Luke 10 – The Seventy Sent and the Power of Compassion
Luke 10 highlights the expansion of Christ’s mission through His followers. He sends them out with power and purpose, challenges legalism with a parable, and reminds us that the greatest thing we can do is love God—and our neighbor.
Laborers, Love, and Listening to Jesus
This chapter calls us into the harvest, onto the road of mercy, and into the quiet of Christ’s presence. It begins with movement and ends with stillness—all under the authority of the One who sends and saves.
✔ Jesus sends seventy disciples to preach and heal.
✔ He declares Satan’s defeat.
✔ He teaches the parable of the Good Samaritan.
✔ He affirms the first and greatest commandments.
✔ Mary chooses to sit and listen to Jesus.
📖 Luke 10:2 – “Therefore 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.”
🔎 The work is vast, but the willing are few. Jesus doesn’t say organize—He says pray. Prayer precedes power in the kingdom.
Luke Chapter 10 - Overview
Luke 10:1–16 – Sent to Prepare the Way
📖 Luke 10:1 – “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 come.”
🔎 The mission is not random—it’s relational. They go where He will follow. We prepare the way for Jesus to be revealed. These seventy disciples are not blazing their own path—they’re forerunners for Christ. Their presence is prophetic: announcing the arrival of the King. It echoes John the Baptist’s role and foreshadows our calling as His ambassadors. Wherever we go in His name, we invite others to encounter Him. Their steps are sacred—paving the road for redemption to touch hearts before Jesus even arrives.
📖 Luke 10:3 – “Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.”
🔎 The work is dangerous—but not hopeless. The power doesn’t come from being fierce, but faithful. Christ sends with warning and assurance.
📖 Luke 10:9 – “And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”
🔎 Their message is simple but powerful—healing and hope. The kingdom touches lives through mercy and proclamation.
📖 Luke 10:16 – “He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me…”
🔎 To reject the messenger is to reject the Master. Kingdom work carries the weight of heaven’s authority.
Luke 10:17–24 – Satan’s Fall and Heaven’s Joy
📖 Luke 10:18–19 – “And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions…”
🔎 The authority they carry isn’t just over sickness—but over spiritual forces. Satan’s downfall is visible to Christ—and foretells the ultimate victory.
📖 Luke 10:20 – “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”
🔎 Power is not the pinnacle—relationship is. Identity in heaven is greater than authority on earth. What matters most is that we belong.
📖 Luke 10:21 – “I thank thee, O Father… that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes…”
🔎 Spiritual truth is not unlocked by intellect, but by humility. God reveals His kingdom to those willing to receive—not those eager to debate.
Luke 10:25–37 – The Good Samaritan
📖 Luke 10:25–26 – “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?”
🔎 The question is legal—but Jesus turns it personal. Knowledge of the law is not the same as obedience from the heart.
📖 Luke 10:27–28 – “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart… and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.”
🔎 True religion is relational—loving God fully and others sincerely. Life is not found in rule-keeping, but in heart-giving.
📖 Luke 10:29 – “But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?”
🔎 The lawyer seeks a loophole. Jesus offers a story that shatters boundaries.
📖 Luke 10:33–34 – “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him… and bound up his wounds…”
🔎 Compassion breaks down walls. The hero of the story is a cultural outsider—one the audience would least expect. Mercy, not race or religion, defines the neighbor.
📖 Luke 10:36–37 – “Which now of these three… was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”
🔎 Love requires action. Jesus doesn’t just redefine neighbor—He redefines righteousness. Mercy is the path to eternal life.
Luke 10:38–42 – Martha and Mary
📖 Luke 10:39 – “And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.”
🔎 Mary chooses the posture of a disciple. Listening comes before serving. Presence before productivity.
📖 Luke 10:41–42 – “And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part…”
🔎 Busyness is not always blessed. Martha was doing good—but Mary chose better. Sitting with Jesus is the foundation for everything else.
Luke Chapter 10 - Deeper Study
Overview: Sent, Tested, and Taught
🔹 Timeframe: During Jesus’ journey through Judean and Galilean regions.
🔹 Setting: Villages, homes, and along the road.
🔹 Theme: Evangelism, humility, mercy, and devotion.
🔹 Connection to Future Events: Lays groundwork for the Great Commission and prepares disciples for leadership after Christ’s ascension.
Key Takeaways
🔑 The harvest is ready—pray and go.
🔑 True joy is found in being known by God.
🔑 Love proves itself through mercy, not mere talk.
🔑 Kingdom truth is revealed to the humble.
🔑 Sitting with Jesus is greater than serving without Him.
Prophetic Patterns & Dual Fulfillment
🔮 Satan’s fall echoes Isaiah 14:12–15.
🔮 The Samaritan’s compassion previews Christ’s mission to the outcast (Isaiah 61:1).
🔮 Jesus affirms Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 as central.
🔮 The seventy mirror Moses’ seventy elders (Numbers 11:16–17).
Historical & Cultural Context
📜 Samaritans and Jews held deep animosity—Jesus’ use of a Samaritan was radical.
📜 Rabbis often debated definitions of “neighbor.”
📜 Women rarely sat at a rabbi’s feet—Mary’s posture was bold and countercultural.
📜 Seventy disciples may reflect a global mission—70 nations symbolically from Genesis 10.
💡 Final Reflection: Will You Go—and Will You Listen?
Luke 10 calls us into mission—and into intimacy. We are invited to walk the road with compassion and to sit at Jesus’ feet with devotion.
📌 Have you answered the call to the harvest—or are you still waiting to be sent?
📌 Are you moved by compassion—or distracted by categories?
📌 Will you serve from striving—or from stillness in His presence?
📖 Luke 10:42 – “But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
🔥 May we go when He sends—and stay when He speaks.
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
Luk 10:1 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 come.
Luk 10:2 Therefore 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.
Luk 10:3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
Luk 10:4 Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.
Luk 10:5 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
Luk 10:6 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.
Luk 10:7 And 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.
Luk 10:8 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:
Luk 10:9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
Luk 10:10 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,
Luk 10:11 Even 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.
Luk 10:12 But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.
Woe to Unrepentant Cities
Luk 10:13 Woe 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.
Luk 10:14 But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.
Luk 10:15 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.
Luk 10:16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
The Return of the Seventy-Two
Luk 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
Luk 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Luk 10:19 Behold, 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.
Luk 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Jesus Rejoices in the Father’s Will
Luk 10:21 In 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.
Luk 10:22 All 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.
Luk 10:23 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:
Luk 10:24 For 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.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Luk 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 10:26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
Luk 10:27 And 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.
Luk 10:28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
Luk 10:29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
Luk 10:30 And 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.
Luk 10:31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
Luk 10:34 And 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.
Luk 10:35 And 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.
Luk 10:36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
Luk 10:37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Martha and Mary
Luk 10:38 Now 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.
Luk 10:39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
Luk 10:40 But 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.
Luk 10:41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
Luk 10:42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Date Written
Around 60-62 AD
Written By
Luke the physician
Language
Greek
Verses
42