Why 72 disciples? Biblical numbers always have significance. Genesis describes the division of the non-Jewish world into 70 nations. Moses was directed to bring 70 elders to the door of the Tabernacle so they could receive the spirit and be his assistants. The Sanhedrin (the ruling body of Israel) was made up of 71 elders. By choosing 72 disciples, Jesus sends a signal that he is bringing the Old Covenant to its fulfillment, and including the 70 Gentile nations as well.
We see also that Jesus is establishing a kind of methodology and hierarchy. He is the Head; he has chosen 12 Apostles as forerunners of the bishops; he now gathers another group to help them with their mission. Some traditions say St. Luke was one of the 72 disciples sent out in pairs ahead of him, but this is impossible to know with certainty, though this event is only recorded in his Gospel!
Luke is the only Gospel writer who was not Jewish – it seems that he was of Greek origin, and his Gospel was probably originally written in the excellently structured Greek found in the oldest copies. He was not an eyewitness to Jesus’ full ministry, but wanted to investigate everything accurately anew and write it down (see Luke 1:1-4). He was a Gentile convert, and his writing shows a particular sensitivity to evangelizing Gentiles (see the Good Samaritan, the widow of Zarephath, Naaman the Syrian, and the one grateful leper, who was a Samaritan). A physician and maybe an artist, Luke probably met Paul at Troas and remained with him even when he was imprisoned in Rome, writing the Acts of the Apostles.
Did Luke know Jesus’ mother? It seems that he must have known her, or someone who was privileged to have known her, because it is only in his Gospel that we have any detailed accounts of several events in her life: the Annunciation, the Visitation of Elizabeth, the Magnificat, the Presentation in the Temple, and the story of Jesus’ being left in Jerusalem at the age of 12. Without Luke’s excellent history, we would not have these narratives from antiquity!
Whether or not St. Luke was one of the 72 sent out by Jesus in today’s Gospel, he certainly did his part as a laborer for the Lord’s harvest! Today, let’s ask him to intercede before the Master of the Harvest, for our Church and our world, that many more might respond to this call to bring God’s Truth and Love to every human heart.
Daily Reading
Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist
Reading 1 2 Tm 4:10-17b Beloved:Demas, enamored of the present world,deserted me and went to Thessalonica,Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.Luke is the only one with me.Get Mark and…
Saint of the Day
Saint Luke
St. Luke, a Syrian from Antioch, was a physician and close associate of St. Paul. His unique Gospel sources may have included Mary, Jesus’ mother.
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