The SeventyEdit
The Seventy is a designation found in the Christian biblical tradition to describe a group of disciples whom Jesus appointed and sent in advance to prepare towns he planned to visit. The principal account appears in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 10:1-24), where Jesus commissions them to proclaim the kingdom of God, heal the sick, and depend on the hospitality of those they visit. In some manuscript traditions the number is given as seventy, in others as seventy-two, a difference scholars typically explain as a copyist variant rather than a theological quirk. Regardless of the exact count, the episode serves as a foundational illustration of early Christian mission and organizational approach.
The nature of the Seventy’s mission and the significance of their number have been influential in Christian thought. The event signals the expansion of Jesus’s ministry beyond a Jewish milieu into the broader inhabited world, foreshadowing the church’s later assertion of universal reach. The seventy are charged to travel light, to announce peace to those who receive them, and to heal the afflicted as a sign that the kingdom of God is drawing near. Their commission is posed alongside the broader pattern of Jesus sending out disciples in pairs and the call to rely on hospitality and generosity in hostile or indifferent environments. In the most concise terms, the Seventy embody a model of mission that blends proclamation with signs of divine power.
Biblical account and themes
- Luke 10:1-24 describes Jesus appointing seventy (or seventy-two) and sending them ahead in pairs to every town and place he was about to visit. They are instructed to take nothing for the journey—no staff, bag, bread, or money—and to greet no one along the road. The instruction to travel light emphasizes trust in God’s provision and the hospitality of townspeople.
- They are told to heal the sick and say, “the kingdom of God has come near you.” If a household is worthy, peace rests on it; if not, peace returns to the messenger. The mission is both practical (hospitable reception, healing) and theological (proclaiming the nearness of God’s reign).
- Upon returning, the seventy report that even demons submit to them. Jesus responds with praise for spiritual victory but cautions against pride, directing attention to the greater gift of fellowship with God: “rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” The narrative frames mission as both effective and humbling, a pattern the early church would seek to imitate.
The account sits within Luke’s larger emphasis on mission, hospitality, and the ethical demands of following Jesus. It also resonates with the broader biblical pattern of empowerment for service: God equips his people for specific tasks, and success in ministry is measured not by triumphal displays but by fidelity to the message and dependence on divine provision.
The number, identity, and interpretive debates
- The textual variation between seventy and seventy-two is a well-known issue for scholars. Proponents of the literal reading see the number as part of a deliberate, concrete commissioning of a broad circle of disciples; others argue that Luke uses a symbolic figure to denote a complete, universal mission to the nations. The core claim remains the same: a substantial, organized cadre is sent out to represent Jesus and to inaugurate his message in multiple locales.
- Who the Seventy were is not specified in exhaustive detail in the text. Later Christian writers and church traditions variously described them as a cadre of trusted apostles or as a broader class of helper-bishops and elders who assisted in the early church’s expansion. The precise membership matters less than the function they served: a structured, mission-ready group authorized to bear witness to the kingdom and to exercise spiritual authority in healing and proclamation.
- The number’s resonance with other ancient motifs is often discussed. Some observers compare the Seventy to the seventy elders in the book of Numbers, or to the seventy nations listed in Genesis 10, suggesting a typological link between Israel’s leadership patterns and the church’s expansion to Gentile peoples. Others highlight the possible allusion to the Septuagint (LXX)—the ancient Greek translation of Hebrew scriptures prepared for a wide, multilingual audience—as part of Luke’s strategy to make the text resonate with a broad, Hellenistic readership.
- Early patristic writers, such as those in the Eastern and Western traditions, sometimes link the Seventy to the institutional life of the church—elders, presbyters, and other leaders who carry authority from the apostolic foundation. Scholarly opinion on these points ranges from a stable, historical memory of a concrete group to a more symbolic reading that emphasizes the universality and missional scope of Jesus’s commission.
Controversies about the Seventy often center on how literally to take the number and what the episode implies about the church’s structure, authority, and outreach. From a tradition-minded perspective, the episode demonstrates two enduring principles: first, that Jesus equips his followers for substantial, outward-facing ministry; second, that the outreach of the gospel is meant to cross social and geographic boundaries. Critics who emphasize later historical development sometimes argue that the passage reflects early church ideals more than a precise historical event; supporters of a conservative reading contend that Luke preserves a historically grounded episode that testifies to the church’s apostolic mission and authority, not merely an imaginative fiction.
Thematic significance and legacy
- Mission and authority: The Seventy illustrate how the early Christian movement framed authority—believers were sent with the power to heal and to proclaim the nearness of the kingdom. This is a subtle but important corrective to views that see early Christian work as merely devotional; it was explicitly outward-facing and socially transformative.
- Hospitality and dependence: The instruction to rely on hospitality and to travel without heavy provisions underscores a form of ministry that assumes trust in God and in the hospitality of neighbors. It also models a humane, non-coercive approach to mission appropriate to a plural society.
- Universality of the gospel: The framing of a broad, outward push into multiple towns aligns with the later Christian understanding that the gospel is for all peoples, not merely for one ethnic or religious group. The theme of universal mission has long influenced ecclesial self-understanding and missionary endeavor.
- Continuity with the Old Testament pattern: The possible links to Numbers 11’s elder-leadership and Genesis 10’s nations point to a continuity in biblical narrative: leadership empowered by God for the sake of blessing the world. This continuity has been emphasized by both historical church figures and contemporary interpreters who see in the Seventy a bridge from Israel’s story to the church’s mission.