After this the Lord appointed seventy[-two] others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. 2 He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. 3 Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. 4 Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. 5 Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ 6 If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. 8 Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, 9 cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ 10 Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, 11 ‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.’ Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand. 12 I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.
Jesus sent out seventy-two disciples who were fit for the Kingdom of God in pairs ahead of him to every town he intended to visit. They were to prepare the towns for Jesus and his Gospel. He told them what they should take with them, where they should stay, how they should conduct themselves, and what they should expect (vv. 3-8). The mission of the seventy-two was similar to the mission of the Twelve (Lk. 9:1-6). This time, however, the disciples were going into hostile territory, so Jesus told them, “Greet no one along the way (v. 4).” They would be delivering the urgent message that “The kingdom of God is at hand (Mk. 1:15),” so they could have been sent put in pairs because the Law required two or more witnesses to verify the truth of someone’s testimony (Deut. 19:15).
Sending them as “Lambs among wolves (v. 3),” may have been Jesus’ way of telling them he wanted them to be peaceful in their dealings with others as he ushered in a time of peace when “The wolf shall be a guest of the lamb (Is. 11:6).” Luke’s message had an emphasis on peace and reconciliation with God (v. 6). The reign of God was demonstrated by Jesus’ preaching and healing the sick. The disciples would be met with hostility as they delivered the message and those who did not accept it would be liable to judgment.
Almighty God, your kingdom has not yet come in its fullness, and we rely on your grace to survive in this alien world. The harvest is abundant so teach us your ways and send us out so we may proclaim your words of healing and bring peace to all who hear and believe. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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