The Sending of the Seventy (c. 30 AD)

Even before the Cross, Christ appointed others to extend His mission: “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” (Luke 10:1, KJV). These seventy were distinct from the original twelve apostles, though united in purpose and Spirit. While the twelve had been called first to be Christ’s closest companions and witnesses to His ministry, the seventy were chosen to share in the wider mission, representing the fullness of Israel and prefiguring the Church’s universal outreach. They were empowered as heralds of the Kingdom, sent to proclaim that salvation had drawn near: “heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you” (Luke 10:9, KJV).

This sending prefigures the universal mission of the Church. Just as Moses sent seventy elders to share the Spirit for the governance and guidance of Israel, “the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be” (Numbers 11:16 to 17, KJV), so now Christ sends the seventy to bear His Spirit into every town and village, extending His saving presence through word, sacrament, and deed. Their mission is both proclamation and action: to bring healing, to cast out demonic oppression, and to restore the broken, demonstrating that the Kingdom is not only promised but present, visible in mercy, power, and holiness.

When the seventy returned with rejoicing, saying, “Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name” (Luke 10:17, KJV), Christ proclaimed, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven” (Luke 10:18, KJV). Here the cosmic reality of salvation is revealed: the authority of the Church over sin, death, and demonic powers flows not from human strength but from the divine grace poured forth in Christ. The triumph of the Kingdom begins in the hearts of those who serve, extending outward to heal a fallen creation.

Christ’s sending of the seventy also complements His sending of the twelve, showing the layered structure of apostolic mission. As He said to the twelve:

“These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: ‘Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give’” (Matthew 10:5 to 8).

The teaching of Christ to the twelve also includes a profound strategy of spiritual authority:

“parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then” (Mark 3:23 to 27, KJV).

This illustrates the spiritual power that undergirds the Church’s mission: the authority to bind the forces of evil and to liberate souls, not by human strength, but through Christ’s own victory over sin and death.

The seventy’s mission underscores the Church’s threefold calling: to proclaim, heal, and deliver. To proclaim is to announce the nearness of God’s Kingdom; to heal is to restore bodies and souls; and to deliver is to break the dominion of evil. By sending the seventy, Christ demonstrates that the Church is inherently missionary, structured for communal witness, and grounded in divine power.

“neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21, KJV).

The sending of the seventy establishes the pattern for the Church’s life, a community united, empowered, and sent forth to transform the world by the grace and authority of Christ, the true Shepherd and King. It was a foretaste until the fullness of the Apostolic Church came.