Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you. 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
Warren Wiersbe sums up this Luke 10 - The three scenes in Luke 10 illustrate the threefold ministry of every Christian believer, and they answer the question, “What in the world does a Christian do?” To begin with, we are the Lord’s ambassadors, sent to represent Him in this world (Luke 10:1–24). We are also neighbors, looking for opportunities to show mercy in the name of Christ (Luke 10:25–37). But at the heart of all our ministry is devotion to Christ, so we must be worshipers who take time to listen to His Word and commune with Him (Luke 10:38–42). Whether we are in the harvest field, on the highway, or in the home, our highest privilege and our greatest joy is to do the will of God.

I. Sending out, but this time multiplied to seventy—

(anadeíknumi) seventy others

(heteros - different than the 12 in Lk 9:1),

sent (apostello) them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place

II. Before Sending Pray!!

2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
Spurgeon - This prayer was to be offered by preachers themselves. In any other calling men are afraid of being crowded out if too many engage in it; but there is no fear of this in the Christian ministry; there cannot be too many soul-winners.

The Lord of the harvest (therismos) - God is the Master Who is sovereign over the work of salvation and yet here we see He gives men a responsibility in His grand plan. Amazing grace indeed - saved sinners sent to save sinners! The Sovereign Lord must be the One to raise up laborers which is why we must ask Him. We are not just to go out on our own and get “warm bodies” but pray for “willing hearts” to be raised up!

Wiersbe -  Instead of praying for an easier job, they were to pray for more laborers

III. Text Breakdown—Missional Living:

1)

(Luke 10:3). This is foundational. The 70 were to divide into pairs and visit all the places where Jesus was about to go.

2)

(Luke 10:3). The 70 were like lambs among wolves, surrounded by danger.

According to open doors ministries, 100,000 Christians are martyred for Christ every single year across the globe, especially in Muslim and Communist countries.

https://www.opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/

3)

(Luke 10:4). The 70 were to carry no extra provisions. They carried the message of Jesus and didn’t need to be burdened down with material things.

“Lean and efficient”

4)

(Luke 10:4). The 70 were to greet no one along the road and not allow themselves to be sidetracked from the more important mission of evangelism.

5) __Extend your blessing

(Luke 10:5–6). Whoever housed the 70 were to be blessed, using the common greeting of the day, “Peace to this house.”

Identifying Persons of peace.

6)

(Luke 10:7). The 70 were told not to seek better accommodations; they were to stay in the home that first received them.

Press in where the Lord is working and be content where he opens doors.

7)

(Luke 10:7). The laborer is worthy of his wages (cf. 1 Timothy 5:17–18). Doing evangelistic work is indeed work and is worthy of compensation.

8)

(Luke 10:7–8). The 70 were to eat whatever their hosts served; as God’s servants, they were not to be finicky.

9)

(Luke 10:9). Jesus gave the 70 disciples specific authority to heal diseases and illness. It was as if the Great Physician had 70 interns making house calls. When the 70 returned to Jesus, they jubilantly recounted how they were able not only to heal diseases but to cast out demons as well (verse 17).

10)

(Luke 10:9). The message of the 70 disciples was simple: “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” This was a clear-cut call to faith in the King who would soon visit each village.

The Gospel is still enough!!!!

In the 19th century Milne joined a group of men known as “One Way Missionaries.”Milne embarked on the mission but didn’t take a suitcase. He packed all his worldly belongings in a coffin. Milne and the other one-way-missionaries bought one-way tickets to their destinations, but no return ticket. They fully expected to spend the rest of their lives on mission and die on the mission field.Milne spent decades loving on cannibals in a tribe in the New Hebrides in the South Pacific. He journeyed to their village knowing the cannibals had murdered every other missionary who went there.When Milne died, the cannibals buried Milne in his coffin in the middle of their village. On his grave the cannibals wrote this epitaph:
When he came, there was no light.
When he left, there was no darkness.
Resources:

https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-10-commentary#10:1