Jesus Sends the 72 Men

10 ¹After this, the Lord (Jesus) chose 72* more men. Jesus sent the men out in groups of two. He sent them ahead of him into every town and place where he planned to go. ²Jesus said to them, "There are many, many people to harvest (save). But there are only a few workers to help harvest them. God owns the harvest (people). Pray to God that he will send more workers to help gather his harvest. ³You can go now. But listen! I am sending you, and you will be like sheep among wolves. ⁴Don't carry any money, a bag, or shoes. Don't stop to talk with people on the road. ⁵Before you go into a house, say, 'Peace be with this home.' ⁶If a peaceful man lives there, your blessing of peace will stay with him. If the man is not peaceful, then your blessing of peace will come back to you. ⁷Stay in the peaceful house. Eat and drink what the people there give you. A worker should be given his pay. Don't leave that house to stay in another house. ⁸If you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat the food they give you. ⁹Heal the sick people that live there. Then tell them, 'The kingdom of God is soon coming to you!' ¹⁰But if you go into a town, and the people don't welcome you, then go out into the streets of that town and say, ¹¹'Even the dirt (dust) from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. But remember that the kingdom of God is coming soon.' ¹²I tell you, on the judgment day it will be worse for the people of that town than for the people of Sodom.*

Jesus Warns People That Don't Believe

¹³"It will be bad for you, Chorazin*! It will be bad for you, Bethsaida*! I did many miracles* in you. If those same miracles had happened in Tyre and Sidon,* then the people in those cities would have changed their lives and stopped sinning a long time ago. They would have worn sackcloth* and put ashes on themselves to show that they were sorry for their sins. ¹⁴But on the judgment day it will be worse for you than for Tyre and Sidon. ¹⁵And you, Capernaum,* will you be lifted up to heaven? No! You will be thrown down to the place of death! ¹⁶"When a person listens to you, that person is really listening to me. But when a person refuses to accept you, that person is really refusing to accept me. And when a person refuses to accept me, he is refusing to accept the One (God) that sent me."

Satan Falls

¹⁷When the 72* men came back from their trip, they were very happy. They said, "Lord, even the demons* obeyed us when we used your name!" ¹⁸Jesus said to the men, "I saw Satan (the devil) falling like lightning from the sky. ¹⁹Listen! I gave you power to walk on snakes and scorpions.* I gave you more power than the Enemy (the devil) has. Nothing will hurt you. ²⁰Yes, the spirits obey you. And be happy. Why? Not because you have this power, but be happy because your names are written in heaven."

72 Some Greek copies of Luke say 70. Sodom A town where very bad people lived. God punished them by destroying their city. Chorazin, Bethsaida Towns by Lake Galilee where Jesus preached to the people. miracle(s) Amazing works done by God's power. Tyre and Sidon Towns where very bad people lived. sackcloth A rough cloth made from animal hair. People sometimes wore it to show sadness. Capernaum A town in Galilee where Jesus taught. demon(s) Demons are evil spirits from the devil. scorpions A scorpion is an insect with a poison sting.