Protestant theologianHeinrich Meyer calls this section the "Narrative of the Seventy" and links it to the earlier account of the sending out of advance messengers in. The return of the seventy concludes this section. This passage includes Jesus's assertion that "the laborer is worthy of his wages", which is reflected in similar wording in : The first of these statements is found at, but the second statement is not found in the Old Testament, leading to the suggestion that the author of the letter to Timothy may have referred to Luke or the equivalent verse in Matthew.
Verse 16
This verse offers confirmation in principle of the fact that Jesus placed on equal grounds the cities which reject the seventy and those which reject Himself. In the second part, the saying rises to a climax: a deepening of the emotion, a solemn conclusion. Matthew's parallel text is entirely positive: Luke's treatment retains the positive side of the seventy's potential reception but places more emphasis on the negative.
A lawyer or 'expert in the law' asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked him what was written in the law, and the lawyer referred to the teaching in, and to the ordinance of Leviticus 19:18, Jesus confirmed that the lawyer's answer was correct. Luke's treatment of this Great Commandment differs from those of Mark and Matthew, where Jesus directly instructed his disciples that these are the greatest commandments in the Law. The lawyer then asked who his 'neighbour' is. In response, Jesus told a story of a traveller who is beaten, robbed, and left half dead along the road. First a priest and then a Levite come by, but both avoid the man. Finally, a journeying Samaritan comes by. Samaritans and Jews generally despised each other, but the Samaritan helps the injured man. This parable is recounted only in this chapter of the New Testament. Portraying a Samaritan in a positive light would have come as a shock to Jesus's audience. Some Christians, such as Augustine and John Newton, have interpreted the parable allegorically, with the Samaritan representing Jesus Christ, who saves the sinful soul. Others, however, discount this allegory as unrelated to the parable's original meaning, and see the parable as exemplifying the ethics of Jesus. The parable has inspired painting, sculpture, poetry and film. For example, Vincent van Gogh's painting, , captures the reverse hierarchy of Luke's parable. Although the priest and Levite are near the top of the status hierarchy in Israel and the Samaritans near the bottom, van Gogh reverses the traditional hierarchy in his painting. He foregrounds the Samaritan, transforming him into a colorful figure who is larger than life, while the priest and Levite are in the background, small and insignificant. The colloquial phrase "good Samaritan", meaning someone who helps a stranger, derives from this parable, and many hospitals and charitable organizations are named after the Good Samaritan.
In Luke's account, the home of Martha and Mary is located in 'a certain village'. Bethany is not mentioned and would not fit with the topography of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, which at this point in the narrative is just commencing as he leaves Galilee. John J. Kilgallen suggests that "Luke has displaced the story of Martha and Mary".
