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| Chapter 9 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ Then He called His twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. 2 And He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 And He said unto them, "Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor pack, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. 4 And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide and thence depart. 5 And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them." 6 And they departed and went through the towns, preaching the Gospel and healing everywhere. 7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that had been done by Him. And he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John was risen from the dead; 8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets was risen again. 9 And Herod said, "John have I beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?" And he desired to see Him. 10 ¶ And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. And He took them and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 And the people, when they learned of it, followed Him. And He received them and spoke unto them of the Kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. 12 And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve and said unto Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about and lodge and get victuals, for we are here in a desert place. 13 But He said unto them, "Give ye them to eat." And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fishes, unless we should go and buy meat for all these people." 14 For they were about five thousand men. And He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down by fifties in a company." 15 And they did so, and made them all sit down. 16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to Heaven, He blessed them and broke, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. 17 And they ate and were all filled, and there were taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets. 18 ¶ And it came to pass as He was alone praying, His disciples were with Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who say the people that I am?" 19 They answering said, "John the Baptist; but some say Elijah, and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again." 20 He said to them, "But who say ye that I am?" Peter answering said, "The Christ of God!" 21 And He strictly charged them and commanded them to tell no man this thing, 22 saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and scribes, and be slain and be raised the third day." 23 And He said to them all, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it. 25 For what is a man advantaged if he gain the whole world, and lose himself or be cast away? 26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when He shall come in His own glory and in His Father’s and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you in truth, there are some standing here that shall not taste of death till they see the Kingdom of God." 28 ¶ And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, He took Peter and John and James, and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 And as He prayed, the appearance of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistening. 30 And behold, there talked with Him two men, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 But Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep. And when they were awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. 33 And it came to pass as they departed from Him, Peter said unto Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah" --not knowing what he was saying. 34 While he thus spoke, there came a cloud and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud. 35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, "THIS IS MY BELOVED SON. HEAR HIM!" 36 And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen. 37 ¶ And it came to pass that on the next day, when they had come down from the hill, many people met Him. 38 And behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, "Master, I beseech Thee, look upon my son, for he is mine only child. 39 And lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him so that he foameth again, and bruising him, hardly departeth from him. 40 And I besought Thy disciples to cast him out, and they could not." 41 And Jesus answering said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and suffer you? Bring thy son hither." 42 And as he was yet coming, the devil threw him down and tore him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father. 43 ¶ And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all the things which Jesus did, He said unto His disciples, 44 "Let these sayings sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man shall be delivered into the hands of men." 45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not; and they were afraid to ask Him about that saying. 46 Then there arose a reasoning among them as to which of them should be greatest. 47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child and set him by Him, 48 and said unto them, "Whosoever shall receive this child in My name receiveth Me; and whosoever shall receive Me receiveth Him that sent Me. For he that is least among you all, the same shall be great." 49 And John answered and said, "Master, we saw one casting out devils in Thy name, and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us." 50 And Jesus said unto him, "Forbid him not; for he that is not against us, is for us." 51 ¶ And it came to pass, when the time had come that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and He sent messengers before His face. And they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set as though He would go to Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elijah did?" 55 But He turned and rebuked them and said, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. 56 For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them." And they went to another village. 57 ¶ And it came to pass that, as they went along the way, a certain man said unto Him, "Lord, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest." 58 And Jesus said unto him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath nowhere to lay His head." 59 And He said unto another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said unto him, "Let the dead bury their dead, but go thou and preach the Kingdom of God." 61 And another also said, "Lord, I will follow Thee, but let me first go bid those farewell who are at home at my house." 62 And Jesus said unto him, "No man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God." |
v1-9 The twelve disciples sent to preach. Matt 10:1-42; Mark 6:7-13. Each disciple was chosen by Jesus so that He could train them to help Him during His time on the earth, then after His crucifixion to they were to take up His message and spread the Good News to the world. v1-4 "Power," this means that the disciples had been given the ability, gift to heal and preach. "Authority" they had been given the right to use this power. As part of this training He now sends them out in pairs, to preach the Kingdom of God and heal. Jesus wanted to increase their faith by making sure that they had made very little preparation for the journey. Jesus had told the disciples that they were not to beg as was normal for other religions. v4 They were not to go from house to house in search of the best place but to accept what ever was offered to them. v5 Jesus also told them how to behave if the message was rejected. As an indication of the rejection, when the disciples left the city or town they were to shake off the dust from their shoes, this was as a sign of the peoples rejection. v6 The message and miracles were taken into the area around Galilee by these disciples. v7,8 As the message was spread Herod the tetrarch, the ruler of Galilee heard of this preaching and "the man Jesus." Because it was by his action that John the Baptist was beheaded he had great fear, was this John who had come back to life? Was it one of the old prophets that had risen from the dead? Perhaps Elijah, who was one of the most active of the prophets had been taken up into heaven alive and Malachi 4:5 had prophesied that Elijah would return to prepare the way for the Messiah. v9 Herod had a conscience, he knew of his evil action against John and his curiosity, his great interest in Jesus and wanted to meet Him, possibly for evil. v10 The apostles return. Bethsaida was a small town on the north shore of the sea of Galilee, some distance from the large cities and should have been quite and peaceful for the disciples to rest. v11-17 Feeding of the five thousand. Matt 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; John 6:1-14. v11 The reputation of Jesus had now spread, people wanted to hear what He had to say and see His miracles, they were prepared to travel long distances to find Him. v12 The disciples had realized that the end of the day was approaching, the people would need food and drink from the local towns which were some distance away. v13 On approaching Jesus with this thought He turned to the disciples and said "You feed them." The disciples must have done a quick examination of what was needed and what was available. Five loaves and two fish were all they can find. The loaves would have been small round cake like, similar to large biscuits, the fish would have been small, pickled or dried fish. v14,15 "Five thousand men," it was normal to ignore the women and children, they would not have been counted so we are possibly looking at a crowd of ten thousand people. Jesus knows how to organize and instructs the disciples to form groups of fifty people to help in the distribution. v16 Looking to heaven, Jesus blesses the food and starts to distribute the bread and fish to the disciples. He provides a constant supply to the disciples for distribution to the groups. v17 At the end, twelve baskets of food, not needed, were collected. Even more than they started out with, and all were satisfied. The Ministry changes. It is at this point that the ministry reaches a peak, following the feeding of the five thousand He became very popular. John 6:15 tells us that the people wanted Him to become their king, but His refusal meant a turning away of the people. They were seeking a miraculous leader, but that was not God’s plan. The question for the disciples "Who do you think I am?" Followed by the confession of Peter begins the journey towards the cross. 9:18-27 Who am I? v18 As was normal for Jesus to move into a new part of the ministry He draws Himself away to be alone for prayer. Compare Luke 3:21; Luke 5:16; Luke 6:12; Luke 22:1; Luke 22:44. v18 Jesus asked the disciples "who did the people think I am?" v19 The Jews had various thoughts and ideas, but each showed that they only saw a man, not the Messiah. For example a "man" who had just supplied their needs in the feeding of 5000. v20 It is at this point that the focus of the ministry changes, it now starts to center upon Jesus Himself and not His actions and teaching. Jesus now asks the disciples directly. "Who do you think I am?" Peter answers "The Christ" (Messiah is the same word in Greek). The disciple knew that he was someone special, someone unique, the One the Jewish nation had been looking for, but were soon to reject, unknown to the disciple. v21 The cross was to be the reason for all further action, Jesus did not want to be seen as a leader of a revolution movement against the Roman invaders. v22 shows what is planned for the Messiah. See Isaiah 53, the prophets had already shown what the Messiah would have to suffer. The Jewish nation were not looking for this type of Messiah, they wanted a king to lead them out of bondage. Compare the message of the early church, this was focused on this kind of "Messiah," Acts 2:22-24; Acts 13:17-34; Acts 17:2,3; Acts 26:22-24. v23-26 shows what will happen to any who follow this Messiah. He was to be first, self was always to be second v22,23 Christ was here to fulfill the plan of God as shown in scripture. His followers must also be expected to suffer for him. None of the disciples could see the coming cross and what it was going to cost, so some of the prophesies by Jesus must have been very confusing. "Take up his cross daily, and follow Me." A willing act by the believer showing acceptance of the suffering as part of their faith in Jesus. "Follow" as used in this passage indicates that it is a continual, ceaseless, forever action. v24 Jesus demands that a believers whole life is consecrated, made sacred for His cause, whatever happens to a believer, it must be all for His sake. v25 What does a person gain if they, for a short time, gain the whole world but spending eternity in punishment. v26 Jesus said that if you are embarrassed with following me, then how much more will I be embarrassed with you when we arrive in the presence of God. v27 These words seem to indicate that the return of Christ will be within the lifetime of the disciples, but He did not come. Jesus could be referring to the appearance of the Church after His death and resurrection which will finally be called to heaven as His Bride. Or perhaps He was talking about the Transfiguration, soon to happen, at which some disciples would be present. v28-36 The Transfiguration. Matt 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8. The disciples had only seen Jesus as a Man with special powers and teaching, a few days later three of the disciples were to see Him in His heavenly glory. He takes Peter James and John away, why He chose these three we are not told. He takes them up into a high mountain for a time of prayer. "High mountain," traditionally thought to be Mount Tabor or more likely Mount Hermon which is near Caesarea Philippa. Following the climb the disciples are tired and admit to falling asleep but were awaken by the events going on. Meanwhile Jesus is in prayer and as He prayed He reveals His true glory, His body and clothes all become incandescent, glowing bright like a light, the glory and glow of God. He is joined by two men, Moses and Elijah. v30 The two men left the world under unusual circumstances, Moses had died and buried by the direct hand of God Deuteronomy 34:1-11, Elijah had been removed from the earth by a whirlwind, 2 Kings 2:1-12. These two men represent the Law and the Prophets, witnesses to the work of Jesus but still subordinate, lower in position to Jesus. v31 They were discussing the very important coming work of Jesus on the cross. The word translated decease has the meaning of withdrawing from one area and beginning another life, and exit rather than a finish. v32,33 The disciples were having trouble keeping awake as it was late at night. Peter wanted to continue the experience and suggests they build three tabernacles or huts as temporary shelters. v34-36 A cloud, not a rain cloud but a cloud of glory showing the presence of God covers them, see Exodus 13:21,22; Number 9:15. A voice from the cloud repeats His approval of His Son. Then all became normal. None present told of these events until after the death and resurrection. v37-43 The powerless disciples. Matt 17:14-21; Mark 9:14-29. The next day the group join the rest of the disciples, after the glory of the Transfiguration, Jesus is met by the humiliation of the loss of faith of the disciples. The disciples had been approached by a man with demonic infected son, he asked them to heal the child but they could not. Jesus is disappointed that without His physical presence the disciples faith had failed. He knew that His presence on earth was soon to end and they would only have His spiritual presence. The disciples had already been given the power, Matt 10:1ff. They did not have any doubts as to who Jesus was but still did not have the faith in the authority that Jesus had given them, they lacked faith. v41 Jesus is now talking to the disciples, "This group of people alive today are faithless, how long shall I be with you and suffer you?" Despite all the previous experience in the ministry, they were still powerless. Jesus heals the child and returns him to his father. This event causes great wonderment by the people, but Jesus has further words for His disciples. v44,45 Jesus again tells of His coming death. Matt 17:22,23; Mark 9:31-32. v44,45 Jesus tells the disciples that they must grasp the fact that it was ordained by God for Him to die. But the whole idea was not even considered by the disciples, they did not understand or ask for an explanation of what Jesus was prophesying. v46-48 The child. Matt 18:1-5; Mark 9:33-37. v46 "Which of them should be greatest." They were still thinking as men, they could not see the coming suffering and the plan of God for the salvation of Man. The disciples still had not understood the words of Jesus a few days earlier Luke 9:22-26. v47,48 Jesus knew their thoughts and takes a child which He used to show humility. The child had not reached any place of importance in the world, this Jesus said was an example of the "least among you." v49,50 The disciples now show how human their attitude was, they were bigots, people who could not accept that others were able to do the work, to take the message. They wanted to stop this man’s work. Jesus, who knows the heart of a person was able to say "he that is not against us, is for us." The persons heart and reason for action is more important than being part of the group. The path to the Cross. The following chapters of Luke’s record are mainly unique to him, many of the events and parables are only recorded by Luke. They seem to just be a collection of stories with no order of time. Leaving Galilee for the final time. v51 God’s plan now takes the next step, the whole aim from now on was for Jesus to go to Jerusalem and be crucified on the Cross. "Time had come that He should be received up," Jesus has chosen the task which would involve humiliation, Heb 12:2. v52-56 Samaritans were part Jew part Gentile, descendent’s of the people that had been allowed into the country after the fall of the northern kingdom in 721 B.C. Because they were of mixed blood the Jews hated them, normally anyone going to Jerusalem would avoid going through Samaria. v54 Because Jesus was not prepared to stay in the area of Samaria healing and teaching as He had done in Galilee, the people would not receive Him. On seeing this attitude James and John want Jesus to punish the people, they want revenge. Jesus tells James and John off for their attitude, "The Son of Man came to save people, not destroy them" was the whole aim of the ministry of Jesus. Little did these two disciple know of the future rejection of Jesus by the Jews. v57-62 More tests for becoming a disciple. Matt 8:18-22. Luke records a number of people who approached Jesus about becoming a follower. The first man said he will go anywhere, Jesus reminds the man that the Lord of the earth has less than the animals on the earth that He can call His own. v59,60 Another man wants to "first bury his father," this did not necessarily mean that the man’s father had just died but that he had the responsibility to look after his father until he died, then he would follow Jesus. Jesus replies that those who are spiritually dead should care for each other, those who are spiritually alive to Jesus should follow Him and preach now. v61,62 The third man wants first to look back at friends and relatives, making sure they will support the action. The farmer, said Jesus, always looks to the front as he ploughs the field, if he keeps looking back he will never plough a straight, proper, furrow in the soil. What has happened cannot be changed, the believer must be always looking to Jesus. |
Easy English Translation
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