Day 27 Lent 2023
Another long chapter and more things happening in my life that offer up challenges. This, too, shall pass. Tribulations work to joy, as the scripture for this week’s lesson for the Bible study class I just finished up suggests. I should listen to the Spirit as He guides me in all things. Let’s get started.
1And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases.
2And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing.
3And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics apiece.
Luke 9:1–3 (NASB95)
This and the next piece are connected, but there’s an idea I want to focus on in this first part. Jesus is sending His disciples out into the world for a purpose. He is not sending them into the world to make a living. He is not sending them into the world to publish books, give speeches and become motivational speakers. He is not sending them into the world to create their special ministry. Re-read verse two above. He is sending them into the world to proclaim the Kingdom of God. The verse there has Him telling them just to walk out there and do it. Take nothing with you. Who among us today has the strength of character and conviction of principles to walk out their front door right now to proclaim the kingdom of God and take nothing with them other than the clothes on your back? I don’t. Does that make us bad? I paused before continuing to type between that last sentence and this one, longer than I was comfortable with. You make your own judgments on that question, that pause, and these words.
4“Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city.
5“And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
Luke 9:4–5 (NASB95)
Hospitality was a thing back in the day. The world was smaller too. Most things were within traveling distance by foot or four-legged animal distances. If you stayed at the home of someone on the outskirts and told them where your destination was that measured in days, they made sure you had what you needed to make the journey or helped you get it if they didn’t have it. They were different times for a lot of reasons.
However, verse five is still just as good today as it was two thousand-plus years ago. When you proclaim the wisdom of the Kingdom of God to people, those who “do not receive you,” as you stop talking with those people through whatever medium you were conversing, “…shake the dust off your feet…” as you leave them. Do not think about them anymore. You did what you could do. It’s up to them and God now. The outcome of that is not your responsibility at that point.
6Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Luke 9:6 (NASB95)
The “kingdom of God” and the “gospel” are synonymous. The good news of Jesus Christ is the Kingdom of God. What Jesus did for all the world was to install the kingdom of God.
7Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,
8and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again.
9Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him.
Luke 9:7–9 (NASB95)
Remember, one of the women traveling and “ministering to” Jesus was Herod’s own wife. He is getting eyewitness accounts of what is going on as well as secondary rumors. Or is he? I wonder if his wife is telling him things. Herod’s trusted spies and advisors and other people are giving him conflicting information. Regardless of whether his wife is talking to him or not, he doesn’t really know what’s going on, but he knows he killed John, so it can’t be him.
10When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida.
11But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.
Luke 9:10–11 (NASB95)
At this point, the Disciples aren’t traveling very far abroad. Jesus is most centrally located, and the disciples are moving about the region as He instructed. They’ve come back, and a gathering occurs, but it is a gathering of more miraculous and supernatural events.
12Now the day was ending, and the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat; for here we are in a desolate place.”
13But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.”
14(For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.”
15They did so, and had them all sit down.
Luke 9:12–15 (NASB95)
We are about to get one of the most often talked about miracles of Christ. The feeding of the five thousand. Sitting in groups of fifty or so, that’s ten groups. The next time you watch a sporting event, pay attention to the attendance figure and see what five thousand people looks like.
16Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people.
17And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.
Luke 9:16–17 (NASB95)
He is risen. He is risen, indeed. But that same man who returned from the dead can’t take five loaves of bread and five small fish and feed five thousand people. Really? This event is in all four of the Gospels. When we celebrate communion, and the pastor blesses the elements, everyone sees it. This was no different. Everyone saw Jesus lift up and bless only five loaves and five fishes. Nothing more. Then, everyone sees everyone get fed. All of them. Haley’s Bible Handbook says these crowds were on their way to Jerusalem for Passover. Haley's says they witnessed this miracle and wanted to instantly install Jesus as their ruler. Imagine that impact as you head to the big city for Passover, and witness this event.
18And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?”
19They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.”
Luke 9:18–19 (NASB95)
Jesus has not told people who He is. Herod is getting just the speculation of the average person in these gatherings.
20And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
21But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone,
Luke 9:20–21 (NASB95)
The twelve disciples know who Jesus is. They believe it and tell Him so. Christ then tells them not to spread that information around. I wonder if they were before now? Luke doesn’t tell us that, but it is implied that they were not simply because that option wasn’t one that Peter gave Jesus when He asked him who the masses said He was.
22saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”
Luke 9:22 (NASB95)
We are at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, and He is already telling them how it will end. He is not telling them when it will end, just how. He has more bad news for them too.
23And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
24“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.
Luke 9:23–24 (NASB95)
Maybe calling it bad news is wrong. We know what happens at the end of the story, but the twelve don’t. At this point, things are just getting started, and they are hanging out with a guy who feeds five thousand people with just five loaves and fishes, raises the dead, and calms the storm with His words. Life is good for these guys right now; at least they don’t see the hardship in their future. We do. We know what it means when Jesus says, “…take up his cross daily….” We hear that all the time, but it is often quoted as I just did without the last part, and that is the truly important part, “…and follow Me.” It does us no good to persevere through our personal hardships if we are doing so to follow our own designs rather than God’s path for our lives. If we struggle through life after our own ways, it does not end as we hope. We must pick up that cross to follow Jesus. That is how we succeed. That’s also what He means in verse twenty-three about denying ourselves, losing our lives to save ourselves. Jesus says as much.
25“For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?
26“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Luke 9:25–26 (NASB95)
I don’t know this for certain, but the idea embodied in this next passage, verse twenty-seven, is also fulfilled in the following passages.
27“But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
28Some eight days after these sayings, He took along Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.
29And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.
30And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah,
31who, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
Luke 9:27–31 (NASB95)
Moses and Elijah are in Heaven with God. When the disciples see this, they are seeing confirmation that Jesus is installing the Kingdom of God on earth. They witness this and realize that they are now living in this kingdom.
32Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men standing with Him.
33And as these were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not realizing what he was saying.
Luke 9:32–33 (NASB95)
The disciples misunderstand what they’ve seen here to a degree. They know they’ve seen God and Heaven confirm who Jesus is. They relate that to us. They go so far as to want to build buildings for each of these divine beings they’ve seen, but that’s not the point. The point is to confirm without a shadow of a doubt for these men who Jesus is. This becomes a source of strength for them in the coming days as many fall away to doubt.
34While he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
35Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”
36And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.
Luke 9:34–36 (NASB95)
God has twice now pronounced Jesus His Son. There should be no question to the disciples who He is, but still, they doubt. That goes away after the resurrection, but before that time, they all doubt enough to fall away, even Peter.
37On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him.
38And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy,
39and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves.
40“I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.”
41And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
42While he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father.
Luke 9:37–42 (NASB95)
The twelve couldn’t cast out the demon. The unbelieving who claim the Risen Lord to forgive their sins but also make excuses that it’s “an epileptic child, not demon possessed” fall into that category in verse forty-one. Don’t take that wrong. Those people Jesus was talking about were His disciples. They didn’t have the strength of faith in the Man they were walking and talking with, the Son of God, to do it either. Jesus rebukes those people He is talking with and physically teaching on a daily basis. We have no such physical proof of the divine Son of God as they did, and still, they doubted. We shouldn’t beat ourselves up for falling into that same camp.
43And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples,
44“Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”
Luke 9:43–44 (NASB95)
The disciples didn’t understand fully what Jesus meant here. We do, or at least we should. We know what happens to Jesus when He is betrayed and crucified later. We should take that to heart and listen, “Let these words sink into your ears,” as the Son of Man commands. What are those words? The words of God as contained in scripture, the Bible.
45But they did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.
Luke 9:45 (NASB95)
And so today also, people continue to refute the words of scripture as just a book “written by men to control a geopolitical, socioeconomic group of people.” Do not be afraid to ask Him. Pray and ask God to tell you what He wants. He will respond but be ready to be obedient to the call when it comes.
46An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest.
47But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side,
48and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”
Luke 9:46–48 (NASB95)
Service. Servitude to those who ask. Humility. Setting aside the pride of place. Easy words to write. These are hard words to put into practice, I can assure you.
49John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.”
50But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you.”
Luke 9:49–50 (NASB95)
There is no middle ground, no sitting on the fence, and no waiting to decide later. You are either on Team God, or you are on Team Satan. This passage reinforces my objective to put no stumbling block before a brother or sister who claims Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I may not agree with how they do it, what they say, or how they say it, but Jesus just told the twelve not to stop those other people just because they weren’t “following along with us.” I can do no less.
51When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem;
52and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.
53But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem.
Luke 9:51–53 (NASB95)
This is miraculous too. Jesus has been doing miracles everywhere. Everyone knows who He is. Except for going into this town of Samaritans, no one knows who He is, and they treat Him badly, or at least they do not treat Him as some of the disciples think He should be treated.
54When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
55But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of;
56for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went on to another village.
Luke 9:54–56 (NASB95)
Again, no stumbling blocks. Jesus doesn’t want to end the lives of those who treated Him badly. He specifically says He came to save people, not to kill them. These Samaritans didn’t just treat them badly, but they rejected Jesus and all that He did and could do. Still, Christ didn’t want to treat them badly in this world as His disciples wanted. This is also a call to avoid judgment and justice in this world because that comes in the next. We should look to mercy and grace in all things given once this life is over; the consequences of our decisions and works come to be borne by everyone. We need to give people every chance they can get to accept Jesus Christ.
57As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.”
58And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Luke 9:57–58 (NASB95)
At that time, followers of a popular Rabbi earned prestige, fame, and positions of authority. Jesus’ response indicates He is not about such things. Christ points out to these people asking to follow Him that His way is not one of ease and luxury. It is work.
59And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”
60But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:59–60 (NASB95)
Let the dead bury the dead. Those who still live under the Law are the dead. Those who carry faith in Jesus Christ preach the Living Savior of Jesus Christ. This wasn’t a callous call to ignore family. In Jewish law, relatives of a deceased family member had a lot to do, so the father was not dead yet. Christ’s point is that preaching the gospel, the Kingdom of God, is more important than any other responsibility, and when there are conflicts, God comes first. Always.
61Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.”
62But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:61–62 (NASB95)
If you look back as the horse pulls the plow through the field, you will not draw a straight line. This is reinforcement about commitment to Christ. If you are a Christian, this is the most important thing in life, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to a fallen world. Yes, you. Everyone. Me, you, all of us. We are the cloud of witnesses to His glory, the only messengers some of the people we meet will ever see. It behooves us to represent our Risen Lord and Savior well. God bless and Godspeed.