Luke 9:1–9 Here in Luke
9:1-50 we see the conclusion of Jesus’s ministry in the Galilee. Starting
in Luke 9:51,
we see Jesus “steadfastly set His face to go to
Jerusalem”. What this literally is saying here is that He has turned
His face towards Jerusalem; because it was there that He was to die on the
cross for our sins.
This account can also be read in Matthew 9:35-10:14;
Matthew 14:1–14; Mark 6:7–16; and Mark
6:30–34.
What we will study this today in Hear is the News…01. Sent to Preach (Luke 9:1-2);
02. 02. The Command to the Laborers (Luke 9:3-6);
and 03. The Fears of Herod (Luke 9:7-9).
01. Sent to Preach
(Luke 9:1-2)
This sending out of the twelve foreshadows the final commission
by Jesus to His disciples
in Luke 24:46-49. There are some striking
similarities in language. The Twelve (Eleven) are given power (δύναμις [Luke 9:1; Luke 24:49])
and are sent (ἀποστέλλω [Luke 9:2; Luke 24:49]) to preach (κηρύσσω [Luke 9:2; Luke 24:47]).
In Luke 9:6,
Luke says that they were proclaiming the Gospel (εὐαγγελίζ́ω). Although Luke
does not use this word in chapter 24, he does list the contents of the Gospel
that is preached in Luke 24:46–47: the Christ suffering, the
resurrection from the dead on the third day, repentance and forgiveness of
sins. These similarities in the account of these two events are found only in
Luke. Luke
9:1–6 and Luke 24:44–49
are both commissioning stories.[1]
Luke 9:1 In the Gospel of Matthew, we are told that the
reason for sending out the twelve was because “when He saw the multitudes,
He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered,
like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to
send out laborers into His harvest.”” (Matthew 9:36–38)
In the same manner that Jesus was sent by the Father in the
Spirit (
Luke
4:18; cf.
Isaiah 61:1-2), so too did Jesus send the Twelve.
After Jesus went to the mountains to pray all night before He chose the Twelve
(
Luke 6:12),
we see the Twelve first called “apostles” in
Luke 6:13, which in the Greek
(G652
ἀπόστολος apŏstŏlŏs)
means an ambassador of the Gospel; he
that is sent.
[2] Jesus
gave all twelve, including Judas
“power and
authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.” (
Luke 9:1) This means that Jesus both qualified and
authorized them
[3] in
this commissioning. The demons were to be cast out and the diseases were to be
healed, but most importantly,
“He sent them to
preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” (
Luke 9:2)
The preeminent message of the church and her leaders ought
to carry the message of the Gospel, for the message of the Gospel is the same
that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth,
“For I
delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for
our sins according to the Scriptures, and
that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the
Scriptures,” (
1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
Too often in the church today we place the preeminence on healings and casting
out of demons, and not on the message of the Gospel, that Jesus came as a man,
bled and died for our sins and resurrected on the third day. The healing
ministry (of the disciples) was to authenticate their preaching ministry. The
fact that the Twelve healed in Jesus’ authority and power showed that He was
the Messiah who could bring in the kingdom.
[4]
“to preach the kingdom of God
and to heal the sick.” (
Luke 9:2)
in the Greek is written in the Present Indicative for the continuous functions
during this campaign.
[5] The
Twelve were sent by Jesus
“to preach the kingdom of
God and to heal the sick” (
Luke 9:2),
which was the same message that Jesus was sent to preach (
Luke 4:18; cf.
Isaiah 61:1-2), and healing was
a part of His message as well as that of the Twelve.
The kingdom of God is
unlike any other kingdom here on earth, thus the need for preaching, because it
was a kingdom the Jewish people were not expecting.
It is interesting to note that Jesus sent the Twelve to
“preach”
and not “teach”, for in Matthew we are told that Jesus commanded the Twelve to
go
“to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
(
Matthew 10:6) The Greek verb that is
used for
“to preach” (
Luke 9:2) here is κηρύσσειν (kēryssein), the
present, active, infinitive of (G2784)
κηρύσσω (kērussō),
which means to herald as a public crier the divine truth of the Gospel, to
preach, proclaim, to publish.
[6] Only
Jesus is mentioned as teaching in this gospel. Jesus promised the Twelve in Luke 12:12 that
“the
Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say”
(
John 14:26),
and this is the only verse in the Gospel of Luke that anyone other than Jesus
is the subject of the one who is doing the teaching. The Greek word that is
used in
Luke 12:12 and throughout this
Gospel for teach is (G1321)
διδάσκω (didaskō)
[7] and
it means
to tell, instruct, teach.[8]
Dr. Luke records the frequent teaching (G1321 διδάσκω didaskō)
by the Apostles after Pentecost (Acts 2:1-47) throughout the Book of Acts (cf. Acts 4:18, Acts
5:25, Acts 5:28, and Acts 18:11).
In biblical usage, the distinction between these verbs
would seem to be that preaching and evangelizing/proclaiming the Good News
involve stating the simple fact that the kingdom of God has arrived in Jesus,
who releases creation from its bondage to sin and its consequences in
fulfillment of OT prophecy (
Luke 4:18–19). Teaching involves more detailed and
lengthy exposition, explanation, and interpretation of Christology and the
kingdom of God brought by Jesus. The disciples are not equipped to do this
until after the outpouring of the Spirit, who enlightens them about the meaning
of Jesus’ death and resurrection. In addition, Jesus himself commanded his
disciples to wait until after his resurrection before proclaiming him publicly
as the Christ (
Luke 9:21–22;
Luke 9:36). Their silence until then
constitutes the messianic passion secret—the secret that the Messiah/Christ
must suffer and die at the hands of sinners (
Luke 9:21–22). Only after the resurrection will they understand the
necessity of Jesus’ suffering before he enters his glory, and only then will
they be able to teach and preach that Jesus, the Messiah, has completely
fulfilled his mission. That probably is an additional reason why the disciples
are not told to “teach” until after Pentecost.
[9]
Peter tells us about Noah, calling him
“a preacher of righteousness” in
2 Peter 2:5. In the Greek it is literally
“a righteousness preacher” (
δικαιοσύνης
κήρυκα dikaiosunēs
kēruka). The Greek word for
“preacher”
is (G2783)
κήρυξ (kērux) and it comes from the root word (G2784)
κηρύσσω (kērussō)
[10]
and it means
a herald of divine truth,[11] or more specifically God’s herald, one who
proclaims[12]
the Gospel and it is implied in 1 Peter 3:20 that Noah preached
to the men of his time[13]
during the 120 years leading up to the flood (
Genesis 6:3). Noah preached
righteousness (
2 Peter 2:5) for
twenty years before he gets married. After he gets married and has kids, he
continued to preach righteousness for the next one hundred years before the
flood (
Genesis
5:32;
Genesis 7:6,
11). Yet, his only “converts” in that one
hundred and twenty years were his wife, three sons and their wives. The
temptation would be to soften the message, to water it down.
A preacher (G2784 κηρύσσω) is a herald. A herald is not someone who makes the news;
instead they are the ones who deliver the news. Much like a modern day
newscaster is supposed to broadcast the news, not their opinion. As a preacher,
I have no personal words to give to you; I can only give to you what God has
given, which is found in His Word and in nothing else, not in the Book of
Mormon, or a new revelation or dreams (cf. Jeremiah 23:25-27)! The Word of God was given through Noah to the
people in the one hundred and twenty years leading up to the flood, and Noah
was faithful in delivering the Word of God (Hebrews
11:7). At times, we are Divine Heralds, and we are to give only the
Word of God, not our opinion, even if it means making people mad at us, and
they no longer want anything to do with us.
The problem is that many think that in order to
effectively minister today, we need to change or tweak the message, make it
more relevant.
[Rob] Bell was recently
asked by [Oprah] Winfrey on her network’s show, Super Soul Sunday, how close
Christian churches are to accepting homosexuality. Bell said they are “close’
and warned that if they don’t, they will become even more irrelevant than
before: “I think culture is already there
and the church will continue to be even more irrelevant when it quotes letters
from 2,000 years ago as their best defense, when you have in front of you
flesh-and-blood people who are your brothers and sisters, and aunts and uncles,
and co-workers and neighbors, and they love each other and just want to go
through life with someone.” Winfrey stated the obvious: “You sound really progressive to me.”
Here is an excellent example of a herald watering down the
message, and Rob Bell is not being a true herald (G2784 κηρύσσω) but instead he is being a ψευδοδιδάσκαλοι
(G5572) which is made up from two Greek words: (G5571) ψευδής psĕudēs meaning fake
and (G1320) διδάσκαλος didaskalŏs, meaning teacher (cf. 2 Peter 2:1). Rob Bell and many
others are false teachers twisting the message of God and leading others
astray. When you start mixing God’s Word with wisdom from the world, you are
not creating a message that with cause people to grow, but instead you are
creating poison that kills.
If Noah had to give an accounting to church boards today, he
would be fired because he wasn’t fruitful in the eyes of the world. The Bible tells
us in the end times there will be
“false christs
(G5580
ψευδόχριστος
psĕudŏchristŏs
[15])
and false prophets (G5578
ψευδοπροφήτης psĕudŏprŏphētēs
[16])
will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if
possible, even the elect.” (
Mark 13:22),
twisting Scripture, for they
“will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unholy,” (
2
Timothy 3:2) for
“They went out
from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would
have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they
all are not of us.” (
1 John 2:19)
“Beloved,
do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from
God, because many false prophets (G5578
ψευδοπροφήτης psĕudŏprŏphētēs
[17])
have gone out into the world.” (
1 John 4:1)
In Luke 17:26-27, Jesus described the end times “as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the
days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were
given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came
and destroyed them all.”
Just like Noah, we are to be heralds (G2784 κηρύσσω) of righteousness. When you teach
your opinions, your theology, your doctrines and impose those on other
CHRISTians, you are committing idolatry, thus breaking the first two
commandments (Exodus
20:3-6). Remember, Matthew tells us that Jesus commanded the Twelve
to go “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
(Matthew 10:6)
We are not to teach anything else, but instead we are
“to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for
all delivered to the saints.” (
Jude 3)
The phrase “to contend earnestly” is a single Greek word
(G1864)
ἐπαγωνίζομαι
ĕpagōnizŏmai,
[18] which
pictures a soldier entrusted with a sacred task of guarding a holy treasure.
That is the dedication and “earnestness” we have the privilege by the grace of
God to possess as believers that we my stand in the gap and not give way to
apostates (cf. 1
Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7). What we are to teach (G1321
διδάσκω didaskō) today is the same thing that Jesus taught His disciples to
teach. We don’t need to make the Gospel of Jesus more relevant for this
post-modern society that we live in, we are not to deviate from what was given
to us by out master, Jesus.
Peter wrote that the role of the pastor is to
“Shepherd (or literally in the Greek
to feed, tend as a shepherd-G4165
ποιμαίνω pŏimainō
[19])
the flock of God which is among you, serving as
overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but
eagerly;” (
1 Peter 5:2). Jesus
used this very word to Peter in the interview by the Sea of Galilee (
John 21:16) and Peter doubtless has
this in mind when he wrote
1 Peter 5:2.
Paul used the same Greek word (G4165
ποιμαίνω pŏimainō
[20]) to
the elders of Ephesus at Miletus (
Acts 20:28).
[21] Paul
didn’t tell them to
entertain the sheep
but instead he told them
to shepherd, to tend, to feed
the sheep! The only way CHRISTians are fed is by the teaching (G1321
διδάσκω didaskō) of the Word, not by preaching (G2784
κηρύσσω). Many churches today only focus on
preaching (G2784
κηρύσσω) and
don’t spend the time teaching (G1321 διδάσκω didaskō).
Paul goes on to warn the elders of Ephesus about the false
teachers (savage wolves) that were
coming into the church after he leaves in Acts
20:29–31. Paul writing to Timothy reminded the young pastor the
importance of the Word of God in 2 Timothy
3:16–17. David reminds us of the importance of the Word of God in Psalm 119:98–100.
Preach (G2784 κηρύσσω)
to the unsaved; teach (G1321 διδάσκω) the saved.
We like Noah, have a message that is unpopular: To tell
people that if they do not repent they are going to burn in Hell (Revelation
20:14-15), but that there is a Saviour who has made it possible for
them to be rescued (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
02. The Command to the Laborers (Luke 9:3-6; Matthew 10:5-15)
Luke 9:3 Matthew records for us a more complete view of
what Jesus said to them in
Matthew 10:5–15. Just because there is a
difference in the Gospel accounts about the same occurrence does not mean that
there is anything wrong with the Bible, all it does is highlight the fact that
the Gospel writers were not in collusion with one another!
Yet in the Synoptic accounts the meaning
is substantially the same: “Make no special preparations; go as you are.”
Jesus sent them out as heralds (G2784
κηρύσσω) “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (
Matthew 10:6)
without extra provision (
“Take nothing for the
journey”-
Luke 9:3) so that
they will have to be completely dependent upon
“the
Lord of the harvest” (
Matthew 9:38).
Luke 9:3 “neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor
money; and do not have two tunics apiece.” Staffs, bag, bread and money were
all essential supplies for traveling. When Jesus commissions them again (Luke 24:46-49;
cf. Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18)
He expects them to plan ahead and make full us of whatever provisions that they
have available (
Luke 22:35–38).
The rabbis taught at this time that you could not enter the Temple area with a
staff, shoes,
or
a money bag
because
they wanted to avoid all appearances of being engaged in any other thing other
than the service of YHWH. This was to remind them that when they were in the
Temple they weren’t to be distracted or engaged in any other business other
than serving YHWH
(Luke
2:49).
Later on, Jesus spoke to the Apostles about this time in
Luke 22:35–38. Another
possible reason that the Twelve were commanded not to take supplies on this
mission was not only to make them rely fully of Jesus to provide for them, but
also because this was a short mission trip. This also allowed the Twelve to see
how people reacted to their preaching
“the kingdom
of God” (
Luke 9:2). For those
who received the message and were healed would be more than happy to share with
the Twelve.
Luke 9:4 Jesus didn’t want them to find a place,
and then when they were offered a better place to stay to leave the first and
go to second. This was also a well-known proverb among the Jews, with Abraham
being the example, who Moses tells us in Genesis 13:3 that Abram returned “to the place where his tent had been at the beginning”.
Luke 9:5 When Jews returned home from being in a Gentile
country, they would literally shake the dust off their feet to signify their breaking
ties with the Gentiles,
[27]
essentially saying,
“we don’t want to
take anything from this Gentile city with us into our home”. If the town
rejected the Twelve and their preaching, they were to shake the dust off their
feet. Jesus commanding the Twelve to shake the dust off their feet from a town
that rejected them and their preaching was to signify that those Jewish people
were like Gentiles who would not listen or believe.
[28] Jesus was
giving those in the Galilee an opportunity to believe in Him, and those who refused
the Twelve and did not believe in what they were preaching would be judged. Their
job was to be preachers (G2784
κηρύσσω),
heralding the news of the Kingdom of God, not to change people’s minds. They
were to present the message that they were given, and if wasn’t received, they
were to shake the dust off their feet as if they were leaving a Gentile city. Paul
and Barnabas did this when the Jews in Antioch expelled them (
Acts 13.50-52).
The dust left behind was to be evidence against those who rejected the Kingdom
of God and its heralds.
Luke 9:6 Dr. Luke tells us that they went throughout all
the towns, probably just all throughout the Galilee.
03. The Fears of Herod (Luke 9:7-9)
Luke 9:7 Matthew places this part of the account
much later in Matthew 14:1-13, but
Mark (Mark 6:7–16) seems to be in agreement with Dr. Luke
and connecting this passage with the mission of the Twelve. For
it was their going all throughout the Galilee that caused the fame of Jesus to
spread so much that even Herod Antipas heard about Jesus (Mark 6:14), causing Herod to be
perplexed that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead.
“perplexed” in the Greek (G1280
διαπορέω diapŏrĕō)
[29]
which is written in the imperfect active meaning
to be thoroughly at a loss, unable to find a way out.
[30] The
conscience of Herod began to bother him, for he knew that he murdered an
innocent man in John the Baptist, and now hearing what great things that Jesus
was doing really started to mess with him, causing him to be exceedingly anxious.
Luke 9:8 Many thought this because of what is written in Malachi 4:5 that Elijah was to come again. In
fact, still to this day, during Passover, the Jews will have a child go and
open the door to see if Elijah has come.
Luke 9:9 “Herod said, “John I
have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?”” In the
Greek, the addition of the word Greek word (G1473
ἐγώ (ĕgō)
[31] shows
that it is with great emphasis that Herod says,
‘I, I beheaded John’
revealing that Herod had a guilty troubled conscience.
Luke 9:9 “So he sought to
see Him.”
This is written in the imperfect active, meaning that Herod keep on seeking to see Jesus.
[1] Just, A. A., Jr. (1996). Luke 1:1–9:50. St. Louis, MO:
Concordia Pub. House.
[2] Strong, J. (2009). A Concise Dictionary of the Words
in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Vol. 1, p. 15). Bellingham, WA:
Logos Bible Software.
[3] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997).
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 106). Oak
Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[4] Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R.
B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures
(Vol. 2, p. 228). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[5] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New
Testament (Lk 9:2). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.
[6] Strong, J. (2009). A Concise Dictionary of the Words
in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Vol. 1, p. 42). Bellingham, WA:
Logos Bible Software.
[7] Strong, J. (2009). A Concise Dictionary of the Words
in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Vol. 1, p. 23). Bellingham, WA:
Logos Bible Software.
[8] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A
Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature
(3rd ed., p. 241). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[9] Just, A. A., Jr. (1996). Luke 1:1–9:50 (p. 377). St.
Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.
[10] Strong, J. (2009). A Concise Dictionary of the Words
in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Vol. 1, p. 42). Bellingham, WA:
Logos Bible Software.
[11] Strong, J. (2009). A Concise Dictionary of the Words
in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Vol. 1, p. 42). Bellingham, WA:
Logos Bible Software.
[12] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A
Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature
(3rd ed., p. 543). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[13] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New
Testament (2 Pe 2:5). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.
[15] Strong, J. (2009). A Concise Dictionary of the Words
in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Vol. 1, p. 78). Bellingham, WA:
Logos Bible Software.
[16] Strong, J. (2009). A Concise Dictionary of the Words
in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Vol. 1, p. 78). Bellingham, WA:
Logos Bible Software.
[17] Strong, J. (2009). A Concise Dictionary of the Words
in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Vol. 1, p. 78). Bellingham, WA:
Logos Bible Software.
[18] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 30). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[19] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 59). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[20] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 59). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[21] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New
Testament (1 Pe 5:2). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.
[22] Plummer, Alfred. A Critical and Exegetical
Commentary on the Gospel According to St. Luke, The International Critical
Commentary. [Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1902], p239.
[25] Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and
Times of Jesus the Messiah [Grand Rapids; Hendrickson, 1953,], Bk 3, Ch 27,
p932
[27] Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R.
B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures
(Vol. 2, p. 228). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[28] Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R.
B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures
(Vol. 2, p. 228). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[29] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 22). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[30] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New
Testament (Lk 9:7). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.
[31] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 25). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
