1 After this the Master appointed seventy-two others, and sent them on before him, two by two, to every town or place to which he intended to come.
2 And he said to them, "The harvest is abundant enough, but the reapers are few. So pray to the owner of the harvest to send reapers to gather it.
3 Now go. Here I send you out like lambs among wolves.
4 Carry no purse nor wallet nor shoes, and do not stop to exchange civilities with anyone on the way.
5 Whenever you go to stay at a house, first say, 'Peace to this household!'
6 If there is anyone there who loves peace, your blessing will rest upon him, but if there is not, it will come back to you.
7 Stay at the same house, eating and drinking what they offer you, for the workman deserves his pay. Do not change from one house to another.
8 Whenever you come to a town and they welcome you, eat what is offered you,
9 and cure the sick there, and say to them, 'The Kingdom of God is close upon you!'
10 But whenever you come to a town and they do not welcome you, go out into the open streets and say,
11 'The very dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off in protest. But understand this: the Kingdom of God is at hand!'
12 I tell you, on that Day Sodom will fare better than that town!
13 Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For if the wonders that have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes!
14 But Tyre and Sidon will fare better than you at the Judgment!
15 And you, Capernaum! Are you to be exalted to the skies? You will go down among the dead!
16 Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever disregards you disregards me, and whoever disregards me disregards him who sent me."
17 The seventy-two came back delighted, and said, "Master, when we use your name the very demons submit to us!"
18 He said to them, "I saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning!
19 Here I have given you the power to tread on snakes and scorpions, and to trample on all the power of the enemy. Nothing will hurt you at all.
20 But do not be glad that the spirits submit to you, but be glad that your names are enrolled in heaven."
21 At that moment he was inspired with joy, and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding all this from the learned and intelligent, and revealing it to children! Yes, I thank you, Father, for choosing to have it so!
22 Everything has been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is but the Father, nor who the Father is but the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
23 And he turned to his disciples when they were alone, and said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
24 For I tell you, many prophets and kings have wished to see what you see, and could not see it, and to hear what you hear, and could not hear it!"
25 Then an expert in the Law got up to test him and said, "Master, what must I do to make sure of eternal life?"
27 He answered, " 'You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, and your whole mind,' and 'your neighbor as you do yourself.' "
30 Jesus replied, "A man was on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers, and they stripped him and beat him and went off leaving him half dead.
31 Now a priest happened to be going that way, and when he saw him, he went by on the other side of the road.
32 And a Levite also came to the place, and when he saw him, he went by on the other side.
33 But a Samaritan who was traveling that way came upon him, and when he saw him he pitied him,
34 and he went up to him and dressed his wounds with oil and wine and bound them up. And he put him on his own mule and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
35 The next day he took out a dollar and gave it to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend I will refund to you on my way back.'
36 Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?"
38 As they continued their journey, he came to a certain village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him to her house.
39 She had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Master's feet, and listened to what he was saying.
40 But Martha was worried with all she had to do for them, and she came up and said, "Master, does it make no difference to you that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me."