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Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and
sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place
where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is
plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the
harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest
field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4
Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet
anyone on the road.
5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this
house.” 6 If the head of the house loves peace, your peace
will rest on that house; if not, it will return to you. 7
Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for
workers deserve their wages. Do not move around from house
to house.
8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is
set before you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them,
‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But when you
enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and
say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as
a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: 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.
13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For
if the miracles that were performed in you had been
performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long
ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more
bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15
And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No,
you will go down to the depths.
16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever
rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him
who sent me.”
17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord,
even the demons submit to us in your name.”
18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from
heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes
and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy;
nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the
spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are
written in heaven.”
21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy
Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise
and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes,
Father, for this was your good pleasure.
22 “All things have been committed to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one
knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the
Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately,
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell
you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see
but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not
hear it.”
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to
test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit
eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do
you read it?”
27 He answered, “ ‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as
yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do
this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked
Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from
Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of
robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went
away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be
going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed
by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to
the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a
Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when
he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and
bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put
the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took
care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and
gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and
when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense
you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor
to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had
mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
At the Home of Martha and Mary
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he
came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home
to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the
Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was
distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She
came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister
has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are
worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are
needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better,
and it will not be taken away from her.”
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Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
