Jesus Sends Out His Helpers: An ESL Bible Study on Luke 10:1-20

This Bible study series is for people who are learning English. It is designed for advanced beginner and intermediate learners, but children or adults who prefer simple English may also enjoy it. I also have a Sunday School lesson on Luke 10:1-20 that may work better for native English speakers.

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Luke 10:1-20 Printable Discussion Questions

Luke 10:1-20 Printable ERV Passage

Lesson Icebreaker Question

Have you ever gone somewhere to share good news with someone? What was it like?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will learn how Jesus sent out many helpers to tell people about God’s kingdom. We will hear what Jesus told them to do and how they felt when they came back.

Vocabulary Lists for the ERV Bible Translation

Key Vocabulary Words (10 words)

bring in: (phrase) To collect a crop from the fields during harvest time.
demon: (noun) An evil spirit that follows the devil.
God’s kingdom: (phrase) The place or way where God rules as king.
harvest: (noun) The time when crops are gathered from the fields.
judgment day: (phrase) The time when God will judge all people.
miracle: (noun) An amazing act that only God can do.
refuse: (verb) To say no to something.
Satan: (noun) The enemy of God and leader of evil spirits.
send out: (phrase) To tell someone to go to a place to do a special job.
worker: (noun) A person who works.

Important Words to Know (20 words)

accept: (verb) To welcome or receive a person with kindness.
against: (preposition) To be in a position that is opposite to someone or something.
blessing: (noun) A good thing that God gives to his people.
bring in: (phrase) To collect a crop from the fields during harvest time.
demon: (noun) An evil spirit that follows the devil.
enemy: (noun) A person who hates you or wants to hurt you.
follower: (noun) A person who learns from and obeys a teacher.
God’s kingdom: (phrase) The place or way where God rules as king.
harvest: (noun) The time when crops are gathered from the fields.
heal: (verb) To make a sick or hurt person well again.
heaven: (noun) The place where God lives.
judgment day: (phrase) The time when God will judge all people.
miracle: (noun) An amazing act that only God can do.
obey: (verb) To do what a rule or a person tells you to do.
peace: (noun) A time of quiet and no fighting.
power: (noun) Strength or the ability to do something.
refuse: (verb) To say no to something.
Satan: (noun) The enemy of God and leader of evil spirits.
send out: (phrase) To tell someone to go to a place to do a special job.
worker: (noun) A person who works.

Complete Lesson Word Bank

accept: (verb) To welcome or receive a person with kindness.
against: (preposition) To be in a position that is opposite to someone or something.
ahead of: (phrase) In a position further forward than someone or something else.
among: (preposition) In the middle of a group of people or things.
another: (adjective) A different one.
ash: (noun) The gray powder that is left after a fire.
bag: (noun) A container made of cloth or skin used to carry things.
believe: (verb) To think that something is true.
blessing: (noun) A good thing that God gives to his people.
bring in: (phrase) To collect a crop from the fields during harvest time.
came back: (phrase) To have returned to a place.
carry: (verb) To hold something and move it from one place to another.
change: (verb) To make something different.
chose: (verb) To have picked someone or something from a group.
city: (noun) A large town with many people and buildings.
crush: (verb) To press something very hard so that it breaks.
death: (noun) The end of a life.
demon: (noun) An evil spirit that follows the devil.
dirt: (noun) The ground where plants grow.
enemy: (noun) A person who hates you or wants to hurt you.
even: (adverb) Used to show that something is surprising.
fall: (verb) To drop down to the ground.
feet: (noun) The parts of the body at the end of the legs that a person stands on.
few: (adjective) A small number of people or things.
follower: (noun) A person who learns from and obeys a teacher.
given: (verb) To have handed something over to another person.
God: (noun) The creator and ruler of everything.
God’s kingdom: (phrase) The place or way where God rules as king.
group: (noun) A number of people or things that are together.
happen: (verb) To take place.
harvest: (noun) The time when crops are gathered from the fields.
heal: (verb) To make a sick or hurt person well again.
heaven: (noun) The place where God lives.
help: (verb) To do something useful for someone.
hurt: (verb) To cause pain to a person or animal.
Jesus: (noun) The Son of God and the Savior of the world!
judgment day: (phrase) The time when God will judge all people.
leave: (verb) To go away from a place.
lift up: (verb) To be given a high position or to be made very important.
lightning: (noun) A flash of bright light in the sky during a storm.
long time ago: (phrase) Many years in the past.
Lord: (noun) A name that shows someone has power or authority.
many: (adjective) A large number of people or things.
miracle: (noun) An amazing act that only God can do.
nothing: (pronoun) Not anything.
obey: (verb) To do what a rule or a person tells you to do.
own: (verb) To have something that belongs to you.
pay: (noun) The money a person receives for doing a job.
peace: (noun) A time of quiet and no fighting.
plan: (verb) To have intended to do something.
power: (noun) Strength or the ability to do something.
really: (adverb) Truly or very much.
refuse: (verb) To say no to something.
remember: (verb) To keep something in your mind.
road: (noun) A path for people or cars to travel on.
sackcloth: (noun) A rough, itchy cloth people wore to show they were very sad.
sandal: (noun) An open shoe with straps.
Satan: (noun) The enemy of God and leader of evil spirits.
scorpion: (noun) A small animal with a tail that has a painful sting.
send out: (phrase) To tell someone to go to a place to do a special job.
sent: (verb) To have caused someone to go to a place.
sheep: (noun) An animal with thick wool that often lives in a flock.
should: (verb) A word used to say what is the right thing to do.
show: (verb) To let someone see something.
sick: (adjective) Not feeling well or having a disease.
sin: (verb) To do something wrong that God does not like.
sky: (noun) The space above the earth where the sun and stars are.
snake: (noun) A long animal with no legs that crawls on the ground.
Sodom: (noun) A city that was destroyed because of its sin.
soon: (adverb) In a short time from now.
sorry: (adjective) Feeling sad about something that happened.
spirit: (noun) A part of a person that we cannot see.
stay: (verb) To continue in a place or a state for a period of time.
stick: (verb) To stay attached to something.
thrown down: (phrase) To have been tossed or dropped to the ground with force.
trip: (noun) A journey to a place.
used: (verb) To have done something with a thing to reach a goal or finish a task.
warn: (verb) To tell someone about a danger that is coming.
welcome: (verb) To greet someone in a friendly way.
wipe off: (phrase) To remove dirt or liquid from something using a cloth or your hand.
wolves: (noun) More than one wolf.
worker: (noun) A person who works.
worn: (verb) To have had clothes on your body.
worse: (adjective) More bad than something else.

Summary of the Passage

This passage tells how Jesus chose seventy-two of his followers to be his helpers. Jesus sent them out in pairs, two by two, so no one would be alone. He warned them that they would be like sheep among wolves. This meant that some people might be mean or try to hurt them. But he also gave them power to stay safe and heal the sick. He told them not to bring extra things, like money or extra shoes. They were to stay in one house, eat what people gave them, and share God’s peace.

Jesus also told them to heal sick people and say that God’s kingdom was near. If a town welcomed them, they should stay there and help. If a town did not listen, they were to leave and warn the people that they were missing God’s good news. Jesus explained that some towns, like Chorazin and Bethsaida, would be punished because they did not believe, even when they saw miracles.

Later, the seventy-two men came back happy. They told Jesus how even bad spirits listened to them when they spoke in his name. Jesus said he saw Satan fall from heaven, meaning his power was broken. He told them not to be happy about their power, but to be glad their names were written in heaven.

This passage teaches us that God sends people to share his message. It shows us that some people will listen and some will not, but God sees and knows everything. It reminds us to be joyful because God loves us and promises us life with him forever.

Read The Passage

Most English learners should use the Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV), or the Good News Translation (GNT). If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions.

Jesus Sends Out 72 of His Followers
1 After this, the Lord chose 72 more followers.
He sent them out in groups of two.
He sent them ahead of him into every town and place where he planned to go.
2 He said to them,
“There is such a big harvest of people to bring in.
But there are only a few workers to help harvest them.
God owns the harvest.
Ask him to send more workers to help bring in his harvest.
3 “You can go now.
But listen!
I am sending you, and you will be like sheep among wolves.
4 Don’t carry any money, a bag, or sandals.
Don’t stop to talk with people on the road.
5 Before you go into a house, say,
‘Peace be with this home.’
6 If the people living there love peace, your blessing of peace will stay with them.
But if not, your blessing of peace will come back to you.
7 Stay in the peace-loving house.
Eat and drink what the people there give you.
A worker should be given his pay.
Don’t leave that house to stay in another house.
8 “If you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat the food they give you.
9 Heal the sick people who live there, and tell them,
‘God’s kingdom is now very near you!’
10 “But if you go into a town and the people don’t welcome you, then go out into the streets of that town and say,
11 ‘Even the dirt from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you.
But remember that God’s kingdom is coming soon.’
12 I tell you, on the judgment day it will be worse for the people of that town than for the people of Sodom.
Jesus Warns People Who Refuse to Believe
13 “It will be bad for you, Chorazin!
It will be bad for you, Bethsaida!
I did many miracles in you.
If those same miracles had happened in Tyre and Sidon, then the people in those cities would have changed their lives and stopped sinning a long time ago.
They would have worn sackcloth and sat in ashes to show that they were sorry for their sins.
14 But on the judgment day it will be worse for you than for Tyre and Sidon.
15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven?
No, you will be thrown down to the place of death!
16 “When anyone listens to you my followers, they are really listening to me.
But when anyone refuses to accept you, they are really refusing to accept me.
And when anyone refuses to accept me, they are refusing to accept the one who sent me.”
Satan Falls
17 When the 72 followers 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 them,
“I saw Satan falling like lightning from the sky.
19 He is the enemy, but know that I have given you more power than he has.
I have given you power to crush his snakes and scorpions under your feet.
Nothing will hurt you.
20 Yes, even the spirits obey you.
And you can be happy, not because you have this power, but because your names are written in heaven.”
Luke 10:1-20 (ERV)

Very Easy: Easy-to-Read Version: Luke 10:1-20 (ERV)
Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 10:1-20 (NIRV)
Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 10:1-20 (GNT)
Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 10:1-20 (NLT)
Hard: New International Version: Luke 10:1-20 (NIV)
Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 10:1-20 (ESV)

Luke 10:1-20 Printable ERV Passage

Comprehension Questions

How many people did Jesus send out?
Why did Jesus send them in pairs?
What did Jesus tell them not to take with them?
What were they supposed to say when they entered a house?
What should they do if a town did not welcome them?
What did Jesus say would happen to the towns that did not believe?
When the men returned, what did they tell Jesus?
What did Jesus say he saw happen to Satan?
What special power did Jesus give to the seventy-two?
What did Jesus say they should be most happy about?

Application Questions

Why do you think Jesus sent them out two by two?
How do you feel when someone listens to you and believes your good news?
What can we do when people do not want to hear about God?
Why do you think it is more important to be known in heaven than to have power on earth?

Theological Insights

Jesus wants people to go and tell others about God’s kingdom.
Some people will listen to God’s message, and some will not.
God gives his people strength and protection as they serve him.
Even when people do not listen, God’s kingdom is still near.
Our greatest joy comes from knowing we belong to God and will live with him forever.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father, Thank you for sending people to tell us about you. Help us share your good news with others. Make our hearts happy because our names are written in heaven. Amen.