Section 10:1–24
Jesus sent out seventy-two disciples
In Section 9:1–6 Jesus sent out the twelve apostles to preach and to heal. Here in Section 10:1–24 he sent out a larger group of disciples to different towns. Jesus told this larger group of disciples to visit many towns. They would visit the towns to find out which people and towns would receive Jesus and which would not receive him. Jesus ended his instructions to these disciples by telling them that God would punish the towns where the people did not welcome him.
Notice that in Luke 10:1 there is a textual issue concerning the number of disciples Jesus sent. You should make a decision about this textual issue before you decide on the heading for this section.
Another possible heading for this section is:
Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples to preach and to heal people
Luke is the only gospel writer who wrote about this event. However, there are parallel passages for some of the verses in this section in Matthew 9:37–38, 10:7–16, and 11:21–23.
Paragraph 10:1–4
10:1–2
In 10:1 Jesus chose seventy-two of his disciples to go ahead of him to the places where he planned to go. In 10:2–16 Luke quoted the specific instructions that Jesus gave the disciples.
Your translation should not imply that the disciples left before Jesus gave them these instructions. In some languages, you may need to make some information explicit. For example:
1…the Lord chose seventy-two other disciples/followers to go ahead of him…. 2⌊Before they left,⌋ he told them…
10:1a
After this: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as After this is literally “After these things.” It is a general expression that refers to some time after the events Luke had just recorded. Another way to translate this phrase is:
Later (Contemporary English Version)
the Lord: In this context the Lord is a title for Jesus. Some other ways to translate this title are:
the Master
-or-
the Chief
In some languages it may be necessary to make clear that the word Lord here refers to Jesus. For example:
the Lord Jesus
-or-
Jesus, the Master
In other languages it may be necessary to indicate whose Lord is referred to. If that is true in your language, it is probably good in this context to use an inclusive form like “our.” For example:
our(incl) Lord
The title “the Lord” occurs in a similar context in 7:13a. See Lord, Context 2, in the Glossary.
appointed seventy-two others: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as appointed means to select or commission people to do a particular task. The word others indicates that the people whom Jesus appointed did not include the twelve disciples whom he had commissioned in 9:1–6. Jesus probably chose the others from among the large group who regularly followed him. For example:
chose seventy-two other followers (Contemporary English Version)
seventy-two: There is a textual issue here:
(1) Some Greek manuscripts have seventy-two.
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)
(2) Other Greek manuscripts have seventy.
(Revised Standard Version, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, God’s Word)
It is recommended that you follow option (1). However, there is strong support for both options. If a major language version in your area follows option (2), you may follow that option. Whichever option you choose, you may want to give the other option in a footnote.
10:1b–c
and sent them…ahead of Him: The phrase sent them here means “told them to go.” See the note in 10:2a for more information. Notice also that Luke never stated explicitly that they went. He only mentioned that they returned (10:17). See the note on 10:17a for a way to make the order of events clear.
two by two…to every town and place: The phrase two by two means “in groups of twos.” The seventy-two disciples traveled in pairs. Each pair of two disciples went to a different town or place where Jesus planned to go.
In some languages it may be more natural to put this phrase in a separate sentence. For example:
He told them to travel in pairs and go to every town and place
every town and place: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as every town and place refers to all the inhabited places in the area, both large and small. Since towns are themselves “places,” the Contemporary English Version has translated this as:
every town and village
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