Luke 10:17–12:12

The Return of the Seventy-Two

^17uThe seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, ^veven the demons are subject to us in your name!” ¹⁸And he said to them, ^w“I saw Satan ^xfall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹Behold, I have given you authority ^yto tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of ^zthe enemy, and ^anothing shall hurt you. ^20bNevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that ^cyour names are written in heaven.”

Jesus Rejoices in the Father’s Will

^21dIn that same hour ^ehe rejoiced ^fin the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, ^gLord of heaven and earth, that ^hyou have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ⁱrevealed them to little children; yes, Father, for ^jsuch was your gracious will.^{2 22k}All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is ^kexcept the Father, or who the Father is ^kexcept the Son and anyone ^lto whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

²³Then turning to the disciples he said privately, ^m“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! ²⁴For I tell you ⁿthat many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

^25oAnd behold, a ^plawyer stood up to ^qput him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to ^rinherit eternal life?” ²⁶He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” ²⁷And he answered, ^s“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 ^tyour neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; ^udo this, and you will live.”

²⁹But he, ^vdesiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰Jesus replied, “A man ^wwas going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹Now by chance a ^xpriest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. ³²So likewise ^xa Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³But a ^ySamaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴He went to him and ^zbound up his wounds, pouring on ^zoil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵And the next day he took out two ^adenarii³ and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ ³⁶Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Martha and Mary

³⁸Now as they went on their way, Jesus⁴ entered a village. And a woman named ^bMartha ^cwelcomed him into her house. ³⁹And she had a sister called ^bMary, who ^dsat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are ^eanxious and troubled about many things, ⁴²but one thing is necessary.⁵ Mary has chosen ^fthe good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

The Lord’s Prayer

11Now Jesus¹ was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, ^gas John taught his disciples.” ²And he said to them, ^h“When you pray, say:

ⁱ“Father, ^jhallowed be ^kyour name.

^lYour kingdom come.

^3mGive us ⁿeach day our daily bread,²

⁴and ^oforgive us our sins,

for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

And ^plead us not into temptation.”

⁵And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; ⁷and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? ⁸I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything ^qbecause he is his friend, yet because of his impudence³ he will rise and give him whatever he needs. ⁹And I tell you, ^rask, and ^sit will be given to you; ^tseek, and you will find; ^uknock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹What father among you, if his son asks for⁴ a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹²or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³If you then, ^wwho are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father ^xgive the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus and Beelzebul

^14yNow he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. ¹⁵But some of them said, “He casts out demons ^zby Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” ¹⁶while others, ^ato test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. ^17bBut he, ^cknowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. ¹⁸And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, ^dby whom do ^eyour sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁰But if it is by ^fthe finger of God that I cast out demons, then ^gthe kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; ^22hbut when one stronger than he attacks him and ⁱovercomes him, he takes away his ^jarmor in which he trusted and ^kdivides his spoil. ^23lWhoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

^24m“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through ⁿwaterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. ²⁶Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And ^othe last state of that person is worse than the first.”

True Blessedness

²⁷As he said these things, ^pa woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ^q“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” ²⁸But he said, ^r“Blessed rather are those ^swho hear the word of God and ^tkeep it!”

The Sign of Jonah

^29uWhen the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ^v“This generation is an evil generation. ^wIt seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰For as ^xJonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ^31yThe queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and ^zcondemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, ^asomething greater than Solomon is here. ^32bThe men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ^zcondemn it, for ^cthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, ^asomething greater than Jonah is here.

The Light in You

^33d“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ³⁴Your eye is ^ethe lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is ^fbad, your body is full of darkness. ^35eTherefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. ³⁶If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, ^gas when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”

Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers

³⁷While Jesus⁵ was speaking, ^ha Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. ³⁸The Pharisee was astonished to see ⁱthat he did not first wash before dinner. ³⁹And the Lord said to him, ^j“Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of ^kgreed and wickedness. ^40lYou fools! ^jDid not he who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹But ^mgive as alms those things that are within, and behold, ⁿeverything is clean for you.

^42o“But woe to you Pharisees! For ^pyou tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect ^qjustice and ^rthe love of God. ^sThese you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ⁴³Woe to you Pharisees! For ^tyou love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴Woe to you! ^uFor you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”

⁴⁵One of ^vthe lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” ⁴⁶And he said, “Woe to you ^wlawyers also! For ^xyou load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. ^47yWoe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. ^48zSo you are witnesses and you ^aconsent to the deeds of ^byour fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹Therefore also ^cthe Wisdom of God said, ^d‘I will send them ^eprophets and apostles, ^fsome of whom they will ^gkill and persecute,’ ⁵⁰so that ^hthe blood of all the prophets, shed ⁱfrom the foundation of the world, may be ^jcharged against this generation, ⁵¹from the blood of ^kAbel to the blood of ^lZechariah, who perished between ^mthe altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be ^jrequired of this generation. ⁵²Woe to you ⁿlawyers! ^oFor you have taken away the key of ^pknowledge. You ^qdid not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”

⁵³As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, ^54rlying in wait for him, ^sto catch him in something he…