Luke 10:1

"After this" shows Luke’s basic chronological progression, but he deviated from it often, as did the other Gospel writers. Luke’s use of "Lord" here stresses His authority, an important emphasis in a section dealing with Jesus’ directions to His followers.

The number of the messengers is a problem. Both 70 (NASB, AV, RSV) and 72 (NIV, NEB, JB) have good textual support. Commentators usually favor one or the other because of why they believe Jesus may have selected 70 or 72 since the textual evidence is so equal. Those who favor 70 usually do so because they believe Jesus was following an Old Testament precedent. There were 70 descendants of Jacob who went to Egypt with him (Exodus 1:1-5). There were also 70 elders in Israel (Exodus 24:1; Numbers 11:16-17; Numbers 11:24-25) and in the Sanhedrin, and people in Jesus’ day viewed the world as having 70 nations in it (Genesis 10). [Note: Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, s.v. "hepta," by K. H. Rengstorf, 2:634-35.] Some scholars believe that one or more of these factors influenced Jesus. Others who favor 72 think that the table of nations in the Septuagint version of Genesis 10 that lists 72 nations influenced Jesus. [Note: E.g., Marshall, The Gospel . . ., p. 415; and Morris, p. 181.] Another view is that the 72 translators of the Septuagint influenced Him. [Note: S. Jellicoe, "St Luke and the Seventy-two," New Testament Studies 6 (1960):319-21; Tannehill, 1:233.] I prefer 70 mainly because I think it likely that Jesus was prefiguring a mission to the whole world here. However this problem has no significant bearing on the meaning of the rest of the story.

The scope of this mission was broader than the mission of the Twelve. The Seventy were to go to all the towns Jesus planned to visit, apparently not just Jewish towns but also those in the Samaritan and Gentile areas of Palestine. Evidently these disciples were to do what John the Baptist had done through his verbal witness, namely, prepare the people for the coming and preaching of Messiah (cf. Luke 7:27). Their task was not just to arrange accommodations for Jesus, as had been the task of the messengers in the preceding pericope (cf. Luke 9:52). Sending messengers two by two was a common practice (cf. Luke 7:18-19; Mark 6:7; Acts 13:2; Acts 15:27; Acts 15:39-40; Acts 17:14; Acts 19:22). It assured companionship, protection, and the double witness that the Jews required (Deuteronomy 17:6; Deuteronomy 19:15). [Note: J. Jeremias, New Testament Theology, p. 235.]