Luke 10:3

Go your ways; behold, I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no wallet, no shoes; and salute no man on the way.

The similarity of these instructions to those given to the Twelve has been made the basis of denying this mission of the seventy as historical by scholars like Easton, Klostermann, Creed, Luce, and many others.[6] Such denials, however, are but arrogant, unscientific prejudice; and as Geldenhuys commented:

Such opinions are mere subjective conjectures, at variance with the available data, as well as with Luke's express purpose to relate only actual facts (Luke 1:1-4). No conclusive evidence can be adduced to prove as unhistorical Luke's description of the mission of the seventy.[7]

Carry no purse, wallet ... The meaning here is clearly that of eliminating baggage, as if Jesus had said, "Go just as you are." These are essentially the same restrictions imposed on the Twelve.

No shoes ... The Cambridge Bible Commentary translates this clause, "Carry no purse, or pack; and travel barefoot!"[8] And this is just the type of crooked exegesis that mars so many works of critical scholars. The verb in this clause which is applicable to "shoes" is "carry" not "wear"; and the meaning is undeniably a prohibition of carrying "extra" shoes. Gilmour went out of his way to muddy the meaning when he wrote: "Carry no (extra) sandals would be a forced interpretation."[9] This is not, however, a "forced" interpretation at all, but the only intelligent and natural interpretation of Jesus' words. If the Lord had meant for them to go barefoot, would he not have said so? The trouble that prevents some from accepting this obvious meaning of the instruction is that it takes away all excuse for claiming contradiction in the synoptics. Matthew (Matthew 10:10) says, "no staff"; Mark (Mark 6:8) says "staff only"; and the true harmony of these lies in the fact of Matthew's reference to "extras" and Mark's exception for what was already in use. This passage in Luke gives the key of understanding all three synoptics.

Salute no man on the way ... This means that "They were not to waste their time along the road through long-winded salutations as is customary in the East."[10]

[6] Norval Geldenhuys, op. cit., p. 302.

[7] Ibid.

[8] E. J. Tinsley, Commentary on Luke (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969), p. 111.

[9] S. MacLean Gilmour, The Interpreter's Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1952), Vol. VIII, p. 185.

[10] Norval Geldenhuys, op. cit., p. 300.