Luke 10 covers Jesus sending out seventy disciples, their return with joy, the parable of the good Samaritan, and the visit to Martha and Mary’s home. These questions suit a small group, a Sunday class or personal study, and each section is built so a leader can read straight through without preparing a separate summary.
Luke 10 at a Glance
The chapter moves through three scenes. First Jesus sends out seventy others in pairs with a message of peace and the nearness of God’s kingdom, and he warns the towns that reject them. The seventy return amazed at their authority, and Jesus turns their attention to the greater joy of belonging to God.
Next a lawyer asks how to inherit eternal life, and Jesus answers with a story about a wounded traveler and the unlikely neighbor who stops to help. The chapter closes in the home of Martha and Mary, where a quiet choice of listening is set beside a busy choice of serving.
Observation Questions
Use these questions first, before anyone offers an opinion. Ask the group to point to the exact words in the text and resist explaining until the facts are on the table. This set keeps the discussion anchored in what the chapter says.
Luke 10:2
Then he said to them, “The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that he may send out laborers into his harvest.
(WEB)
Read this first to set the mission context and invite the group to pray for more workers. It shows that Jesus both sends people and asks his followers to pray for others to join the work.
Luke 10:19-20
19 Behold, I give you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will in any way hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, don’t rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
(WEB)
These verses hold the seventy’s authority alongside Jesus’ reminder about where true joy is found. Reading them together helps the group see the connection between power and identity.
Luke 10:27
He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
(WEB)
This is the summary of the law the lawyer gives, and it frames everything that follows. Reading it aloud gives the group the core command before the parable begins.
Luke 10:36-37
36 Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
(WEB)
Jesus turns the lawyer’s question back on him, and the answer is practical rather than theoretical. Hearing it aloud makes the call to act concrete for everyone present.
Luke 10:41-42
41 Jesus answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
(WEB)
This short passage gives the chapter’s closing contrast between anxious activity and attentive listening. Reading it last allows the group to sit with the question before the prayer.
Memory Verse for Luke 10
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we thank you that you send workers into your harvest and invite us to pray for more of them. Give us courage like the seventy, and keep our joy anchored in the fact that our names are written in heaven. Show us the wounded people near us, and free us from the fear and busyness that make us walk past on the other side. Teach us, as you taught Mary, to sit at your feet and listen, so that we choose the good part. Help us to love you with all our heart and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Amen.
