Jesus Sent Out Seventy
Luke 10:1-15 NLTse The Lord now chose seventy other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. (2) These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. (3) Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. (4) Don’t take any money with you, nor a traveler’s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don’t stop to greet anyone on the road. (5) “Whenever you enter someone’s home, first say, ‘May God’s peace be on this house.’ (6) If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you. (7) Don’t move around from home to home. Stay in one place, eating and drinking what they provide. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay. (8) “If you enter a town and it welcomes you, eat whatever is set before you. (9) Heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’ (10) But if a town refuses to welcome you, go out into its streets and say, (11) ‘We wipe even the dust of your town from our feet to show that we have abandoned you to your fate. And know this–the Kingdom of God is near!’ (12) I assure you, even wicked Sodom will be better off than such a town on judgment day. (13) “What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. (14) Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you. (15) And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead.”
I always like to begin looking at a chapter by comparing the introduction to the summation. Here we see Jesus sending out seventy more disciples to harvest, which is the first key word we see. Jesus gave explicit instructions to place a blessing on a home or wipe the dust from their feet if the town does not welcome them. Then Jesus compared a town that rejected them to Sodom. We’ll get into more detail when we examine the introduction.
The summation told a story about two woman Jesus visited. When we compare it to the introduction, we can see both women accepted Jesus. They invited Him into their home. But they had different ways of accepting Jesus. Martha wanted to tend to Jesus’ needs in the form of dinner. Mary wanted to honor Jesus by listening to Him and learning.
We see a form of contrasts in the introduction and summation. Homes that accepted those disciples and towns that rejected them. Then we see different ways of accepting Jesus. Those detailed provided clues telling us how to study and what details need extra attention.
Examine chapters by first comparing the introduction to the summation. This will give you clues by telling you want to look for within that chapter. If they are contrasts, the chapter will have contrasting stories and characters teaching the same lesson. If the introduction contains contrasts, the summation will most likely contain a contract. When you see this, stories within the chapter will also contain contrasts. The literal form of the introduction and summation will show what types of details to pay special attention to. 
Compare introductions from a series of chapters in numeric sequence, such as chapter 9 and 10. If chapters share the same or similar introductions, it is a repeat of the same lesson. The inspired author is drawing attention to the same subject because additional information is being provided. The series of stories in each connecting chapter are arranged to add details and emphasis to the same lesson.
The introduction to chapter 10 is similar to chapter 9, but there are some differences we need to pay attention to. In chapter 9, Jesus sent out the twelve apostates with authority to cast out demons and heal the sick. Chapter 10 told us, Jesus sent out seventy disciples to”heal the sick, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God is near you now.’” Why not authority to cast out demons? Did that have something with the disciple’s failure to cast that demon of of the young boy?
Jesus also placed an emphasis on the harvest and workers in the field when He sent out those seventy disciples. Jesus is back tracking on this lesson and this time putting more attention on the lessons they should have learned the first time. In addition to repeating the same lessons, Jesus is adding more details. Jesus is drawing them back to the parable of the farmer, his seeds, and different types of soil. This time, Jesus is adding details to show how the environment effects the way people accept the News. Jesus also identified the message as news about God’s Kingdom. Jesus also added effects of receiving that news – the blessing of peace.
We have to take a look at those numbers. Twelve disciples are a reference to the twelve tribes of Jacob or Israel. This showed how the news about God’s Kingdom will extend beyond the two tribes of Judah who remained under the rule of David’s line.
The number seventy also has connections to the Old Testament. The LORD instructed Moses: “Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. All of you must worship from a distance. Only Moses is allowed to come near to the LORD. The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.” (Exodus 24:1-2 NLTse). Moses had seventy elders who came to him on the mountain where God gave them the ten commandments.
Later Moses was told to gather seventy elders. God gave them the spirit of prophecy. The LORD said to Moses, “Gather before me seventy men who are recognized as elders and leaders of Israel. Bring them to the Tabernacle to stand there with you. I will come down and talk to you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone. And the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Then he gave the seventy elders the same Spirit that was upon Moses. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But this never happened again. (Numbers 11:16-17, 25 NLTse).
Twelve is related to leadership while seventy is related to helping leaders in a spiritual manner. We can see that by the way Jesus emphasized the harvest and lack of workers. Since there was a lack of workers, why did Jesus send them out in pairs? This effectively cut the places they could visit in half during the allotted time. This drew the first four disciples back to the day Jesus met them and showed them how they had to work together. In that lesson, Jesus used the symbol of fish, compared to harvesting a field when He sent out those seventy other disciples.
Based on James’ and and John’s reaction to those people casting out demons and the Samaritan village, they needed a reminder of how they’re supposed to work together. Not just the two brothers, but with other disciples. That’s why the numbers and the way they are used as symbols showed an expansion.
We saw an introduction to a new subject and new way Jesus is teaching that subject. The lessons moved from basic lessons to subjects of as personal nature involving a personal choice. We see part of that lesson in the summation in this chapter. We also see a high degree of personal involvement in the introduction.
Jesus called for more workers, but still sent out those seventy disciples in pairs of two. We see why by jumping to the summation. Martha and Mary had different ways of serving. Martha was the type to open her home, cook, take care of people, and other gifts we call hospitality. Because we see Martha asking Mary to help, Mary’s gift is seen in different areas, but was still a helper in the area of hospitality. Mary’s strength was in other gifts. People tend to drift to others with the same interests and gifts. Mary was more gifted in the listening, learning, and verbal areas.
Sending those seventy disciples out in pairs offered a balance. Some were strong in one area, their partner showed strengths in other areas. Working as a team allows people to remember more. What one person overlooked may be details their partner looked at as vital.
One of the most important aspects of working as a team is an extra set of ears, and an second heart listening to God’s Spirit. This allows God’s Spirit to give one person some details, their partner didn’t see. God’s Spirit uses this method to ensure one or the other cannot take credit for reaching or healing people. All the praise goes to God and no one denies the power of God’s Spirit.
Jesus sent them ahead and told them to accept the hospitality offered. Jesus also told them to bless the homes they stayed in. Going ahead took on two meanings. The first was to prepare homes to receive Jesus on His way to Jerusalem for the final part of His ministry. But Jesus didn’t visit and stay in thirty five or more homes on His final trip to Jerusalem. Those disciples were setting up home bases for all of Jesus’ disciples to operate from after Jesus rose from that tomb, taught them, and went to Heaven to join His Father.
Comparing towns and villages to Sodom pointed out the urgency of the message. Jesus repeated this message because it was important. “The Kingdom of God is near you now.” It was a short, direct message. Now we can see one of the roles angels played at the beginning of the Gospels. Those angels had short messages. They delivered their message exactly the way they were told to deliver it. After all, it was a message directly from God’s throne. Those angels didn’t add or subtract from the message they were given to deliver.