10:1 After that, the Master appointed seventy-two others, and he sent them out two-by-two as forerunners to every city and place he intended to visit.

10:2 And he said to them, “The harvest is truly vast but the workers are few in number. So plead with the Master of the harvest, to urgently send workers out to his harvest.

10:3 Now, off you go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

10:4 “Don’t take a money pouch with you, nor an extra bag or pair of sandals. Don’t stop to greet people along the way.

10:5 When you enter a house, give it your blessing.

10:6 If it is a house of peace, your peace will be upon it; if not, take it back.

10:7 Stay only in one house to eat and drink what they offer, because the worker deserves their pay; do not go from house to house.

10:8 “If you enter a city and they welcome you, eat what they offer you

10:9 and heal the sick, and tell them that ‘the kingdom of God has come near to you’.

10:10 But if the city you enter does not welcome you, stand in the city square and proclaim,

10:11 ‘We hereby wipe the dust from your city off of our feet! But understand this: that the kingdom of God has come near to you’.

10:12 And I tell you, it will be more bearable on Judgment Day for Sodom than for that city!

10:13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the powerful things that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have sat down and covered themselves with sackcloth and ashes as a sign of remorse a long time ago.

10:14 Tyre and Sidon will fare better at the Judgment than you will!

10:15 And you, Capernaum… you will not be lifted to heaven, you will descend into Hades!

10:16 Those who listen to you, listen to me, and those who reject you, reject me. And those who reject me, reject the one who sent me.”

10:17 Then the seventy-two returned and happily reported, “Master, even the demons defer to us because of your name!”

10:18 And he replied, “I watched the Adversary fall like lightning from the sky.

10:19 So now I have given you the jurisdiction to trample serpents and scorpions, and over all the forces of the enemy, and not one of you will be harmed.

10:20 But don’t be so happy that the spirits defer to you; be happier that your names have been written down in the heavens.”

10:21 At that very moment Jesus was filled with happiness by the Holy Spirit, and he said, “I acknowledge you, my Father and Master of heaven and earth, because you concealed these things from the wise and educated, and instead you revealed them to the innocent. Yes, Father, this is what you were pleased to do.”

10:22 To his disciples he said, “Everything has been handed over to me from my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son decides to reveal him.”

10:23 And he added, “You are very privileged to see what you have seen!

10:24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see and hear what you’ve seen and heard.”

10:25 Suddenly a lawyer stood up to provoke him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

10:26 “What is written in the law?” he replied. “How do you understand it?”

10:27 And his answer was, “You must love the Master your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

10:28 “Correct,” Jesus replied. “If you do this, you will live.”

10:29 But he wanted to make himself look better, so he asked, “And exactly who is my neighbor?”

10:30 Accepting the challenge, Jesus said, “A certain person went down from Jerusalem into Jericho. But he was attacked by muggers, who stripped off his clothes, beat him up, and left him there half dead.

10:31 By coincidence a certain priest went down that same road, but he passed by on the other side.

10:32 Likewise, a Levite came to that same spot and saw him, but he too passed by on the other side.

10:33 “But when a Samaritan came along and saw him, he was moved with pity.

10:34 He went over to him and applied ointment and bandages to his wounds. Then he put him on his own animal and took him to an inn to be cared for.

10:35 As he left the next day he gave two days’ wages to the innkeeper and said to him, ‘Take care of him, and if you incur additional expenses, I will compensate you when I return.’

10:36 So which of these three do you suppose was being a neighbor to the one who was mugged?”

10:37 “The one who had pity on him,” the lawyer replied.And Jesus said, “Now go and do likewise!”

10:38 After they left, Jesus entered into a village where a certain woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.

10:39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Master’s feet and listened to what he was saying.

10:40 But Martha was distracted by all the meal preparations, so she said, “Master, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve all alone? Tell her to get busy and help me!”

10:41 “Martha, Martha,” the Master replied, “You’re distracted and frazzled about many things,

10:42 but only one thing really matters. Mary has chosen the good part, and it will not be taken from her.”