This Material Has Not Been Edited For s10

THIS MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN EDITED FOR

SCRIPTURAL ACCURACY, SPELLING, OR GRAMMAR

LUKE

CHAPTER 9

Lk 9:1-6

9:1 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, or scrip, 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 every where. KJV

THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS:

1. The enthusiasm of the Northern Galilee of the ministry of this new Rabbi Yeshua [Jesus] gradually, and in a short space of time, gave way to suspicion, dislike, and even hostility on the part of the large and powerful sections of the people.

2. After the death of John the Baptist, we find the external character and localities of the mission of Jesus became altered.

3. Because of John’s murder plus the marked development of opposition and the presence of both the Scribes and Pharisees from Judaea ever watching His conduct and dogging His every movement, seems to synchronize with a visit to Jerusalem that is not recorded in Scripture by the four Gospels, but possibly identical with the nameless festival that John speaks of in John 5:1.

4. This unnamed festival must have occurred somewhere about that period of the ministry of Jesus at which we now have arrived. Because now we find the mission of the Twelve Apostles spoke of.

At the close of the missionary journeys of Jesus at this time, which occurred some of the event that are described in the last chapters, we find Jesus struck with compassion at the sight of the multitude [Matthew 9:35-38 ‘And Jesus traveled in all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of sickness and disease. 36 When Jesus saw the multitudes, he had compassion on them, because they were tired and scattered, like sheep which have no shepherd. 37 So he said to his disciples, The harvest is great and the laborers are few; 38 Therefore urge the owner of the harvest to bring more laborers to his harvest.’ Matthew 9:35-38 Peshitta Syriac Text 100-400 A.D.

And then, immediately afterwards, He having traveled the whole of the Galilee, Jesus sent them out two and two to confirm His teaching and also to perform of mercy in His name (Matthew 10:1-41; Mark 6:7-13; Luke 9:1-6). Before sending them Jesus naturally gave them the instructions which were to guide there conduct:

1. At this time they were to go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and there ministry was not yet extended to the Samaritans or to the Gentiles.

2. There topic in there preaching was to be ‘the nearness of the kingdom of heaven’,

3. And this topic was to be supported by works of power and beneficence.

4. They were to take nothing with them, no scrip to buy food; no purse for any money; even no change of clothes [few ordinary peasants in the East can boast of even a change of clothes. They even sleep in the clothes that they wear during the day.]; also not traveling shoes [calcei] in place of their ordinary palm-bark sandals, and finally not even a staff for the journey unless of course they already had one.

5. On entering a town they were to go to any house in it where they had reason to hope that they would be welcome,

6. And then they were to salute it with the immemorial and much-valued blessing, Shalom lakem, “Peace be to you,” and if the children of peace were there the blessing would be effective; and if not, it would return on their own heads.

CHAPTER NINE

7. If they were rejected, they were then to shake off the dust of their feet in a witness that they had spoken faithfully, and that they thus symbolically cleared themselves of all responsibility for that judgment which should fall more heavily on the willful and final haters of the light of the Gospel that was rejected.

Paul the Learner – Farrar

Luke 9:5

9:5 Wherever they don't welcome you, shake the dust from your feet when you leave that town as a warning to them. Jews would shake the ritually impure dust of a Gentile city from their feet upon leaving it and returning to the Land of Israel; a secondary effect was to demonstrate to the city's inhabitants that the Jew had no fellowship with them; compare Acts 10:28 N. When Yeshua's talmidim disciples did the same to Jews (here, Acts 13:51; compare Acts 18:6), it symbolized their refusal of the Kingdom of God and consequent refusal to be part of genuine Israel (see Romans 9:6).

Sending (Luke 9:1-11)

The commission (vv. 1-6). The Twelve had been ordained some months before (Lk 6:13-16) and had been traveling with Jesus as His helpers. Now He was going to send them out in pairs (Mk 6:7) to have their own ministry and to put into practice what they had learned. This was their "solo flight."

But before He sent them out, He gave them the equipment needed to get the job done, as well as the instructions to follow. The parallel passage in Mt 10 reveals that the Twelve were sent only to the people of Israel (Mt 10:5-6). Luke does not mention this since he wrote primarily for the Gentiles and emphasized the worldwide outreach of the Gospel.

Power is the ability to accomplish a task, and authority is the right to do it, and Jesus gave both to His Apostles. They were able to cast out demons and heal the sick, but the most important ministry He gave them was that of preaching the Gospel. The words preach in Lk 9:6 describes a herald proclaiming a message from the king, and in Lk 9:6 it means "to preach the Good News." They were heralds of the Good News!

The Apostles' ability to heal was a special gift that authenticated their ministry (see, Rom. 15:18-19; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb 2:1-4). Miracles were one evidence that the Lord had sent them and was working through them (Mk 16:20). Today we test a person's ministry by the truth of the Word of God (1 Jn 2:18-29; 4:1-6). Miracles alone are not proof that a person is truly sent of God, for Satan can enable his false ministers to do amazing things (Mt 24:24; 2 Cor. 11:13-15; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).

Jesus told the Apostles what to take on their journey, with an emphasis on urgency and simplicity. They were not to take a "begging bag" along but were to trust God to open up homes for their hospitality. Mt 10:11-15 tells how they were to select these homes. If they were refused, they should shake off the dust from their feet a familiar act performed by orthodox Jews whenever they left Gentile territory (see Lk 10:10-11; Acts 13:51).

Lk 9:7-10

9:7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was raised from the dead; 8 and of some, that Elias had appeared; and of 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.

9:10 And the apostles, when they were 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. KJV

CHAPTER NINE

Remember Jesus had pointed out them the duties of trustful faith, and of gentle courtesy, and of self-denying simplicity, as being the first essentials of a successful missionary. Now he must fortify them against the inevitable trials and persecutions that would come from their being missionary’s. They needed to exercise the wisdom of serpents and yet be as harmless as doves; because Jesus was sending them forth as sheep among the wolves. I am sure that according to an ancient tradition [reference Clemens Romanus, 11.5 about A.D. 140].

That Peter – ever, we may be sure, a most eager and active-minded listener – interrupted his Master with the question, “But how then if the wolves should tear the lambs?” And then Jesus answered, perhaps even smiling at the naïve and literal intellect of His chief Apostle, “Let not the lambs fear the wolves when the lambs are once dead, and do you fear not those who call kill you and then do nothing more to you, but I say fear Him who after you are dead hath power over your soul and body to cast them into Sheol [Hell-fire]”

And then Jesus continuing the thread of His discourse, warns them plainly how, both at this time an again even long afterwards, they might be brought before councils [the Sanhedrin], and even scourged in the synagogues [for the power of the synagogue officers to punish by scourging, see Deuteronomy 16:18; Acts 5:40; 2 Corinthians 11:24], and stand at even the judgment-bar of kings, and yet without any anxious premeditation [Matthew 10:19 “take no thought” is too strong a statement, better in Matthew 6:25 ‘be not over-anxious about.” Is a more exultant one.]. In fact the Holy Spirit which will be inside of them will at that time teach them what to say. Example sees Stephen’s answers in Acts 7.

You will find that this doctrine of peace will be changed by the evil passions of men into a war-cry of fury and hate, and you will be driven before the face of your enemies from city to city [Paul experienced this]. Still let them endure to the end, for before they had gone through the cities of the land of Israel, the Son of Man should have come. This statement belongs to a much later discourse of Jesus, and is to be understood in its first and narrower signification of the downfall of Judaism, and the establishment of a kingdom of Christ on earth, which some of the disciples lived to see such as John. Paul the Learner

Remember: The kingdom of Israel fell by the wayside because of there rejection and killing of God’s Son, and so that kingdom came to an end, and now we see the kingdom of heaven comes into existence, with both Jews and Gentiles on an equal basis, and Jesus said that He and His Father would dwell inside of the believers because He had to go away to prepare a place for the Church. You will find in the study of the book of Revelation that the church is divided into three sections:

1. The church proper – raptured before the Judgment begins according to [ref. Revelation 3:10].

2. The promised remnant – keep in safety by God through the tribulation [ref. Revelation 7, 14].

3. The sacrifice of love – those who refuse to take the mark and die for Christ [ref. Rev. 13:16, 7:9].

Paul the Learner

Conclusion: Don’t fear, remember that the God who cared even for the little birds when they fell to the ground (Matthew 10:29) – and the God by whom the very hairs of your head were even numbered – the God who held in His hand the issues, not of life and death only, but also of eternal life and of eternal death, was more to be feared than the wolves of the earth – God would be with them; and He would acknowledge those believers whom Jesus acknowledged, and He would also deny those who would denies the Son of Man, Jesus. The disciples would have to be willing to give up all; and even be willing to take up their cross and follow Him.

Jesus taught them that they should be as He was in the world; that those who would receive them will also receive Jesus; and to lose even there lives for His sake and the Gospel’s would be worth it all, and that even those who would give a cup of cold water to them will not loose there reward. Every minister and missionary of the Gospel should write these instructions down and memorize them. Paul the Learner

CHAPTER NINE

Luke 9:7-9

The confusion (vv. 7-9). When the disciples left, Jesus also departed and ministered for a time in Galilee (Mt 11:1); and together they attracted a great deal of attention. In fact, their work was even discussed in the highest levels of government! Herod Antipas (Lk 3:1) was a son of Herod the Great and the man who had John the Baptist killed (Mt 14:1-12; Lk 3:19-20).

Who was this miracle worker? John the Baptist had done no miracles (Jn 10:41), but that might change if he were raised from the dead. The Jews expected Elijah to come, so perhaps the prophecy was being fulfilled (see Mal 4:5; Mt 11:10-14; 17:11-13; Lk 1:17). Herod's conscience was no doubt convicting him, and he was wondering if perhaps God had sent John back to judge him.

Herod kept trying to see Jesus; but Jesus, unlike some modern "religious celebrities," did not make it a point to go out of His way to mingle with the high and mighty. Jesus called the evil king a "fox" and was not intimidated by his threats (Lk 13:31-32). When Herod and Jesus did finally meet the king hoped to see a miracle, but the Son of God did nothing and said nothing to him. Evil King Herod had silenced God's voice to him (Lk 23:6-12).

The conclusion (vv. 10-11). The Apostles returned and gave a glowing report of their ministry, and Jesus suggested that they all take some time off for rest (Mk 6:30-32). As the popular speaker Vance Havner used to say, "If we don't come apart and rest, well just come apart." Their mission of preaching and healing had been demanding and they all needed time alone for physical and spiritual renewal. This is a good example for busy (and sometimes overworked) Christian workers to imitate.