1After this, the Lord chose seventy-two other followers and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place he planned to visit.
2He told them, "The harvest is huge, but there are only a few workers. So pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out more workers into his harvest.
3Go on your way. Look, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
4Don't carry any money, a traveler's bag, or sandals. And don't stop to greet anyone on the road.
5When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace be to this house.'
6If a person of peace lives there, your peace will stay with them; if not, it will return to you.
7Stay in that same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, because a worker deserves his pay. Don't move from house to house.
8Whenever you enter a town and the people welcome you, eat whatever they offer you.
9Heal the sick people there and tell them, 'God's Kingdom has come near to you.'
10But if you go into a town and they don't welcome you, go out into its streets and say,
11'We're even shaking off the dust from your town that clung to our feet as a warning to you. But know this for sure: God's Kingdom has come near.'
12I tell you, on the Day of Judgment, it will be more bearable for Sodom than for that town.
13How terrible it will be for you, Chorazin! How terrible it will be for you, Bethsaida! Because if the powerful miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have changed their ways a long time ago, showing their sorrow by wearing sackcloth and sitting in ashes.
14But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.
15And you, Capernaum, though you have been elevated to the skies, you will be brought down to the grave.
16Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.
17The seventy-two disciples returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!"
18He told them, "I saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.
19Look, I have given you authority to walk on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will be able to harm you.
20However, don't be happy because the spirits obey you, but be happy because your names are written in heaven."
21At that same time, Jesus was filled with joy by the Holy Spirit and said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and educated, and have revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, this is what pleased you.
22Then, turning to his disciples, he said, "My Father has given all things to me. 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."
23Then he turned to his disciples privately and said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
24For I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you see but didn't see them, and to hear the things you hear but didn't hear them."
25Just then, a certain expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. He asked, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
26Jesus said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you understand it?"
27He answered, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind'; and, 'love your neighbor as yourself.'"
28Jesus said to him, "You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live."
29But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30Jesus answered, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him, and left him half dead on the side of the road.
31It so happened that a priest was going down that same road. When he saw the injured man, he walked by on the other side.
32Similarly, a Levite came to the same place, saw him, and also walked by on the other side.
33Then a Samaritan man, who was traveling, came to where the injured man was. When he saw him, he felt deep pity.
34He went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, and took care of him.
35The next day, as he was leaving, he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. He said, ‘Please take care of him. If you spend more than this, I will pay you back when I return.’
36“Now, which of these three do you think acted like a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?”
37The expert in the law replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”
38As Jesus and his followers continued their journey, he entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
39She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to what he was saying.
40But Martha was busy with all the preparations for the meal. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the serving by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41Jesus answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things,
42but only one thing is truly important. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”