The big picture
Before reaching the next towns, the teacher Jesus sends seventy followers ahead in pairs. They bring peace, healing, and news that God's kingdom is near. Their joyful return leads him to speak of a deeper joy than success over evil spirits. A law expert then asks about lasting life and tries to limit who counts as a neighbour. Jesus answers with costly roadside mercy. At a village home, he also defends the place of a woman listening to his teaching amid the pressures of serving.
In this chapter
- Seventy Go Ahead with Peace Luke 10:1-12
Jesus appoints seventy more followers and sends them two by two to places he intends to visit.
- Joy Rests in Belonging to God Luke 10:13-24
Jesus warns Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, towns that witnessed his deeds, about their lack of repentance.
- The Law Expert Names the Right Answer Luke 10:25-28
A lawyer, an expert in God's law, tests Jesus by asking what he must do to inherit eternal life.
- A Samaritan Becomes the Neighbour Luke 10:29-37
Wanting to defend himself, the lawyer asks who counts as his neighbour.
- Mary’s Listening Is Not Taken Away Luke 10:38-42
Martha welcomes Jesus into her home in a village.
Central truth
Jesus sends messengers in peace and shows that receiving God's word leads to mercy that crosses familiar boundaries.

Scripture beside the summary
Luke · King James Version · 42Luke 10:1-12
Seventy Go Ahead with Peace
Jesus appoints seventy more followers and sends them two by two to places he intends to visit. The harvest is large, he says, but workers are few. They must pray for more workers and go as vulnerable lambs among wolves. Travel must stay urgent and lightly supplied. They should offer peace, accept a host's food, and remain rather than seek better quarters. They will heal and announce God's kingdom nearby. Rejection brings a public wiping away of dust and a warning of judgement worse than Sodom's, an ancient city destroyed for grave evil. Acceptance or refusal does not change the fact that the kingdom has drawn near.

In everyday life
A literacy outreach pair walks to a remote hamlet carrying a short list of visits rather than supplies for every comfort. They accept the first host's meal and begin the agreed work instead of comparing lodgings. Their task requires trust and focus. Jesus' messengers announce God's kingdom and its judgement, not a community reading service.
Notice
Luke 10:7 The messengers are told to stay with one host. The instruction joins their right to support with a refusal to use hospitality for better personal treatment.
Luke 10:1-12
King James Version1After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
2Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
3Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
4Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.
5And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
6And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.
7And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
8And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:
9And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
10But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,
11Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
12But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.
Luke 10:13-24
Joy Rests in Belonging to God
Jesus warns Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, towns that witnessed his deeds, about their lack of repentance. Tyre and Sidon, foreign coastal cities, would have responded more readily. Receiving his messengers means receiving him and the Father. The seventy return amazed that devils obey his name. Jesus describes Satan, God's enemy, falling and promises authority over the enemy. Yet their deeper joy should be their names recorded in heaven. He thanks the Father for revealing truth to the childlike rather than the self-assured wise. Father and Son uniquely know each other, and the Son reveals the Father. The followers see what earlier prophets and kings longed to see.
In everyday life
A trainee athlete returns from a first win and keeps counting the points. Her foster mother listens, then reminds her that her place at home does not rise or fall with a score. Belonging is a deeper ground for joy than success. Jesus speaks of names written in heaven and knowledge of the Father, not family reassurance alone.
Notice
Luke 10:20 Jesus redirects joy without denying the spirits' submission. Success in the task is real, but belonging to God gives the followers a firmer reason to rejoice.
Luke 10:13-24
King James Version13Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
14But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.
15And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.
16He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
17And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
18And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
19Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
21In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
22All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
23And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:
24For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Luke 10:25-28
The Law Expert Names the Right Answer
A lawyer, an expert in God's law, tests Jesus by asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus sends the question back to what the man reads in the law. He answers with love for God involving heart, soul, strength, and mind, joined to love for his neighbour as himself. Jesus says the answer is correct and tells him to live by it. The exchange does not end with winning a debate over wording. The man's knowledge must become conduct. He has named the demand, and Jesus now places that demand back in his own hands.

In everyday life
A first-aid examiner asks a trainee what matters when someone collapses. He gives the correct sequence from memory, and she points to the practice dummy waiting on the floor. The answer must become action to meet the need. Jesus calls for whole-person love before God, not merely correct execution of a learned skill.
Notice
Luke 10:28 The man's reading receives Jesus' approval rather than a different rule. The unresolved issue is whether he will do the love he already knows to name.
Luke 10:25-28
King James Version25And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
Luke 10:29-37
A Samaritan Becomes the Neighbour
Wanting to defend himself, the lawyer asks who counts as his neighbour. Jesus describes a traveller attacked between Jerusalem, the temple city, and Jericho, a lower-lying town. Robbers leave him stripped and half dead. A priest and a Levite, a temple worker, pass without helping. A Samaritan, from a people viewed with hostility by many Jews, stops in compassion. He treats the wounds, carries the man to an inn, and pays for continuing care. Jesus asks which passerby became a neighbour. The lawyer identifies the merciful one. Jesus tells him to act likewise. The question shifts from limiting the circle to giving the help a wounded person needs.
In everyday life
A motorcyclist stops beside an injured traveller whom other traffic has passed. She calls for help, stays until it comes, and leaves contact details for the hospital even after hearing he belongs to a group that dislikes hers. Mercy crosses an unwanted boundary. Jesus makes a rejected Samaritan the model of neighbour-love within a religious dispute.
Notice
Luke 10:35 The Samaritan arranges care after his departure and accepts further cost. His mercy is sustained help, not only a moment of sympathy at the roadside.
Luke 10:29-37
King James Version29But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Luke 10:38-42
Mary’s Listening Is Not Taken Away
Martha welcomes Jesus into her home in a village. Her sister Mary sits near him and listens to his word. Martha is weighed down by much serving and asks Jesus to tell Mary to help. Jesus answers her by name and recognises her worry over many things. He says one thing is needed and that Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away. The meal's practical work is real, but it has become a source of distraction and resentment. Jesus protects Mary's place as a learner rather than allowing the demands of hosting to remove her from his teaching.

In everyday life
The family host keeps arranging plates while her sister listens to a visiting elder share memories. She asks the elder to send the listener back to the kitchen, but he asks her to sit too before the visit is over. Preparation has begun to crowd out the visit's purpose. Mary receives Jesus' word, not only treasured family memories.
Notice
Luke 10:42 Jesus refuses to remove Mary's chosen place of listening. Her sister's pressure does not make her attention to his teaching an improper use of time.
Luke 10:38-42
King James Version38Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
40But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Luke 10:1 begins with “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would…”
Where the chapter turns
Luke 10:25 forms a natural hinge: “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
The final note
Luke 10:42 leaves the reader with “But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words certain, house, Jesus, Lord, city, Father help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- scrip
- A traveller’s bag for carrying food or other provisions.
- cumbered
- Distracted and weighed down by many tasks or demands.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.



