1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.

4 Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.

5 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.

6 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.

7 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.

8 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:

9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

10 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,

11 Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

12 But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.

13 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

14 But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.

15 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.

16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.

The first thing to notice in this passage is the number that Jesus chooses to send out. 70 wasn't simply an arbitrary number. Similar to how the twelve apostles that Christ chose reflects the twelve princes of the tribes of Israel, in a similar manner, the seventy that Christ chose reflect the seventy elders that Moses was instructed to choose to support him during his ministry (Matthew Henry Commentary). From this, we can see that Christ's church was actually following a pattern that had been established a long time ago. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His church will also be established in the same manner.

As a side note, this adds to the validity of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Church of Christ re-established on the earth today. It follows the same pattern that has been followed in scripture, with the calling of twelve apostles, as well as the seventy. The role of both in the church is the same as it was in the past. Their role is to spread the gospel throughout the earth, going where Christ himself cannot to be His representative and his messenger.

Another note was that Christ's church was a church of missionary work. Christ didn't wait for others to come to him. He sent out messengers to prepare the way, to actively invite people to come unto him. The restored Church does the same thing, sending out messengers two and two to preach his gospel and invite them to enter into the waters of baptism. These messengers are more commonly known as missionaries.

17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

In this passage, the seventy return and report the success that they experienced. They tell of the many miracles that they performed in Christ's name, including the casting out of devils. Christ confirms this, telling them that he "beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." This pericope has an interesting parallel found in Revelations when describing the war in heaven (Jesus the Christ, chapter 26). In Revelations 12:7-11, the archangel Michael and those that he leads fight against the dragon, or "that old serpent", who they cast out of heaven, described in Revelations 9:1 as "fall[ing] from heaven." Another important parallel that can be drawn is that the seventy had power over the devils through Christ's name, similar to how the armies of Michael overcame the serpent by the blood of the Lamb, who is Christ.

Satan has power. Those that follow him can fight, and they can fight well. Satan himself caused a third of the heavens to fall with him in the premortal life, and, he continues to fight viciously for the souls that came down to earth. Many fall before him because they try to rely upon their own merits. But, as demonstrated both in the premortal life and this situation, those that will overcome are those that rely upon the Savior. It is only by the Savior that we can overcome the forces of Satan. It is only by calling upon his name that we can be free from the chains of Hell. It is only by his power that we have the power "to tread on serpents," especially "that old serpent," which is the Devil.

After explaining to the seventy the power which they hold, Christ gives them a warning: they shouldn't be rejoicing in the new authority that they have; they should simply be rejoicing that they will receive recompense for their efforts. From this, we can gather that Christ doesn't want any of his disciples to boast of their own "position" in Christ's kingdom. He wants them to understand that it's not a competition. Everyone has the opportunity to serve where they are needed most. And everyone will be recompensed according to how they serve. Thus, no matter what the position, no matter what the "authority," they need to simply put in their best effort and fulfill what they are called to do.

21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.

23 And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:

24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

The way that God reveals knowledge is unconventional. One would assume that the knowledge of God could be attained in the normal style, by study. However, while it is possible to attain a knowledge of the gospel by a diligent study of the scriptures, this must be accompanied by action in order to gain a confirmation that what you're studying is true.

In this passage, Christ points out the irony of how God works. If one were to search for an answer, the first place to go would be "the wise and prudent," those who claim to have a great understanding of the world. However, God, in his infinite wisdom has instead chosen to reveal it to the last place that we would turn to for knowledge, the "babes".

This likely was not intended to convey that we should be watching babies for everything that they do and say. He's not saying that we need to make babies our bishops. More likely, he's pointing out the difference between one who receives the knowledge of God and one who does not. Children have important qualities, such as humility, innocence, and pure charity. Those that seek to attain these qualities are those that will receive the wisdom of God. Those that seek the praise of the world will not. As King Benjamin counsels his people, we need to "put off the natural man and [...] become as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father" (Mosiah 3:19).

The apostles were very privileged in the way that they received a testimony of Christ. Christ points out that many of the greatest men had the desire to witness the miracles of Christ. However, not everyone has that opportunity. The Encyclopedia of Mormonism lists 11 different types of revelation, of which only two involve a direct physical interaction with God (Revelation, Encyclopedia of Mormonism). More often, revelations from God, including that of a testimony of Jesus Christ, require faith. God usually requires that we have faith in order to receive a testimony of Jesus Christ. If we don't, we could easily disregard revelations and spiritual experiences. Miracles could become coincidences. Success at work could become just a self-fulfilling prophecy. Promptings of the spirit could become self-generated emotions. Everything would fall apart. And even if we did have more physical experiences, like Laman and Lemuel did when they were visited by an angel, we could easily forget them or push them off to the side. Without faith, very little can happen. Thus, God makes hard evidence the exception, rather than the rule.

25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Christ's choice of people here is very significant. The priest and the Levite are generally considered to be very "holy" people. However, they chose not to help the man. The Samaritan, on the other hand, was despised by the Jews for being "half-bloods", for having mixed with the Gentiles, yet he took the time to help a Jew, who Samaritans often likewise despised. This is the basic level of analysis of the characters of the parable.

However, much more can be drawn from this story. The priest and the Levite may not have been passing by on the other side just because they didn't feel like being charitable that day. Priests and Levites often served in the temple. In order to do so, one had to be ritually clean, meaning avoiding things such as plagues, dead people, and leprosy. An encounter with any of these things would mean that they would have to go through a process in order to cleanse themselves (Brother Seely, Religion 301). Thus, in order to avoid having to hinder their work at the temple as they purified themselves, they likely stayed to the other side of the road. They also may have had important ceremonies or worship services that they had to attend, and were therefore unable to stop and help this man in their minds.

Through this contrast between the priest and the Levite and the Samaritan, Christ emphasizes the importance of the commandment to "love thy neighbor." The priest and the Levite may have been attempting to follow the law of Moses in order to perform their duties. However, they forgot the reason for which the law was given, to direct them towards Christ.

In the same way, sometimes we prioritize "church-y" things over what is actually important. Sometimes, we put up church meetings as our reason not to minister. Sometimes, we allow things that do have importance to overtake the things of greater importance. We perform "the law", while forgetting to look to the giver of the law and his intentions. He doesn't want us to make sure we're on time to the meeting, though we pass by those in need of help. We hear many stories of general authorities of the church on their way to a meeting when they get a prompting to help someone. Sometimes they're in a meeting when the Spirit tells them to get up and leave. They don't say, "I'm in the middle of performing my duties, I'll do it after." Instead, they listen directly to the prompting, executing it as soon as they have the chance. They understand the true meaning of the law to which they hold. We would do well to learn from their example. We need to focus on the "higher" meaning of the law, rather than the exact execution of what we think is important.

38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Often, as was discussed in class, this story is used to say that the "busy" life is not what Christ wants for us, that he prefers "the contemplative life over the active life" (Luke 10:38-42, Enter the Bible). However, while filling your life up with so much stuff that you can't make time for God is a bad thing, that was likely not the message that Christ was trying to send with this passage.

In fact, while Mary was doing something of great importance, as stated by Christ, Martha was performing an act that is often praised as well: hospitality. In fact, one of Abraham's tests that is written about in Genesis is a test of how hospitable he is to three strangers, messengers of God. Lot is later saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in part because of his hospitality in regards to these same three messengers (Brother Seely, Religion 301). Not to mention that this incident was preceded by the parable of the Good Samaritan, through which Christ teaches that we should serve everyone.

Thus, we can see that both were performing acts of kindness. There wasn't a problem with what Martha was doing. Christ didn't even say anything until Martha brought it up. The problem is likely in her heart. She may have been doing what the Lord often asks of us. However, she may have been doing it simply out of obligation, doing it because she felt like she had to do it. This lead to her frustration with her sister, who didn't have to do it. She felt like she was doing more work, while her sister was sitting around and getting the same "reward" for it.

Luke may have followed the parable of the Good Samaritan with this story in order to emphasize intent. The Good Samaritan didn't serve because he felt like he had to. He didn't grumble to God about how the priest and the Levite weren't helping him. He served because he felt compassion for the man. He understood his worth as a child of God, and he helped him. In the same way, our service shouldn't be done with feet dragging. We need to invest ourselves in service. We need to show those that we're serving their value. Otherwise, our service is for naught.