17. When the 72 men came back from their trip, they were very happy. They said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we used your name!”
18. Jesus said to the men, “I saw Satan falling like lightning from the sky.
19. Listen! I gave you power to walk on snakes and scorpions. I gave you more power than the Enemy has. Nothing will hurt you.
20. You should be happy, but not because the spirits obey you. You should be happy because your names are written in heaven.”
21. Then the Holy Spirit made Jesus rejoice. He said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the people who are wise and smart. But you have shown them to those who are like little children. Yes, Father, you did this because this is what you really wanted.
22. “My Father has given me all things. No one knows the Son—only the Father knows. And only the Son knows the Father. The only people who will know about the Father are those whom the Son chooses to tell.”
23. Then Jesus turned to his followers and said privately, “You are blessed to see what you now see!
24. I tell you, many prophets and kings wanted to see what you now see. But they did not see these things. And many prophets and kings wanted to hear what you now hear. But they did not hear these things.”
25. Then a teacher of the law stood up. He was trying to test Jesus. He said, “Teacher, what must I do to get life forever?”
26. Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”
27. The man answered, “Love the Lord your God. Love him with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.” Also, “You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
28. Jesus said to him, “Your answer is right. Do this and you will have life forever.”
29. But the man wanted to show that the way he was living was right. So he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30. To answer this question, Jesus said, “A man was going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Some robbers attacked him. They tore off his clothes and beat him. Then they left him lying there, almost dead.
31. It happened that a Jewish priest was going down that road. When the priest saw the man, he walked by on the other side of the road.
32. Next, a Levite came there. He went over and looked at the man. Then he walked by on the other side of the road.
33. Then a Samaritan traveling down the road came to where the hurt man was lying. He saw the man and felt very sorry for him.
34. The Samaritan went to him and poured olive oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. He put the hurt man on his own donkey and took him to an inn. At the inn, the Samaritan took care of him.
35. The next day, the Samaritan brought out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. The Samaritan said, ‘Take care of this man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’”