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.
In this verse, Jesus chooses 72 followers — beyond just his 12 closest disciples — and sends them out in pairs to prepare towns for his arrival. This shows that Jesus' mission was never reserved for a spiritual elite. Going "two by two" reflected both a Jewish legal custom (two witnesses gave a testimony credibility) and a practical wisdom about companionship and accountability on the road. These weren't famous names. They were ordinary, unnamed people entrusted with extraordinary work: announcing that Jesus himself was coming.
Lord, it's humbling to think you would send someone like me ahead of you into the ordinary places of my life. Give me the courage to go, the wisdom to travel with others rather than alone, and the faith to trust that you are following close behind. Amen.
Nobody wrote books about these 72 people. We don't know their names, their backgrounds, or what happened to them after this. They showed up, they were sent, and they went. There's something quietly stunning about that — Jesus didn't reserve his mission for the credentialed or the prominent. He handed it to people history would forget, in pairs, to towns that no longer exist, for a King who was still on his way. You might feel like the wrong person for the work in front of you — not trained enough, not faithful enough, not visible enough to matter. But Jesus seems unbothered by that calculation. He sent 72 unnamed people ahead of him, trusting that ordinary presence in ordinary places is exactly how his kingdom moves. Look at who's walking beside you right now. And look at the town — the office, the neighborhood, the family dinner table — you've already been sent to. You may already be further into your mission than you realize.
Why do you think Jesus sent people out in pairs rather than alone, and what does that design choice reveal about how he intended his mission to work?
When in your own life have you felt 'sent' somewhere — a new job, a neighborhood, a hard relationship — with a sense of purpose that felt bigger than just your own plans?
These 72 people are completely unnamed in Scripture. Does anonymity in God's work bother you? What does your answer reveal about your own motivations for serving?
Who is someone already in your life who might be a ministry partner you've been underestimating? How does this verse change how you see that relationship?
What one specific place or person do you feel nudged to 'go ahead' to this week, even if you feel unprepared or unqualified?
Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
1 Timothy 5:17
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.
Matthew 9:38
And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.
Matthew 10:1
And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
Luke 10:17
And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
Luke 9:2
And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
Luke 9:52
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Romans 10:15
And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
Mark 6:13
Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them out ahead of Him, two by two, into every city and place where He was about to go.
AMP
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.
ESV
Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.
NASB
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-two 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.
NIV
After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.
NKJV
The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit.
NLT
Later the Master selected seventy and sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he intended to go.
MSG