seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Luke 10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.
16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
22 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
As I recall, Jesus sent out the twelve in the last chapter. In this chapter, He sent out about six times that amount. My version says 72 but there is a footnote that says there were only 70 in some manuscripts.70 Is divisible by 2. 72 is also divisible by 2. Jesus sent them out two by two. So, either there were 35 couples or there were 36 couples.
Now, I used to get upset when people started pointing out discrepancies between the Gospels.
Now I know that these are synoptic versions of what happened. Matthew, the tax collector, Mark, the evangelist, and Luke, the doctor, all interviewed the people who were there to get their Report [Gospel] together. So, Luke is the only one so far who has mentioned the 70 or the 72. It's like this is one of those stories that just got left in the pages. It wasn't taught in any of the Sunday Schools I ever attended. I bet it was because of the discrepancy... right? I've been in the church my whole life, and I'm 72 years old, and I've never been taught there were either 70 or 72 evangelists sent to get things ready! That's why there are discrepancies. Humans don't remember things with crystal clarity. Humans don't always have all the facts either.
Verse 21 really caught my eye this morning. Jesus used everyday people, not Presidents, Kings, or Noblemen to spread the word. Presidents, Kings, or Noblemen would have probably wanted to make a profit off of Jesus and the Message. On the other hand, they might have been afraid of the message, or embarrassed by it [as Herod was]. Jesus was drawing crowds. Crowds who are gathered to hear someone else speak, can make a President, King, or Nobleman shake with fear over being dethroned. Jesus wasn't there to dethrone them, but they didn't know that. Rome didn't like big crowds. The crowds that Jesus drew made them antsy.
Look at verse 18. Jesus gave them special powers so they couldn't be overcome. He warned them not to speak to others along the road... but if a robber came upon them [or a Pharisee, Sadducee, or teacher of the law, or Herod's guys] they could squash the robber like a bug.
Back in chapter nine, He warned the original 12 not to carry any money or other provisions. This time He warned them not to speak to people along the road. Some of the commentaries say He didn't want them to be distracted. Considering the fact verse 18 says He gave them protection; distraction would probably be the true cause. Then again, if they started healing people [the other power He gave them] along the road, they may never get where they were heading because of the crowds. That was probably why Jesus sent them ahead, He couldn't/wouldn't get a break from the crowds.
So, whether the number was 70 or 72 depends on which version Luke uncovered when he was researching the evangelistic plan. I'm glad Luke was brave enough to add this story.
Jesus gave them some of His powers. His power was transferable. He felt it go out of Him when the woman touched His robe and was healed, and now He's giving it to the 70 or 72 followers He sent out to set up the trail ahead of Him.
On the sixth day God created Man.
There were twelve tribes of God's "Chosen" people.
Sending out 72= 6X12
