city.”

[10:11] ³⁵sn See Luke 9:5, where the verb is different but the meaning is the same. This was a sign of rejection.

[10:11] ³⁶tn Here ὑμῖν (Jumin) has been translated as a dative of disadvantage.

[10:11] ³⁷tn 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).