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The Gospel of Luke Chapter Nine
Commentary by Timothy H. Burdick
Look with me as we see Jesus reveal
His true identity more-and-more to His disciples. Before
telling them anything though, He started out with a kind of
on-the-job training in which He revealed Himself to them, as
we see here in Verses 1-6.
“When Jesus had called the twelve
together, He gave them power and authority to drive out all
demons and to cure diseases. And He sent them out to preach
the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He told them, ‘Take
nothing for the journey - no staff, no bag, no bread, no
money, no extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there
until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you,
shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a
testimony against them.’ So they set out and went from
village-to-village, preaching the Gospel and healing people
everywhere.”
In the first verse, we see Jesus
calling the twelve together before sending them on this
important mission. While it is true that Jesus is not here
in a physical sense today, His call to learn from Him before
being sent out is no less real for us. Sometimes before we
are sent out, His teaching of us can take more time than we
would expect. One example of this would be Galatians
1:17-18, where Paul the Apostle spoke about his own call. He
said, “Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were
apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia
and later returned to Damascus. Then after THREE YEARS, I
went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed
with him fifteen days.”
When Jesus sent out the disciples
here in Luke Chapter Nine, we are not told how much
preparation time they were given before they were sent. Did
He spend quite a bit of time with them before their mission,
or did this just represent a short coaching session? Many
times we are excited about God’s call upon our lives, but it
can seem like we are just spinning our wheels endlessly and
getting nowhere. If that is the way you are feeling today,
God wants to encourage you. He has a plan for you, and is
taking you through His training school so you can fulfill
that plan in accordance with His will.
Luke 9:2 says, “And He sent them out
to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Notice
that the mission of Jesus’ disciples was first and foremost
to “proclaim the Kingdom of God.” In other words, the
disciples were to teach that the people could personally
experience the rule and reign of God in a new way. Remember
in the Old Testament that God’s direct intention for Israel
was revealed this way: God Himself intended to directly rule
over the people. So this is not a new concept that Jesus was
teaching. He was teaching the disciples to let people know
how they can meet with God in a better, deeper way. And God
wants to have this same kind of deep and personal fellowship
with you. Numbers 23:21 says, “No misfortune is seen in
Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The Lord their God is
with them; the shout of the King is among them.”
Expanding on what was said above,
Jesus did tell His disciples to heal the sick, but He also
said that their mission was to preach to mankind how men and
women, boys and girls can have a meaningful, personal
relationship with God. The priorities that Jesus set out for
His disciples are important today because we can’t put
social work, important though it may be, or anything else
ahead of the spiritual needs of mankind. In Luke 9:3-5,
Jesus continued by telling them: “Take nothing for the
journey - no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra
tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave
that town. If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off
your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against
them.” Jesus is simply saying that if the people won’t hear
your message, move on and don’t feel like it is up to you to
make them listen.
The Bible makes it clear that while
it is our job to share the good news, it is God’s job to
apply His Word to their understanding. Many times in the
church we do more harm than good because we try to force
God’s message on people. He says in Zechariah 4:6, “So he
said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not
by might nor by power, but by My spirit says the Lord
Almighty.’” It is important to note, by the way, that while
Jesus called His disciples to take nothing for their
journey, He is not necessarily calling us to do the same.
In Luke 9:6, their journey begins
and “so they set out and went from village to village,
preaching the Gospel and healing people everywhere.” I think
that the words, “so they set out,” are important for us
today, and I’ll tell you why. Many times we get so caught up
in preparing for the journey that we never go. Luke 9:7-8
tells us, “Now Herod the Tetrarch heard about all that was
going on and he was perplexed, because some were saying that
John had been raised from the dead, others that Elijah had
appeared and still others that one of the prophets of long
ago had come back to life. But Herod said, “I beheaded John.
What then is this I hear such things about? And he tried to
see Him.” Herod, however, never saw Jesus until His trial.
Please read Luke 23-8 with me - “When Herod saw Jesus, he
was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been
wanting to see Him.” From what he had heard about Jesus,
Herod hoped to see Him perform some miracle.
Going on, let’s look at Luke 9:10 -
“When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what
they had done. Then He took them with Him and they withdrew
by themselves to a town called Bethsaida.” Jesus knew the
importance of rest and was teaching His disciples by
example.
But Verse 11 says, “But the crowds
learned about it and followed Him. He welcomed them and
spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who
needed healing.” Mark 32:33 gives us more information - “So
they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.
But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on
foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.” Jesus
was becoming more-and-more overwhelmed. He was not able to
rest and as we go on in this passage we find that He could
not even eat alone with His disciples without interruption.
Luke 9:12-17 says, “Late in the
afternoon, the twelve came to Him and said ‘send the crowd
away so they can go to the surrounding villages and
countryside and find food and lodging because we are in a
remote place here.’ He replied, ‘You give them something to
eat.’ They answered, ‘We have only five loaves of bread and
two fish - unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.
About five thousand men were there. But He said to His
disciples, ‘Have them sit down in groups of about fifty
each’ The disciples did so, and everybody sat down. Taking
the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven,
He gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to the
disciples to set before the people. They all ate and were
satisfied, and the disciples picked-up twelve basketfuls of
broken pieces that were left over.”
Let’s try and reconstruct this
scene. The disciples had just come back from an exhausting
journey, landing in the boat that they had traveled in. When
they saw in dismay that the crowd had gotten there before
them, they must have complained to themselves. It may have
sounded something like this: “Oh no – wall-to-wall people!”
While the text tells us that there were about five thousand
men, it doesn’t reveal anything about the number of women
and children. There may have been as many as fifteen
thousand in the crowd that day.
As the disciples distributed the
bread and fish, they may have thought of Scriptures that
tell a similar story. Look with me at Exodus 16:4 - “Then
the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven
for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough
for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether
they will follow my instructions.’”
Luke continues in Verses 18-21 of
Chapter 9 - “Once when Jesus was praying in private and His
disciples were with Him, He asked them, “Who do the crowds
say I am?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others
say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of
long ago has come back to life.’ ‘But what about you?’ He
asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘The Christ of
God.’ Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to
anyone.”
It is interesting to look at the
prayer of Jesus. The text says that Jesus was praying in
private but His disciples were there. That sounds like a
contradiction, until you stop and think about it. Let me
assure you though, this is no contradiction. Jesus was very
focused in His prayer life. For one example of this, look
with me at Luke 22:44 - “And being in anguish, He prayed
more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood
falling to the ground.” Jesus had a very private communion
with His Father, even when His disciples were present.
When Jesus asked His disciples who
the people said He was in Luke 9:20, it’s interesting to
compare Herod’s response when he heard about Jesus in Luke
9:7-9, where it says, “Now Herod the Tetrarch heard about
all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some
were saying that John had been raised from the dead, others
that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the
prophets of long ago had come back to life.” We need also to
look at Peter’s famous confession. For when he said that he
knew Jesus was the Christ, look at the response of Jesus in
Matthew 16:17 - ”Jesus replied, “Blessed are you Simon son
of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by My
Father in heaven.”
Next we see Jesus admonishing in His
disciples in Luke 9:21 to not tell anyone. Why is this? The
Jewish people had a faulty understanding of how the Messiah
was to bring in the kingdom. The disciples thought that
since Jesus was the Christ, He would certainly overthrow the
Roman Empire. They knew nothing of two comings to this
earth, and they did not understand that the God-man would
die on a cross for the sins of humanity. And they had no
idea He would be resurrected from the dead.
If these truths had been fully
circulated before the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit, it
would have meant disaster for His message. Look at this in
the context of John 16:13 - “But when He the Spirit of Truth
comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak
on his own; He will speak only what He hears and He will
tell you what is yet to come.” Just as Jesus said that the
Father had revealed Him to Peter, so the Father through the
Spirit has to reveal God’s truth to OUR hearts. Finally,
look at what Paul had to say about this in 1 Corinthians
2:13 – “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by
human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing
spiritual truths in spiritual words.”
After Peter’s marvelous confession,
the disciple was probably on “cloud nine” with happiness.
But then Jesus began to talk about His rejection and
suffering, as reflected in Luke 9:22 - “And He said, ‘The
Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the
elders, chief priests and teachers of the Law, and He must
be killed and on the third day be raised to life.’” Matthew
16:22 gives us Peter’s response to what Jesus had to say -
“Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. ‘Never Lord,
this shall never happen to You!’”
Then Jesus set forth the
requirements for us if we are to truly follow Him, in Luke
9:23-26. He said to them, “If any one would come after Me,
he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow
me.” After saying this, Jesus went on to explain what He
meant. “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for Me will save it. What good is it
for a man to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit
his very self? If anyone is ashamed of Me and My Words, the
Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His
glory, and in the glory of the Father and of the holy
angels.” Denying ourselves and taking up our crosses means
to give up our own wants and desires in favor of God’s will
for our lives. Luke is the only Gospel writer, by the way,
who quotes Jesus as saying that yielding to Christ must be a
daily practice. We must come to Christ on a daily basis,
surrendering ourselves to Him if we are to experience the
abundant life which He offers.
Before going on, I would just like
us to take a look at John 10:10 - “The thief comes to steal
and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life,
and have it to the full.” In Luke 9:27, Jesus said something
that He then further explained. It is always best, by the
way, to let the Bible explain itself. “I tell you the truth,
some who are standing here will not taste death before they
see the Kingdom of God.”
In Luke 9 28-36, Jesus revealed what
He meant. “About eight days after Jesus said this, He took
Peter, John and James with Him and went up onto a mountain
to pray. As He was praying, the appearance of His face
changed, and His clothes became as bright as a flash of
lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious
splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about His
departure, which was about to happen in Jerusalem. Peter and
his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully
awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him.
As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to Him in Verse
33, “Master it is good for us to be here. Let us put up
three shelters - one for You, One for Moses and one for
Elijah.” As it is true for all of us at certain times when
we try to comprehend God, Peter did not know what he was
saying.
Moses was a fulfillment of the Law,
by the way, and the appearing of Elijah was a fulfilling of
the prophets. The Law and the prophets were fulfilled in
Christ.
While Peter was speaking, a cloud
appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they
entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying in
Verse 35, “This is My Son whom I have chosen; Listen to
Him.” When the voice had spoken, they found (Verse 36) that
Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and
told no one at that time what they had seen.
This “Transfiguration” event was a
fulfillment of Luke 9:27 - Peter, James and John indeed did
not “taste death” before they saw Jesus transfigured before
their very eyes.
As Jesus and His three disciples
come down the mountain, they were again met by a large
crowd. Look at Luke 9:37-45, “The next day, when they came
down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. A man in the
crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for
he is my only child. A spirit seizes him and he suddenly
screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at
the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying
him. I begged Your disciples to drive it out, but they could
not.”
“O unbelieving and perverse
generation,” Jesus replied in Verse 41; “How long shall I
stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
While the boy was being brought to Jesus, the demon threw
him to the ground and caused a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked
the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his
father. And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.
While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, He said
to His disciples, ‘Listen carefully to what I am about to
tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the
hands of men.’”
Look at the contrast between the
excitement and amazement of the crowd, and what Jesus was
trying to tell His disciples. But like we said above, His
words had not been revealed to them by the Spirit as yet.
Look at Luke 9:45 - “But they did not understand what this
meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp
it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.” In the same
way today, you may be afraid to ask Him for help because you
don’t understand God’s Word. But know that God loves you.
Read 1 John 4:18 - “There is no fear in love. But perfect
love drives out fear, because fear has to do with
punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
What does it mean to be the
“greatest” as it says in Luke 9:46? Let’s look at how Jesus
answers this in Luke 9:46-48. “An argument started among the
disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus
knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him
stand beside Him. Then He said to them, ‘whoever welcomes
this little child in My name welcomes Me; and whoever
welcomes Me welcomes the one who sent Me. For he who is
least among you all - he is the greatest.”
Many times in our churches, we argue
over rank and position. This does not bring glory to God,
but rather causes dissention. The values of this world are
upside down from those of Christ. To understand this concept
more fully, please look at Mark 10:42-45 - “Jesus called
them together and said, ‘You know that those who are
regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and
their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so
with you. Instead whoever wants to become great among you
must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be
slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be
served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for
many.’” Also look at John 15:17 - ”This is My command: love
each other.” Paul also urges us to be different from the
world when he says in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any
longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect
will.”
Often we are suspicious of people
who are different from us. But we cannot have an exclusive
attitude of this sort and claim to be followers of Christ.
Others who have trusted in Christ will not necessarily live
lives that are just like ours. Jesus dealt with this in Luke
9:49-50. “Master, said John, ‘We saw a man driving out
demons in Your name and we tried to stop him, because he is
not one of us.’ ‘Do not stop him,’ Jesus said, for whoever
is not against you is for you.’”
Jesus knew that His mission on earth
was nearing completion. As God in the flesh, the impending
cross that He was to experience was not a surprise to Him.
Luke 9:51-56 tells a little bit about how His journey to the
cross began - “As the time approached for Him to be taken up
to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And He
sent messengers on ahead who went into a Samaritan village
to get things ready for Him. But the people there did not
welcome Him because He was heading for Jerusalem. When the
disciples, James and John saw this, they asked, ‘Lord, do
you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?’
But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and He said, ‘You do not
know what kind of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did
not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.’ And they
went to another village.”
The Samaritans were a mixed group of
people. They were half-Jewish and half-Gentile. The Jews and
the Samaritans hated each other and that is why Jesus was
not welcomed. Jesus then told a man what it would be like to
follow Him. He did not say that the man could not follow
Him. He just said that such a decision would lead to a
difficult life. For all intents and purposes, Jesus was
homeless. Perhaps the man had some illusions that following
Jesus would be a glamorous life. Jesus is speaking to those
of us today who want an easy ride: it is not always easy to
follow Him. Let’s listen to what He has to say - “As they
were walking along the road, a man said to Him, “I will
follow You wherever You go.” Jesus replied in Verse 58,
“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the
Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
Luke 9:59-62 tells about two other
would-be followers of Jesus - “He said to another man,
‘Follow Me.’ But the man replied, ‘Lord, first let me go and
bury my father.’ Jesus said to him, ‘let the dead bury their
own dead, but you go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.’ Do
you think that Jesus sounds harsh here? Well, He is giving
the man a wake-up call. He is asking the man to take a look
at his priorities.
Jesus explains more about this in
Luke 9:61-62 - “Still another said, ‘I will follow You,
Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my
family.’” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the
plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of
God.” Christ isn’t saying that family and loved ones are
unimportant; quite the contrary. Family and loved ones ARE
important. But He is saying that we need to serve God with
an undivided heart. Thank you for reading this - please join
me for Luke 10.
Friday Study Ministries
The First Church On The Net
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org
"While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
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