About Jesus sending out 70 people

1Some time later the Lord Jesus chose some more people. He had decided to go to many towns, but first he chose 70 to go ahead to those towns two by two and then Jesus and his twelve disciples would go later.

2So Jesus spoke to them before they went away. “Listen,” he said. “Soon God will become ruler. Many people are ready to listen to God's word now. So when they hear they won't reject his word and they will obey him. But you who do God's work today are very few. So ask the Lord God to send many workers to tell everyone his word.

3“Listen,” Jesus added. “When a dingo finds a lamb, the little lamb can't fight because the dingo is much too good at fighting. But I am sending you all out today, and you will be like that little lamb. You will meet people who want to make trouble for you.”

4Then Jesus said, “Don't take any money or a bag for food or any shoes with you, but go as you are. If you see people on the road, don't stop and talk to them on the way but go straight on.

5“When two of you arrive in a town and go inside a house, first of all say these words to the people who live there. Say, ‘Peace be with you.’

6And if there is someone in the house who wants God to give him peace, then God will surely do that. But if the people in the house don't want God to give them peace, then he won't, and those words of yours will stay with you.

7Both of you stay in that house and eat their food and drink what they give you. Do that all the time because it is good when people give you food when you work for them. Don't move around from one house to another, but just stay where you are.”

8Then Jesus said, “When you go to a town, if the people there welcome you, eat the food they give you,

9and heal their diseases and say to them, ‘Today you will know that God will soon become ruler.’”

10Then Jesus said, “When you go to a town, if the people there don't want you, walk through their streets saying this as you go.

11Say to them, ‘We will wipe off the dust of your town that sticks to our feet, so that you will know that we are blaming you, because you have rejected God's word today. But you people in this place listen to this. Today you will know that God will soon become ruler!’

12“I tell you,” Jesus said, “God will blame those people on the last day. At that time he will decide whether people are good or bad. He will blame the wicked people of Sodom, and they will suffer very much, but he will blame the people who reject your word today much more, and they will suffer much more!”

About people who reject God's word

13Then Jesus said, “You people of Chorazin and Bethsaida, what will happen to you? God will make bad things happen to you. You have seen all the powerful things God has done in your towns today, but you haven't stopped doing wrong and you haven't obeyed God. “Long ago the people of Tyre and Sidon were wicked people. They were very bad. But they didn't see the powerful things that God has been doing today. If they had seen God's great and powerful works, they would have stopped doing wrong and they would have obeyed God. They would have quickly put on rough clothes made of goats' hair and sat down on the ground in ashes so that God would know they had stopped doing wrong and were obeying him.”

14Then Jesus said, “On the last day God will surely blame those people of Tyre and Sidon because they were wicked. But he will blame you people of Chorazin and Bethsaida much more because you have refused God's word today.

15“And you people of Capernaum, you think God will take you to heaven, don't you! But he won't! He will send you to hell for refusing him today!”

16Then Jesus said to the 70 people, “If anyone hears your words, it is like hearing my words. And if they reject you, it is like rejecting me too. And if those people reject me, then they are also rejecting the one who sent me here.” Then those people went away and they did the work that Jesus had given them to do.

About the 70 people coming back to Jesus

17After a while the 70 people all came back to Jesus. They were very happy, and they said to Jesus, “Lord, evil spirits came out of people. When we used your name they obeyed us.”

18Jesus said, “I was watching Satan, the ruler of the evil spirits. I saw him fall down from heaven, and he fell down quickly just like lightning when it flashes and comes down fast to the ground.

19“Listen!” Jesus said to them. “I have made you people strong so that you can rule over Satan and over all his evil spirits. If you tread on snakes they won't bite you, and if you tread on scorpions they won't sting you. Satan is very strong but I have made you stronger. So he can't hurt you.

20“You are rejoicing today because you are ruling over evil spirits. That is good, but you should rejoice all the more because you belong to God. Your names are written down in heaven.”

About Jesus rejoicing

21At that time God's Spirit made Jesus very happy. And he said to God, “Dear Father, you rule in heaven above and also here on earth. I thank you because you have shown these people that you are ruling today. You haven't told those who are wise but only these people. I am praising you because you are kind and that is what you have decided.”

22Then Jesus spoke to all the people and said, “My Father has given everything to me. Which of you people really knows me, his Son? You don't know. My Father is the only one who knows me. And which of you really knows my Father? You don't know. I am his Son and I know him. But if I want to show some of you, then you too will know my Father.”

23Then Jesus turned and went on speaking to his disciples without anyone else hearing him. He said, “God is very good to you, because you have seen with your own eyes the great and powerful things that I have done.

24Long ago prophets and kings wanted to see the powerful things that you are seeing today, and to hear the words you are hearing today. They wanted to see and hear these things, but they couldn't.”

The story about the good Samaritan

25Then one day while Jesus and some other people were sitting talking together, a teacher of Moses' law stood up to speak. He wanted to trick Jesus, so he asked him a question. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do so that my spirit won't die but live forever?”

26Jesus answered, “When you read the law of Moses, what does it tell you to do?”

27The man answered Jesus with Moses' words and said, “Moses said, ‘You should really love the Lord your God. When you get up and when you lie down, you should think about him all the time.’ And also he said, ‘You should love your neighbour just as you love yourself.’”

28Then Jesus said to him, “That's right. You have given me the right answer. Always do that, and then your spirit won't die; you will live forever.”

29The man still wanted to trick Jesus, and so he said, “Who is the neighbour I should love?”

30Then Jesus told him this story. A Jewish man was going from Jerusalem down to Jericho. As he went along the road some robbers found him. They beat him and grabbed his clothes and money and everything, and they left him lying on the ground nearly dead and went away.

31After a while a priest came along the same road. He saw him but he didn't help him. He just crossed the road and kept on going down the hill.

32After a while a man who worked in the temple came along. As he got near he looked at him but he left him there. He didn't help the man, he just crossed the road and kept on going.

33Later on another man came along the road. He was a Samaritan, and the Jewish and the Samaritan people hated each other. He found the man about to die, and when he saw him he had pity on him.

34He didn't leave him there but went straight over to him. He poured oil and wine on his wounds to make them feel better and then he bandaged them. Then he put him on his donkey and took him away. They kept on going until they arrived at an inn, a house where anyone could spend the night. And the Samaritan looked after the dying man there for one night.

35In the morning he gave the owner of the inn some money so that he could look after the man. He said, “Look after this man for me. I am going, but here is some money. If you need any more, I will give it to you when I come back this way.” Then he went away.

36Jesus told this story to the teacher of Moses' law and then he said to him, “Now, which one of those three helped the man the robbers had beaten the way you should help your neighbour?”

37“The man who had pity on the dying man,” he answered. Then Jesus said to him, “You go, then, and do the same.”

About Mary and Martha

38Later on Jesus and his disciples arrived at a village called Bethany. A woman called Martha lived there with her family. Jesus and his disciples went to her house and Martha brought them inside to eat some food and have a drink. They sat down to talk, and Martha cooked some food for them.

39Martha's younger sister was called Mary. She sat down near Jesus and listened to him talking and stayed sitting there.

40But Martha was doing a lot of work all on her own. She was so busy that she didn't stop. She was getting upset about her work and she went to Jesus and said to him, “Lord, I am busy because my sister isn't helping me. It's not good, is it, for me to work by myself? So tell her to help me.”

41Jesus said to her, “Poor Martha, you really are worried about many things, about food and everything.

42But this one good thing you need: you should listen to me. Your sister has been sitting listening, and that is good. It is what she wants and she has chosen well, so I won't make her go. Let her stay sitting here listening to me.”