The Mission of the Seventy

101 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others , and sent them in pairs ahead e of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come . 2 And He was saying to them, " The harvest is plentiful , but the laborers are few ; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest . 3 "Go ; behold , I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves . 4 " Carry no money belt , no bag , no shoes ; and greet no one on the way . 5 "Whatever house you enter , first say , 'Peace be to this house .' 6 "If a man of peace is there , your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. 7 "Stay in that house , eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages . Do not keep moving from house to house . 8 "Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick , and say to them, ' The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 10 "But whatever e city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say , 11 ' Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this , that the kingdom of God has come near .' 12 "I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city .

Woes to Unrepentant Cities

13 " Woe to you, Chorazin ! Woe to you, Bethsaida ! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago , sitting in sackcloth and ashes . 14 "But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. 15 "And you, Capernaum , will not be exalted to heaven , will you? You will be brought down to Hades ! 16 " The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me."

The Return of the Seventy

17 The seventy returned with joy , saying , "Lord , even the demons are subject to us in Your name ." 18 And He said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning . 19 "Behold , I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions , and over all the power of the enemy , and nothing will injure you. 20 "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this , that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven ."

Jesus Rejoices

21 At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit , and said , "I praise You, O Father , Lord of heaven and earth , that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants . Yes , Father , for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight . 22 " All things have been handed over to Me by My Father , and no one knows who the Son is except the Father , and who the Father is except the Son , and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." 23 Turning to the disciples , He said privately e , "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see , 24 for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see , and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear , and did not hear them."

The Good Samaritan

25 And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test , saying , "Teacher , what shall I do to inherit eternal life ?" 26 And He said to him, "What is written in the Law ? How does it read to you?" 27 And he answered , " YOU SHALL LOVE THE Lord YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART , AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL , AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH , AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND ; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF ." 28 And He said to him, "You have answered correctly ; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE ." 29 But wishing to justify himself , he said to Jesus , "And who is my neighbor ?" 30 Jesus replied and said , "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho , and fell among robbers , and they stripped him and beat e him, and went away leaving him half dead . 31 "And by chance a priest was going down on that road , and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side . 32 "Likewise a Levite also , when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side . 33 "But a Samaritan , who was on a journey , came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion , 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds , pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast , and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 "On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said , 'Take care of him; and whatever e e more you spend , when I return I will repay you.' 36 "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" 37 And he said , "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same ."

Jesus Visits Martha and Mary

38 Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village ; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home . 39 She had a sister called Mary , who was seated at the Lord's feet , listening to His word . 40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations ; and she came up to Him and said , "Lord , do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone ? Then tell her to help me." 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, " Martha , Martha , you are worried and bothered about so many things ; 42  but only one thing is necessary , for Mary has chosen the good part , which shall not be taken away from her."

The Preaching of John the Baptist

31 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar , when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea , and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee , and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis , and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene , 2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas , the word of God came to John , the son of Zacharias , in the wilderness . 3 And he came into all the district around the Jordan , preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins ; 4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet , " THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS , 'MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE Lord , MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT . 5 ' EVERY RAVINE WILL BE FILLED , AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL WILL BE BROUGHT LOW ; THE CROOKED WILL BECOME e STRAIGHT , AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH ; 6 AND ALL FLESH WILL SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD .' " 7 So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, " You brood of vipers , who warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? 8 "Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance , and do not begin to say to yourselves , ' We have Abraham for our father ,' for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham . 9 "Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees ; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire ." 10 And the crowds were questioning him, saying , " Then what shall we do ?" 11 And he would answer and say to them, "The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none ; and he who has food is to do likewise ." 12 And some tax collectors also came to be baptized , and they said to him, "Teacher , what shall we do ?" 13 And he said to them, "Collect no more than what you have been ordered to." 14 Some soldiers were questioning him, saying , "And what about us, what shall we do ?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force , or accuse anyone falsely , and be content with your wages ."

15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John , as to whether he was the Christ , 16 John answered and said to them all , "As for me, I baptize you with water ; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals ; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire . 17 "His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor , and to gather the wheat into His barn ; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire ." 18 So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people . 19 But when Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of Herodias , his brother's wife , and because of all the wicked things which Herod had done , 20 Herod also added this to them all : he locked John up in prison .

The Baptism of Jesus

21 Now when all the people were baptized , Jesus was also baptized , and while He was praying , heaven was opened , 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove , and a voice came out of heaven , " You are My beloved Son , in You I am well-pleased ."

The Genealogy of Jesus

23 When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age , being , as was supposed , the son of Joseph , the son of Eli , 24 the son of Matthat , the son of Levi , the son of Melchi , the son of Jannai , the son of Joseph , 25 the son of Mattathias , the son of Amos , the son of Nahum , the son of Hesli , the son of Naggai , 26 the son of Maath , the son of Mattathias , the son of Semein , the son of Josech , the son of Joda , 27 the son of Joanan , the son of Rhesa , the son of Zerubbabel , the son of Shealtiel , the son of Neri , 28 the son of Melchi , the son of Addi , the son of Cosam , the son of Elmadam , the son of Er , 29 the son of Joshua , the son of Eliezer , the son of Jorim , the son of Matthat , the son of Levi , 30 the son of Simeon , the son of Judah , the son of Joseph , the son of Jonam , the son of Eliakim , 31 the son of Melea , the son of Menna , the son of Mattatha , the son of Nathan , the son of David , 32 the son of Jesse , the son of Obed , the son of Boaz , the son of Salmon , the son of Nahshon , 33 the son of Amminadab , the son of Admin , the son of Ram , the son of Hezron , the son of Perez , the son of Judah , 34 the son of Jacob , the son of Isaac , the son of Abraham , the son of Terah , the son of Nahor , 35 the son of Serug , the son of Reu , the son of Peleg , the son of Heber , the son of Shelah , 36 the son of Cainan , the son of Arphaxad , the son of Shem , the son of Noah , the son of Lamech , 37 the son of Methuselah , the son of Enoch , the son of Jared , the son of Mahalaleel , the son of Cainan , 38 the son of Enosh , the son of Seth , the son of Adam , the son of God .