Jesus sends 72 disciples to preach
1Later Jesus chose 72 other disciples. He told them to go in pairs of 2 to all the towns and places where Jesus would go later. 2Jesus told the 72 disciples:
‘There is a big harvest of wheat that is ripe and ready to be cut off, but there are only a few workers who can help to do it. The ripe wheat is the people who belong to the Lord. You must pray to the Lord of the harvest and ask Him to send more workers to cut off his ripe wheat.
3Now go, but remember: I am sending you to the people in the world and you will be like sheep that go to dangerous wolves. 4Do not take money with you, or bags or sandals. And do not waste time and ask everyone on the road how they are. 5When you go into a house, you must say: “God gives his peace to this house.”
6If there is someone in that house who wants peace, then the peace of God will stay with him. But if there is no one in that house who wants peace, then God will not give peace to that house. 7You must stay with the people who want God's peace and you must eat and drink what they give you. You must remember: “When someone works, God will give him his reward.” Do not feel guilty if people are good to you, because remember, you work for the Lord. Do not go from one house to another house to get food.
8If you stay in a town and people say you are welcome, then eat what those people give you. 9You must heal the sick people and tell them that the time is near when everyone will know about God who is King. 10But if you come into a town and the people say you can not stay there, then you must go out into the streets and say: 11“We are going away from your town and we are cleaning the dust from our feet. This will be a sign to show that God is also going away from you. But you must know: The time is near when you will know about God who is King.” 12I tell you: When God judges everyone, it will be better for the people of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, than for the people of that town.’
The people of the towns who did not believe
13‘You, people of the town of Chorazin, you will suffer. You, people of Bethsaida, you will suffer too. If I had done the same miracles in the towns of Tyre and Sidon, those people would have turned their lives to God. They would have worn sack-cloth and put ash on their heads to show that they were sorry. They would have shown that they had turned to God and started to live like He wanted. 14On the day when God judges everyone, He will punish you more than He will punish the people of the towns of Tyre and Sidon. 15And you, people of the town of Capernaum, you think God will lift you up and take you to heaven. No, He will humiliate you and throw you down into hell.’
16Jesus also told his disciples: ‘When people listen to you, they are listening to Me. The people who turn their backs to you are turning their backs to Me. And the people who turn their backs to Me are turning their backs to God who sent Me.’
The 72 disciples come back
17The 72 disciples came back and they were very happy and thankful about everything that had happened. They said to Jesus: ‘Lord, even the demons listened to us when we used your name to chase_them_out of people.’
18Jesus said to them: ‘I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning comes from the sky. 19Remember, I told you that you can walk on snakes and scorpions and they will do nothing to you. And my enemy, Satan, will try to attack you, but he can do nothing to you. 20You must be happy and sing, but you must not be happy only because evil_spirits obey you. You must be happy because God has written your names in the book_of_life in heaven.’
God helps children to understand
21At that time the Holy_Spirit came into Jesus. He rejoiced and He said: ‘Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank You because You have helped children and poor people to understand your words and signs. But smart and clever people do not understand your words, because You have not helped them to understand. Yes, Father, You did this because You wanted to do it.’
22Jesus said: ‘My Father has given Me everything. No one really knows Me, the Son of God. Only the Father really knows Me. And no one really knows the Father. Only I, the Son of God, really know the Father. And who are the people who know the Father? I choose who may know the Father and only those people will know the Father, and no one else.’
23Then Jesus turned to his disciples and He told them: ‘You are lucky to see the things that you see now. 24I tell you this and it is sure: Many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see now, but they did not see it. They wanted to hear what you hear now, but they did not hear it.’
The most important law in the Old_Testament
25There was a teacher_of_the_Laws who came to Jesus. He wanted to test Jesus and he asked Him: ‘Teacher, what must I do to have eternal_life?’ 26Jesus asked him: ‘What did God say in his laws? What do you read in the laws of God?’
27The teacher_of_the_Laws said: ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with your whole life, and with your mind and with all your power. And you must love the people near you as you love yourself.’ 28Jesus said to him: ‘You have answered right. Go and do this and you will have eternal_life.’
29But the teacher_of_the_Laws wanted to show that he was a righteous man, so he asked Jesus: ‘Who are the people near me that I must love?’
The Good Samaritan
30Jesus answered him by telling him a parable. He said:
‘A man walked from the city of Jerusalem to Jericho. On that road there were bad men and robbers that attacked him. They took off his clothes and beat him and stole everything he had. Then they ran away from him and he lay on the ground. He was almost dead.
31There was a priest who walked on that same road. When the priest saw the man, he did not stop. He went to the other side of the road and he walked on. 32A Levite also came that way and he did the same. When he saw the man, he did not stop. He went to the other side of the road and continued walking.
33There was a Samaritan who also walked on that road. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him. 34He went to the man and helped him. He put olive oil and wine on the man's wounds and he put a cloth around him. The Samaritan put the man on his donkey and he took him to a guest house. There he took good care of him. 35The next day he took out 2 silver_coins and he gave them to the owner of the guest house. He told the owner: “You must take good care of this man and if this money is not enough, then I will give you more money when I come back again.” ’
36Jesus said to the teacher_of_the_Laws: ‘What do you think? Which one of these 3 people showed love to the man who was attacked by the robbers?’ 37The teacher_of_the_Laws said: ‘The man who felt sorry for him and helped him.’ Jesus said to the teacher_of_the_Laws: ‘Yes, go and do what the Samaritan did.’
Jesus visits Martha and Mary
38Jesus and his disciples went to a town. A woman invited Him into her home. Her name was Martha. 39Her sister's name was Mary. Mary sat down at the feet of the Lord and she listened to everything that He said. 40But Martha was very busy cooking food for all the people in the house. Then Martha came to Jesus and she said: ‘Lord, my sister is not helping me with the work. She is sitting and I have to do all the work alone. That is not right. Tell her to come and help me.’
41But the Lord said to her: ‘Martha, Martha, you worry and you get sad about so many things. 42But there is one thing that is more important than everything and Mary has chosen this one thing and no one can take it away from her.’
