At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.

Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’

If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another.

Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, ‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.’ Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand.

I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.” The seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.

Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

From the beginning of his ministry, it is clear that Jesus intends to involve men and women in proclaiming the Good News of God’s salvation. First, he calls Simon and his companions to be fishers of men (Lk 5:1-11).

From the group of his disciples, he chooses “Twelve” to be his Apostles whom he sends to proclaim the Kingdom of God and heal the sick (Lk 9:1). And, according to Luke, Jesus appoints seventy[-two) other disciples with the mission similar to that of the Twelve.

Both groups return to Jesus rejoicing in the success of their mission. Jesus tells them to rejoice not so much in the power granted to them, but in the fact that they are able to share in his mission and that they have a sure place in God’s Kingdom. The group closest to Jesus are the Twelve. They follow Jesus and learn from him. They are “disciples” (Greek mathētai, “learners”).

When they are sent to mission by Jesus, they become “apostles” (Greek apostoloi, “those sent”). They are “ambassadors” of Jesus; their mission is that of Jesus. In writing about the seventy [-two] disciples, Luke shows that mission is not just the work of the Twelve who were chosen and sent by Jesus himself. In Luke’s time, there were missionaries, “ministers of the Word” who were sent by the Christian community.

Unlike Paul who received the mandate direct from Christ in his conversion, the other disciples were recommended by the Twelve or by the Church—people like Stephen and his fellow deacons, Barnabas, Paul’s collaborators like Timothy and Silas, including Luke himself. Pope Francis shows what the mission of evangelization means for the Church today: “Jesus himself is the model of this method of evangelization which brings us to the very heart of his people...

Moved by his example, we want to enter fully into the fabric of society, sharing the lives of all, listening to their concerns, helping them materially and spiritually in their needs, rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep; arm in arm with others, we are committed to building a new world. But we do so not from a sense of obligation, not as a burdensome duty, but as the result of a personal decision which brings us joy and gives meaning to our lives” (Evangelii Gaudium, 269).