Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 9:1
Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
Luk 9:1-6. The Mission of the Twelve.
1. Then he called his twelve disciples together ] This was at the close of the missionary journeys alluded to in Mat 9:35; Mar 6:6. St Matthew gives a touching reason for the mission of the Twelve. It was because He pitied the multitude, who were like harassed and panting sheep without a shepherd, and like a harvest left unreaped for want of labourers (Mat 9:36-38). The Apostles thus became, as their name implied, emissaries ( sheloochim), and this was an important step in their training.
and gave them power and authority ] Power ( dunamis) is the capacity, and authority ( exousia), the right to act. See Luk 10:19; Rev 13:7.
over all devils ] Rather, over all the demons.
to cure diseases ] The word is not iasthai, as in Luk 9:2, but therapeuein, ‘to tend;’ but there seems to be no essential difference intended, unless eases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony it points to the curious fact mentioned by St Mark that they anointed the sick with oil (Luk 6:13; comp. Jas 5:14).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
See the notes at Mat 10:1-14.
See the notes at Mat 10:1-14.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Luk 9:1-2
Then He called His twelve disciples together
The apostolic authority
1.
Its extent.
2. Its grounds.
3. Its propose.
4. Its limits. (Van Oosterzee.)
Charge of our Saviour to the twelve
I. TO WHOM THEY WERE TO GO.
1. Not to the heathen. It was more favourable to the progress of Christianity, even among the Gentiles, that the Jews should be first instructed, because, as they already believed in the unity and attributes of God, and possessed the prophecies, they were much better fitted than any other nation, at the commencement of Christianity, to be the instructors of the world.
2. Nor to the Samaritans, although, in travelling from Judaea to Galilee, it was necessary to pass through their country. Our Saviour foresaw that when the Jews should adopt the Christian religion the new benevolent spirit which that religion would diffuse among them would banish all national animosities, and dispose them to contribute with delight to spread the knowledge of Christianity among the Samaritans, and henceforth to acknowledge them as brethren.
II. THE PREPARATION THEY WERE TO MAKE. It is, rather, the preparation they were not to make (Luk 9:3). What could be the reason of this singular prohibition? We answer, that it was evidently the intention of Jesus, in their first mission, to teach them to rely with confidence on the providence of God, who would show them that they were special objects of His care, would cause all their wants to be supplied, and thus to convince them that they were engaged in the business of heaven.
III. WHAT THEY WERE TO DO.
1. Proclaim
(1) the coming of the kingdom;
(2) the need of reformation.
2. While uttering this proclamation, they proved that they had received Divine authority to make it; for they were empowered, during this journey, to perform miracles by curing all sorts of diseases. At the same time, to distinguish them from those impostors who pretended to cure all distempers, the apostles were prohibited from receiving money in the form of rewards or presents: Freely ye have received, freely give; acting in this disinterested manner like servants of the God of benevolence, they were not to be confounded with selfish and designing men.
3. As they had been prohibited from carrying with them the usual accommodations for a journey, they were to depend on the hospitality of those whom they visited.
4. They were enjoined to behave with courtesy to every person they visited. They had come to communicate most important information, and it was necessary to secure the most favourable attention. Besides, civility is an essential part of that benevolence which we owe to our neighbours; and he that is destitute of it neglects to use the means of cultivating the kindly feelings in himself, and in those with whom he associates.
5. When repulsed, they were to shake off the dust from their feet–a significant action which was evidently intended to leave a salutary impression. (J. Thomson, D. D.)
A host of heralds
When we are told that Jesus Christ sent His disciples forth to preach the kingdom of God, the word Luke uses means to herald. All Christians are heralds when they speak of the coming of their King. And the characteristics of heralds, before any other persons, are just these: they cannot be inconspicuous, and they must not be timid. Hence, ancient sovereigns used to dress their heralds in unusual and showy garments, so as to attract attention wherever they went; and they furnished them with horns and trumpets, so as to enable them to make a noise which should compel people to hear them.
1. The chief reproach levelled at the Church by the wild race of wicked men around us is that we are not sincere in our professions of longing for the coming of Christs kingdom. They laugh at a host of heralds so tame and bashful. Why do Christian people never speak up honestly, and do their avowed errands like men?
2. Of course, the proper reply to all this violence is not found in any waste of furious declamation or any massing of forcible logic. Our remedy under such hateful attacks is found in undertaking at once the work which is urged. We shall never hear any more about our derelictions in duty if we are patiently doing duty.
3. Now, it ought to be remembered that this plan of promulgation of the gospel was the choice of an infinitely wise God. There can be no doubt that it would have been an easy thing for Him just to convert the world at a stroke by an irresistible impulse of the Holy Spirits influence; no doubt He could have turned mens hearts into obedient holiness by some suddenness of Divine disclosure ministered possibly through a song of hosts of angels. But He chose to take time for it, and he chose to put the ultimate accomplishing of such a work into the hands of Christian men and women.
4. It might be well to dwell a moment upon the great grace of God towards us in granting such a favour. Next to being rich and imperial ourselves, it certainly would be very fine to be the almoner of an emperor distributing his wealth to the poor. There was wonderful benediction to us in that God fashioned a form of practical evangelization, which would allow play for all kinds of characteristic human endowments. By putting these into rapid and repetitious service, all of those who love Him would share in the grand result.
5. Moreover, the wisdom of such an arrangement can never be questioned. Making men heralds to other men would economize force in exercise, for it would build up intelligence and grace as it exhausted it. Personal activity in doing good promotes growth in all Christian excellence. Love increases by just loving. Hope enlivens itself by just hoping. Zeal gets on fire, and keeps on fire, by just arousing the heat. Knowledge is augmented in all cases more by the effort of teaching others than by simply studying for ones self alone. To the man who rightly uses the five or ten talents extra talents are given from the Lords money.
6. Right here, therefore, let us find an explanation of that low state of hypochondriac feeling which oppresses some Christians. They need spiritual exercise. Wilberforce was asked, once when he was labouring hardest, if he had in these times no anxiety, as he used to have, concerning his souls interests; and he replied, I do not think about my soul; I have no time for solicitude concerning self; I have really forgotten all about my personal salvation, and so I have no distress.
7. It is possible, therefore, that sometimes it may become actually necessary for the Church itself to be taught by alarm. The heralds may have grown listless. A real sense of peril is of value. Oh, do that on our souls, prayed Richard Baxter once, which Thou wouldst have us do on the souls of others! Once when Napoleon was crossing the Alps, his army grew laggard, and held back. He ordered the music to play, as if on parade. This was enough for most veterans in the ranks; but he observed that the trumpeters were tame, and their feeble strains of ordinary encouragement were not sufficiently seductive to draw away the minds of the rank and file from the awful weariness of the ascent of the mountain. One regiment especially just toiled along in a spiritless and forlorn array; these he gathered together, and then he ordered the bands to play the home-songs of the peasant people in order that thoughts of sunny scenes behind them might kindle the mens enthusiasm. Even that failed among some of the sad platoons; and there were some conscripts who only wept beneath an inveterate gloom. Finally, that shrewd commander marshalled the worst of all into one battalion, and put them in the lead. Then suddenly he ordered the trumpets to sound the charge of battle. That was a solitary challenge that no soldier of a French army ever refused. No one could know how they came to be attacked by a foe in the icicles of the high Alps; but is mattered nothing. Wild indeed was the excitement which ran through that hitherto dispirited host, for they supposed the enemy was upon them, and the quick instinct of war instantly flashed along the lines. The very bands played with splendid clangour of brass and shrill screaming of reeds on the frosty air. What that call meant pealing among the ravines was victory! Most men need some sort of inspiration in religious life just to keep them up to duty. Woe to the heralds with trumpets in their hands if they lapse away into a feeble silence! (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
Preaching the kingdom
We have here the commission of the twelve apostles.
I. THEIR AUTHORITY. This they received from the great Head of the Church.
II. THEIR QUALIFICATIONS.
1. Notice the two words used.
(1) Power; the ability to do a thing.
(2) Authority; the lawful right to do it.
2. Two realms referred to.
(1) The spiritual realm of darkness;
(2) the physical realm of human nature.
III. THEIR GREAT MISSION.
1. To give spiritual light and comfort.
2. To relieve those who were physically disabled and tortured.
(1) Christ is Physician for both soul and body.
(2) All His ministers should do what they can for the bodies as well as for the souls of men.
IV. THEIR MARCHING ORDERS. They were to be encumbered with nothing superfluous.
V. THEIR OBEDIENCE. Instructive to us–
(1) in its promptness;
(2) in its exactness;
(3) in its thoroughness. Lessons:
1. Every disciple should be a witnesser for Christ.
2. Though some of the particular things laid down here are not obligatory on us, the prominent features in their equipment are still needed.
(1) The power and authority;
(2) the willingness to give up everything superfluous;
(3) prompt, exact, and thorough obedience.
3. Every one whom Christ sends forth may confidently expect every needed equipment if he ask.
4. Surely the fields are now ripe for the harvest.
5. Let us not only pray that God will send labourers, but be willing to be labourers ourselves. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
Missionary work is Gods work
Who would not be a missionary? His noble enterprise is in exact accordance with the spirit of the age, and what is called the spirit of the age is simply the movement of multitudes of minds in the same direction. They move according to the eternal and all-embracing decrees of God. The spirit of the age is one of benevolence, and it manifests itself in numberless ways–ragged-schools, baths and washhouses, sanitary reform, &c. Hence missionaries do not live before their time. Their great idea of converting the world to Christ is no chimera; it is Divine. Christianity will triumph. It is equal to all it has to perform. It is not mere enthusiasm to imagine a handful of missionaries capable of converting the millions of India. How often they are cut off just after they have acquired the language! How often they retire with broken-down constitutions before effecting anything! How often they drop burning tears over their own feebleness amid the defections of those they believed to be converts! Yes! but the small band has the decree of God on its side. Who has not admired the band of Leonidas at the pass of Thermopylae? Three hundred against three million. Japhet, with the decree of God on his side, only three hundred strong, contending with Shem and his three millions. Consider what has been effected during the last fifty years. There is no vaunting of scouts now, no Indian gentlemen making themselves merry about the folly of thinking to convert the natives of India, magnifying the difficulties of caste, and setting our ministers into brown studies and speech-making in defence of missions. No mission has yet been an entire failure. The old world was a failure under Noahs preaching. Elijah thought it was all up with Israel. Isaiah said, Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? And Jeremiah wished his head were waters, his eyes a fountain of tears, to weep over one of Gods plans for diffusing knowledge among the heathen. If we could see a larger arc of the great providential cycle, we might sometimes rejoice when we weep. But God giveth not account of any one of His matters. We must just trust to His wisdom. Let us do our duty. He will work out a glorious consummation. Fifty years ago missions could not lift up their heads. But missions now are admitted by all to be one of the great facts of the age, and the sneers about Exeter Hall are seen by every one to embody a risus sardonious. The present posture of affairs is, that benevolence is popular. God is working out in the human heart His great idea, and all nations shall see His glory Let us think highly of the weapons we have received for the accomplishment of our work. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual, and mighty through God to the casting down of strongholds. They are–Faith in our Leader, and in the presence of His Holy Spirit; a full, free, unfettered gospel; the doctrine of the Cross of Christ–an old story, but containing the mightiest truths ever uttered–mighty for pulling down the strongholds of sin, and giving liberty to the captives. This work requires zeal for God and love for souls. It needs prayer from the senders and the sent, and firm reliance on Him who alone is the author of conversion. Souls cannot be converted or manufactured to order. Great deeds are wrought in unconsciousness, from constraining love to Christ; in humbly asking, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? in the simple feeling we have done that which it was our duty to do. The effect works, the greatness of which it will remain for posterity to discern. The greatest works of God in the kingdom of grace, like His majestic works in nature, are marked by stillness in the doing of them, and reveal themselves by their effects. They come up like the sun, and show themselves by their own light. The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Luther simply followed the leadings of the Holy Spirit in the struggles of His own soul. He wrought out what the inward impulses of his own breast prompted him to work, and behold, before He was aware, he was in the midst of the Reformation. So, too, it was with the Plymouth pilgrims, with their sermons three times a day on board the Mayflower. Without thinking of founding an empire, they obeyed the sublime teachings of the Spirit, the prompt-ings of duty and the spiritual life. God working mightily in the human heart is the spring of all abiding spiritual power; and it is only as men follow out the sublime promptings of the inward spiritual life that they do great things for God. The movement of not one mind only, but the consentaneous movement of a multitude of minds in the same direction, constitutes what is called the spirit of the age. This spirit is neither the law of progress nor blind development, but Gods all-eternal, all-embracing purpose, the doctrine which recognizes the hand of God in all events, yet leaves all human action free. When God has prepared an age for a new thought, the thought is thrust into the age as an instrument into a chemical solution–the crystals cluster around it immediately. If God prepares not, the man has lived before his time. Huss and Wiclif were like voices crying in the wilderness, preparing the way for a brighter future; the time had not yet come. Who would not be a missionary? They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. Is God not preparing the world for missions which will embrace the whole of Adams family? The gallant steamships circumnavigate the globe. Emigration is going on at a rate to which the most renowned crusades of antiquity bear no proportion. Many men go to and fro, and knowledge is increased. No great emigration ever took place in the world without accomplishing one of Gods great designs. The tide of modern emigration flows towards the West. The wonderful amalgamation of races will result in something grand. We believe this, because the world is becoming better, and because God is working mightily in the human mind. We believe it, because God has been preparing the world for something glorious. And that something will be a fuller development of the missionary idea and work. There will yet be a glorious consummation of Christianity. The last fifty years have accomplished wonders. On the American continent, what a wonderful amalgamation of races we have witnessed, how wonderfully they have been fused into that one American people–type and earnest of s larger fusion which Christianity will yet accomplish, when, by its blessed power, all tribes and tongues and races shall become one holy family. The present popularity of beneficence promises well for the missionary cause in the future. Mens hearts are undergoing a process of enlargement. Their sympathies are taking a wider scope. The world is getting closer, smaller–quite a compact affair. The world for Christ will yet be realized.(David Livingstone, LL. D.)
Authority for missions
When a Roman magistrate was appointed to conduct a campaign he could not even assume the command of an army until he had been invested with the special powers comprehended in the imperium or right of military command. And to this day when governments are called upon to undertake extraordinary enterprises they are in the habit of endowing their officers with extraordinary powers. So Jesus, when sending His disciples to combat with the powers of evil, gave them special authority and miraculous power. (Sunday School Times.)
Insignificant beginnings
Not many years ago the Queen of Great Britain was proclaimed Empress of India. That event was announced throughout India with all the pomp of empire. Contrast with this earthly splendour the manner in which the new kingdom of Christ was proclaimed on earth. Twelve poor disciples preached it in an insignificant province of the Roman Empire. (Sunday School Times.)
A missionarys healing work
In the first verse of this lesson is a strong reminder of the most efficient style of missionaries to-day. Saying nothing about the power and authority over all devils, to cure diseases is no small part of the modem missionarys task. It is plain enough to most Christian people who keep up with the general run of accounts from the mission field, that medical training greatly adds to a missionarys influence. Indeed, it seems almost superfluous to say a word more on the subject. But when one thinks how much physicians are needed among a people where regularly trained physicians do not otherwise exist than through the efforts of the missionaries; how many diseases have been scourges which are quite within the power of medical science; to how many people a physician can gain the access denied to every one else; what opportunities a physician has for making many his grateful friends for life; it will not be wondered that medical training and a physicians work are wonderful aids in advancing the kingdom. It is no wonder either that Luke, the physician, was particular to notice this branch of the apostolic commission; or that it was actually given by our Lord. Even a quack, or a skilful physician who insists on extortionate fees, is a man of power; though such a one may do the missionary work great harm. He would be feared. Unless he both preaches the kingdom of God–preaches in the old sense, not sermonizes by the hour-glass-and heals the sick, he is worse than useless. (Sunday School Times.)
The call to Christian work
I. THE CALL TO CHRISTIAN WORK. These twelve apostles were men specially called by Christ, some from their fishing, one from the receipt of custom. We must not think that they were elected to the exceeding privilege of personal relations with Christ. It would be true to say that, through all the ages, God does not elect to privilege, He selects for duty.
II. THE FORM OF CHRISTIAN WORK.
1. Every one who is sent has a message to deliver. It is a message of sovereign grace. It is a message that has to be set in precise adaptation to mens needs. It is a message that makes practical demands on all to whom it is addressed.
2. Every one sent is expected to scatter temporal blessings as he goes about doing his higher spiritual work. Heal the sick only represents the work of the unusually endowed.
III. THE SPHERE OF CHRISTIAN WORK. These apostles were bidden go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. Lost sheep! They can be found by us all close at hand.
IV. THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTIAN WORK. Freely ye have received, freely give. True workers for Christ must be heedless of self; they must gain full hold and mastery of self. (The. Weekly Pulpit.)
A love of preaching
The late Rev. Rowland Hill remarks–Old as I am, I am just returned from a long missionary ramble; but I feel I am getting old. Oh that I may work well to the last! In all his journeys, even when he had reached a period beyond that usually allotted to man, he was disconcerted if he did not find a pulpit ready for him every evening. In one of his letters, fixing his days for preaching on his road to some place, he says, Ever since my Master has put me into office I have ever esteemed it my duty to remember His admonition, As ye go, preach. His general answer to invitations to houses on his route was, I shall be happy to come to you, if you can find me a place to preach in.
Simplicity in preaching
Arthur Helps tells a story of an illiterate soldier at the chapel of Lord Morpeths castle in Ireland. Whenever Archbishop Whately came to preach it was observed that this rough private was always in his place, mouth open, as if in sympathy with his ears. Some of the gentlemen playfully took him to task for it, supposing it was due to the usual vulgar admiration of a celebrity. But the man had a better reason, and was able to give it. He said, That isnt it at all. The Archbishop is easy to understand. There are no fine words in him. A fellow like me, now, can follow along and take every bit of it in.
The mission of the twelve
1. It was one which had for its especial object the welfare of men, both as to soul and body.
2. In His instructions to these first ministers of the gospel, the Master seemed especially to warn them against any needless regard to their own appearance, or any undue considerations for their own comfort or ease. Simplicity, frugality, and paramount regard to their work, were the principles which they were to illustrate, and these have always been considered becoming to true ministers of the gospel in the purest days of the Church. These first apostles were to cultivate warm fraternal fellowship with the people among whom they were to labour, mixing with them and their families in the ordinary intercourse of life, and kindly receiving that hospitality which was freely offered, though never demanded.
3. We are not to consider that these directions of our Lord establish any fixed rules in respect to the support or costume or social relations of His ministers. They were rather adapted to a special and peculiar service; they were conformable to the customs and usages of the times and the country.
4. The injunction to shake off the dust from their feet in leaving a place where they were not welcomed and their teaching was not received, does not inculcate anything like a spirit of denunciation and bitterness, but simply a protest against the unbelief which manifested itself in this manner, and was like the custom, well known to the Jews, of shaking their garments when they came from a heathen city into their own country. The scribes taught that the dust of heathenism defiled those on whom it rested. (E. P. Rogers, D. D.)
Practical suggestions
1. An apostle is a sent one, but not self-sent.
2. A true shepherd must not mistake the love of the fleece for the love for the flock.
3. The Church is to remember that her angels are still in the flesh, and require at least an average provision for the needs of the flesh. It is a poor way to advance the spirituality of a minister, to begrudge him his bread.
4. Spirituality is not a thing belonging necessarily to riches or to poverty. All the worldliness is not with the rich. All the spirituality is not with the poor.
5. All true and faithful ministers may justly claim to be in the best sense in an apostolic succession.
6. Ostentation and luxury are a reproach to the ministers of Christ.
7. The Christian missionary emulates his Master, who came as the sent One from heaven, to seek and to save that which was lost.
8. That is a true and practical Christianity which is not forgetful of the wants of the body while ministering to the necessities of the soul.
9. Every Christian is bound to be a missionary, even though he be not ordained as a preacher. The spirit of missions is the spirit of Christ, and when the whole Church is imbued with that the Lords prayer will be answered, Thy kingdom come. (E. P. Rogers, D. D.)
The kingdom of God
The whole circle of doctrines taught by Christ revolves about this central point–that He represented to men the kingdom of God. What is this kingdom of God which Jesus preached in His gospel? and how does the knowledge of this kingdom bring us under obligation to repent, and give us encouragement to believe? The answer to these questions must be sought in the meaning of this phrase, as it required to be understood by the Jews of Christs own time. To the men whom Christ addressed, the kingdom of God was no new idea; or rather it was no new phrase–but it can hardly be said to have represented any definite idea to a generation that had so far lost the meaning of their own law and history. If we study closely the religion of the Old Testament, we shall find that all its doctrines, laws, and institutions grow out of this fundamental thought, that God, who Himself is pure and spiritual, is the true and only Redeemer of all those who desire to be no more estranged from Him. This truth was formally embodied in the doctrine of a kingdom of God in this world, the nucleus of which was His redeemed people of Israel. The political constitution of Israel as a nation was but a frame for this spiritual kingdom. The true conception of the kingdom stands out m the predictions of Jeremiah concerning the days of the Messiah. When this prophet wrote, the political kingdom had run itself down into disgrace and bankruptcy, through the vices of the kings and the general wickedness of the people; but although the monarchy should be overthrown, and king and people be carried away captive, the kingdom of God in the true Israel–as represented by the prophet and by all believing souls–could not be destroyed. This view of the kingdom of God may be interpreted to us by our familiar conceptions of the national and historical spirit in a people, as distinguished from the form of government and the practical administration of affairs. If, for instance, one loses confidence in a ministry, he does not abandon constitutional government as a failure. It was the spiritual conception of a kingdom within Israel itself–that did not embrace all Israel, and yet was greater than Israel, because it did possess, and should hereafter more and more possess, souls outside the pale of the Jewish commonwealth–that Jeremiah seized so vividly at the very moment when the national monarchy was sinking into nothingness. With this spiritual conception of the kingdom–the presence of God as a Saviour realized to the soul–it is easy to understand how Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom of God. Coming at a time when the Jews were vassals of the Roman power; when deprived of every symbol of their nationality save their temple and its worship, they were yearning for a deliverer; to the nominal people of God thus subjugated by military rule, yet clinging to the ancient promise of a Messiah who should restore the glory of the theocracy, He said, I bring to you the good news of the kingdom of God; in Me Jehovah once more comes to you as a Deliverer; the time predicted by Daniel is fulfilled; the new covenant promised by Jeremiah is brought to you in My gospel; repent of the sins that have humiliated and well-nigh destroyed you; renounce your vain hopes of deliverance and trust in Me as your Saviour; repent and believe the gospel, for the kingdom of God is at hand. (J. P. Thomson.)
The kingdom
1. Is within. One becomes a subject of it in his own consciousness.
2. Has laws for the regulation of the life, though purifying and ennobling the heart.
3. Has its privileges. Every subject is treated as a son.
4. Has its rewards, both present and prospective. (J. P. Thomson.)
The twofold mission: preaching and healing
It is in obedience to this mandate that our missionaries, before they go abroad, not only spend a number of years at some theological college where they may prepare themselves for the work of proclaiming the gospel, but generally spend a year or so in the hospitals, gaining some knowledge of medicine that they may alleviate the physical woes of the people among whom their lives are to be spent, and so, it may be, reach the soul through the body. At home the two functions are discharged by different persons, and yet it seems to me that minister and doctor should be in completest sympathy, and recognize each other as severally working towards the same end. Some doctors have I known, who while attending to the physical wants of their patients could find time not only to speak the kindly and reassuring words which come so well from the lips of men who belong to the healing profession, but also to say some word which might point the afflicted one to that great Healer and most beneficent Physician, who is the Redeemer of our whole nature. It is a proof of the close alliance which ought to subsist between preaching and healing, that hospitals are a direct fruit of Christianity. Neither the religion nor the philosophy of Greece and Rome tended to comfort the poor. The divinities were cruel; the Stoic affected to despise the sufferings of the indigent; the Epicurean took no thought of them. Throughout the vast regions of Mogol, India, and China, the use of hospitals is unknown to this day. In no country did Christianity find such institutions existing. The history of their rise and progress can be traced in few words. In the year 380 the first hospital in the West was founded by Fabiola, a devout Roman lady, without the walls of Rome. St. Jerome says, expressly, that this was the first of all. And he adds that it was a country-house, destined to receive the sick and infirm, who before used to lie stretched on the public ways. The pilgrims hospital at Rome, built by Pammachius, became also celebrated. In 330, the priest Zotichus, who had followed Constantine to Byzantium, established in that city, under his protection, a hospital for strangers and pilgrims. St. Basil, who founded the first hospitals of Asia, mentions a house for the reception of the sick and of travellers, near the city of Caesarea, which became afterwards the ornament of the country, and like a second city. St. Chrysostom built several hospitals at Constantinople. Coming down to modern days, it is significant that the three oldest London hospitals, St. Thomass, St. Bartholomews, and Bethlehem, were founded about the middle of the sixteenth century, immediately after the Reformation, and that the reign of George II., in which Wesley and Whitefield preached from end to end of the land, was the period at which a considerable accession was made to the number of English hospitals, and at which society became alive to the value of such institutions. (J. R. Bailey.)
There is certainly no other feature of the old civilization so repulsive as the indifference to suffering that it displayed. The constant association of human suffering with popular entertainments rendered the popular mind continually more callous. Very different was the aspect presented by the early Church. Charity was one of the earliest, as it was one of the noblest creations of Christianity; and independently of the incalculable mass of suffering it has assuaged, the influence it has exercised in softening and purifying the character, in restraining the passions, and enlarging the sympathies of mankind, has made it one of the most important elements of our civilization. (W. E. H. Lecky, M. A.)
Bodily healing a preparation for spiritual instruction
Although China has reached what some are pleased to call the highest degree of civilization of which a nation is capable without the gospel, it presents, I believe, more physical suffering, for want of medical knowledge, than any other nation on the face of the the earth. The multitudes of sick, and lame, and blind which crowd the streets of this and other cities, are ample evidence of her deplorable condition in this respect. In an institution like this, a good surgeon may almost every day of his life make the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the deaf hear, and the paralytic whole; besides bringing hundreds together under the most favourable circumstances, to have the gospel preached to them. I might be allowed to give one example of the influence which even one successful case exerts, not only upon an individual or a family, but upon a locality or neighbourhood. Last spring I operated on a mans eyes for artificial pupil. For several years previously he had only just been able to distinguish day from night, light from darkness. Three days after the operation he was able to read the ordinary character, and on the fifth day he left the hospital. He was a boatman, and lives about half-way to Nankin, on the Northern bank of Yang-tsze river. Two months afterwards he arrived again in Shanghai with his boat, and brought six blind people to the hospital, five men and one woman, from his own neighbourhood, and they not only wanted to have their sight restored, but made enquiries about the Christian religion, which they said their friend who brought them had told them about One man, continues the doctor in another report, a shopkeeper, who had been blind for three years, readily submitted to the operation for cataract. I need not say that he was much delighted when, on the twelfth day after it, he was able to read the New Testament character with facility. This man left the hospital in very high spirits, declaring that he would make known the gospel doctrine to all his friends and neighbours. (Dr. Henderson.)
Delight in preaching
What cross do you suppose I take up in preaching? Just the same kind of a cross a mountain rill takes up that gushes forth all summer long. Why does it gush forth? Because it is its duty? No; because it cannot help it. It is its nature; and it goes ringing down the dell to please itself, not to please the heavens, or the clouds, or anything else–though it may please them all. And it is because it is to me pleasanter than anything else that I preach. I might preach if it was not so pleasant; but I am entitled to no thanks because I preach. The whole professional life of a minister who has health, and a healthy theology, ought to be pleasant. (H. W. Beecher.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER IX.
Christ sends his apostles to preach and work miracles, 1-6.
Herod, hearing of the fame of Jesus, is perplexed; some suppose
that John Baptist is risen from the dead; others, that Elijah
or one of the old prophets was come to life, 7-9.
The apostles return and relate the success of their mission. He
goes to a retired place, and the people follow him, 10, 11.
He feeds five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes,
12-17.
He asks his disciples what the public think of him, 18-21.
Foretells his passion, 22.
Shows the necessity of self-denial, and the importance of
salvation, 23-25.
Threatens those who deny him before men, 26.
The transfiguration, 27-36.
Cures a demoniac, 37-43.
Again foretells his passion, 44, 45.
The disciples contend who shall be greatest, 46-48.
Of the person who cast out devils in Christ’s name, but did not
associate with the disciples, 49, 50.
Of the Samaritans who would not receive him, 51-56.
Of the man who wished to follow Jesus, 57, 58.
He calls another disciple who asks permission first to bury his
father, 59.
Our Lord’s answer 60-62.
NOTES ON CHAP. IX.
Verse 1. Power and authority] . The words properly mean here, the power to work miracles; and that authority by which the whole demoniac system was to be subjected to them. The reader will please to observe:
1. That Luke mentions both demons and diseases; therefore he was either mistaken, or demons and diseases are not the same.
2. The treatment of these two was not the same:-the demons were to be cast out, the diseases to be healed. See Mt 10:1.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
We have heard of the choosing of these twelve disciples, and their names, Luk 6:13-16; Mar 3:14-19. Our Saviour chose them to be with him, to learn of him, and to be instructed by him, and to be witnesses of what he said and did; after some time thus spent, he sends them forth to preach the gospel, and giveth them a power to confirm the doctrine which they preached, by several miraculous operations. Matthew takes no notice of their election, only of their mission. Both Mark and Luke take notice of both. Luk 9:3-6 give us an account of the instructions he gave them; we met with them all before, and a more full account of them,
See Poole on “Mat 10:1” and following verses to Mat 10:42. See Poole on “Mar 6:7” and following verses to Mar 6:11.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. power and authorityHe bothqualified and authorized them.
Lu9:7-9. HEROD TROUBLEDAT WHAT HEHEARS OF CHRISTDESIRES TO SEEHIM.
(See on Mr6:14-30).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then he called his twelve disciples together,…. The Persic version reads, “all his twelve disciples”, the other nine, besides the three that were with him, when he raised Jairus’s daughter, recorded in the foregoing chapter; the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions read, “the twelve apostles”, for so Christ had named his disciples; [See comments on Mt 6:13]. The Syriac version only reads, “his own twelve”; and this is agreeably to Luke’s way of speaking; see Lu 8:1.
And gave them power and authority over all devils; that is, all kinds of devils, particularly to cast them out of the bodies of men, possessed by them:
and to cure diseases; of all sorts.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| The Mission of the Twelve Apostles. |
| |
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 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. 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 risen 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.
We have here, I. The method Christ took to spread his gospel, to diffuse and enforce the light of it. He had himself travelled about, preaching and healing; but he could be only in one place at a time, and therefore now he sent his twelve disciples abroad, who by this time were pretty well instructed in the nature of the present dispensation, and able to instruct others and deliver to them what they had received from the Lord. Let them disperse themselves, some one way and some another, to preach the kingdom of God, as it was now about to be set up by the Messiah, to make people acquainted with the spiritual nature and tendency of it, and to persuade them to come into the interests and measures of it. For the confirming of their doctrine, because it was new and surprising, and very different from what they had been taught by the scribes and Pharisees, and because so much depended upon men’s receiving, or not receiving it, he empowered them to work miracles (Luk 9:1; Luk 9:2): He gave them authority over all devils, to dispossess them, and cast them out, though ever so numerous, so subtle, so fierce, so obstinate. Christ designed a total rout and ruin to the kingdom of darkness, and therefore gave them power over all devils. He authorized and appointed them likewise to cure disease, and to heal the sick, which would make them welcome wherever they came, and not only convince people’s judgments, but gain their affections. This was their commission. Now observe,
1. What Christ directed them to do, in prosecution of this commission at this time, when they were not to go far or be out long. (1.) They must not be solicitous to recommend themselves to people’s esteem by their outward appearance. Now that they begin to set up for themselves, they must have no dress, nor study to make any other figure than what they made while they followed him: they must go as they were, and not change their clothes, or so much as put on a pair of new shoes. (2.) They must depend upon Providence, and the kindness of their friends, to furnish them with what was convenient for them. They must not take with them either bread or money, and yet believe they should not want. Christ would not have his disciples shy of receiving the kindnesses of their friends, but rather to expect them. Yet St. Paul saw cause not to go by this rule, when he laboured with his hands rather than be burdensome. (3.) They must not change their lodgings, as suspecting that those who entertained them were weary of them; they have no reason to be so, for the ark is a guest that always pays well for its entertainment: “Whatsoever house ye enter into there abide (v. 4), that people may know where to find you, that your friends may know you are not backward to serve them, and your enemies may know you are not ashamed nor afraid to face them; there abide till you depart out of that city; stay with those you are used to.” (4.) They must put on authority, and speak warning to those who refused them as well as comfort to those that received them, v. 5. “If there be any place that will not entertain you, if the magistrates deny you admission and threaten to treat you as vagrants, leave them, do not force yourselves upon them, nor run yourselves into danger among them, but at the same time bind them over to the judgment of God for it; shake off the dust of your feet for a testimony against them.” This will, as it were, be produced in evidence against them, that the messengers of the gospel had been among them, to make them a fair offer of grace and peace, for this dust they left behind there; so that when they perish at last in their infidelity this will lay and leave their blood upon their own heads. Shake off the dust of your feet, as much as to say you abandon their city, and will have no more to do with them.
2. What they did, in prosecution of this commission (v. 6): They departed from their Master’s presence; yet, having still his spiritual presence with them, his eye and his arm going along with them, and, thus borne up in their work, they went through the towns, some or other of them, all the towns within the circuit appointed them, preaching the gospel, and healing every where. Their work was the same with their Master’s, doing good both to souls and bodies.
II. We have here Herod’s perplexity and vexation at this. The communicating of Christ’s power to those who were sent forth in his name, and acted by authority from him, was an amazing and convincing proof of his being the Messiah, above any thing else; that he could not only work miracles himself, but empower others to work miracles too, this spread his fame more than any thing, and made the rays of this Sun of righteousness the stronger by the reflection of them even from the earth, from such mean illiterate men as the apostles were, who had nothing else to recommend them, or to raise any expectations from them, but that they had been with Jesus, Acts iv. 13. When the country sees such as these healing the sick in the name of Jesus it gives it an alarm. Now observe,
1. The various speculations it raised among the people, who, though they thought not rightly, yet could not but think honourably, of our Lord Jesus, and that he was an extraordinary person, one come from the other world; that either John Baptist, who was lately persecuted and slain for the cause of God, or one of the old prophets, that had been persecuted and slain long since in that cause, was risen again, to be recompensed for his sufferings by this honour put upon him; or that Elias, who was taken alive to heaven in a fiery chariot, had appeared as an express from heaven, Luk 9:7; Luk 9:8.
2. The great perplexity it created in the mind of Herod: When he had heard of all that was done by Christ, his guilty conscience flew in his face, and he was ready to conclude with them that John was risen from the dead. He thought he had got clear of John, and should never be troubled with him any more, but, it seems, he is mistaken; either John is come to life again or here is another in his spirit and power, for God will never leave himself without witness. “What shall I do now?” saith Herod. “John have I beheaded, but who is this? Is he carrying on John’s work, or is he come to avenge John’s death? John baptized, but he does not; John did no miracle, but he does, and therefore appears more formidable than John.” Note, Those who oppose God will find themselves more and more embarrassed. However, he desired to see him, whether he resembled John or no; but he might soon have been put out of this pain if he would but have informed himself of that which thousands knew, that Jesus preached, and wrought miracles, a great while before John was beheaded, and therefore could not be John raised from the dead. He desired to see him; and why did he not go and see him? Probably, because he thought it below him either to go to him or to send for him; he had enough of John Baptist, and cared not for having to do with any more such reprovers of sin. He desired to see him, but we do not find that ever he did, till he saw him at his bar, and then he and his men of war set him at nought, Luke xxiii. 11. Had he prosecuted his convictions now, and gone to see him, who knows but a happy change might have ben wrought in him? But, delaying it now, his heart was hardened, and when he did see him he was as much prejudiced against him as any other.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
He called the twelve together ( ). Mark 6:7; Matt 10:1 have , to call to him. Both the indirect middle voice.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Called together. Matthew and Mark have called to.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
THE TWELVE SENT FORTH TO PREACH V. 1-9
1) “Then he called his twelve disciples together,” (sungkalesamenos de tous dodeka) “Then when he had called the twelve together,” the twelve apostles, Mat 10:1; Mar 5:7. The calling was out of a larger company, or the church-assembly of disciples who followed Him, Joh 15:16; Joh 15:27; 1Co 12:28.
2) “And gave them power and authority,” (edoken autois dunamin kai eksousian) “He gave to them both dynamic power and administrative authority.” The first refers to power to perform miracles and the second refers to a priority to use the powers to advance His name, 1Co 12:28.
3) “Over all devils, and to cure diseases.” (epi panta ta daimonia kai nosous therapeuein) “Over all the demons and diseases, to heal,” from their powers of debasement, physically, and mentally, Joh 20:30-31. They quelled or quieted down the demons, casting’ them from men, a thing about which they rejoiced upon their return to Jesus, Luk 10:17-20.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES
Luk. 9:1. His twelve disciples.A better reading is, the twelve (R.V.): the reading in the text is probably taken from the parallel passage in St. Matthews Gospel. Power and authority.I.e. ability and right: the one applies to the endowment with special gifts, the other to the right of using them on fitting occasions.
Luk. 9:3. Neither staves.Rather, neither staff (R.V.). In the parallel passage in St. Mark the permission is given to take a staff. A comparison of the passages removes the apparent discrepancy. The apostles were to make no special preparation for the journey: if each had a staff for walking, let him take it, but not provide one specially. Scrip.Leather wallet.
Luk. 9:4. Whatsoever house, etc.Not to seek for comfortable quarters, or to change about unnecessarily.
Luk. 9:5. Shake off the very dust.As a sign that all intercourse was at an end, and that the messengers of Christ left those who rejected Him to bear the full responsibility of their sinful conduct (cf. Act. 13:51; Act. 18:6). Against them.A stronger expression than in the parallel passage in St. Mark, where we read, for a testimony unto them (Luk. 6:11, R.V.).
Luk. 9:6. Preaching the gospel.Lit. evangelising: it is a different word from that in Luk. 9:2, also translated preachwhich means to proclaim as heralds the kingdom of God. The instructions to the apostles are given at greater length in Matthew 10.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Luk. 9:1-6
The Servants sent forth.The very summary account of the trial mission of the twelve here given presents only the salient points of the charge to them, and in its condensation makes these the more emphatic.
I. The gift of power.Miracle-working in various forms is specified. We may call that Christs greatest miracle. That he could by His mere will endow a dozen men with such power is more, if degree come into view at all, than that He Himself should exercise it. But there is a lesson in the fact for all ageseven those in which miracles have ceased. Christ gives before He commands, and sends no man into the field without filling his basket with seed-corn. His gifts assimilate the receiver to Himself; and only in the measure in which His servants possess the power which is like His own, and drawn from Him, can they prepare His coming, or prepare hearts for it.
II. Equipment.The special commands here given were repealed by Jesus when He gave His last commands. In their letter they apply only to that one journey, but in their spirit they are of universal and permanent obligation. The twelve were to travel light. Food, luggage, and money, the three requisites of a traveller, were to be conspicuous by their absence. That was repealed afterwards, and instructions given of an opposite character, because, after His ascension, the Church was to live more and more by ordinary means; but in this journey they were to learn to trust Him without means, that afterwards they might trust Him in the means. He showed them the purpose of these restrictions in the act of abrogating them. When I sent you forth without purse lacked ye anything? But the spirit remains unabrogated, and the minimum of outward provision is likeliest to call out the maximum of faith. We are in more danger from having too much baggage than from too little. And the one indispensable requirement is that, whatever the quantity, it should hinder neither our march nor our trust in Him who alone is wealth and food.
III. The disposition of the messengers.It is not to be self-indulgent. They are not to change quarters for the sake of greater comfort. They have not gone out to make a pleasure tour, but to preach, and so are to stay where they are welcomed and to make the best of it. Delicate regard for kindly hospitality, if offered by ever so poor a house, and scrupulous abstinence from whatever might suggest interested motives, must mark the true servant. That rule is not out of date. If ever a herald of Christ falls under suspicion of caring more about lifes comforts than about his work, good-bye to his usefulness. If ever he does so care, whether he be suspected of it or no, spiritual power will ebb from him.
IV. The messengers demeanour to the rejecters of their message.Shaking the dust off the sandal is an emblem of solemn renunciation of participation, and perhaps of repudiating of responsibility. It meant certainly, We have no more to do with you, and possibly, Your blood be on your own heads. This journey of the twelve was meant to be of short duration, and to cover much ground, and therefore no time was to be spent unnecessarily. Their message was brief, and as well told quickly as slowly. The whole conditions of work now are different. Sometimes, perhaps, a Christian is warranted in solemnly declaring to those who receive not his message that he will have no more to say to them. That may do more than all his other words. But such cases are rare; and the rule that it is safest to follow is rather that of love, which despairs of none, and, though often repelled, returns with pleading, and, if it have told often in vain, tells now with tears, the story of the love that never abandons the most obstinate.
Such were the prominent points of this first Christian mission. They who carry Christs banner in the world must be possessed of power (His gift), must be lightly weighted, must care less for comfort than for service, must solemnly warn of the consequences of rejecting the message, and they will not fail to cast out devils and to heal many that are sick.Maclaren.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luk. 9:1-6
Luk. 9:1-6. The Commission of the Twelve.
I. What Christ bestowed on them.
1. Powerability to do their work.
2. Authoritythe right to do it.
II. The instructions He imparted to them.
1. They were to live very simply.
2. They were to be prepared for failures.W. Taylor.
Luk. 9:1-5.The nature and the importance of this mission.
I. Christ the source of power and authority: able to deliver sinners from Satans bondage, and to sustain His servants.
II. The duty of the ministers of Christ to attend to the necessities, temporal and spiritual, of men, and to be indifferent to their own ease and comfort.
III. Men are inexcusable when they reject and despise Gods message, and every circumstance will turn to a testimony against them.
The Miracles and the Doctrine.Miracles of mercy proved the doctrine to be of God; the doctrine calling men to repentance proved that the miracles were wrought by the power of God.
Luk. 9:1. Power and authority.Ability to act and the right to exercise it. The evil spirits will owe obedience because of the authority with which the apostles are clothed, and will pay it because of the power they possess.
Power in Proportion to Faith.Power is given by God, but becomes ours only by faith, and is in proportion to our faith. In Luk. 9:40 we read of this power proving ineffectual from lack of faith.
Luk. 9:2. A Temporary Commission.They are now sent to proclaim through Judaea that the time of the promised restoration and salvation is at hand: at a future period Christ will appoint them to spread the gospel through the whole world. Here He employs them as assistants only, to secure attention to Him where His voice could not reach: afterwards He will commit into their hands the office of teaching which He had discharged.
To preach the kingdom.We may suppose that the apostles would give some narrative of the life of Christ, reproduce some of His teaching, lay stress upon the importance of the message He had charged them with, and summon all to repentance and faith. The preaching was largely in anticipation of great blessings to be wrought by Jesus: after Pentecost their preaching was, we announce the redemption which has been fulfilled, in order that ye too may have fellowship with us, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ (1Jn. 1:1-3).
He sent them.Christ sent the apostles just as the sun sends out its beams, the rose the sweetness of its scent, the fire its sparks; and just as the sun appears in its beams, as the rose is felt in its scent, and the fire in its sparks, so is Christ recognised and apprehended in the virtues and powers of the apostles.Chrysostom.
Luk. 9:3. The Spirit of the Instructions.The general spirit of the instructions merely is, Go forth in the simplest, humblest manner, with no hindrances to your movements, and in perfect faith; and this, as history shows, has always been the method of the most successful missions. At the same time we must remember that the wants of the twelve were very small, and were secured by the open hospitality of the East.Farrar.
An Ample Equipment.This prohibition of all provision is, if narrowly examined, itself a glorious equipment; for He who thus forbids thereby permits and commands them to expect in faith what they need, and to be fully assured beforehand of that which they afterwards (chap. Luk. 22:35) were constrained to confessthat they should lack nothing.Stier.
Luk. 9:4. Two Evils to be avoided.
1. The apostles were to be careful not to seem to be unduly interested in matters concerning their own convenience and comfort during their stay.
2. They were not to excite jealousy by preferring one family to another, when all should be equally the objects of their solicitude. Great harm is done to the cause of Christ when His ministers come under reasonable suspicion of acting from selfish and interested motives, and when they fail to manifest the courtesy and tact which are necessary for successful work among different classes of people. Most, if not all, of the disputes that spring up in Christian congregations are due to neglect of the one or the other of these rules.
Luk. 9:5. Will not receive you.The despisers are guilty of two offences:
I. Ingratitude in refusing the inestimable treasure of the gospel.
II. Rebellion in rejecting the message sent from their King. No crime is more offensive to God than contempt of His word.
Shake off the dust.A solemn act which might have two meanings:
(1) we take nothing of yours with uswe free ourselves from all contact and communion with you; or
(2) we free ourselves from all participation in your condemnationwill have nothing in common with those who have rejected Gods message. It was a custom of the Pharisees, when they entered Juda from a Gentile land, to do this act, as renouncing all communion with Gentiles. Cf. the symbolical action of Pilate (Mat. 27:24).Alford.
Warnings to the Impenitent still needed.The spirit of the injunction runs through all the ages, and has come down to our day. And hence a very heavy responsibility rests on that minister of the gospel who gives no intimation of any kind to the impenitent with whom he associates, that they are impure in the sight of God, and in danger of eternal separation from the good.Morison.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Appleburys Comments
The Mission of the Twelve
Scripture
Luk. 9:1-6 And he called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 2 And he sent them forth to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. 3 And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money; either have two coats. 4 And into whatsoever house ye enter, there abide, and thence depart. 5 And as many as receive you not, when ye depart from that city, shake off the dust from your feet for a testimony against them. 6 And they departed, and went throughout the villages, preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere.
Comments
And he called the twelve together.The account of choosing the twelve is given in Luk. 6:12-16. They are now being sent out on their first mission. The Master not only chose them, but He also instructed them and sent them out to share in the work that not even He could do alone. This became a training experience for the greater task of carrying the gospel into all the world (Mar. 16:15-16).
power and authority over all demons.The message they would speak would be given them by the Holy Spirit (Mat. 10:20). The miracles were their credentials, proving the God spoke through them. Jesus gave them power and authority to exercise it in casting out demons and curing diseases. Some, such as Jewish exorcists and some faith healers today, to whom no such power has been given have tried to exercise authority in these areas. Luke gives at least two examples of the utter failure of all such unauthorized efforts. See Act. 19:13-16 and Jesus reference to Jewish exorcists in Luk. 11:19.
to preach the kingdom of God.They were to proclaim Gods rule in the hearts of men. People needed to let God direct their lives. This is the same message John had preached. It must be proclaimed to every generation.
Take nothing for your journey.On this first mission, they were to go among Jewish brethren who understood the meaning of hospitality and respect for teachers. But rejecting their message meant rejecting Christ; rejecting Him meant rejecting Gods rule in their hearts.
The wallet or traveling bag was used for various purposes, sometimes to carry extra clothing or food. Since they were to have no extras, not even two coats, they didnt need the bag. Deissmann, in Light From the Ancient East (page 109), mentions a bag that was carried by pagan priests as they went about begging. But this could not apply to Christs disciples since they were to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and be taken care of by them. They did face some dangers, however, for some would not believe their message. Jesus pointed this out so that they might be prepared for it (Mat. 10:16-23).
And as many as receive you not.The unwelcomed guests were to leave not only because of the lack of hospitality but also because the message of the kingdom of God was being rejected. They were to shake the dust from their feet and in this dramatic way indicate the unworthinesss of those who did not accept their message. The responsibility for rejecting Gods rule was left with those who refused to be taught by Christs messengers.
preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.The good news of the kingdom was accompanied by the miracles of healing which served to prove that they spoke from God. Mark says that they preached that men should repent (Mar. 6:13). Matthew adds that Jesus said, Ye shall not have gone through the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come (Mat. 10:23). They were on an urgent mission. Jesus would meet them before they had time to finish this task. This, of course, is not a reference to His second coming.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Butlers Comments
SECTION 1
Training The Twelve (Luk. 9:1-9)
9 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal. 3And he said to them, Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics, 4And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them. 6And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, 8by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen. 9Herod said, John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things? And he sought to see him.
Luk. 9:1-6 Exciting Mission: The great year of popularity was drawing to a close. Even in Galilee the storm clouds of opposition were gathering on the horizon. A crash course in evangelism was in order for the Twelve. For two years the disciples have been soaking up the classroom lecturesnow they are to have their first field-trip all on their own. Now they are to put to practice, without the Teachers close supervision, the principles they have been taught. There is no way to learn to do evangelism but to do it! Methods are fine but no one method will suit every circumstance or personality.
The more detailed account of this event in Mat. 10:5-42 must be studied along with Lukes account here. Someone has outlined the event (as detailed in all three gospels) thus: Jesus conferred upon the Twelve (a) His mission, (b) His message, (c) His miracles, (d) His miseries, (e) His mastery. His purpose for sending them out was at least threefold: (a) to multiply the effect of His mission to proclaim the kingdom of God, (b) to provide them with empirical evidence of His miraculous power when they should later become the only eyewitnesses to His death and resurrection, (c) to let them learn evangelism by doing. Matthew records that in addition to their power over unclean spirits and every disease, they were also given power to raise the dead. Their main objective was, of course, to preach the coming of the kingdom of Godmiracles were merely to validate their message as the truth.
Due to the increasing opposition and disenchantment with Jesus (soon thousands of disciples will turn away from Him, Joh. 6:66), this mission of the Twelve was to be an intense and extensive mission. Jesus fully expected to join them later before they had gone through all the towns of Israel (Mat. 10:23). Their message was the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Mat. 10:7). There is no indication that they proclaimed Jesus to be The Christ. In fact, afterward at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus forbade the disciples from making such a public declaration. Matthew records that Jesus told the disciples not to go among the Gentiles . . . or Samaritans. That did not mean they should not preach the kingdom to Gentiles and Samaritans should some of them be found in the cities and villages of Israel. It simply meant that the time was not yet available or opportune for an extensive ministry in Gentile and Samaritan cities outside the confines of Israels borders.
Because of the intensity and rapidity necessary for their work (if they are to cover all the towns of Israel) Jesus placed limitations upon their physical and financial preparations. According to Matthew, Jesus told them, You received without pay, give without pay. That does not mean that they were not to receive any financial or logistical support whatever in their ministry. In fact, Jesus concludes by instructing them to receive graciously and courteously any room and board offered to them during this evangelistic tour, (cf. Mat. 10:11-14; Mar. 6:10-11; Luk. 9:4-5). The N.T. is clear that those who preach the gospel should have their livelihood supplied by those who receive the preaching (cf. 1Co. 9:1-14; Gal. 6:6; Php. 4:15-17, etc.). Preaching and teaching the Word of God is work and the laborer is worthy of his hire! On the other hand, the preacher or teacher is not to be a mercenarya hirelingpreaching only for financial gain. The preacher should not approach his work like the worldly-minded manhow much am I going to get out of it, He should put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provisions for the flesh (Rom. 13:14). That is exactly what Jesus is trying to teach the Twelve by His limitations here. They are not to devote their energies to making elaborate and unnecessary material preparations. Luke and Matthew say, take no staff while Mark says, take nothing except a staff. Apparently the one staff (walking stick, also used to protect against highway robbers) every Palestinian traveler carried would sufficethey were not to make provisions for another one, an extra one. They were to carry no duffel-bag since they were to carry nothing extra; neither food or clothing, shoes or money. Jesus is instructing the Twelve to put to practice the Sermon on the Mountdo not be anxious, what you shall eat or what you shall wear . . . seek first the kingdom of God . . . and all these things shall be added unto you (Mat. 6:25-34).
Jesus also instructs these beginners that the evangelist must make wise use of time. The gospel message is a deposit from God to men over which they must exercise good stewardship. Notice the method Jesus gave the Twelve. First, they were to survey the city or village and find a home hospitable to their mission and to them (Mat. 10:11). They were to make that their headquarters (Mat. 10:11; Mar. 6:10; Luk. 9:4) and stay there until they had done their work and were ready to move on. While there, they were to be courteous and hospitable themselves, saluting the house and letting their peace come upon their hosts. Peace in Hebrew is shalom and means, I pray for and will contribute all I can to God blessing you with well-being, both physical and spiritual. What Jesus is really saying is that the Twelve should make expressions of their gratitude to their hosts, both verbal and physical. God does not wish to have ingrates and tactless men in His service. Thankfulness is probably the most beautiful characteristic of a mans lifeingratitude is the most heinous sin (cf. Rom. 1:21). Third, if they were totally rejected in a city or village, or when they found no further hospitality to their mission in a place, they were to warn those opposing them that their blood was on their head as they rejected Gods message and His messengers (Mat. 10:14-15; Mar. 6:11; Luk. 9:5) and shake the dust of that town from their feet. Shaking the dust from ones feet was used by Jews to symbolize disassociation from that which would incur guilt. Pharisees did this when they re-entered Judea from pagan territory.
Jesus is also giving the Twelve their first realistic experience of the tension between Gods kingdom in the hearts of men and the mind of the flesh. There must be no further sheltering of these men from the antagonism of unbelief. They must not be nurtured on any illusions that discipleship to Christ would be tolerated by the worldly-minded. They must learn first hand that they were to be engaged in a life and death struggle and the disciple is not above his Master. But this is not the only world there is, so the Twelve were encouraged not to fear the battle or the enemy of God. He promised that if they would endure to the end of their lives they would receive their reward in heaven. If they feared God and loved Him more than life itself they would find eternal life (cf. Mat. 10:17-42).
Luk. 9:7-9 Evil Machination: While the Twelve were rapidly covering as many cities and villages of Israel as they could with the message of the coming kingdom of God, Jesus was also circulating among the cities and villages preaching the same message. The kingdom fever was reaching astounding proportions. In just a few weeks thousands of people will attempt to take Jesus and force Him to be king (Joh. 6:15). When some of the dissolute, guilt-ridden, half-pagan politicians of Galilee (including Herod Antipas himself) heard all the accounts of miracles and kingdom fever circulating in Galilee they became superstitiously terrified that John the Baptist had come back to life. All kinds of conjectures were made. Some said it was Elijah returned from the dead or one of the old prophets. It presented Herod Antipas with a paralyzing problem. The Greek word translated perplexed is dieporei which means literally, no way out. Herod thought he had gotten rid of any threat to his throne when he beheaded John the Baptist. Josephus states Herod gave as his public excuse for executing him that John was about to cause a revolution. Matthew and Mark tell the real reason Herod executed John. Any time Herods position as ruler was threatened (whatever the approach such a threat took) all Herod could think to do was eliminate that threat by murder.
The Greek verb ezetei (translated, sought) is in the imperfect tense and means, he kept on seeking to see Jesus. Herod had just killed John the Baptist because of his great popularity with the people and because he had threatened Herods continued influence over the people by denouncing Herods immoral union with Herodias. And now Herod turns his suspicions on Jesus. Jesus has been carrying on a campaign in every city and village of Galilee proclaiming the kingdom of God which has stirred up political excitement. Therefore it is abundantly evident why Herod wants Jesus found and brought to see him. But Jesus, when He heard all this, withdrew to a lonely place (cf. Mat. 14:13; Mar. 6:31; Luk. 9:10-11; Joh. 6:1).
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
IX.
(1-6) Then he called his twelve disciples.-See Notes on Mat. 10:5-15, and Mar. 6:7-13.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 9
EMISSARIES OF THE KING ( Luk 9:1-9 )
9:1-9 Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God, and to cure those who were ill. He said to them, “Take nothing for the road, neither a staff nor a wallet, nor bread nor money, nor two tunics. Whatever house you go into, stay there, and leave from there. As for whoever do not receive you–when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as evidence against them.” So they went out, and they went through the villages, preaching and healing everywhere.
Herod, the tetrarch, heard about the things which were going on. He did not know what to make of them, because it was said by some, “John is risen from the dead”; and by some, “Elijah has appeared”; and by others, “One of the prophets of the ancient days has risen again.” But Herod said, “John I myself beheaded. Who is this about whom I hear such reports?” And he tried to see him.
In the ancient days there was in effect only one way of spreading a message abroad and that was by word of mouth. Newspapers did not exist; books had to be hand-written, and a book the size of Luke–Acts would have cost over 40 British pounds per copy to produce! Radio and television had not even been dreamed of. That is why Jesus sent out the Twelve on this mission. He was under the limitations of time and space; his helpers had to be mouths to speak for him.
They were to travel light. That was simply because the man who travels light travels far and fast. The more a man is cluttered up with material things the more he is shackled to one place. God needs a settled ministry; but he also needs those who will abandon earthly things to adventure for him.
If they were not received they were to shake off the dust from their feet when they left the town. When Rabbis entered Palestine after some journey in a gentile land, they shook off the last particle of heathen dust from their feet. A village or town which would not receive them was to be treated as a strict Jew would treat a heathen country. It had refused its opportunity and had condemned itself.
That this ministry was mightily effective is plain from Herod’s reaction. Things were happening. Perhaps Elijah, the forerunner, had at last come. Perhaps even the great promised prophet had arrived ( Deu 18:15). But “Conscience doth make cowards of us all,” and there was a lingering fear in Herod’s mind that John the Baptiser, whom he thought he had eliminated, had come back to haunt him.
One thing which stands out about the ministry which Jesus laid upon the Twelve is this–sever and over again in this short passage it joins preaching and healing. It joins concern for men’s bodies and men’s souls. It was something which was not to deal only in words, however comforting; but also in deeds. It was a message which was not confined to news of eternity; it proposed to change conditions on earth. It was the reverse of a religion of “pie in the sky.” It insisted that health to men’s bodies was as integral a part of God’s purpose as health to their souls.
Nothing has done the church more harm than the repeated statement that the things of this world do not matter. In the middle thirties of this century unemployment invaded many respectable and decent homes. The father’s skill was rusting in idleness; the mother was trying to make a shilling do what a pound ought to do; children could not understand what was going on except that they were hungry. Men grew bitter or broken. To go and tell such people that material things make no difference was unforgivable, especially if the teller was in reasonable comfort himself. General Booth was once blamed for offering food and meals to poor people instead of the simple gospel. The old warrior flashed back, “It is impossible to comfort men’s hearts with the love of God when their feet are perishing with cold.”
Of course, it is possible to overstress material things. But it is equally possible to neglect them. The church will forget only at her peril that Jesus first sent out his men to preach the kingdom and to heal, to save men in body and in soul.
FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY ( Luk 9:10-17 ) 9:10-17 When the apostles returned they told Jesus all that they had done. So he took them and withdrew privately to a place called Bethsaida. When the crowds found out where he was they followed him; and he welcomed them, and talked to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. The day began to draw to a close. The Twelve came to him. “Send the crowd away,” they said, “that they may go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find some place to stay and get food because here we are in a desert place.” He said to them, “Do you give them food to eat.” They said, “All we have is five loaves and two fishes–unless we go and buy food for all this people.” For there were about five thousand men. He said to his disciples. “Make them sit down in companies of fifty.” They did so, and they got them all seated. He took the five loaves and the two fishes and looked up into heaven and blessed them and broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the crowd. And all of them ate and were satisfied; and what they had left over was taken up and there were twelve baskets of the fragments.
This is the only miracle of Jesus related in all the four gospels (compare Mat 14:13; Mar 6:30; Joh 6:1). It begins with a lovely thing. The Twelve had come back from their tour. Never was a Lime when Jesus needed more to be alone with them, so he took them to the neighbourhood of Bethsaida, a village on the far side of the Jordan to the north of the Sea of Galilee. When the people discovered where he had gone they followed him in hordes–and he welcomed them.
There is all the divine compassion here. Most people would have resented the invasion of their hard-won privacy. How would we feel if we had sought out some lonely place to be with our most intimate friends and suddenly a clamorous mob of people turned up with their insistent demands? Sometimes we are too busy to be disturbed, but to Jesus human need took precedence over everything.
The evening came; home was far away; and the people were tired and hungry. Jesus, astonishingly, ordered his disciples to give them a meal. There are two ways in which a man can quite honestly look at this miracle. First, he can see in it simply a miracle in which Jesus created food for this vast multitude. Second, some people think that this is what happened. The people were hungry–and they were utterly selfish. They all had something with them, but they would not even produce it for themselves in case they had to share it with others. The Twelve laid before the multitude their little store and thereupon others were moved to produce theirs; and in the end there was more than enough for everyone. So it may be regarded as a miracle which turned selfish, suspicious folk into generous people, a miracle of Christ’s changing determined self interest into a willingness to share.
Before Jesus distributed the food he blessed it; he said grace. There was a Jewish saying that “he who enjoys anything without thanksgiving is as though he robbed God.” The blessing said in every home in Palestine before every meal ran, “Blessed art thou, Jehovah, our God, King of the world, who causest bread to come forth from the earth.” Jesus would not eat without giving thanks to the giver of an good gifts.
This is a story which tells us many things.
(i) Jesus was concerned that men were hungry. It would be most interesting to work out how much time Jesus spent, not talking, but easing men’s pain and satisfying their hunger. He still needs the service of men’s hands. The mother who has spent a lifetime cooking meals for a hungry family; the nurse, the doctor, the friend, relation or parent, who has sacrificed life and time to ease another’s pain; the social reformer who has burned himself out to seek better conditions for men and women–they have all preached far more effective sermons than the eloquent orator.
(ii) Jesus’ help was generous. There was enough, and more than enough. In love there is no nice calculation of the less and more. God is like that. When we sow a packet of seeds we usually have to thin the plants out and throw away far more than we can keep. God has created a world where there is more than enough for all if men will share it.
(iii) As always there is permanent truth in an action in time. In Jesus all men’s needs are supplied. There is a hunger of the soul; there is in every man, sometimes at least, a longing to find something in which he may invest his life. Our hearts are restless until they rest in him. “My God will supply every need of yours,” said Paul ( Php_4:19 ) –even in the desert places of this life.
THE GREAT DISCOVERY ( Luk 9:18-22 ) 9:18-22 It happened that when Jesus was praying alone his disciples were with him. He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They answered, “Some say that you are John the Baptiser; others that you are Elijah; others that one of the prophets of the ancient days has risen again.” He said to them, “But you–who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The anointed one of God.” Jesus warned and enjoined them to tell this to no one. “The Son of Man,” he said, “must suffer many things, and must be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and must be killed, and must be raised again on the third day.”
This is one of the most crucial moments in the life of Jesus. He asked this question when he was already turning his face to go to Jerusalem ( Luk 9:51). He well knew what awaited him there, and the answer to his question was of supreme importance. He knew that he was going to a Cross to die; he wanted to know before he went, if there was anyone who had really discovered who he was. The right answer would make all the difference. If instead there was dull incomprehension, all his work would have gone for nothing. If there was any realization, however incomplete, it meant that he had lit such a torch in the hearts of men as time would never put out. How Jesus’ heart must have lifted when Peter’s sudden discovery rushed to his lips–“You are the anointed one of God!” When Jesus heard that, he knew he had not failed.
Not only had the Twelve to discover the fact; they had also to discover what the fact meant. They had grown up against a background of thought which expected from God a conquering king who would lead them to world dominion. Peter’s eyes would blaze with excitement when he said this. But Jesus had to teach them that God’s anointed one had come to die upon a Cross. He had to take their ideas of God and of God’s purposes and turn them upside down; and from this time that is what he set himself to do. They had discovered who he was; now they had to learn what that discovery meant.
There are two great general truths in this passage.
(i) Jesus began by asking what men were saying about him; and then, suddenly, he flashes the question at the Twelve, “Who do you say that I am?” It is never enough to know what other people have said about Jesus. A man might be able to pass any examination on what has been said and thought about Jesus; he might have read every book about Christology written in every language upon earth and still not be a Christian. Jesus must always be our own personal discovery. Our religion can never be a carried tale. To every man Jesus comes asking, not, “Can you tell me what others have said and written about me?” but, “Who do you say that I am?” Paul did not say, “I know what I have believed”; he said, “I know whom I have believed” ( 2Ti 1:12). Christianity does not mean reciting a creed; it means knowing a person.
(ii) Jesus said, “I must go to Jerusalem and die.” It is of the greatest interest to look at the times in Luke’s gospel when Jesus said must. “I must be in my Father’s house,” ( Luk 2:49). “I must preach the kingdom,” ( Luk 4:43). “I must go on my way today and tomorrow,” ( Luk 13:33). Over and over again he told his disciples he must go to his Cross ( Luk 9:22; Luk 17:25; Luk 24:7). Jesus knew he had a destiny to fulfil. God’s will was his will. He had no other object but to do upon earth what God had sent him to do. The Christian, like his Lord, is a man under orders.
THE CONDITIONS OF SERVICE ( Luk 9:23-27 ) 9:23-27 Jesus said to them all, “If any man wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and day by day let him take up his cross and follow me. Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses himself or has himself confiscated? Whoever is 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 the glory of his Father and of the holy angels. I tell you truly that there are some of these who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
Here Jesus lays down the conditions of service for those who would follow him.
(i) A man must deny himself. What does that mean? A great scholar comes at the meaning in this way. Peter once denied his Lord. That is to say, he said of Jesus, “I do not know the man.” To deny ourselves is to say, “I do not know myself.” It is to ignore the very existence of oneself. It is to treat the self as if it did not exist. Usually we treat ourselves as if our self was far and away the most important thing in the world. If we are to follow Jesus, we must forget that self exists.
(ii) A man must take up his cross. Jesus well knew what crucifixion meant. When he was a lad of about eleven years of age, Judas the Galilaean had led a rebellion against Rome. He had raided the royal armoury at Sepphoris, which was only four miles from Nazareth. The Roman vengeance was swift and sudden. Sepphoris was burned to the ground; its inhabitants were sold into slavery; and two thousand of the rebels were crucified on crosses which were set in lines along the roadside that they might be a dreadful warning to others tempted to rebel. To take up our cross means to be prepared to face things like that for loyalty to Jesus; it means to be ready to endure the worst that man can do to us for the sake of being true to him.
(iii) A man must spend his life, not hoard it. The whole gamut of the world’s standards must be changed. The questions are not, “How much can I get?” but, “How much can I give?” Not, “What is the safe thing to do?” but, “What is the right thing to do?” Not, “What is the minimum permissible in the way of work?” but, “What is the maximum possible?” The Christian must realize that he is given life, not to keep for himself but to spend for others; not to husband its flame but to burn it out for Christ and for men.
(iv) Loyalty to Jesus will have its reward, and disloyalty its punishment. If we are true to him in time, he will be true to us in eternity. If we seek to follow him in this world, in the next he will point to us as one of his people. But if by our lives we disown him, even though with our lips we confess him, the day must come when he cannot do other than disown us.
(v) In the last verse of this passage Jesus says that some standing there will see the kingdom of God before they die. Some people maintain that Jesus was looking forward to his return in glory, that he was declaring that this would happen within the lifetime of some of those present; and that therefore he was completely mistaken. That is not so.
What Jesus was saying is this, “Before this generation has passed away you will see signs that the kingdom of God is on the way.” Beyond a doubt that came to pass. Something came into the world which, like leaven in dough, began to change it. It would be well if, sometimes, we turned from our pessimism and thought rather of the light that has been slowly breaking on the world.
As A. H. Clough wrote,
“Say not the struggle naught availeth,
The labour and the wounds are vain,
The enemy faints not, nor faileth,
And as things have been they remain.
If hopes were dupes, fears may be liars;
It may be, in yon smoke conceal’d,
Your comrades chase e’en now the fliers,
And, but for you, possess the field.
For while the tired waves, vainly breaking,
Seem here no painful inch to gain,
Far back, through creeks and inlets making,
Comes silent, flooding in, the main.
And not by eastern windows only,
When daylight comes, comes in the light.
In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly!
But westward, look, the land is bright!”
Be of good cheer–the kingdom is on the way–and we do well to thank God for every sign of its dawning.
THE MOUNTAIN TOP OF GLORY ( Luk 9:28-36 ) 9:28-36 About eight days after these words, Jesus took Peter and John and James and went up into a mountain to pray. While he was praying the appearance of his face became different and his clothing became white as the lightning’s flash. And–look you–two men were talking with him, who were Moses and Elijah. They appeared in glory, and they talked about the departure which he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his friends were heavy with sleep. When they were fully awake they saw his glory, and the two men standing with him. And when they were going to leave him, Peter said, “Master, it is good for us to be here. So let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah,” for he did not know what he was saying. As he was saying this a cloud came and overshadowed them and they feared as they entered into the cloud. A voice came from the cloud saying, “This is my beloved Son, my chosen one! Hear him!” And when the voice had passed, Jesus was found alone. They kept silent in those days and did not tell anyone anything about what they had seen.
Here we have another of the great hinges in Jesus’ life upon earth. We must remember that he was just about to set out to Jerusalem and to the cross. We have already looked at one great moment when he asked his disciples who they believed him to be, in order that he might discover if anyone had realized who he was. But there was one thing Jesus would never do–he would never take any step without the approval of God. In this scene that is what we see him seeking and receiving.
What happened on the Mount of Transfiguration we can never know, but we do know that something tremendous did happen. Jesus had gone there to seek the approval of God for the decisive step he was about to take. There Moses and Elijah appeared to him. Moses was the great law-giver of the people of Israel; Elijah was the greatest of the prophets. It was as if the princes of Israel’s life and thought and religion told Jesus to go on.
Jesus could set out to Jerusalem now, certain that at least one little group of men knew who he was, certain that what he was doing was the consummation of all the life and thought and work of his nation, and certain that God approved of the step that he was taking.
There is a vivid sentence here. It says of the three apostles, “When they were fully awake they saw his glory.”
(i) In life we miss so much because our minds are asleep. There are certain things which are liable to keep our minds asleep.
(a) There is prejudice. We may be so set in our ideas that our minds are shut. A new idea knocks at the door but we are like sleepers who will not awake.
(b) There is mental lethargy. There are so many who refuse the strenuous struggle of thought. “The unexamined life,” said Plato, “is the life not worth living. “How many of us have really thought things out and thought them through? It was said of someone that he had skirted the howling deserts of infidelity and a wiser man said that he would have been better to have fought his way through them. Sometimes we are so lethargic that we will not even face our questions and our doubts.
(c) There is the love of ease. There is a kind of defence mechanism in us that makes us automatically shut the door against any disturbing thought.
A man can drug himself mentally until his mind is sound asleep.
(ii) But life is full of things designed to waken us.
(a) There is sorrow. Once Elgar said of a young singer, who was technically perfect, but quite without feeling and expression, “She will be great when something breaks her heart.” Often sorrow can rudely awaken a man, but in that moment, through the tears, he will see the glory.
(b) There is love. Somewhere Browning tells of two people who fell in love. She looked at him; he looked at her–“and suddenly life awoke.” Real love is an awakening to horizons we never dreamed were there.
(c) There is the sense of need. For long enough a man may live the routine of life half asleep; then all of a sudden there comes some completely insoluble problem, some quite unanswerable question, some overmastering temptation, some summons to an effort which he feels is beyond his strength. In that day there is nothing left to do but to “cry, clinging heaven by the hems.” And that sense of need awakens him to God.
We would do well to pray, “Lord, keep me always awake to you.”
COMING DOWN FROM THE MOUNT ( Luk 9:37-45 )
9:37-45 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd of people met him. And–look you–a man shouted from the crowd, “Teacher, I beg you to look with pity upon my son, because he is my only child. And–look you–a spirit seizes him and he suddenly shouts out; he convulses him until he foams at the mouth; he shatters him and will hardly leave him. I begged your disciples to cast out the spirit but they could not do it.” Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear you? Bring your son here.” While he was coming the demon dashed him down and convulsed him. Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father; and everyone was astonished at the majesty of God.
While they were all wondering at the things which he kept doing, he said to his disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears–the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” They did not know what this word meant; and its meaning was concealed from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask him about this word.
No sooner had Jesus descended from the mountain top than the demands and disappointments of life were upon him. A man had come to the disciples seeking their help, for his only son was an epileptic. Of course his epilepsy was attributed to the malign activity of a demon. The word used in Luk 9:42 is very vivid. As he was coming to Jesus, the demon dashed him down. It is the word used of a boxer dealing a knock-out blow to his opponent or of a wrestler throwing someone. It must have been a pitiful sight to see the lad convulsed; and the disciples were quite helpless to cure him. But when Jesus came he dealt with the situation with calm mastery and gave the boy back to his father cured.
Two things stand out.
(i) The moment on the mount was absolutely necessary, but it could not be prolonged beyond its own time. Peter, not really knowing what he was saying, would have liked to linger on the mountain top. He wished to build three tabernacles so that they might stay there in all the glory; but they had to descend again. Often there come to us moments that we would like to prolong indefinitely. But after the time on the mountain top we must come back to the battle and the routine of life; that time is meant to give us strength for life’s everyday.
After the great struggle at Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal, Elijah, in reaction, ran away. Out into the desert he went and there, as he lay under a juniper tree asleep, an angel twice prepared a meal for him. Then comes the sentence, “And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights” ( 1Ki 19:1-8). To the mountain top of the presence of God we must go, not to remain there but to go in the strength of that time for many days. It was said of Captain Scott, the great explorer, that he was “a strange mixture of the dreamy and the practical, and never more practical than immediately after he had been dreamy.” We cannot live forever in the moment on the mountain but we cannot live at all without it.
(ii) In no incident is the sheer competence of Jesus so clearly shown. When he came down from the mountain the situation was out of hand. The whole impression is that of people running about not knowing what to do. The disciples were helplessly baffled; the boy’s father was bitterly disappointed and upset. Into this scene of disorder came Jesus. He gripped the situation in a flash and in his mastery the disorder became a calm. So often we feel that life is out of control; that we have lost our grip on things. Only the Master of life can deal with life with the calm competence that brings everything under control.
(iii) Once again the incident finished with Jesus pointing at the cross. Here was triumph; here Jesus had mastered the demons and astonished the people. And in that very moment when they were ready to acclaim him, Jesus told them he was on the way to die. It would have been so easy to take the way of popular success; it was Jesus’ greatness that he rejected it and chose the cross. He would not himself shirk that cross to which he called others.
TRUE GREATNESS ( Luk 9:46-48 ) 9:46-48 There arose an argument amongst them as to which of them should be the greatest. But when Jesus knew the thoughts of their hearts he took a child and set him beside him. “Whoever,” he said to them, “receives this child in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives him that sent me. He who is least among you, he it is who is the greatest.”
So long as the Twelve thought of Jesus’ kingdom as an earthly kingdom it was inevitable that they should be in competition for the highest places in it. Long ago the Venerable Bede suggested that this particular quaff el arose because Jesus had taken Peter, John and James up into the mountain top with him and the others were jealous.
Jesus knew what was going on in their hearts. He took a child and placed him beside himself; that would be the seat of highest honour. He went on to say that whoever received a little child, received him; and whoever received him, received God. What did he mean? The Twelve were the chosen lieutenants of Jesus; but this child occupied no place of honour and held no official position. Jesus was saying, “If you are prepared to spend your lives serving, helping, loving people who, in the eyes of the world, do not matter at all, you are serving me and serving God. If you are prepared to spend your life doing these apparently unimportant things and never trying to be what the world calls great, you will be great in the eyes of God.”
There are so many wrong motives for service.
(i) There is the desire for prestige. A. J. Cronin tells of a district nurse he knew when he was in practice as a doctor. For twenty years, single-handed, she had served a ten-mile district. “I marvelled,” he says, “at her patience, her fortitude and her cheerfulness. She was never too tired at night to rise for an urgent call. Her salary was most inadequate, and late one night, after a particularly strenuous day, I ventured to protest to her, ‘Nurse, why don’t you make them pay you more? God knows you are worth it.’ ‘If God knows I’m worth it,’ she answered, ‘that’s all that matters to me.'” She was working, not for men, but for God. And when we work for God, prestige will be the last thing that enters into our mind, for we will know that even our best is not good enough for him.
(ii) There is the desire for place. If a man is given a task or a position or an office in the church, he should regard it not as an honour but as a responsibility. There are those who serve within the church, not thinking really of those they serve, but thinking of themselves. A certain English Prime Minister was offered congratulations on attaining to that office. “I do not want your congratulations,” he said, “but I do want your prayers.” To be chosen for office is to be set apart for service, not elevated to honour.
(iii) There is the desire for prominence. Many a person will serve or give so long as his service and his generosity are known and he is thanked and praised. It is Jesus’ own instruction that we should not let our left hand know what our right hand is doing. If we give only to gain something out of the giving for ourselves, we have undone much of its good.
TWO LESSONS IN TOLERANCE ( Luk 9:49-56 )
9:49-56 John said to Jesus, “Master, we saw a man casting out demons in your name; and we stopped him because he does not follow with us.” Jesus said to him, “Don’t try to stop him, for he who is not against us is for us.”
When the days that he should be received up were on their way to being completed he fixed his face firmly to go to Jerusalem. He sent messengers on ahead. When they had gone on they went into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; and they refused to receive them because his face was set in the direction of Jerusalem. When his disciples, James and John, learned of this they said, “Lord, would you like us to order fire to come down from heaven and destroy them?” He turned to them and rebuked them; and they went on to another village.
Here we have two lessons in tolerance.
There were many exorcists in Palestine, all claiming to be able to cast out demons; and no doubt John regarded this man as a competitor and wished to eliminate him. But Jesus would not permit him.
The direct way from Galilee to Jerusalem led through Samaria; but most Jews avoided it. There was a centuries’ old quarrel between the Jews and the Samaritans ( Joh 4:9). The Samaritans in fact did everything they could to hinder and even to injure any bands of pilgrims who attempted to pass through their territory. For Jesus to take that way to Jerusalem was unusual; and to attempt to find hospitality in a Samaritan village was still more unusual. When he did this he was extending a hand of friendship to a people who were enemies. In this case not only was hospitality refused but the offer of friendship was spurned. No doubt, therefore, James and John believed they were doing a praiseworthy thing when they offered to call in divine aid to blot out the village. But Jesus would not permit them.
There is no passage in which Jesus so directly teaches the duty of tolerance as in this. In many ways tolerance is a lost virtue, and often, where it does exist, it exists from the wrong cause. Of all the greatest religious leaders none was such a pattern of tolerance as John Wesley. “I have no more right,” he said, “to object to a man for holding a different opinion from mine than I have to differ with a man because he wears a wig and I wear my own hair; but if he takes his wig off and shakes the powder in my face, I shall consider it my duty to get quit of him as soon as possible. . . . The thing which I resolved to use every possible method of preventing was a narrowness of spirit, a party zeal, a being straitened in our own bowels–that miserable bigotry which makes many so unready to believe that there is any work of God but among themselves. . .. We think and let think.” When his nephew, Samuel, the son of his brother Charles, entered the Roman Catholic Church, he wrote to him, “Whether in this Church or that I care not. You may be saved in either or damned in either; but I fear you are not born again.” The Methodist invitation to the sacrament is simply, “Let all who love the Lord come here.”
The conviction that our beliefs and our methods alone are correct has been the cause of more tragedy and distress in the church than almost any other thing. Oliver Cromwell wrote once to the intransigent Scots, “I beseech you by the bowels of Christ, think it possible that you may be mistaken.” T. R. Glover somewhere quotes a saying, “Remember that whatever your hand finds to do, someone thinks differently!”
There are many ways to God. He has his own secret stairway into every heart. He fulfils himself in many ways; and no man or church has a monopoly of his truth.
But–and this is intensely important–our tolerance must be based not on indifference but on love. We ought to be tolerant not because we could not care less; but because we look at the other person with eyes of love. When Abraham Lincoln was criticized for being too courteous to his enemies and reminded that it was his duty to destroy them, he gave the great answer, “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?” Even if a man be utterly mistaken, we must never regard him as an enemy to be destroyed but as a strayed friend to be recovered by love.
THE HONESTY OF JESUS ( Luk 9:57-62 )
9:57-62 As they were journeying along the road, a man said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus said to him, “The foxes have dens; the birds of the air have places to roost; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
He said to another man, “Follow Me! Lord,” he said, “let me go first and bury my father.” He said to him, “Let the dead bury their dead; but do you go and tell abroad the news of the kingdom of God.”
Another man said to him, “Lord, I will follow you; but let me first say good-bye to the folk at home.” Jesus said to him, “No man who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is the right kind of man for the kingdom of God.”
Here we have the words of Jesus to three would-be followers.
(i) To the first man, his advice was, “Before you follow me, count the cost.” No one can ever say that he was induced to follow Jesus under false pretenses. Jesus paid men the compliment of pitching his demands so high that they cannot be higher. It may well be that we have done great hurt to the church by letting people think that church membership need not make so very much difference. We ought to tell them that it should make all the difference in the world. We might have fewer people; but those we had would be really pledged to Christ.
(ii) Jesus’ words to the second man sound harsh, but they need not be so. In all probability the man’s father was not dead, and not even nearly dead. His saying most likely meant, “I will follow you after my father has died.” An English official in the East tells of a very brilliant young Arab who was offered a scholarship to Oxford or Cambridge. His answer was, “I will take it after I have buried my father.” At the time his father was not much more than forty years of age.
The point Jesus was making is that in everything there is a crucial moment; if that moment is missed the thing most likely will never be done at all. The man in the story had stirrings in his heart to get out of his spiritually dead surroundings; if he missed that moment he would never get out.
The psychologists tell us that every time we have a fine feeling, and do not act on it, the less likely we are to act on it at all. The emotion becomes a substitute for the action. Take one example–sometimes we feel that we would like to write a letter, perhaps of sympathy, perhaps of thanks, perhaps of congratulations. If we put it off until to-morrow, it will in all likelihood never be written. Jesus urges us to act at once when our hearts are stirred.
(iii) His words to the third man state a truth which no one can deny. No ploughman ever ploughed a straight furrow looking back over his shoulder. There are some whose hearts are in the past. They walk forever looking backwards and thinking wistfully of the good old days. Watkinson, the great preacher, tells how once at the seaside, when he was with his little grandson, he met an old minister. The old man was very disgruntled and, to add to all his troubles, he had a slight touch of sunstroke. The little boy had been listening but had not picked it up quite correctly; and when they left the grumbling complaints of the old man, he turned to Watkinson and said, “Granddad, I hope you never suffer from a sunset!”
The Christian marches on, not to the sunset, but to the dawn. The watchword of the kingdom is not, “Backwards!” but, “Forwards!” To this man Jesus did not say either, “Follow!” or, “Return!” he said, “I accept no lukewarm service,” and left the man to make his own decision.
-Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)
Fuente: Barclay Daily Study Bible
57. THE TWELVE SENT FORTH, Luk 9:1-5 .
See notes on parallel sections, Mat 10:1; Mat 10:5-42; Mar 6:7-11.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And he called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.’
Having called the twelve together for a briefing Jesus grants them power and authority (note the twofold provision) over all demons and to cure diseases. Here He acts on His own initiative in the giving of power and authority. It is His power and authority that will go with them. Previously the Roman centurion was confident that Jesus could send His power and authority over a distance (Luk 7:1-10), but even he may have quailed at the thought of His sending His power and authority through twelve men all at the same time. It is in stark contrast to when Moses (Num 11:24-30) and Elijah’s (2Ki 2:9-10) power was passed on. There they obeyed God and God acted independently of them to bring about the passing on of their ‘spirit’, and Elijah did not even know whether it would happen. But Jesus is here revealed as unique. He has total control over God’s authority and power, and dispenses it as He will. This explains why Judas was able to perform signs and wonders. Jesus had sent His own power and authority through him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Mission of the Twelve (9:1-11).
Having focused on revealing Himself for what He is Jesus now sends out the twelve to proclaim the Kingly Rule of God and with authority, granted by Him, to cast out evil spirits and heal. He is very much acting as God’ official representative with an authority given by God.
The purpose of Jesus in selecting out twelve Apostles had been for this very purpose (it is why He called them Apostles – those sent forth) as He had initially indicated when He chose Peter. He had chosen them in order that they might become fishers of men. Now the time had come for their initial venture. It was not to be a long one, but would give them a taste of what was to come. And it would ensure the wider spreading of the fact that the Kingly Rule of God was now here.
But it would also bring into view the opposition. The passage may be analysed as follows:
a And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases, and He sent them forth to preach the Kingly Rule of God, and to heal the sick (Luk 9:1-2).
b And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money, nor have two coats, and into whatever house you enter, there abide, and from there depart (Luk 9:3-4).
c And as many as do not receive you, when you depart from that city, shake off the dust from your feet for a testimony against them (Luk 9:5).
d And they departed, and went throughout the villages, preaching the good news, and healing everywhere (Luk 9:6).
c Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done, and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some, that John was risen from the dead, and by some, that Elijah had appeared, and by others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. And Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this, about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him (Luk 9:7-9).
b And the apostles, when they were returned, declared to him what things they had done. And He took them, and withdrew apart to a city called Bethsaida (Luk 9:10).
a But the crowds perceiving it followed Him, and He welcomed them, and spoke to them of the Kingly Rule of God, and those who had need of healing He cured (Luk 9:11).
Note that in ‘a’ the twelve are sent to proclaim the Kingly Rule of God and heal, and in the parallel Jesus proclaims the Kingly Rule of God and heals. In ‘b’ He describes the conditions they are to follow on their journey, and in the parallel they describe what they have done on their journey. In ‘c’ He tells them what to do about those who do not receive them, and in the parallel we have a prime example of one who did not receive God’s messengers. Central to all is the proclamation of the Good News everywhere.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
3). Jesus is Revealed As The Messiah Who Has Come With Power (8:19-9:36).
In this third part of Section 3 Jesus is Revealed as the glorious Messiah Who has come with power but will be involved in suffering and death (Luk 8:19 to Luk 9:36). It may be analysed as follows:
a He no longer owns responsibility to His own family who do not believe in Him, and are on the outside (His own do not recognise Him) (Luk 8:19-21).
b He is revealed as the One Who is from above by quelling the storm, revealing His power and authority over nature (Luk 8:22-25).
c He delivers the demoniac of a legion of demons, revealing His power and authority over the spirit world, and His ability to deliver from legions (Luk 8:26-39).
d He raises the dead, revealing His power and authority over death (Luk 8:30-56).
c He sends out His power to preach and to heal through the twelve, giving them power and authority over all demons, coming under threat from Herod (Luk 9:1-10).
b He is revealed as the One Who is from above by providing a miraculous sacramental meal, revealing again His power over nature and His power to feed men’s inner beings (Luk 9:11-17).
a He is confessed as Messiah by His followers, and revealed as such by being transfigured before, them revealing Who His true Father is, but at the same time He warns that He has come to suffer (Luk 9:18-36).
Note how in ‘a’ His natural family do not acknowledge Him while in the parallel His spiritual family and His Father do. In ‘b’ He reveals His power over nature so as to protect His own, in the parallel He reveals His power over nature so as to feed His own. In neither case is it for His own benefit. It is for theirs. In ‘c’ He delivers the demoniac from the tyranny of evil spirits, and in the parallel His disciples go out to deliver people from the same tyranny. Central over all is that He is the Giver of Life, and Lord over Death.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jesus Delegates His Authority to the Apostles In Luk 9:1-17 we have two stories of how Jesus delegated His authority to His disciples. He sends them out to use the authority of His name and heal the sick, and He tests their faith in the miracle of feeding the five thousand.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. Jesus Sends Out His Disciples Luk 9:1-6
2. Herod’s Perplexity Luk 9:7-9
3. Feeding the Five Thousand Luk 9:10-17
Luk 9:1-6 Jesus Sends Out His Disciples ( Mat 10:5-15 , Mar 6:7-13 ) In Luk 9:1-6 we have the story of Jesus sending out His twelve apostles by delegating to them the authority of His name.
Comparison of Narrative Material in the Synoptic Gospels – When we compare this story in the three Synoptic Gospels, we can easily recognize how they each emphasize their themes by the differences given in each account. We find Mark clearly emphasizing the proclamation of the Gospel by His disciples with signs and miracles accompanying them. This version is thus emphasizing the theme of the Gospel of Mark.
Mar 6:12-13, “And they went out, and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.”
Luke’s Gospel emphasizes the effectiveness of the disciples as they ministered under the authority of Jesus name, while taking the Gospel to many towns and villages when it says, “(they) went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.”
Luk 9:6, “And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where”
Matthew’s Gospel makes no reference to the preaching of the disciples, but rather, gives us a lengthy discourse by Jesus. This is because Matthew’s Gospel is structured around Jesus’ five discourses, which emphasizes the teaching ministry as the means of taking the Gospel to the world.
Luk 9:7-9 Herod’s Perplexity ( Mat 14:1-12 , Mar 6:14-29 ) Luk 9:7-9 records the story of Herod’s perplexity about Jesus’ ministry and the death of John the Baptist. When comparing this story in the Synoptic Gospels, we see that Mar 6:14-29 records the most lengthy account of the death of John the Baptist. Mark gives more detail of the reason for his death, which was because of his preaching a Gospel of repentance to King Herod, and it records Herod’s perplexity of Jesus’ miracles; thus making an emphasis upon preaching and miracles. Luke’s Gospel gives the shortest account by simply noting Herod’s testimony of perplexity as to who Jesus was, having heard so many things about Him. Matthew’s record of this account is placed among a collection of accounts of how to handle offences in the Kingdom of God; for the death of John the Baptist was an opportunity to get offended.
Luk 9:10-17 The Feeding of the Five Thousand ( Mat 14:13-21 , Mar 6:30-44 , Joh 6:1-14 ) Luk 9:10-17 records the story of the feeding of the five thousand. This story is place in the same subsection of narrative material as Jesus sending out His twelve disciples because these twelve apostles were a part of this miracle of feeding the five thousand by handing out the bread and fish. Thus, they were partaking of the same anointing that Jesus ministered under to perform this miracle.
Symbolic Meaning of the Bread – Notes these insightful words of Frances J. Roberts regarding the symbolic meaning of the bread:
“It is a joy to My heart when My children rely upon Me. I delight in working things out for thee, but I delight even more in thee thyself than in anything I do to help thee. Even so, I want you to delight in Me just for Myself, rather than in anything ye do for Me. Service is the salvage of love. It is like the twelve baskets of bread that were left over. The bread partaken of was like fellowship mutually given; and the excess and overflow was a symbol of service . I do not expect thee to give to others until ye have first thyself been a partaker. I will provide you with plentiful supply to give if ye first come to receive for thine own needs. This is in no way selfishness. It is the Law of Life. Can the stalk of corn produce the ear unless first it receive its own life from the parent seed? No more can ye produce fruit in thy ministry except ye be impregnated with divine life from its source in God Himself. It was from the hands of the Christ that the multitudes received bread. From His hands ye also must receive thy nurture, the Bread of Life to sustain thy health and thy life.
“Let Him fully satisfy thy soul-hunger, and then thou shalt go forth with a full basket on thine arm. Twelve baskets there were (Mat 14:20). One for each disciple. There will always be the multitudes to be fed, but the few called to minister. This is by My own arrangement. As the Scripture says: Do not many desire to be teachers, for thereby is attached more heavy responsibility (Jas 3:1).” [212]
[212] Frances J. Roberts, Come Away My Beloved (Ojai, California: King’s Farspan, Inc., 1973), 153-4.
Jesus’ Touch – As Jesus touched the bread, it brought life to the loaves and they multiplied, much like the rod of Aaron’s that budded when placed into the Ark of the Covenant.
The Ministry of Helps – The principle of the ministry of helps is seen in this story. The twelve disciples were helping Jesus to distribute the bread. As the blessing and anointing was flowing through Jesus Christ to break the bread, so was this anointing imparted unto the disciples as they took of this bread and broke it and saw it multiply by their hands also. Noting that this event took place late in the day, Jesus would not have had time to break enough bread himself to feed the five thousand. The disciples were clearly breaking the bread they had received from Jesus. This story teaches us that there is an anointing imparted as we serve in the ministry of helps.
The Divine Principle of Thankfulness – Today in Israel, tour guides will suggest that there were about 40,000 people present at this time that were feed miraculously. In this story, we see a divine principle that will work in our lives. Jesus took what small provision His Heavenly Father provided and gave God thanks for it. God was then able to bless what He had and cause it to multiply. Our Father will do the same for us. We are to be thankful for what we presently have and serve Him so that He can bless and multiply our provision.
Luk 9:11 Comments The public ministry of Jesus Christ reached its peak of popularity during the miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand, as the multitudes around Galilee followed Him. At the end of the narrative section in Joh 6:60-66 many disciples forsook Him. Jesus will be left standing in the synagogue of Capernaum asking His closest disciples if they will forsake Him also (Joh 6:67-71). Jesus’ miracles have brought attention to His message, but not commitment from His followers.
Luk 9:13 Comments – The Gospel of John tells us that there was a small boy in the crowd who has some food. He was willing to offer it unto Jesus and His disciples. We know that there were others who had brought some small portions of food with them, but had not offered it, probably because they did not think that it was enough to help the situation. God can take our smallest gifts and work mighty miracles with it if we will only be willing to offer it unto Him.
Note these insightful words from Sadhu Sundar Singh regarding the lad with the loaves and fishes.
“Sometimes when there is some great act of service to be done, I choose for My purpose those who are little esteemed in the eyes of the world, for they make no boast of their own power or wisdom, but putting their entire trust in Me, and accounting what little ability they possess as of no great value, they devote all they have and are to My work for men (1 Cor. i.26-30). For instance, when I fed in the wilderness five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes, you will remember that I did not perform this miracle by the agency of My disciples, for they were full of doubt and perplexity and wished to send the multitude away hungry (John vi.9). My servant on that occasion was a little lad whom I had cured of the palsy. Filled with a desire to hear My words he determined to follow Me. His poor mother wrapped up in his clothes some barley cakes and dried fish, enough for two or three days journey, so when inquiry was made for food for the multitude this faithful little lad at once brought all that he had and laid it at the disciples’ feet. Though there were wealthy people there who had with them much better food, such as wheaten cakes, they were not prepared to give them up; so it was from the barley cakes of this boy, My namesake, that by My blessing the multitude was fed with the choicest food.” [213]
[213] Sadhu Sundar Singh, At the Master’s Feet, translated by Arthur Parker (London: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1922) [on-line], accessed 26 October 2008, available from http://www.ccel.org/ccel/singh/feet.html; Internet, “IV Service,” section 2, part 6.
Luk 9:16 Word Study on “loaves” The Greek word means “bread.” Leon Morris describes this bread as the size of a “bun” so that several pieces could be eaten at a single meal. [214]
[214] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, in The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 378.
Luk 9:17 And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets.
Luk 9:17
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Witnesses of Jesus Justifying Him as the Saviour of the World (God the Father’s Justification of Jesus) Luk 4:31 to Luk 21:38 contains the testimony of Jesus’ public ministry, as He justifies Himself as the Saviour of the world. In this major section Jesus demonstrates His divine authority over man, over the Law, and over creation itself, until finally He reveals Himself to His three close disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration as God manifested in the flesh. Jesus is the Saviour over every area of man’s life and over creation itself, a role that can only be identified with God Himself. This was the revelation that Peter had when he said that Jesus was Christ, the Son of the Living God. Luk 4:14 to Luk 9:50 begins with His rejection in His hometown of Nazareth and this section culminates in Luk 9:50 with Peter’s confession and testimony of Jesus as the Anointed One sent from God. In summary, this section of material is a collection of narratives that testifies to Jesus’ authority over every aspect of humanity to be called the Christ, or the Saviour of the world.
Luke presents Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world that was presently under the authority of Roman rule. He was writing to a Roman official who was able to exercise his authority over men. Thus, Luke was able to contrast Jesus’ divine authority and power to that of the Roman rule. Jesus rightfully held the title as the Saviour of the world because of the fact that He had authority over mankind as well as the rest of God’s creation. Someone who saves and delivers a person does it because he has the authority and power over that which oppresses the person.
In a similar way, Matthew portrays Jesus Christ as the Messiah who fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. Matthew’s presentation of Jesus as the King of the Jews supports His claim as the Messiah. John gives us the testimony of God the Father, who says that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. John uses the additional testimonies of John the Baptist, of His miracles, of the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and of Jesus Himself to support this claim. Mark testifies of the many miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ by emphasizing the preaching of the Gospel as the way in which these miracles take place.
This major section of the public ministry of Jesus Christ can be subdivided into His prophetic testimonies. In Luk 4:31 to Luk 6:49 Jesus testifies of true justification in the Kingdom of God. In Luk 7:1 to Luk 8:21 Jesus testifies of His doctrine. In Luk 8:22 to Luk 10:37 Jesus testifies of divine service in the Kingdom of God as He sets His face towards Jerusalem. In Luk 10:38 to Luk 17:10 Jesus testifies of perseverance in the Kingdom of God as He travels towards Jerusalem. Finally, in Luk 17:11 to Luk 21:38 Jesus teaches on glorification in the Kingdom of God.
The Two-Fold Structure in Luke of Doing/Teaching As Reflected in the Prologue to the Book of Acts – The prologue to the book of Acts serves as a brief summary and outline of the Gospel of Luke. In Act 1:1 the writer makes a clear reference to the Gospel of Luke, as a companion book to the book of Acts, by telling us that this “former treatise” was about “all that Jesus began to do and to teach.” If we examine the Gospel of Luke we can find two major divisions in the narrative material of Jesus’ earthly ministry leading up to His Passion. In Luk 4:14 to Luk 9:50 we have the testimony of His Galilean Ministry in which Jesus did many wonderful miracles to reveal His divine authority as the Christ, the Son of God. This passage emphasized the works that Jesus did to testify of Himself as the Saviour of the world. The emphasis then shifts beginning in Luk 9:51 to Luk 21:38 as it focuses upon Jesus teaching and preparing His disciples to do the work of the Kingdom of God. Thus, Luk 4:14 to Luk 21:38 can be divided into this two-fold emphasis of Jesus’ works and His teachings. [186]
[186] We can also see this two-fold aspect of doing and teaching in the Gospel of Matthew, as Jesus always demonstrated the work of the ministry before teaching it in one of His five major discourses. The narrative material preceding his discourses serves as a demonstration of what He then taught. For example, in Matthew 8:1 to 9:38, Jesus performed nine miracles before teaching His disciples in Matthew 10:1-42 and sending them out to perform these same types of miracles. In Matthew 11:1 to 12:50 this Gospel records examples of how people reacted to the preaching of the Gospel before Jesus teaches on this same subject in the parables of Matthew 13:1-52. We see examples of how Jesus handled offences in Matthew 13:53 to 17:27 before He teaches on this subject in Matthew 18:1-35. Jesus also prepares for His departure in Matthew 19:1 to 25:46 before teaching on His second coming in Matthew 24-25.
Jesus’ Public Ministry One observation that can be made about Jesus’ Galilean ministry and his lengthy travel narrative to Jerusalem is that He attempts to visit every city and village in Israel that will receive Him. He even sends out His disciples in order to reach them all. But why is such an effort made to preach the Gospel to all of Israel during Jesus’ earthly ministry? Part of the answer lies in the fact that Jesus wanted everyone to have the opportunity to hear and believe. For those who rejected Him, they now will stand before God on the great Judgment Day without an excuse for their sinful lifestyles. Jesus wanted everyone to have the opportunity to believe and be saved. This seemed to be His passion throughout His Public Ministry. Another aspect of the answer is the impending outpouring of the Holy Ghost and the sending out of the Twelve to the uttermost parts of the earth. Jesus understood the necessity to first preach the Gospel to all of Israel before sending out the apostles to other cities and nations.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Narrative: Jesus Demonstrates Divine Service In Luk 8:22 to Luk 9:50 Jesus demonstrates divine service to His disciples, then delegates to them His divine authority to work miracles among the people. He then reveals His divinity to His three closest disciples.
Outline: Here is a proposed outline:
1. Jesus Demonstrates His Authority Luk 8:22-56
2. Jesus Delegates His Authority to the Apostles Luk 9:1-17
3. Jesus Reveals His Divinity Luk 9:18-50
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Divine Service: Jesus Testifies of Divine Service In Luk 8:22 to Luk 10:37 Jesus testifies of divine service in the Kingdom of God. In Luk 8:22-56 He demonstrates His authority in divine service by calming a storm (the natural realm), casting out demons (the spiritual realm), and healing two individuals who exercised faith in His word (the physical realm). He then delegates this authority to His disciples and allows them to go out and preach the Gospel, heal the sick, and feed the five thousand (Luk 9:1-17). This experience will culminate on the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (Luk 9:18-50). Jesus will deliver a discourse to the Seventy to prepare them for divine service (Luk 10:1-24). It is the story of the Good Samaritan that best illustrates the spirit of divine service, which is loving our neighbour (Luk 10:25-37).
Outline: Here is a proposed outline:
1. Narrative: Jesus Demonstrates Divine Service (Galilee) Luk 8:22 to Luk 9:50
2. Discourse: Jesus Trains 70 Disciples (Faces Jerusalem) Luk 9:51 to Luk 10:37
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Mission of the Twelve. Rules for the apostles:
v. 1. Then He called His twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
v. 2. And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
v. 3. And He said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.
v. 4. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.
v. 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.
v. 6. And they departed and went through the towns, preaching the Gospel and healing everywhere. Jesus had chosen the Twelve out of the larger company of the disciples that usually followed Him. These Twelve, commonly designated by that term, He called together for a formal meeting. He gave them power and right, or authority, unlimited authority, as His representatives. Although the message which Jesus brought was not new, the form and clearness in which He brought it was. The apostles therefore, going out in His name, must be clothed with unusual power. The demons were made subject to them, and the power to heal diseases was transmitted to them. Note that these two are mentioned separately, and that their treatment was not the same: The demons were to be cast out, the diseases were to be healed. Then, with all due formality, they were sent out, the substance, the essential part of their ministry being the preaching of the kingdom of God, supplemented by works of healing. The Gospel-message must always stand first in the kingdom of God and receive the prime attention; upon its proper proclamation all other activities of the Church depend. Some of the detailed instructions follow. The apostles were to take nothing for their journey; they were not to prepare themselves, and, above all, they were not to be burdened on the way. They were to show no characteristics of the itinerant begging preachers and prophets, having neither a staff nor a beggar’s collecting bag, neither bread nor silver money, nor even a change of tunics with them. They were to be dependent altogether upon the people whom they served for their sustenance. They should lose no time in selecting a place to stay, in hunting choice quarters. The house into which they should enter first and whose inmates would receive them, that should be their abode until they had finished their work in that city. But if some people would reject them and their message, they should express the judgment of Christ upon the people of such a city by an. appropriate gesture, by shaking off the very dust from their feet, signifying that they would have nothing to do with such opposition to the Word and work of Christ, but hereby bore witness before God against them. This, in brief, was the sum and substance of the instructions given to the apostles by Jesus. And, armed with this authority, they went forth through the towns of Galilee. In the most important place they put the preaching of the Gospel, the good news of salvation; and this proclamation of the Word was given the proper emphasis under the circumstances by the healings which were done everywhere.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Luk 9:1-6
The Master sends out the twelve on a mission.
Luk 9:1
Then he called his twelve disciples together. The Galilee ministry was just over; outwardly it had been a triumphant success; vast crowds had been gathered together. The Master was generally welcomed with a positive enthusiasm; the people heard him gladly. Here and there were visible, as in the eases of the woman who touched him and the synagogue ruler who prayed him to heal his little daughter, just related (Luk 8:1-56.), conspicuous examples of a strange or mighty faith; but the success, the Master knew too well, was only on the surface. The crowds who to-day shouted “Hosanna!” and greeted his appearance among them with joy, on the morrow would fall away from him, and on the day following would reappear with the shout “Crucify him!” It was especially to warn his Church in coming ages of this sure result of all earnest devoted preaching and teaching, that he spoke that saddest of parables, “the sower” (Luk 8:1-56.) But before he finally brought this Galilaean ministry to a close, he would gather in some few wavering souls, whose hearts he knew were trembling in the balance between the choice of life and good, and death and evil. To help these he sent out this last mission. The word rendered called together” indicates a solemn gathering. And gave them power, etc. This and the further detail of the next verse (2) roughly describe the work he intended them to do, and the means bestowed on them for its accomplishment. Very extraordinary powers were conferred on thempowers evidently intended to terminate with the short mission on which he now despatched them.
Luk 9:2
And to heal the sick. St. Mark (Mar 6:13), in his brief notice of this mission of the twelve, mentions the special instrument of their power over sicknessthe twelve anointed the sick with oil, and healed them. It is probable that the early Christian custom alluded to by St. James (Jas 5:14), of anointing the sick with oil, arose from our Lord’s direction to his apostles on the occasion of this mission. The practice was continued, or possibly was revived, long after the original power connected with it had ceased to exist. It still survives in the Roman Catholic Church in the sacrament of extreme unction, which, singularly enough, is administered when all hope of the patient’s recovery from the sickness is over. Anointing the sick with oil was a favourite practice among the ancient Jews (see Isa 1:6 and Luk 10:34). It was to be used by the twelve as an ordinary medicine, possessing, however, in their hands an extraordinary effect, and was to be, during this mission, the visible medium through which the Divine influence and power to heal took effect. We never read of Jesus in his miracles using oil; his usual practice seems to have been simply to have used words. At times he touched the sufferer; on one occasion only we read how he mixed some clay with which he anointed the sightless eyes.
Luk 9:3
Take nothing for your journey. Dr. Farrar well sums up the various directions of the Master to these his first missionaries: “The general spirit of the instructions merely is, ‘Go forth in the simplest, humblest manner, with no hindrances to your movements, and in perfect faith;’ and this, as history shows, has always been the method of the most successful missions. At the same time, we must remember that the wants of the twelve were very small, and were secured by the free open hospitality of the East.”
Luk 9:4
And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. On entering any new place they were to select, after due and careful inquiry (Mat 10:11), a family likely and able to assist them in their evangelistic work. This “house” they were to endeavour to make the centre of their efforts in that locality. This rule we find continued in the early years of Christianity. In the history of the first Churches, certain “houses” in the different cities were evidently the centres of the mission work there. We gather this from such expressions in St. Paul’s letters as “the Church which is in his house“ (comp., too, Act 16:40, where the house of Lydia was evidently the head-quarters of all missionary work in Philippi and its neighbourhood).
Luk 9:5
And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very duet from your feet for a testimony against them. It was the custom of the Jews when they returned from foreign (Gentile) lands, as they crossed the frontiers of the Holy Land, to shake the dust from off their feet. This was an act symbolizing that they had broken, now on their return to their own land, all communion with Gentile peoples which a residence among them had necessitated for a season. The hitter hatred and loathing of the Jews, after their return from the Captivity, for all Gentile races can only be understood by the student of the Talmud. So comprehensive and perfect a hatred, enduring, too, for centuries, has never been witnessed in the ease of any other peoples. This accounts in great measure for the retaliative persecution which more or less has been carried on all through the Christian era against this marvellous race. In our daythe day of a liberalism possibly exaggerated and unrealin many parts of Europe the untrained sense of the masses strangely revolts against this spirit of toleration; and wild excesses, massacres, and bitter persecutionthe Judenhetz, hatred of the Jews in Germany and in Russiaare among the curious results of the liberality and universal toleration of the time.
Luk 9:7-9
Herod’s terror.
Luk 9:7
Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him. This was Herod Antipas; he was a son of Herod the Great; his mother’s name was Malthace. After his father’s death he became tetrareh or prince-ruler of Galilee, Peraea, and of a fourth part of the Roman province of Syria. His first wife was daughter of Aretas, a famous Arabian sheik spoken of by St. Paul as “king of the Damascenes” (2Co 11:32). This princess he divorced, and contracted a marriage at once incestuous and adulterous with his niece Herodias, the beautiful wife of his half-brother Philip. Philip was not a sovereign prince, and it was probably from motives of ambition that she deserted Philip for the powerful tetrarch Herod Antipas. It was owing to his fearless remonstrances against this wicked marriage that John the Baptist incurred the enmity of Herodias, who was only satisfied with the head of the daring preacher who presumed to attack her brilliant wicked life. What Herod now heard was the report of the widespread interest suddenly aroused by the mission of the twelvea mission, we know, supported by miraculous powers, following close upon the Galilaean ministry of the Lord, which, as far as regarded the numbers who thronged his meetings, and the outward interest his words and works excited, had been so successful. Rumours of all this at last reached the court circle, wrapped up in its own selfish and often wanton pleasures and false excitement. Because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead. Herod Antipas was probably inclined to the Sadducee creed, which believed in neither angel nor spirit. But Sadduceeism and the easy doctrines of Epicurus, which no doubt found favour in the luxurious palace of Herod, are but a flimsy protection at best against the ghastly reminiscences and the weird forebodings of a guilty conscience. The murder of John had been, Herod knew, strongly condemned by the public voice. He would not believe it was his old monitor risen, but vet the prince was anxious and perturbed in his mind. The murmur that the great prophet was Elias (Elijah) disquieted him, too. Herod could not help recalling to his mind the lifelong combat of that great and austere servant of God against another wicked sovereign and his queen, Ahab and Jezebel, whose great crime was that they, too, had slain the Lord’s prophets. That history, Herod felt, had to some extent been reproduced by himself and Herodias. There was a rooted expectation among the Jews that Elijah would reappear again on earth, and that his appearance would herald the advent of the Messiah. There are numberless references in the Talmud to this looked-for return of the famous Elijah.
Luk 9:8
One of the old prophets. Jeremiah and also Isaiah, though to a lesser degree than Elijah, were looked for as heralds of the coming Messiah (see 2 Esdr. 2:10, 18, and 2 Macc. 2:4-8; 15:13-16). It was expected that Jeremiah would reveal the hiding-place of the long-lost ark and of the Urim.
Luk 9:9
And he desired to see him; that is, Jesus. The desire of Herod was gratified, but not then. He saw him the day of the Crucifixion, when Pilate sent him to Herod for judgment; but the tetrarch, weak and wicked though he was, declined the responsibility of shedding that blood, so he sent him back to the Roman governor. Here, in SS. Matthew and Mark, follows the dramatic and vivid account of the death of John the Baptist. St. Luke probably omits it, as his Gospel, or rather Paul’s, was derived from what they heard from eyewitnesses and hearers of the Lord. As regards SS. Matthew and Mark, the latter of whom was probably simply the amanuensis of St. Peter, the awful event was woven into their life’s story. It was most natural that, in their public preaching and teaching, they should make constant mention of the tragedy which so personally affected Jesus and his little company. St. Luke and his master, Paul, on the other hand, who were not personally present with the Lord when these events took place, would be likely to confine their memoirs as closely as possible to those circumstances in which Jesus alone occupied the prominent place.
Luk 9:10-17
The Lord feeds the five thousand.
Luk 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. This, perhaps the most famous and oftenest told of the Lord’s miracles, was worked directly after the return of the twelve from their mission. He and they were no doubt very weary of the crowds which continually now thronged them. The excitement of the multitude about Jesus was now at its height. Directly after the discourse at Capernaum (Joh 6:1-71.), which immediately followed the great miracle we are about to discuss, the popular enthusiasm began to wane. Intensely weary, dispirited too at the story of the murder of John the Baptist, which was told the Master by the disciples and the friends of John on their return from their mission, Jesus determined for a brief space to withdraw himself from the public gaze. He crossed the Lake of Gennesaret in one of his friends’ fishing-boats to a town lately identified by modern research as Bethsaida Julias, a small city recently beautified by Herod Philip, and named Bethsaida Julias, after the daughter of Augustus. Bethsaida, “house of fish,” was a name attached evidently to several of these fishing centres on the shores of the lake. Many of the multitude of whom we read subsequently in the account of the miracle, had watched his departure in the boat for the neighbourhood of Bethsaida Julias, and had gone on foot round the head of the lake to join the popular Teacher again. The distance round the north end of the lake from the point of embarkation, most likely Capernaum, to Bethsaida Julias is not very considerable. The crowd which soon joined him in retirement would be considerably swelled by many of the Passover pilgrims just arrived at Capernaum on their way to Jerusalem to keep the feast. These would be anxious, too, to see and to hear the great Galilaean Prophet, whose name just then was in every mouth. Not very far from Bethsaida Julias there is a secluded plain, El Batihah; thither Jesus no doubt went after leaving his fishing-boat, purposing to spend some time in perfect rest. Soon, however, the usually quiet plain becomes populous with the crowds following after the Galilaean Master. Though longing intensely for repose so necessary for himself and his disciples, he at once, moved by the eagerness of the multitude to hear and see him again, gives them his usual loving welcome, and begins in his old fashion to teach them many things, and to heal their sick.
Luk 9:12
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. Simple consideration for the crowds, among whom we know were women and children, probably dictated this remark of the twelve, though it has been with some ingenuity suggested that the advice of the disciples was owing to their fear that, as darkness would soon creep over the scene, some calamity might happen which would give a fresh handle against Jesus to his many enemies.
Luk 9:13
But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. Godet here beautifully observes that this reply, and the great miracle that followed, was the result of a loving thought of the Redeemer. “John has disclosed it to us (vi. 4). It was the time of the Passover. He could not visit Jerusalem with his disciples, owing to the virulent hatred of which he had become the object. In this unexpected gathering, resembling that of the nation at Jerusalem, he discerns a signal from on high, and determines to celebrate a feast in the desert as a compensation for the Passover Feast.” We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people. The main lines of this story are the same in each of the four accounts which we possess of this miracle; but each of the four evangelists supplies some little detail wanting in the others. It is clear that there was no original written tradition from which they all copied. St. John tells us it was a little boy who had this small, rough provision. The boy probably was in attendance on the apostles, and this was no doubt the little stock of food they had provided for their own frugal meal. The barley loaves were the ordinary food of the poorest in Palestine, and the two fish were dried, as was the common custom of the country; and such dried fish was usually eaten with the bread.
Luk 9:14
They were about five thousand men. St. Matthew adds, “besides women and children.” The multitude generally had come from a considerable distance, we know; there would not be, comparatively speaking, many women and children among them. These were grouped together apart, and, of course, fed, hut were not counted among the five thousand. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company. “Jesus has no sooner ascertained that there are five loaves and two fishes, than he is satisfied. He commands them to make the multitude sit down. Just as though he had said, ‘I have what I want; the meal is ready; let them be seated!’ But he takes care that his banquet shall be conducted with an order worthy of the God who gives it. Everything must be calm and solemn; it is a kind of Passover meal. By the help of the apostles, he seats his guests in rows of fifty each (St.. Matthew), or in double rows of fifty, by hundreds (Mark). This orderly arrangement allowed of the guests being easily counted. St. Mark describes in a dramatic manner the striking spectacle presented by these regularly formed companies, each consisting of two equal ranks, and all arranged upon the slope of the hill. The pastures at that time were in all their spring glory. SS. John and Mark both bring forward the beauty of this natural carpet. ‘Much grass’ (St. John); ‘on the green grass'” (Godet). St. Mark’s vivid picturesque details show the observant eve-witness. The words rendered “in ranks” (“they sat down in ranks”) literally mean they were like flower-beds set in the green grass. The bright-coloured Eastern robes of these men, as they sat in long rows, suggested the happy comparison.
Luk 9:16
Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. The blessing was the usual introduction of a pious Jewish family to a meal. It was pronounced by the head of the household. An ordinary formula was, “May God, the Ever-blessed One, bless what he has given us!” The Jewish barley loaves were broad, thin cakes; these were usually broken, not outhence the expression, “and brake.” In SS. Mark and Luke the tense of the verb rendered “gave,” in the original Greek, is an imperfect, and signifies, “he gave, and kept on giving.” This supplies a hint as to the way of working the miracle. Each disciple kept coming to him for a fresh supply of bread. It was, however, as it has been well said, a miracle of the highest order, one of creative power, and is to us inconceivable. The evangelists make no attempt to explain it. They evidently did not care to ask. They beheld it, and related it to us just as they saw it in its simple grandeur. Neither disciples nor crowds seem at first to have grasped the stupendous nature of the act. St. John tells us of its effect on the crowds, who, when they came to see what had been done, wished to take him by force and make him king. For a brief space they were convinced that in the poor Galilee Rabbi they had found King Messiahnone but he could have done this great thing. They were right.
Luk 9:17
And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them, twelve baskets. A very impressive lesson from the Creator himself against waste or extravagance. St. John expressly tells us that this order to gather up the fragments of their meal emanated from Jesus himself. Carefulness, thrift, and economy in small things as in great, form part of the teaching of the loving Master. From such passages as Mar 6:37 and Joh 13:29, it seems probable that the disciples, acting under their Master’s direction, were in the habit of distributing, out of their comparative abundance, food to those persons in the villages who were poorer than themselves. It was, no doubt, for some such hallowed object as this that the careful collection of the fragments which filled twelve baskets was made. The “baskets” (cophinus) were usually carried by travelling Jews to keep their food from contracting Levitical pollution in Gentile places. Juvenal, in a well-known passage (‘Sat.,’ 3.14), writes of the Jews travelling about Italy with no baggage save a little bundle of hay to serve as a pillow, and this cophinus, or basket, for their food. So abundant had been the provision created by Jesus, that the fragments collected far exceeded the original stock of food which the disciples gave to Jesus to bless, to break, and to distribute among the five thousand and upward who were fed that memorable afternoon. This miracle is the only one in the entire Galilaean ministry which is told by all the four evangelists. It evidently had a very prominent place in the teaching of the first days. Rationalizing interpretation in the case of this miracle is singularly at fault. After eighteen centuries of unremitting hostility to the teaching of Jesus Christ, not even a plausible explanation of this miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes has been found by adverse critics. In our own days, Renan, following the ancient interpretation of Paulus, simply suggests that the multitudes were fed by materials provided by themselves. “Every one took his little store of provision from his wallet; they lived on very little”an explanation, as it has been happily termed, “ludicrously inadequate.”
After the relation of the great miracle of feeding the five thousand, St. Luke omits in his Gospel a variety of incidents and several discourses told at greater or lesser length by the other evangelists. For instance, the reverential amazement of the people when the nature of the stupendous miracle in connection with the creation of the loaves and fishes flashed upon them,they wished to recognize him as King Messiah; the walking on the sea; the long and important discourse on the true Bread at Capernaum, the text of which was the late great miracle of the loaves; the journey among the heathen as far as Tyre and Sidon; the meeting with the Syro-phoenician woman; the feeding of the four thousand, etc. These incidents are related in Mat 14:1-36.- Mat 16:12; Mk 6:45-8:30; Joh 6:1-71. No commentator has satisfactorily explained the reason of this omission of important portions of our Lord’s public ministry. The reason for St. Luke’s action here probably will never be guessed. We must, however, in all theories which we may form of the composition of these Gospels, never lose sight of this fact, that while SS. Matthew and Peter (Mark) were eyewitnesses of the events of the life, St. Luke, and his master, Paul, simply reproduced what they had heard or read. We may, therefore, suppose that St. Luke exercised larger discretionary powers in dealing with materials derived from others than the other two, who desired, no doubt, to reproduce a fairly general summary of their Divine Master’s acts. On such a theory of composition, a gap in the story like the one we are now alluding to, in the more eclectic Gospel of St. Luke, would seem scarcely possible in the first two Gospels. We, of course, make no allusion here to the Fourth Gospel; the whole plan and design of St. John was different to that upon which the first three were modelled.
Luk 9:18-27
Jesus‘ question to his own: Who did they think he was? He tells them of a suffering Messiah, and describes the lot of his own true followers.
Luk 9:18
And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? With these abrupt words, St. Luke changes for his readers the time and scene. Since the miracle of feeding the five thousand at Bethsaida Julias, Jesus had preached at Capernaum the famous sermon on the “Bread of life” (reported in Joh 6:1-71.); he had wandered to the north-east as far as the maritime cities of Tyro and Sidon; had returned again to the Decapolis region for a brief sojourn; and then once more had turned his footsteps north; and it was in the extreme confines of the Holy Land, in the neighbourhood of Caesarea Philippi, and close to the great fountain, the source of the sacred Jordan, at the foot of the southern ridge of Hermon, where he put the momentous question here chronicled, to his listening disciples. Much had happened since the five thousand were fed. The defection which the Master had foreseen when he commenced his parable-teaching with the sad story of the “sower,” had begun. After the great Capernaum sermon (Joh 6:1-71.), many had fallen away from him; the enthusiasm for his words was rapidly waning; the end was already in sight. “Well,” he asks his own, “what are men saying about me? Whom do they think that I am?”
Luk 9:19
They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. It was a strange answer, this report of the popular belief concerning Jesus. There had been for a long period among the people expectations more or less defined, that certain of the great national heroes were to reappear again to take up their incomplete work, and to play the part in Israel, of heralds of the looked-for glorious King Messiah. The popular belief respecting Jesus was that he was one of these. Some thought of Elijah. The two miracles of creating the loaves and fishes for a great famishing crowd especially suggested this idea. There was a shadowy, but not an unreal resemblance here to the well-remembered miracle of Elijah, worked for the Sarepta widow and her son, with the cruse of oil and the barrel of meal which failed not (1Ki 17:14). The words of Malachi (Mal 4:5) pointed in the same direction. The image of the recently murdered Baptist was present with some. Herod’s words, already commented on, point to this, perhaps, widespread belief. Jeremiah would be a likely instance of “one of the old prophets.” Tradition had already asserted that the spirit of that great one had passed into Zechariah; surely another similar transmigration was possible. Jeremiah, popular tradition said, had safely hidden the ark and the tabernacle and the altar of incense somewhere in the mountain where Moses died by the “kiss of God.” Already had he appeared to the brave and patriotic Judas Maccabaeus in a vision as a man greyhaired and exceeding glorious, as one praying for the people as their guardian-prophet, and had given the gallant Maeeabaean hero a golden sword from God. It was one of these old heroic forms, so loved of Israel, once more in the flesh, that the people believed Jesus to be.
Luk 9:20
But whom say ye that I am Peter answering said, The Christ of God. And the Master listened, apparently without comment, to this reply, which told him what the people said of him, and then went on, “But you, my disciples, who have been ever with ,he, what say, what think you about me?” Peter, as the representative of the others in that little chosen company, answers, “We believe that thou art more than any prophet or national hero or forerunner of the Messiah; we think that thou art the Messiah himself.”‘ Dr. Morrison very beautifully pictures the disciples’ state of mind at this juncture. “No doubt the true light on the subject had often gleamed through the darkness of their minds (see Joh 1:29, Joh 1:33, Joh 1:34, Joh 1:41, Joh 1:45, Joh 1:49, etc.). But, though gleam succeeded gleam, in flashes that revealed the Illimitable, the darkness would ever, more or less, close in again. They could not altogether help it. They were witnesses of a ‘humiliation’ which they could not reconcile with the notions they had inherited in reference to the power and pomp of the Messiah. And yet it was evident that he was entirely unlike all other rabbis. He was the Master of masters, and a mystery over and above. An inner lustre was continually breaking through. It was glorious; it was unique. His character was transcendently noble and pure. He had not, moreover, obtruded self-assertions on them. He had left them, in a great measure, to observe for themselves; and they had been observing.” It was, indeed, on the part of these feeble disciples a pure and lofty expression of the effect produced on their hearts by Jesus Christ’s teaching. But though these men, afterwards so great, had attained to this grand conception of their adored Master, though they alone, among the crowds, through the sad coloured veil of his low estate, could see shining the glory of Divinity, yet they could not grasp yet the conception of a suffering Messiah, and in spite of all the teaching of the Master, the cross and the Passion made them unbelievers again. It needed the Resurrection to complete the education of faith.
Luk 9:21
And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing. It would have been no hard task for the disciples to have gone about with an expression of their earnest conviction that the great Prophet was indeed the long looked-for King Messiah, and thus to have raised the excitable crowds to any wild pitch of enthusiasm. It was only a very short time back that, moved by the miracle of the loaves, the multitudes wished to crown him King by force. That was not the kind of homage Jesus sought; besides which, any such enthusiasm thus evoked would quickly have died away, and a hostile reaction would have set in when the high hopes excited by the idea of King Messiah were contradicted by the life of suffering and self-denial which Jesus sternly set himself to live through to its bitter end. This life he sketched out for them in the severe language of the next verse.
Luk 9:22
Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. “See how,” as Riggenbach, quoted by Godet, says, “Jesus was obliged, in the very moment of self-revelation, to veil himself, when he had lighted the fire to cover it again.” This dark and terrible prediction came upon the disciples evidently as something new. It was their Master’s reply to their confession of faith in him. It said in other words, “You are right in your conception of me and my work. I am the promised King Messiah; but this part of my reign will be made up of affliction and mourning and woe. The great council of the people will reject me, and I shall only enter into my grand Messianic kingdom through the gate of suffering and of death. But do you, my own, be of good cheer. Three days after that death I shall rise again.” The enumeration of “elders, chief priests, and scribes” is simply a popular way of describing the great council of the Jewish nation, the Sanhedrin, which was composed of these three important and influential sections of the people.
Luk 9:23
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. Before sketching out the life which the true disciples of a suffering King Messiah must lead on earth, our Lord seems to have given notice of one of his public discourses. Even though his great popularity was now on the wane, to the last he was evidently listened to by crowds, if not with enthusiasm, certainly with eager and impatient curiosity. The sermon, of which we have the outline in the next five verses, and the subject-matter of which was, “No cross, no crown,” was preached evidently to the masses. This is plain from the opening words of Luk 9:23. The sermon was evidently a hard saying, and, no doubt, gave bitter offence to many of the hearers. “If any man will,” that is, wishes to, “come after me, to follow me where I am going” (Jesus was going to his kingdom), “let that man be prepared to give up earthly ease and comfort, and be ready to bear the sufferings which will be sure to fall on him if he struggle after holiness.” This readiness to give up ease, this willingness to bear suffering, will be a matter, they must remember, of everyday experience. The terrible simile with which the Lord pressed his stern lesson home was, of course, suggested to him by the clear view he had of the fearful end of his own earthly lifean end then so near at hand, though the disciples guessed it not. The cross was no unknown image to the Jews who that day listened to the Master. The gloomy procession of robbers and of rebels against Rome, each condemned one bearing to the place of death the cross on which he was to suffer, was a sadly familiar image then in their unhappy land.
Luk 9:24
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. The Greek word here rendered “life” signifies the natural animal life, of which the main interests are centred in the earth. If a man grasp at this shadowy, quickly passing earthly life, he will assuredly lose the substantial enduring heaven-life. If, on the other hand, he consents, “for my sake,” to sacrifice this quickly fading life of earth, he shall surely find it again in heaven, no longer quickly fading, but a life fadeless, eternal, a life infinitely higher than the one he has for righteousness’ sake consented to lose here. The same beautiful and comforting truth we find in that fragment, as it is supposed, of a very early Christian hymn, woven into the tapestry of St. Paul’s Second Epistle to Timothy
“If we be dead with him,
We shall also live with him:
If we suffer, We shall also reign.”
(2Ti 2:11, 2Ti 2:12.)
Luk 9:25
For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? Godet’s comment here is pithy and quaint: “Jesus supposes, in this twenty-fifth verse, the act of saving one‘s own life accomplished with the most complete success amounting to a gain of the whole world. But in this very moment, the master of this magnificent domain finds himself condemned to perish! What gain to draw in a lottery a gallery of pictures and at the same time to become blind!” “O flesh,” writes Luther (quoted by Dr. Morrison), “how mighty art thou, that thou canst still throw darkness over those things, even to the minds of the holy!”
Luk 9:26
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. Here follows the punishment in the world to come. It consists in the Judge’s solemn award to the man who has succeeded in saving his life in this world. The award is, “Depart from me: I know you not.” Of such a selfish soul, who here has loved his own ease, and has declined all self-sacrifice, will the Son of man, in the day of his glory, be justly ashamed. The suffering Messiah thus completed his vivid picture of himself. Not always was he to suffer, or to wear the robe of humiliation. The Despised and Rejected would assuredly return with a glory indescribable, inconceivable. His assertion, advanced here, that he will return as Almighty Judge, is very remarkable. In the parallel passage in St. Matthew (Mat 16:13) it is put even more clearly. There Jesus asks his disciples, “Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?” In verse 27 Jesus goes on to say, “The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” The lesson was very clear. His own might surely be content. Only let them be patient. Lo! in the poor rejected Rabbi now before them, going to his bitter suffering and his death, they were looking really on the awful form of the Almighty Judge of quick and dead. These words, very dimly understood then, in days to come were often recalled by his hearers. They formed the groundwork of many a primitive apostolic sermon.
Luk 9:27
But I tell you of a truth, there he some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. This magnificent promise has always been more or less a difficulty to expositors. Two favourite explanations which
(1) in the Transfiguration mystery,
(2) in the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the Jewish state,
see the fulfilment of this great prediction, must be put aside as inadequate, as failing utterly to satisfy any idea of the kingdom of God. Concerning (1), it must be borne in mind that the words were addressed, not only to the disciples, but to a mixed multitude; the expression then, “there be some standing here,” etc., would seem to point to more than three (Peter, James, anti John were alone present at the Transfiguration) who should, while living, see the kingdom of God. Concerning (2), those who were witnesses of the great catastrophe which resulted in the sack of Jerusalem and the ruin of the Jewish polity, can scarcely be said to have looked on the kingdom of God. It was rather a great and terrible judgment; in no way can it fairly be termed the kingdom, or even its herald; it was simply an awful event in the world’s story. But surely the Lord’s disciples, the holy women, the still larger outer circle of loving followers of Jesus, who were changed by what happened during the forty days which immediately succeeded the Resurrection morningchanged from simple, loving, fearful, doubting men and women, into the brave resistless preachers and teachers of the new faiththe five hundred who gazed on the risen Lord in the Galilaean mountain,these may in good earnest be said to have seen, while in life, “the kingdom of God.” These five hundred, or at all events many of them, after the Resurrection, not only looked on God, but grasped the meaning of the presence and work of God on earth. The secret of the strange resistless power of these men in a hostile world was that their eyes had gazed on some of the sublime glories, and their ears had heard some of the tremendous secrets of the kingdom of God.
Luk 9:28-36
The Transfiguration.
Luk 9:28
And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. Some eight days after this question asked in the neighbourhood of Caesarea Philippi, and its reply, and the sermon to the people on the subject of “No cross, no crown,” which immediately followed, our Lord summoned the three leading disciples and took them up into a mountain to pray. They had spent the last few days apparently in quiet converse together. SS. Matthew and Mark speak only of six days. St. Luke gives the period in round numbers, counting portions of the first and last days as whole days. We may well imagine that this was a period of intense depression in the little company of Jesus. Their Master’s popularity was fast waning among the people. His powerful enemies seemed gathering closer and closer round the Teacher whom they were determined to crush. The late utterances of Jesus, too, whether spoken to them alone, or publicly to the people, all foreshadowed a time of danger and suffering in the immediate future for him and for thema time which, as far as he was concerned, would close with a violent death. To raise the fainting spirits of his own, to inspire them with greater confidence in himself, seems to have been the immediate purpose of that grand vision of glory known as the Transfiguration. It is true that to only three was vouchsafed the vision, and silence was enjoined on these, but the three were the leading spirits of the twelve. If Peter, James, and John were brave, earnest, and hopeful, there was little doubt that their tone of mind would be quickly reflected in their companions. Tradition, based on the fairly early authority of Cyril of Jerusalem, and of Jerome (fourth century), speaks of the mountain as Tabor, but the solitude evidently necessary for the manifestation would have been sought for in vain on Mount Tabor, a hill which rises abruptly from the Plain of Esdraelon, not very far from Nazareth to the south-east, for the summit of Tabor at that time was crowned with a fortress. The mount,in most probably was one of the lower peaks of Hermon, at no great distance from the fountain source of the Jordan and Caesarea Philippi, in which district we know Jesus and his companions had been teaching only a few days before.
Luk 9:29
And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, etc. The marvellous change evidently passed over Jesus while he was in prayer, probably because of his intense prayer. Real, close communion with God ever imparts to the countenance of the one who has thus entered into communion with the High and Holy One, a new and strange beauty. Very many have noticed at times this peculiar and lovely change pass over the faces of God’s true saints as they prayedfaces perhaps old and withered, grey with years and wrinkled with care. A yet higher degree of transfiguration through communion with God is recorded in the case of Moses, whose face, after he had been with his God-Friend on the mount, shone with so bright a glory that mortal eye could not bear to gaze on it until the radiance began to fade away. A similar change is recorded to have taken place in the case of Stephen when he pleaded his Divine Master’s cause in the Sanhedrin hall at Jerusalem with such rapt eloquence that to the by-standers his face then, we read, “was as the face of an angel.” Stephen told his audience later on, in the course of that earnest and impassioned pleading, that to him the very heavens were opened, and that his eyes were positively gazing on the beatific vision. Yet a step higher still was this transfiguration of our Lord. St. Luke tells us simply that, “as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered.” St. Matthew tells us how it was altered when he writes that “his countenance shone as the sun.” And his raiment was white and glistering; literally, lightening forth, as if from some inward source of glorious light. The earthly robes were so beautified by contact with this Divine light that human language is exhausted by the evangelists to find terms and metaphors to picture them. St. Matthew compares these garments of the Blessed One to light; St. Mark, to the snow; St. Luke, to the flashing lightning.
Luk 9:30
And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias; literally, there were talking. Evidently these two glorified beings had been conversing with Jesus some time before the three apostles, heavy with sleep, had noticed their presence; wearied and tired, slumber had overtaken them; we are not told how long they slept. The glorious light which environed them and the murmur of voices probably roused them, and in after-days they recounted what, after they were awake, they saw, and something of what they heard.
Luk 9:31
Who appeared in glory. Why were these two chosen as the Lord’s companions on that solemn night? Probably
(1) because they were what may be termed the two great representative men of the chosen race of Israel. The one was the human author of the Divine Law which for so many centuries had been the guide and teacher of the covenant people. The other had been the most illustrious of that great order of prophets who, during the centuries of their eventful history as a nation, had, under the commission of the Most Highest, kept alight the torch of the knowledge of the one true God. And
(2) because these men alone of the race of Israel apparently had kept their earthly bodies as the shrines of their immortal spirits. Elijah, we know, was translated alive into the other and the grander world; and as for Moses, God, his heavenly Friend, closed his eyes, and then hid his body from mortal sight, and, the mysterious words of Jude (Jud 1:9) would seem to tell us, from mortal corruption. And spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. Why was this the chosen subject of the august conference between the Lord and the heavenly pair?
(1) In all reverence we may feel that one reason for the visit of these blessed spirits on that solemn night was the strengthening the sinless Sufferer himself. The vista which lay immediately before Jesus, of rejection, desertion, the death of agony, and the dreadful sufferings which preceded it,all this had been very present before him lately. He had dwelt upon these things, we know, to his own. He had pondered over them, no doubt, often when alone. It was not only in Gethsemane that his “soul was sorrowful even unto death.” As in the garden-agony “appeared to him an angel from heaven strengthening him,” so here on the mount came to him these glorified spirits for the same blessed purpose of ministering. And
(2) it was to help the three disciples. Their wavering faith would surely be strengthened if the words which they heard from those heavenly visitants dwelt with reverent awe and admiration on the circumstances of their Master’s self-sacrificing career of agony and suffering. It must be remembered that a few days earlier they had listened to him, when he spoke to them of these things, with shrink-iv g terror and incredulous amazement. They would now know what was thought of all this in the courts of heaven.
Luk 9:32
And the two men that stood with him. It has been askedHow did the disciples know the names which those glorified ones had once borne? Three replies are at least probable.
(1) They may have heard their Master address them by their old earthly names.
(2) In subsequent conversations the Lord may have disclosed them to the three.
(3) Is it not a very thinkable thought that the blessed bear upon their spirit-forms their old individuality transfigured and glorified? Were such a vision vouchsafed to us, should we not in a moment recognize a Peter, a Mary, or a Paul?
Luk 9:33
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 Elias’ not knowing what he said. The three evangelists who relate the Transfiguration scene, with trifling variations repeat this remark of Peter’s. It is valuable to us when we remember that the tradition of the marvellous event comes from Peter, James, and John; and that they repeat the strange inconsequent words uttered by one of themselvestheir acknowledged spokesman. No thought of self-glorification evidently tinged this strange memory of theirs. They simply wished to record the plain truth just as it happened, and in the course of the narrative they had to repeat their own poor, babbling, meaningless wordsfor the remark of Peter is nothing else. Their own remark, which immediately follows, is the best comment upon them, “not knowing what he said.” There was a deep feeling that in such a company, bathed, too, in that glorious and unearthly light, it was well with them. But they saw the heavenly visitants preparing to leave them. They would stay their departure if they could, so they stammered, “Let us build some shelter; let us erect some temple, however humble, to do honour, Lord, to thee and thy companions.”
Luk 9:34
While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. This luminous cloud, bright though it was, yet veiled the more intolerable brightness within. That such a bright cloud had the power of overshadowing and concealing, is not strange, for light in its utmost intensity hides as effectually as the darkness would do. God dwells in light inaccessible, whom therefore “no man hath seen, nor can see” (1Ti 6:16). Milton writes
“Dark with excess of light.”
Philo speaks of the highest light as identical with darkness. Anselm thus understands the cloud here, quoting the words of 1Ti 6:16, referred to above, and then the words of Moses, “And Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was” (Exo 20:21), and then this passage from the Transfiguration, and comments thus: “Illa caligo et ista nubes, atque ilia lux idem sunt” (see Archbishop Trench on “Transfiguration,” in ‘Studies in the Gospels,’ 8). The fear which these eye-witnesses remember as one of their experiences that memorable night was a very natural feeling. As the cloud stole over the mountain ridge, and the glory-light gradually paled and waned, the sensation of intense pleasure and satisfaction, which we may assume to be the natural accompaniment of such a blessed scene, would give place to awe and amazement.
Luk 9:35
And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. The reading here of the older authorities must be adopted. Instead of the voice out of the cloud saying, “This is my beloved Son,” we must substitute,” This is my Elect.” As SS. Matthew and Mark both read, “my beloved Son,” we have here another of the many proofs that each of the three records of the Transfiguration is a distinct and separate memory of itself. The voice was evidently for the disciplesone more help for them in their present and future struggle against the cold and chilling doubts which ever and again would be suggested to them by the enemy of human souls, with a view to marring their present training, their future mighty missionary work.
Luk 9:36
And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen. The reasons of this silence for the present have been already discussed. The scene, doubtless, had done its work in the education of the three. Without telling their companions what they had seen and heard on the mount, we may assume that the sight of the serene confidence and renewed trust on the part of Peter, James, and John did its effectual work in strengthening their brethren. No doubt directly after the Resurrection, possibly during the days of darkness and gloom which followed the day of the cross, the chosen three related at length their experience of the Transfiguration mystery. The narrative of the Transfiguration and its attendant circumstances, as might have been expected, has been a favourite subject for hostile criticism. It does not, however, lend itself to any probable, or even possible, explanation which refers the story to some exaggerated report of a mistaken natural phenomenon. The whole story, as we have it thricewith very slight variation in the detailsrepeated in the synoptical Gospels, must stand as we have it, or else must be wholly rejected as a myth. But, if a myth, whence did it spring? for nothing in the Jewish expectation of Messiah could possibly have suggested the “legend.” The strange and even childish interruption of Peter could never have been invented. No one friendly to the apostle would have chronicled such a saying had there been any doubt resting on its authenticity; and a writer hostile to the apostle would scarcely have invented a narrative which treated of the Divine glory of the apostle’s adored Master. If it be an invention, whence comes it? in whose interest was it composed? and how did it find its way into the very heart of the three synoptical Gospels? for there we find it woven into that marvellous tapestry of revelation and teaching which has at once charmed and influenced so many millions of men and women now for more than eighteen hundred years. Something of the purpose which the Transfiguration was intended to serve in the education of the twelve has been already discussed in the foregoing notes. Dr. Lange, who has made this difficult passage in the story of Jesus a subject of deep and earnest study, has given us some beautiful thoughts on the real signification of the Lord’s transfiguration. This scholar and divine considers that, just at this period of his public ministry, Jesus had reached the zenith of his power. This is indicated by the grandeur of his recent miracles. There was nothing higher and more sublime to be reached by him. From this moment, therefore, earthly existence became too narrow a sphere. There only remained death; but death is, as St. Paul says, the wages of sin. For the sinless Man the issue of life is not the sombre passage of the tomb, rather is it the. royal road of a glorious transformation. Had the hour of this glorification struck for Jesus? and was the Transfiguration the beginning of the heavenly renewal? Gess, quoted by Godetfrom whose precis of Lange’s note these observations are derivedgives expression to Lange’s thoughts in these words: “This event (the Transfiguration) indicates the ripe preparation of Jesus for immediate entrance upon eternity.” “Had not Jesus himself,” goes on Godet to say, thus con-eluding this very beautiful and suggestive, if somewhat fanciful note, “voluntarily suspended this change which was on the point of being wrought in him, this moment, the moment of his glorious transfiguration would have become the moment of his ascension.”
Luk 9:37-45
The scene at the foot of the hill of Transfiguration. The healing of the demoniac boy.
Luk 9:37
On the next day, when they were come down from the hill. The Transfiguration had taken place in the late evening or night. It probably lasted for a much longer period than the brief account, preserved by the eye-witnesses, seems to speak of. How long the three disciples slept is not mentioned. Wearied and exhausted, deep slumber overtook them while the Master was praying. When they awoke, Jesus was bathed in glory, and the two heavenly spirits were conversing with him. They only tell us generally that the subject which occupied the blessed ones was their Master’s speedy departure from earth; no mention is made of the time all this consumed. It was morning when they rejoined their company. Much people met him. St. Mark, whose account here is more detailedevidently Peter preserved a very vivid memory of these eventstells us that the crowds, “when they beheld him, were greatly amazed.” Without concluding that any lingering radiance of the last night’s glory was still playing about his Person, we may well imagine that a holy joy just then lit up that face over which for some time past a cloud of deep sadness had brooded. The heavenly visitants; the words he had been listening to, which told him of his home of grandeur and of peace, voluntarily left by him that he might work his mighty earthwork;had no doubt strengthened with a strange strength the Man of sorrows; and when the crowds gazed on his face they marvelled, as St. Mark tells us, at what they saw there.
Luk 9:38
A man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. The tender sympathy of St. Luke is shown in this little detail. He is the only evangelist who mentions that the poor tormented boy was an only child.
Luk 9:40
And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not. This appears to have been a case of the deadliest kind of epileptic lunacy. Our Lord distinctly assumes here that the disease in this case was occasioned by an unclean spirit who had taken possession of the suffering child. The whole question of demoniacal possession, its extent, its cause, whether or no it still survives in some of the many mysterious phases of madness, is very difficult. It has been discussed elsewhere (see notes on Luk 4:33 and following verses).
Luk 9:41
And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you?. This grave and mournful expression of the loving but just Master was addressed to the entire crowd, in whose midst he now found himself. The people, swayed hither and thither, now enthusiastic in his favour, when soma sweet promise, or noble sentiment, or marvellous work touched their hearts, now’ coldly indifferent or even hostile, when his teaching seemed to exact some painful sacrifice of self at their hands.these were looking On with quiet indifference at his disciples’ failure in the case of the poor possessed child, and listened to their scribes as they wrangled with the Lord’s dismayed and perplexed followers. These followers, trying to imitate their Master in his wonder-works, but failing because, after all, their faith in him wavered. The rather of the child, confessing his unbelief, but utterly wretched at the sight of the suffering of his boy. The ghastly spectacle of the insane boy writhing and foaming on the ground, and then lying all bruised and dishevelled, with the pallor of death on the poor, pain-wrung face, and this sorely afflicted one a child, one of those little ones whom Jesus loved so well. Poor child-sufferer, on whose comparatively innocent life the sin of mother and father weighed so heavily! What a contrast for the Lord between the heavenly hours he had just been spending on the mount, and this sad sight of pain and suffering, of jealousy and wrangling, of doubts and indecision, in the midst of which he now stood! “) faithless and perverse,” cried the pitiful Lord with a burst of intense sorrow, “how long shall I be with you, and suffer you?” One word, he knew, and for him all this might be exchanged for the scenes of heaven, for the company of angels and of blessed spirits, for the old home of grandeur and of peace; only it was just to heal this bitter curse that he had left his heaven-home. But the contrast between the glory of the Transfiguration mount and the memories which they evoked, and the present scene of pain and woe unutterable, of human passions and weakness, called forth from the Lord this bitter, sorrowful expression.
Luk 9:42
And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father. A word of the great Master was sufficient, and the spirit which had brought the cruel curse of disease and madness into the boy was cast out, and the strange cure was complete. St. Peter supplied St. Mark with fuller details here, and especially adds one priceless gem of instruction in the Christian life. The Lord told the father of the suffering child that the granting of the boon he craved for his son depended on his own faith. Then the poor father, won by the Divine goodness manifest in every act and word of Jesus, stammered out that pitiful, loving expression, re-echoed since in so many thousand hearts, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” If he accepted and rewarded that trembling, wavering faith in him, will he reject mine?
Luk 9:43
And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples. Once more were kindled the disciples’ hopes of an earthly royalty in the Person of that strange Messiah. For was he not Messiah after all, who with a word worked such stupendous works as the miracle they had just witnessed? But Jesus read their thoughts, and again tells them (in Luk 9:44) of the terrible doom which awaited him. They must remember there was no earthly crown or human sovereignty for him.
Luk 9:45
And they feared to ask him of that saying. The “saying” was to them so utterly distasteful, perhaps inconceivable. It is possible that they thought this betrayal and death simply veiled for them some bit of teaching to be explained hereafter; it is possible they at once dismissed it from their minds, as men often do painful and mournful forebodings. At all events, they dreaded asking him any questions about this dark future of suffering which he said lay before him.
Luk 9:46-48
How the Lord answered the question which arose among the disciples as to which was the greatest.
Luk 9:46, Luk 9:47
Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart. Somewhere on their journey back to the south, between the neighbourhood of Caesarea Philippi and the old scene of his labours, Capernaum, this dispute must have taken place. Shortly after their arrival at Capernaum, the Master called them together, and gave them the following lesson on human greatness. Took a child, and set him by him. St. Mark mentions that this teaching was “in the house,” and commentators have suggested, with some probability, that the house was St. Peter’s, and the child one of his. Clement of Alexandria (‘Stromata,’ 3:448, B) especially mentions that this apostle had children. St. Matthew relates this incident at greater length, and, still dwelling upon the text of “the little one,” gives us another and different sketch of the Master‘s teaching on this occasion. St. Mark tells us how Jesus folded his arms round the little creature in loving fondness. If the child, as above suggested, was Peter’s own, such an incident as that embrace would never have been forgotten by the father, and would, of course, find a place in the memoir of his faithful disciple Mark. A (late) tradition of the Eastern Church identifies this child with him who afterwards became the famous Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, a martyr. Ignatius styled himself Theophoros; this, understood in a passive sense, would signify “one who had been carried by God.” But in this Father’s own writings we find the name used by himself in an active sense, as “one who carries God within himself.” And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child. The dispute “which of them should be greatest,” which no doubt had taken place among themselves in their last journey from the north of the Holy Land to Capernaum, was still a leading thought in the hearts of the twelve, so little had they really understood their Master’s teaching, and especially his later solemn words which pointed the way of the cross as the only way to heaven and to real greatness. The Lord reads these poor sinful hearts; then, calling them together, he takes a child in his arms, and sets him by him. By this action the Lord answers the silent questioning thought of the worldly twelve. “The child stands as the type of the humble and childlike disciple, and (the dispute having been about the comparative greatness of the disciples) such a disciple is the greatest; he is so honoured by God that he stands on earth as the representative of Christ, and of God himself (verse 47), since “he that is [willingly] least among you all, the same shall be [truly] great’ (verse 48)” (Meyer).
Luk 9:48
Whosoever shall receive this child in my Name receiveth me. The general lesson hereand it is one that has gone to the heart more or less of all professing Christiansis that all the followers of Jesus should practise humility before, and show tenderness to, the weak. It is one of the great sayings of the Master which has stirred that practical charity which has ever been one of the great characteristic features of Christianity. But while the general lesson is clear, the particular reminder still claims attention. Singular and touching was the affection of Jesus for children. Several marked instances of this are noted in the Gospels. To this passage, however, and to the sequel as reported in St. Mark (Mar 9:42), may be especially referred the thought which has founded the countless child-homes, schools, and hospitals in all lands in different ages, and in our own time the institution of the Sunday school, not the least beautiful of Christian works done in the Master’s Name.
Luk 9:49, Luk 9:50
A question put by John.
Luk 9:49
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. The character of John is a strangely interesting one. With the exception of his forming one of the chosen three who were in a peculiar manner received into their Master’s confidence, John seldom appears, during the public ministry of Christ, to have played a prominent part. Many years had to elapse before he attained that unique position of influence in the early Church which no one seems to have disputed. In the mean time, his character was slowly forming. Fiery and impetuous, although reserved and retiring, it seemed in these first days scarcely probable that such a nature would ever deepen or ripen into that John who became the world-teacher of his Master’s love. St. Luke here records two circumstances which suggested some of the Master’s important teaching, in both of which John plays the prominent part. The question of John was evidently suggested by Jesus’ words spoken in connection with his teaching respecting little ones. “Whosoever,” said the Master, “shall receive this child in my Name.“ But John and others had just been sternly rebuking some one not of their company, who had been using, to some effect evidently, that same Master’s Name, which possessed, as John saw, wondrous power. Had he and his friends been doing right in rebuking the comparative stranger for using a Name which Jesus, in his words just spoken, seemed to regard as the common property of kindly devout men? Meyer remarks here “that outside the company of disciples of Jesus there were, even then, men in whose hearts, his teaching and acts had evoked a higher and even a supernatural power. Certain sparks which had fallen here and there beyond the little circle of his own, kindled flames occasionally away from the central fire.” Those who were ever close to the Master seemed to dread lest, if these were allowed unchecked to teach and to work in the Name, grave error might be disseminated. Some natural jealousy of these outsiders no doubt influenced men like John in their wish to confine the work in the limits of their own circle.
Luk 9:50
And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us. The older authorities, manuscripts, and the more venerable versions here read for the last clause, “He that is not against you is for you.” Exegetically as well as critically this amended reading is to be preferred. The offence of the stranger, if it were an offence, was not against Jesus, whose Name had evidently been used reverently and with faith, but against the disciples, whose rights and privileges were presumably infringed upon. The Master’s reply contained a broad and far-reaching truth. No earthly society, however holy, would be able exclusively to claim the Divine powers inseparably connected with a true and faithful use of his Name. This is the grand and massive answer which stretches over a history of eighteen centuries, and which will possibly extend over many yet to come; the answer which gives an ample reason why noble Christian work is done whether emanating from Churches bearing the name of Protestant, or Roman, or Greek.
The So-Called Journeyings Towards Jerusalem.
The great characteristic feature in St. Luke’s Gospel, distinguishing it especially from the other two synoptical Gospels of SS. Matthew and Mark, are the events in the public ministry of Jesus dwelt on in the next ten chapters of this Gospel. Many incidents in the succeeding chapters are recorded by this evangelist alone. Two questions suggest themselves.
1. To what period of the Lord’s public work does this large and important section of our Gospel refer?
2. (1) Why is this period, comparatively speaking, so little dwelt on by the other two synoptists SS. Matthew and Mark?
(2) Where did St. Luke probably derive his information here?
1. Commentators frequently, and with some accuracy, speak of this great section of St. Luke’s work as “the journeyings towards Jerusalem.” Three times does this writer especially tell us that this was the object and end of the journeys he was describing; in Luk 9:51, “He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem;” in Luk 13:22, “He went through the cities and villages journeying toward Jerusalem;” in Luk 17:11, “And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem.“
These journeyings to Jerusalem were evidently just before the end. They were the close of the public life. They immediately preceded the last Passover Feast, which all the four evangelists tell us the Lord kept at Jerusalem, and in the course of which he was crucified. They fill up, then, the last six or seven months of his earth-lifethat period, roughly speaking, from the Feast of Tabernacles (alluded to in Joh 7:1-53.), which falls in October, until the Passover Feast in the following spring. These last months were occupied by the Master in a slow progress from Capernaum, through those parts of Galilee hitherto generally unvisited by him, gradually making his way toward the capital, which we know he reached in time for the Passover Feast, during which he was crucified.
In the course of this period it seems, however, likely that, in St. Luke’s account of Mary and Martha (Luk 10:38-42), we have an allusion to a short visit to Jerusalem of the Lord, undertaken in the course of these journeyings, at the Dedication Feast (Joh 10:22).
2. (1) In these last journeyings it appears that the Lord was in the habit of constantly sending out by themselves small companies of his disciples as missionaries in the neighbouring districts, thus accustoming his followers, in view of his own approaching death, to act alone and to think alone. It is, therefore, extremely probable that SS. Matthew and Peter were, during this period of our Lord’s work, constantly absent from their Master’s immediate neighbourhood. These apostles would naturally choose, as the special subjects of their own teaching and preaching, those events at which they personally had been present. Much of what was done and said by the Master during these last six months was done during the temporary absence, on special mission duty, of these two evangelists.
(2) When we consider the probable sources whence St. Luke derived his detailed information concerning this period, we are, of course, landed in conjecture. We know, however, that the whole of his narrative was composed after careful research into well-sifted evidence, supplied generally by eyewitnesses, of the events described.
Thus, in the earlier chapters, we have already discussed the high probability of the Virgin-mother herself having furnished the information; so here there is little doubt that SS. Paul and Luke, in their researches during the composition of the Third Gospel, met with men and women who had formed part of that larger company which had been with Jesus, we know, during those last months of his ministry among us. Nor is it, surely, an unreasonable thought for us to see, in connection with this important portion of our Gospel, the hand of the Holy Spirit, who, unseen, guided the pen of the four evangelists, especially throwing Luke and his master, Paul, into the society of men who had watched the great Teacher closely during that period of his work, when the other two synoptists, SS. Matthew and Peter (Mark), were frequently absent.
From the language employed in this portion of the Gospel, there seems a high probability that many of the notes or documents supplied to SS. Luke and Paul were written or dictated in Aramaic (Hebrew).
Luk 9:51-56
The Samaritan insult to the Lord. The Master‘s reception of it.
Luk 9:51
And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. This is a very solemn introduction to this great section of St. Luke’s writing. It at once marks off all that now follows as a winding-up of the earthly ministry. The expression, “that he should be received up,” is simply the rendering of one Greek word, which signifies “ascension.” The Passion, the cross, and the grave are passed over here, and the glorious goal alone is spoken of. What a lesson of comfort is here suggested! The words in the Greek original, “he steadfastly set his face,” are evidently literally translated from a well-known Aramaic (Hebrew) expression.
Luk 9:52
And sent messengers before his face. Probably, as the sequel shows, these were John and James. This was necessary at this period of the Lord’s life. A numerous company now usually followed the Lord; it is probable that many of those most devoted to him, both men and women, scarcely ever left him, now that the popular enthusiasm was waning, and the number of his deadly enemies increasing. And they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. These Samaritans were the descendants of a, mixed race brought by Esarhaddon (eighth century b.c.) from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, to replace the ten tribes carried captive to the East. These became worshippers of Jehovah, and, on the return of Judah and Benjamin from captivity, sought to be allowed to share in the rebuilding of the temple, and then to be admitted as Jews to share in the religious privileges of the chosen race. Their wishes, however, were not complied with. They subsequently erected a rival temple on Mount Gerizim, and henceforward were known as a schismatical sect, and continued in a state of deadly enmity with the orthodox Jews. This bitter hatred is noticed in the New Testament (see Joh 4:9), where it is stated that the Jews “had no dealings with the Samaritans,” whom they looked on as worse than heathen. In the synagogues these Samaritans were cursed. The Son of Sirach named them as a people that they abhorred (Ecclesiasticus 1:25, 26); and in the Talmud we read this terrible passage, “Let not the Samaritans have part in the resurrection!” This hatred, however, we know, was not shared in by our Lord, and on more than one occasion we find him dealing gently and lovingly with this race.
Luk 9:53
And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. Here the kindly overtures were rejected by the inhabitants of the Samaritan village in question. The reason alleged by them was that this Teacher, who wished to come among them, was on his way up to worship at the rival temple at Jerusalem.
Luk 9:54
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 Elias did? The natural fiery temper and burning zeal of these highly favoured and loved brethrenwho, we know, received, perhaps in half-playful rebuke from their Master, the epithet Boanerges, sons of thunder-flamed forth at this insult offered to their adored Master in return for his tender, loving consideration for this hated people. Possibly, what these two had lately witnessed on the Transfiguration mount had deepened their veneration for their Lord, and caused them the more bitterly to resent an insult levelled at him. So they prayed himhim whom they had so lately seen radiant with the awful fire of heavenprayed him to call that fire down, and so wither in a moment those impious despisers of his gracious goodness. The words, “even as Elias did,” form a very appropriate historical instance, but they are of doubtful authenticitythe older authorities have them not.
Luk 9:55
But he turned, and rebuked them. “Christ wrought miracles in every element except fire. Fire is reserved for the consummation of the age” (Bengel). And said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
Luk 9:56
For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. This entire clause is absent in a large majority of the elder authorities. On every principle of criticism it must be, if not struck out, at least marked as of doubtful authenticity. Commentators are, however, vary loth to part with the words, which breathe, as has been remarked, “a spirit far purer, loftier, and rarer than is usually discernible in ecclesiastical interpolations.” They are certainly very old, as old almost as the apostolic age, being found in the Italic and Peshito, the most venerable of versions. Many, therefore, of the contemporaries of apostolic men must have read these words as a genuine utterance of our Lord. And they went to another village. The Greek word translated “another” suggests that our Lord, after the insult offered by the Samaritans, quietly turned his steps to a Jewish community.
Luk 9:57-62
Three would-be disciples. The Lord, in plain terms, tells them what is required of men who seek his service. The first two of these incidents in the life of Jesus are related by St. Matthew (Mat 7:19-22), but he places them in an earlier period. They evidently did not occur together, but most probably they took place about this time in the ministry. They are placed in one group as examples of the way in which the Master replied to numerous offers of service made to him under different conditions.
Luk 9:57, Luk 9:58
Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. St. Matthew tells us that the “certain man” who made this offer of service was a scribe. This detail is useful, as showing that those who were attracted by our Lord’s teaching were by no means confined to the peasant and artisan class. If we look a little below the surface of the gospel story, we find numberless indications of this. In the Master’s reply it is probable that the depression, naturally the result of the churlish refusal of the Samaritan villagers to receive him (verse 53), coloured the sad but true reflection. The wise Master distrusted the too-ready enthusiasm of his would-be disciple. He saw it would never stand the test of the severe privation or the painful self-sacrifice which would be the sure lot of any one, especially at that juncture, really faithful to him.
Luk 9:59, Luk 9:60
And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. In this case the Master was the Summoner. Something he read in this man’s heart, or words he had heard him speak, moved the Redeemer’s great love, so he gave him a special call. This was a very different character from the last. Whereas that seeker for work from Jesus was impulsive, and even thoughtless in his enthusiasm, one who would begin to act without counting the cost, this one was overcautious, cold and calculating to an ungenerous excess; yet there was evidently sterling stuff in the character, for Jesus argues and remonstrates with him; there was, too, much gold mingled with the earth of that man’s disposition, for the Lord lightly to let it go. It is thus that the Spirit pleads still with the selfishness which disfigures many a noble and devoted servant of high God. He seems to say, “My call is too imperative to yield to any home duties, however orderly and respectable.” During the official days of mourning (in the case of a funeral, these were seven) the impression now made by his summoning words would have worn off. It is noticeable that the home duties, which Jesus suggested should give place to other and more imperative claims, were in connection with the dead. It was not the living father who was to be left to hirelings, only the inanimate corpse. It was rather a society call than a home or family duty which was to give place to work for the Master. St. Chrysostom makes some quaint, but strikingly practical, remarks here. “He might need, if he went to the funeral, to proceed, after the burial, to make inquiry about the will, and then about the distribution of the inheritance, and all the other things that followed thereupon; and thus waves after waves of things coming in upon him in succession might bear him very far away from the harbour of truth. For this cause, doubtless, the Saviour draws him, and fastens him to himself.”
Luk 9:61, Luk 9:62
And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. There is an implied reproach in our Lord s reply to what, on first thoughts, would seem a reasonable request. The offer in this case came from the man himself. It would appear that this would-be disciple, on thinking the matter over, considered it might be desirable to hear what his family and friends thought about his project. At all events, one thing is clear his first ardour was cooled, his first love left. The Master, in his pithy but striking comment, shows when such is the case, that there is little or no hope of any real noble work being carried out. The simile is drawn from agricultural imagery. Jesus was evidently very familiar with all the little details of rural life. We find a similar saying in Hesiod, “He who would plough straight furrows, must not look about him” (‘Works and Days,’ 2:60).
HOMILETICS
Luk 9:1-22
(See afterwards in connection with Luk 10:1-42.)
Luk 9:24
The life saved, and the life lost.
The martyr, then, is the type of the true Christian. Christ (Luk 9:22) predicts his own fate. And immediately afterwards (Luk 9:23) he announces to all that whosoever will come after him must, through the gate of suffering, pass into glory; must “deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow him.” This is the essence of martyrdom. The martyr is not necessarily one who is burned at the stake, or slain by the sword, or left to rot in damp prison-cells; he is one who, in will, surrenders the life to God, and daily bears the cross of Jesus. Let not the variations of the meaning attached to the words “save” and “lose” be overlooked. In the first clause, “Whosoever wills to save shall lose;” i.e. whosoever is bent on preserving the life may in a sense preserve it, but, in the nobler sense, he shall lose his real being, or as in the verse following, “he shall lose himself.“ In the second clause, “Whosoever wills to lose his life for Christ’s sake”to subordinate all considerations merely personal to the command of a supreme affectionmay incur shame, may suffer many things, but, in the nobler sense, he shall realize the truth of his existence, he shall receive the crown of his life. Ah! wonderfully suggestive are the sharp antitheses of Jesus’ saying. What, then, is the abiding reality of the Christian type of manhood? of the true martyr-life? Shall we say that the abiding reality is a capacity of self-forgetfulness? Undoubtedly, there is this capacity. We recognize the man of genuine goodness at once. With him there is no part-acting. He is not one who stands before mirrors, studying attitudes and effects; in what he does there is the absence of the feeling of self. “Whither the spirit that is in him is to go, he goes straight forward.” A great enthusiasm always removes the action, if not from the shadow, at least from “the corrosive power,” of selfishness. Certainly, Christ looked forward to a love that could hold the closest affections as only second to it; that could sacrifice all in which the self is most bound up; that, as against the very pleadings of nature, would close with a higher vision, “Here am I; send me.” And, more or less, this is always a characteristic of the martyred soul. “If,” says Thomas a Kempis, “a man should give all his substance, yet is it nothing. And if he should practise great repentance, still it is little. And if he should attain to all knowledge, he is still afar off. And if he should be of great virtue, and of fervent devotion, yet there is much wanting; especially one thing which is most necessary for him. And what is that? That leaving all, he forsake himself, and go wholly from himself, and retain nothing out of self-love.” But, when we speak of self-forgetfulness, we speak of only half the truth. The question remainsWhence the inward pressure which causes this self-forgetting spirit? We cannot be self-denying by the mere resolution to be so. We may subject ourselves to the most rigid of disciplines, and the result only be that we assert self in one aspect to deny self in another aspect. There must be some force in the soul, some obligation which, once discerned, becomes an irresistible spiritual power. Take, e.g., one of the purest forms of self-devotion. The mother’s love is not an affair of reasoning. There is no calculation of quantity in it. When the child is stricken with sickness she watches by the bed and ministers to the wants of the sufferer, denying herself by day and night, and never stopping to ask what is the limit to be observed. The action is the consequence of an obligation inlaid in the relation of mother to child. This relation takes her out of self. She “goes wholly from herself, and retains nothing out of self-love.” She loses her life in the child. And thus with self-sacrifice, through its diversity of forms. Its root is, some relation into which one mind enters with another, or with a higher and vaster issue whose vision has dawned on it. The relation supplies at once the motive, and the food which nourishes the motive. It is in the mind an omnipotent “I must.“ Remember, self-sacrifice may be a power for evil as well as good. The devil’s martyrs far outnumber God’s martyrs. For what is evil, or for ends that are “not of the Father, but of the world,” persons spend themselves with a zeal and persistence which may well put Christians to shame. Self-consecration is not necessarily a Christian virtue. It is the character of the alliance into which the soul enters which makes the virtue. “He that loseth his life for my sake the same shall save it.” This was the new thing which came into the world through Jesus Christ. Truthfulness as between man and man was no new thing. The sanctions of morality were no new thing. Through the religions and philosophies of paganism there came gleams of an ethic pure and spiritual. But an obligation to One unseen, yet ever-present, One to whom the life was bound, and in whom the life was hidden; an obligation that regulated all aims, that was sovereign over all the action, to deny which, or be false to which, was the soul’s damnation;that was the new thing. And that new thing was the secret of the Christian martyr-life. And it was this Christian martyr-life which lifted the individual man from his obscurity, as a mere unit in the mass of humanity, and invested him, be he bond or be he free, with the inalienable glory of the calling”an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ.” And from that day to this there has echoed back, from a great multitude which no man can number, the sweetly constraining “For my sake.” The cross of Jesus has really gone before the ages. Its spirit has entered into the conditions of human life, has influenced the minds and hearts of men far more widely than we can estimate. We trace its witness far outside the circle of his professing followers. But where the response to him is conscious, where there is a real personal relation to him, where the adoring cry of Thomas, “My Lord and my God!” is felt,in this supreme spiritual affiance we recognize the pressure which constrains to live not to self, in Jesus’ love to lose the life for Jesus, sake. It is this pressure which bestows a beauty quite unique on the career of a man who has a place in the foremost rank of Christian heroes. Exploits brilliant and daring are associated with the name of Gordon. And whether we think of him in China, or in Egypt, or in the quiet garrison town, or speeding on the swift dromedary across the desert, or shut up in Khartoum, waiting for the succours that arrived too late, and facing death as one who had learned to regard it without quailing,there is always an unmistakable and lofty individuality. But the crown of the glory is the spiritual elevation of the soul, the enthusiasm for God and good which filled the heart. How he believed in God!not to him a mere sign of some unknown quantity, but the Living One, the Father in heaven. ‘How he believed m Christ!not a mere “apotheosis of humanity,” but Jesus Christ who is to-day what he was yesterday, and of whom he writes, “There would be no one so unwelcome to come and reside in this world as our Saviour, while the world is in the state it now is.” How he believed in the government of the world by a loving and righteous will! To reveal this will; to work out its purpose with all his might; to raise the down man; to strike the fetter from the slave; to make God’s universe a little better, happier, wholesomer;for this he lived, for this he died. Died? Nay, verily, “the immortal dead live again in minds made better by their presence.” He who loses his life for Jesus’ sake, he only has saved it. Let this, then, be accepted as the lesson of Jesus’ saying: We find the true life, tile great, wide, everlasting Christlife, only by losing, for his sake, the narrow, small, merely self-life. Shall it be said by any that to speak thus is to speak in parables? that heroics are not for ordinary Christian people living in quiet, ordinary ways? There is no parable. The words bear on all in all sorts and conditions. Every person is called to settle on what plan his life shall be built, what manner of person he shall be. He who has no ideal of conduct is little better than a creature drifting through his days. The Christian ideal is sketched in this word of the Lord. If any one will come after Christ, let him know this; and let him know further that it is not the circumstances that make the manhe makes his place, works his ideal out in different kinds of circumstances. General Gordon, in an obscurer lot, in a humbler sphere, might not have developed the same amount of force; but, given the grace of God with him, he would have developed the same kited of force, he would have been the same type of man. And it is faithfulness to this type in the place we occupy, there not elsewhere, that Christ demands. Are we confessing him before men? Day by day, do we take his cross and follow him? Then, no matter what the scene of the life-work may be, we are losing our life for his sake. This is the obligation of that life” which martyred men have made more glorious for us who strive to follow.”
Luk 9:28-36
The Transfiguration.
“When, in the desert, he was girding himself for the work of life, angels of life came and ministered to him. Now, in the fair world, when he is girding himself for the work of death, the ministrants come to him from the grave, but from the grave conqueredone from that tomb under Abarim which his own hand had sealed long ago, the other from the rest into which he had entered without seeing corruption. ‘There stood by him Moses and Elias, and spake of his decease.’ And when the prayer is ended, the task accepted, then first since the star passed over him at Bethlehem the full glory falls on him from heaven, and the testimony is borne to his everlasting Sonship and power’Hear him!'” Thus beautifully and truly writes Ruskin of the solemn transaction in Jesus’ history recorded by the synoptical evangelists. It is a new anointing of Jesus as the Christ of God, his installation into the last part of his ministry on the earth. At the baptism, the Spirit descended, and the voice came from heaven, “My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This was the general inauguration of the Messiahship. Now there comes the special inauguration of Christ as “the End of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” “Moses and Elias appear to hold converse on that sublime event which had been the great central subject of all their teaching, and solemnly to consign into his hands, once and for all, in a symbolical and glorious representation, their delegated and expiring power.” Now the voice is, “Hear” not Moses and Elias, but “my beloved Son!” A wondrous, awe-striking hour! The hush over nature, the darkness illumined by an inexpressible radiance, the face of the Man of sorrows then and there shining as the sun, the raiment penetrated by the glory “white and glistering” as the light, and the conversation of the three shining ones,these, the features of the scene, left an indelible impression on the chosen witnesses. Peter, ever ready, though not ever wise, has some foolish speech about erecting three booths. But by-and-by they realize the significance of that which they saw. “We were eye-witnesses of his majesty,” cries the same Peter. “This voice we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.” Not, indeed, that such a momentary illumination of Christ is to be held as a proof of first authority. He proceeds, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place.” But it was a hint as to the “power and coming of the Lord Jesus,” confirming the “more sure word,” and helping into the understanding of the truth that, with the decease at Jerusalem, the old was finished and the new began. “God had reconciled all things to himself.” Now, with regard to the vision, observe
I. IT WAS ON A MOUNTAIN. The hill or upland scene occupies a prominent place in the history of our Lord. It seems to have been a craving of his human heart to get “where beyond the voices there is peace.” There he could breathe more freely; there he found a nourishment and invigoration which were welcome. On the high ground he preached his famous sermon. To the mountain he was wont to retire for prayer. When all went to their own homes, he went to the Mount of Olives. On the hill of Golgotha he
Christ should distinguish humility as the characteristic of the child? But is not the essence of humility unconsciousness of self? And is not this unconsciousness the trait conspicuous in a truly childlike child? The little one has a will, a temper, but there is not much of the feeling of self. Watch the caresses and endearments; they are less love seeking to be loved, than love merely loving, absorbed in loving. Observe the play; the costly toy is seldom the most prized; the pleasure found in toy or romp is the outgoing of self. Nature is spontaneous, free. Therein, says Jesus, we have a revelation of heaven, a sign of the real greatness. The image likest God, the fact, in this universe, nearest God, with most in it of the stamp of the high and holy One, is the little child whom Christ has called. The everlasting love humbles itself as the little child. It loves, it is absorbed in loving. The Incarnation only makes us see what is hidden in the very being of Godself-emptying, making self of no reputation. The King of kings is the Servant of servants. He is among us the one that serveth. “Be ye therefore imitators of God as the children of his love.” For it is pride that stands between us and the true greatness. We are great only in the measure in which we lose ourselves, in which we find our life, in a cause or truth which is higher than ourselves. The world has three chief patterns of greatness. Culturethe development, through science and art, of a certain inward sweetness and light. Powerthe ability to use men as pawns on a chess-board, to project far and near the image of self. Luxuryimbedding the years in the voluptuous comfort which money commands. That which is common to all these forms, from the most gross to the most refined, is that the supreme reference of the mind is to having rather than being, getting rather than giving, being served rather than serving. Christ’s idea is in sharp antagonism to this. To be of use, to be free from that self-love which is always akin to self-idolatry, to be men in understanding but children in heart and spirit,this is the mark which he presents when, in answer to the reasoning in the heart, he says, pointing to the child,” He that is least among you all, the same shall be great.” A sentence ever to be pondered, implying (Mat 18:3) that the soul has been turned to the right law of its being. “He restoreth my soul.” With this lesson of humility there is joined at this time a lesson of charity and forbearance. How this lesson was occasioned is explained in verse 49. The expression used by the Lord, “in my Name,” seems to have suggested to John an incident, perhaps the circumstance which somehow gave rise to the reasoning, “Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy Name, and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us.” Interdict honestly enough meant! But one wholly foreign to the law of the spirit of Christ’s life. His greatness is that he is not confined to any circle; his gospel is “the presence of a good diffused.” There is a virtue in even the hem of his garment. The communion of God with men is always wider than the communion of men with God. He is in contact with minds which do not even consciously surrender to him. Beware of identifying the bestowment of spiritual grace with the acknowledgments of belief according to any set of words, or with adherence to any particular company of believers. “The Spirit divideth to every man severally as he wills.” It is not for any to forbid another “because he followeth not with us.” No; in the next chapter we shall find Christ protesting, “He that is not with me is against me.” That is the one side of his mind. But it is balanced by the other (verse 50), “He that is not against us is for us.” The two sentences are not mutually contradictory. The one establishes that there is no middle course between Christ and Satan; that those who will not join Christ in his warfare against Satan must, directly or indirectly, aid Satan against Christ. In the other it is shown that the man whom John and his brethren forbade was really with Christ in his warfare, and had received from him the faith which was mighty against the kingdom of darkness. The miracle in Christ’s Name was the proof that he was really on Christ’s side, gathering with him. “Try the spirits,” such is practically the rejoinder of Jesus; “do not forbid simply because one has not complied with what you consider necessary or right; look at the character of the deed, at the motive present to him; if that bear the mark of my Name, account him with me, although he follows not with you.” John would have been justified in going to the man who cast out devils, and expounding the way of God more perfectly to him; he was not justified in prohibiting. Most difficult of graces is the grace of charity; charity as distinguished from the toleration which is the outcome of a mind that has no positive conviction of its own, and regards all views as alike to it; charity which has its hand firm in definite truth, but recognizes that Christ, not any man or any system, is the Truth; “Thou, O Lord, art more than they; “and because of this reverence, this feeling of the infiniteness of truth, allows for many forms of apprehension, welcoming the Name of the Lord, howsoever it is revealed in character and life, and, when there cannot be fellowship, sorrowing rather than denouncing. Humility and charity God has joined together. They are the two inseparable features of the childlike character. Where humility reigns, there is always the desire to be fair, to acknowledge the excellences even of doctrines and opinions to which the mind is opposed; most of all, of persons from whom it may differ. “0 Lord, who hast taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth; send thy Holy Ghost, and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee.”
Luk 9:51-62
The face steadfastly set.
Very pathetic and sublime is the announcement of the fifty-first verse. The bright, joyous spring-time has gone. The cornfields and gardens, the hill and dale, the “lake’s still face sleeping sweetly in the embrace of mountains terraced high with mossy stone”all the scenery which the Son of man so dearly loved, must now be left behind. No more for him the crowds of simple fisher-folk hanging on his words; no more for him the circuits from village to village, returning to the quiet Capernaum home; no more for him the happy work which marked the earlier years of the Prophet of Nazareth. Now there are only the deepening opposition of scribe and Pharisee, and the lengthening shadow of the cross. He is the Man of men. Not without pain must he have left Nazareth in the distance, and taken his way through the Plain of Esdraelon, past Nain and Shunem, bound for Jerusalem. But this is sublime: “He steadfastly set his tree.” It implies that there were solicitations, temptations in another direction. The Christ of God needed to gird up all his energies. Flesh and blood cried, “Stay a little longer at least.” The mind of the Son made answer, “Nay, how am I straitened until the baptism be accomplished!” It is of an hour in this journey that Mark speaks, when he says that “Jesus went before the disciples: and they were amazed; and, as they followed, they were afraid.” Why they were afraid, we are not told; but we may well conceive that there was the print of a secret agony on his brow, that there was something in his aspect, as he walked a little way ahead of them, which awed and silenced. His face was “steadfastly set.” And would that we better knew the secret of this steadfast face! How we shrink from the duty which our Father lays on us! How we withdraw our gaze from the cups of suffering, from the cross-bearing, which our Father assigns us! How we run away from what is irksome! or, when we must do it, how often we meet it with a countenance awry! Lord, we cannot penetrate the mystery of thy way. At times even thy presence seems dreadful. But lead us in the truth of thy steadfastness, and keep us following thee, even although amazed and afraid! Two features of the beginning of the journey are set before us in the passage under review.
I. THE ONE, THE REJECTION OF THE LORD BY A VILLAGE OF THE SAMARITANS. And this for a reason which suggests to us many similar mistakes and misjudgments. Bigotry dethrones reason, and stirs up what is worst against what is best in the heart. To these rude villagers, the one condemning circumstance is that his face is towards Jerusalem. If he had been only going in the other direction, they would have been forward with welcomes, and in return would have received unspeakable blessings. Let us not be too ready to cast the stone. We are all apt to be carried away by the appearance of a person or thing, and, in advance of rational considerations, to judge, sentence, or condemn. Thus many a time the messengers of the Lord, with blessings in their hand, seeking to make ready for him a place in human charities and kindnesses, are repelled. “What wonder,” says an old Latin Father, “that the sons of thunder wished to flash lightning!” (verse 54). There have been many such Boanerges since the days of James and John. They are the exponents of a tendency too frequently illustrated in the ecclesiastical world, to meet Samaritan disdain and rebuke by the terrors of the Lord, by the mere force of authority, in mistaken zeal to denounce and excommunicate. Ah! how often has the voice of the Gentlest repeated the rebuke in the ears of his followers, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of; for the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”
II. THE OTHER FEATURE (though it does not seem clear when it occurred) is, THE WORD BEARING ON DISCIPLESHIP GIVEN IN REPLY TO THE THREE MEN WHO ARE INTRODUCED TO US AT THE CLOSE OF THE CHAPTER. These three men are types of classes whose representatives we need not go far to seek.
1. There is the hasty disciple. (Verse 57.) “Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.” There is no discernment of what is implied in the “whithersoever.” There is no counting of the cost. He is the man of impulse and fresh warm feeling, who has “received some word of Jesus with joy, yet has no root in himself.” The” “I will” stands forth in its own strength, which is but weakness. Observe how the Lord deals with him. He does not reject the offer made; only he sends the man to prayer and self-review, giving him, in one far-reaching sentence, to see what in his rashness he had been undertaking. “Follow me whither soever I go? Knowest thou not that I am the poorest of all; that, in my Father’s world, I am the One despised and rejected. No throne, no royalties, no kingdom as thou conceivest of a kingdom? The fox has its hole, the bird has its nest, the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. Think, then, on that to which thou wouldst pledge thyself.” A word still called for! The will which is eager to follow is sometimes slow to receive the Law of the spirit of the life which is in Christ Jesus.
2. As the hasty disciple passes out of sight, lo! I another appears, he who may be called the dilatory. Notice the difference between the two. In the former, the initiative is taken by the man; in the latter, the initiative is taken by Jesus, with the short, peremptory “Follow me.” The one has no misgivings; the other desires to follow but has not courage enough to express his convictions. And the mind is not decided. Secretly there is the attraction to the Lord, but there is also the home, the aged father, the circle in the quiet village. No; he is nearly, but not quite, ready. It is on him that the Lord looks. He sees him trembling at the word that is working in his soul, and forth comes the calling, empowering, “Follow!” Was it not so natural (verse 59), “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father”? And will not he whose commandment is, “Honour thy father and mother,” at once consent? No; the Lord’s need, the Lord’s call, sets the private and domestic claims aside. Hence the enigmatical reply of verse 60. “Thou hast neighbours, brethren, who have not received the life that is pulsing in thee; to them may be left such a charge as that which thou hast named. But thou, with that life in thee, hast something else to do. Life must live; go thou, the living, and fulfil the living man’s chargepreach the kingdom of God.”
3. Finally, there comes into view the tender-hearted disciple. (Verse 61.) “I will follow thee”only first let me say farewell at home; a last look, a last adieu is all. Ah! this may not be. The rejoinder is somewhat stern (verse 62). Now, what is the lesson? It is this. On the rocks and reef of the seashore we find creatures rooted to them. Scarcely can we separate the anemone from its reef. How terrible it would be for a human being, with a human soul, to be doomed, like that zoophyte, to cleave to that rock, with no variety except what is caused by the ebb and flow of the sea! Yet, is the life actually lived by many much better? Day following day, and always the monotone of a mere worldly life; no higher end, no higher reference; all of the earth, earthy! O piteous sighta soul cleaving to the dust! Have we not seen a nobler truth? Looking into the face of Christ, is there not a voice bidding us higher? What but death and darkness could be if this earth of ours moved only in its own little diameter, around its own axis? Is it not the recipient of life and light because of its higher orbit as a member of the great solar system? And have we not spiritual life and light because the centre of our being is God? Then, disciple of Jesus, as he who has put his hand to the plough is intent on guiding it to the end of the furrow, ploughing on though the clod be hard and the work severe, be thou steadfast, thy face set with thy Lord toward his Jerusalem; no looking back, precursor of going back; this the prayer of all thy praying, “Lord, unite my heart, that I may love and fear thy Name.”
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON
Luk 9:1-6
Lessons from the first commission.
We learn from this commission and these instructions
I. THAT CHRIST HAS DIVINE RESOURCES FOR SPECIAL NECESSITIES. He gave to the twelve “power and authority over all devils,” etc. If he had such resources at his command then, when he was stooping so low and laying aside so much of heavenly rank and authority, of what is he not possessed nownow that he is enthroned, now that “all power is given unto him in heaven and on earth”? His Church may be very bitterly assailed; it may fall very low in consequence of the slackness and unfaithfulness of its own members; it has thus fallen more than once since he ascended: but in his hand are great reserves; his Divine resources are illimitable. He can equip and send forth men endowed with wonderful power, with marvellous faculty of persuasion or of organization; he can send forth those whose influence shall be felt even “where Satan’s seat is,” in the depths of spiritual evil and moral wrong, and thus he can establish or re-establish his kingdom.
II. THAT WE MAY COMMIT OURSELVES TO WORKS OF USEFULNESS though conscious of much insufficiency. We may be surprised that our Lord should send out the twelve to “preach the kingdom of God” (Luk 9:2) at a time when they had so very imperfect an idea as they then had of the character of that kingdom. Their views of it were very elementary; they had yet to learn concerning it facts and truths which seem to us of the first importance. But still he sent them; there was something, and something of substantial value, they could teach; and they were (all of them, at that time) genuinely attached to their Divine Master. If we wait until we know everything it would be well to know before we begin our ministry, we shall be postponing the time until our chance is gone. We should begin the work of holy usefulness early, even when there is very much to learn; we shall acquire knowledge, tact, wisdom, power, as we go on our way of service. The one requisite thing is that we shall be thoroughly sincere, and do all that we do out of a true and faithful heart.
III. THAT CHRIST MAY CALL ON US TO CAST OURSELVES ENTIRELY ON HIS PROVIDING AND PROTECTING CARE. This he did with his apostles now (Luk 9:3). Usually it is our duty to take every precaution for our bodily necessities; not to expose ourselves to needless perils or to injurious privations. But there are times when it becomes our dutyespecially that of the Christian minister, or evangelist, or missionaryto cast aside all prudential considerations, to run all risks, to commit himself absolutely to the care of the Divine Father.
IV. THAT THERE IS A LIMIT WHICH EVEN HOLY PERSISTENCY MAY NOT PASS. (Luk 9:5.) It is well to work patiently on under discouragement. It is our sacred duty to do this; we are quite unfitted for the nobler spheres of service if we are not prepared to do so. We admire and applaud those who cannot tear themselves away from work which they have set their hearts on accomplishing. Let patient persistency have abundant scope for its exercise, but there is a point where it must stop; to exceed a certain measure is to be disregardful of those who would not reject the Word of life, on whom Christian service would not be spent in vain.
V. THAT PRACTICAL KINDNESS TO BODILY WANTS goes well with earnest attention to spiritual necessities (Luk 9:6).C.
Luk 9:7-9
The tetrarch and the Teacher.
Our Lord had very little to do with the “kings and rulers of the earth,” but they did occasionally cross his path. At such times he bore himself as we should expect he wouldhe who was so far below and yet so much further above them. I/is relations with Herod, as suggested by the text, were these
I. THE TEACHER CAUSING TROUBLE TO THE TETRARCH. Herod “was perplexed” by all that he heard concerning Christ: his own wonderful works and those which he commissioned and enabled his apostles to perform (Luk 9:1-6) made an impression which entered and disturbed the palace. We have reason to think that in Herod’s case the fame of Jesus brought not only mental perplexity, but moral perturbation also. He could not understand who this new, great prophet could be, and he consulted his court respecting him. But it was his own apprehension, if not his conviction, that the man whom he had so guiltily slain “was risen from the dead.” His carefully trained judgment told him that he had nothing more to fear from that faithful spokesman of the Lord. But his conscience, that struck deeper than his judgment, compelled him to fear that he had not seen the last of that beheaded prisoner. It is a very easy thing to take a human life, but it is a very difficult thing to escape from responsibility for a human death.
1. Christ’s coming to us has caused and will cause a large amount of intellectual perplexity. The world has for eighteen centuries been asking who he is, and what is the true and full account of him. In this mental perplexity there is nothing to be regretted; there is no better subject on which the human intelligence could be employed.
2. Christ’s coming to man has occasioned much trouble of soul. The truths he taught, the life he lived, the claims he makes upon us,these have stirred the human conscience to its depth; they have awakened a sense of sin and ill desert; they have turned a strong light upon the guilty past and the perilous future; they have called forth much self-condemnation and self-reproach. It is well that they have done, it is right that they should do so.
II. THE TETRARCH DESIRING TO SEE THE TEACHER. “He desired to see him,” perhaps to have his mental curiosity set at rest; perhaps to have his conscientious fears appeased; perhaps for both these reasons. Certainly not in the hope of hearing heavenly truth, of hearing that Divine wisdom which would enable him to be a better man and to live a nobler life. And his motive being low, it proved, as we might have expected, that when he did see him, the interview gave him no gratification, but only added to his guilt (Luk 23:8-11). It is well, indeed, to wish to come into the presence of Christ, but whether the fulfilment of our desire will end in good or evil depends mainly upon our motive.
1. A selfish spirit is almost sure to be unblessed, is most likely to have its guilt increased thereby.
2. A spirit of mere curiosity will pro].)ably return unrewarded, though it may meet with a gracious benediction.
3. A spirit of devotion and inquiry will certainly gain a blessing from his holy hand. We may look at
III. THE TEACHER AND THE TETRARCH IN THEIR STRONG CONTRASTS.
1. Of present position.
2. Of moral character and the purpose of their life.
3. Of their destiny.C.
Luk 9:11
The healing hand of Christ.
“And healed them that had need of healing.” And who are they to whom these words do not apply? In a world as full of sin as ours is, there is nothing of which we have greater need than a Divine Healer. For sin means sickness, disease, derangement, painboth spiritual and corporeal. Every human ear wants to hear those gracious words, “I am the Lord that healeth thee;” every human heart has occasion to plead, “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;” every soul is again and again in need of the great beneficent Physician.
I. As THOSE LIABLE TO DISEASE AND PAIN. Considering the extreme intricacy of our bodily structure, and considering also the irregularities and evils of which we are guilty, it is wonderful that there is as much health and as little sickness as we find. But he is an exception to his fellows who goes for many years without ailment and, indeed, without illness. And we have all of us reason to bless the Lord of our lives that he heals us so readily and so often. He heals in two ways.
1. By conferring on us a nature which has recuperative powers, so that without any medical aid the wound is healed, the organ recovers its power and fulfils its functions.
2. By giving us medicinal herbs which our science can discover and apply, the nature of which is to heal and to restore. In both these cases it is the Lord of our human body and of nature who “works” (Joh 5:17) for our benefit. Our art, where it is exercised, only supplies one condition out of many; it alone would be utterly insufficient. Whenever we are healed of any malady, slight or serious, we should join in the exclamation of the psalmist (Psa 103:3), and feel that we have one reason more for gratitude and devotion. Let those who have been brought back from the gates of the grave by Christ’s pitiful and healing kindness consider whether they are paying him the vows which they made in the hour of suffering and danger (Psa 66:14).
II. As THE CHILDREN OF SORROW. Possibly we may know nothing of serious sicknessthere are those who escape itbut we all know what sorrow means. Trouble is a visitor that knocks at every door, that finds its way to every human heart. It may be some gradually approaching evil, which at length culminates in disaster; or it may be some sudden blow, which badly bruises if it does not break the heart. It may be the heavy, entangling loss; or the grave, oppressive anxiety; or the lamentable failure; or the sore and sad bereavement. How precious, then, beyond all price, the healing of the Divine Healer! In these dark hours our Divine Lord comes to us with ministering hand.
1. He impels all those who are dear to us to grant us their tenderest and most sustaining love; and human kindness is a very healing thing.
2. He grants us his own most gracious sympathy; he is touched with a feeling of our infirmity; we know and feel that he is with us, watching over us, “afflicted in our affliction;” and the sympathy of our Saviour is a precious balm to our wounded spirit.
3. He comes to us in the office and the Person of the Divine Comforter, directly soothing and healing our torn and troubled hearts. Thus he heals us according to the greatness of our need.
III. AS THOSE WHO SUFFER FROM A WOUNDED CHARACTER. A wounded spirit is worse than a bodily infirmity (Pro 18:14); but a wounded character is worse than a wounded spirit, for that is a spirit that has injured itself. There are those who present to their friends and neighbours the spectacle of bodily health and material prosperity; but what their Master sees when he regards them is spiritual infirmity. They are weak, sickly, inwardly deranged. Their hearts are very far from being as he would like to see them; instead of ardent love is lukewarmness; instead of reverence is flippancy of spirit; instead of a holy scrupulousness and a wise restraint is laxity if not positive disobedience; instead of zeal is coldness and indifference to his cause and kingdom. Of all men living, these are they who have most “need of healing.” And Christ both can and will heal them. To such as these he says, “I will heal thy back-sliding; “Wilt thou be made whole?” And if they will but go to him in a spirit of humility, of faith, of reconsecration, they will receive power from his gracious touch, they will rise renewed; and as they rise from the couch of spiritual langour and indifference to walk, to run in the way of his commandments, to climb the heights of close and holy fellowship with God, a deeper note of joy will sound from the depth of their hearts than ever comes from the lips of bodily convalescence, “I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.”C.
Luk 9:12-17
The Divine provision for the world’s need.
This miracle of our Lord, meeting as it did the present bodily necessities of the multitude about him, stands for ever as a picture and parable of the far more wonderful and the gloriously bountiful provision which the Saviour of mankind has made for the deeper necessities of our race.
I. OUR HOLY SOLICITUDE FOR THE SPIRITUALLY DESTITUTE. There is a note of true sympathy in the language of the disciples. They were concerned to think of that great number of people, among whom were “women and children” (Mat 14:21), having gone so long without food, and being “in a desert place” where none could be obtained. How strong and keen should be our sympathy with those who are spiritually destitute; who have received from God a nature with immeasurable capacities, with profound cravings for that which is eternally true and divinely good, and who “have nothing to eat”! No solicitude for hungering human hearts can be extravagant; it is only too common to be guiltily and pitifully unconcerned. And if the stage of spiritual hunger and thirst should have passed into that of spiritual unconsciousness, that is one degree (and a large degree too) more deplorable, for it is one stage nearer to spiritual death. We do well to pity the multitudes at home and abroad who might be and who should be living on Divine and everlasting truth, but who are pining and perishing on miserable husks,on errors, on superstitions, on morbid fancies, on low ambitions, on unsatisfying and perhaps demoralizing pleasures.
II. THE APPARENT INADEQUACY OF THE DIVINE PROVISION. Well may the disciples, not yet enlightened as to their Master’s purpose, regard “five loaves and two fishes” as hopelessly inadequate to the occasion. So to human judgment they seemed. Not less strikingly disproportioned must the Divine provision for man’s higher necessities have seemed to those who first regarded it. What was it? It was, in the language of our Lord recorded a few verses on in this chapter (Luk 9:22), “the Son of man suffering many things, being rejected.., and slain, and being raised the third day.” A crucified and restored Messiah was to be offered as the Bread of life to a hungering world! Would this satisfy the needs of all mankindof Jew and Gentile, of barbarian and cultured, of bond and free, of man and woman? Could One that seemed to fail, whose cause was all but extinguished in obloquy and desertion, be the Redeemer of mankind? It was unlikely in the last degree; speaking after the manner of men, it was impossible! And the machinery, too, the instrumentality by which this strange provision was to be conveyed to all human souls everywhere and through all generations, was that not equally inadequate? A few “unlearned and ignorant men,” a few earnest and true but obscure and uninfluential women,could they establish and perpetuate this new system? could they pass on these scanty provisions to the waiting and perishing multitude? How hopeless! how impossible! Yet see
III. ITS PROVED SUFFICIENCY. As those five loaves and two fishes, under the multiplying hand of Christ, proved to be far more than enough for the thousands who partook of them, so is the provision in the gospel of Christ for the needs of man found to be all-sufficient. In a once-crucified and now exalted Saviour we have One in whom is found:
1. Pardon for every sin and for every repentant sinner.
2. Admission, instant and full, to the presence and favour of God.
3. A source of purity of heart, and excellency, and even nobility, of life.
4. Comfort in all the sorrows and privations of our earthly course.
5. Peace and hope in death.
6. A glorious immortality.
Well does this great Benefactor say, “I am come that ye might have life, and, have it more abundantly.“ The provision is more than equal to the necessity; there is a marvellous overflow of truth and grace.C.
Luk 9:23, Luk 9:24
Life gained by losing it.
These strong and sententious words may teach us three truths which are of vital importance to us.
I. THAT THE VOLUNTARY SURRENDER OF OUR LIFE TO GOD IS OUR ENTRANCE UPON LIFE INDEED, What is it for a man to live? We speak truly but superficially when we say that any one is a living man from whom the breath of life has not yet departed. But there is deep truth in the objection of our English poet, “As though to breathe were life.” Human life, as its Divine Author regards it, means very much more than this. And, taught of Christ, we understand that we then attain to our true life when we live unto God, in his holy service, and for the good of those whom he has committed to our care. The thoughts of sinful men concerning life are utterly false; they are the exact contrary of the truth. Men imagine that just as they gain that which will minister to their own enjoyment, and keep that which, if parted with, would benefit other people, they make much of their life. This is not even a caricature of the truth; it is its contradiction. The fact is that just as we lose ourselves in the love of God, and just as we expend our powers and possessions in the cause of mankind, we enter upon and enjoy that which is the “life indeed.” For all that is best and highest lives, not to gain, but to give. As we pass from the lowest of the brute creation up an ascending line until we reach the Divine Father himself, we find that the nobler being exists, not to appropriate to himself, but to minister to others; when in our thought we reach the Divine, we see that God himself is receiving the least and is giving the most. He finds his heavenly life in giving freely and constantly of his resources to all beings in his universe. This is the supreme point that we can attain; we surrender ourselves entirely to God, to be possessed and employed by him; we enter upon and we realize the noble, the angelic, the true life. Whosoever will save his life by retaining his own will and withholding his powers from his Redeemer, by that very act loses it; but whosoever will freely surrender his life to God and man will, by that very act, find it. To live is not to get and to keep; it is to love and to lose ourselves in loving service.
II. THAT THE FULL SERVICE OF CHRIST MEANS HABITUAL SELF–DENIAL.
1. It means the abandonment of all that is vicious; i.e. of all that is positively hurtful to ourselves or others, and treat, as such, is condemned of God as sinful.
2. It means the avoidance of that which is not unlawful in itself, but which would be a hindrance to usefulness and the service of love (see Rom 14:1-23.). Of the rightness and desirableness of this, every man must be a judge for himself, and no man may “judge his brother.” That life must be a narrow one which does not afford scope for the frequent forfeiture of good which might lawfully be taken, but which, for Christ’s sake, is declined.
3. It involves struggle and sacrifice at the first, but the sense of personal loss is continually declining, and the consciousness of Divine approval is a counterbalancing gain.
III. THAT TO SECURE ETERNAL BLESSEDNESS IT MAY BE NECESSARY TO LAY DOWN OUR MORTAL LIFE. Many are they who have been called upon to put the most literal interpretation on the twenty-fourth verse; who have had to choose between parting with everything human and earthly on the one hand, and sacrificing their fidelity to Christ and their eternal hopes on the other hand. For that hour of solemn crisis the Lord has granted abounding grace, and from every land and age a noble army of martyrs have made the better choice, and now wear the crown of life in the better land.C.
Luk 9:25
The priceless.
Our Lord has taught us as no other teacher ever has
I. THE TRANSCENDENT WORTH OF OUR HUMAN NATURE. When he came that was held in very small esteem. Men showed what they thought of human nature by the use they made of it, and of human life by the readiness with which they threw it away. There was no thought of the inviolable sacredness of a human spirit. Jesus Christ has taught us to think of it as precious beyond all price. Man’s body is only the vesture of his mind; man, like God, is spirit, but he is spirit clothed in flesh. He is a spirit
(1) accountable to God for all he thinks and feels, as well as for all he says and does;
(2) capable of forming a beautiful and noble character resembling that of the Divine Father himself;
(3) capable of living a life which, in its sphere, is a reproduction of the life God is living in heaven;
(4) coming into close contact and fellowship with God;
(5) intended to share God’s own immortality.
II. THE TEMPTATION TO LOSE SIGHT OF THIS GREAT TRUTH. There are two things that often have such a deteriorating effect upon us that it is practically erased from the tablet of our soul.
1. The love of pleasure; whether this be indulgence in unholy pleasure, or the practical surrender of ourselves to mere enjoyment, to the neglect of all that is best and highest.
2. The eager pursuit of gain. Not that there is any radical inconsistency between profitable trading and holy living; not that a Christian man may not exemplify his piety by the way in which he conducts his business; but that there are often found to be terribly strong temptations to untruthfulness, or dishonesty, or hardness, or unjust withholdment, or a culpable and injurious absorption in business. And under the destructive influence of one of these two forces the soul withers or dies.
III. THE CALAMITOUS MISTAKE THAT IS SOMETIMES MADE. It is not only a grievous sin, but a disastrous error to gain worldly wealth, and, in the act of gaining it, to lose the soul. That is the worst of all possible bargains. The man who makes many thousands of pounds, and who loses conscientiousness, truthfulness, spirituality, all care for what God thinks of him and feels about him, sensitiveness of spiritin fact, himself, is a man over whom Heaven weeps; he has made a supreme mistake. Gold, silver, precious stones, are of limited worth. There are many of the most important services we want which they have no power to render; and the hour is daily drawing near when they will have no value to us whatever. But the soul is of immeasurable worth; no sum of money that can be expressed in figures will indicate its value; that is something which absolutely transcends expression; and time, instead of diminishing, enhances its importanceit becomes of more and more account “as our days go by,” as our life draws toward its close. Jesus Christ not only put this thought into words,the words of the texthe put it into action. He let us see that, in his estimation, the human soul was worth suffering and dying forworth suffering for as he suffered in Gethsemane, worth dying for as he died at Calvary. Then do we wisely enter into his thought concerning it when we seek salvation at his cross, when, by knowing him as our Divine Redeemer, we enter into eternal life.C.
Luk 9:28
The Transfiguration.
This incident is one that stands quite by itself; it is wholly unlike everything else in our Lord’s history. It was miraculous enough, yet we do not count it amongst the miracles of Christ. It may be viewed in many lights; it may illustrate
I. THE CLOSE RELATION BETWEEN OUR SPIRITUAL AND OUR BODILY NATURE. This manifested glory was not altogether outward; it was more than a radiance thrown around or imposed upon him, which might just as readily have occurred to any Jewish rabbi. It does not correspond with the illumination or’ the wall of a building or the face of a cathedral. It was the glory of his Divine nature, usually hidden, now shining through and revealing itself in his form and countenance. We are sure that the appearance of our Lord at all times answered to his character and his spirit. We gather this from the charm which he exerted over his disciples and over little children; from the confidence which he inspired in the social outcasts of his day; in the occasional flashings forth of his Divine sovereignty. The Transfiguration was by far the most striking instance of his bodily nature being lighted up and irradiated by his indwelling glory; there was as much of the spiritual as of the material about it; it could not have happened to any other than to our Lord. And this opens the question how far our spiritual experiences may and should glorify our personal appearance. The spirit does act powerfully upon and manifest itself through the body which is its organ. We know how love gleams, how indignation flashes, how scorn and hatred lower, how hope shines, how disappointment pales, how all the passions that breathe and burn in the human breast come forth and make themselves felt in the eye, the lip, the countenance of man. We may and should see a kind or a pure heart in a kind or pure countenance, as we do see avarice or indulgence in a keen or a bloated visage. We bear about in our body the marks of our association with the Lord Jesus, and other marks also which are not derived from such fellowship as that. Holiness has its transfiguring influence, as sin has its debasing effect, upon the human form and figurethe one refines and glorifies, as the other disfigures and degrades. There are two things to be heeded here.
1. We must not draw hasty and unjust inferences; there are those who, so far as appearance goes, are victims of misfortune or are vicarious sufferers.
2. We must endeavour to let a holy character be visible in our bodily persons. Inward excellence is the source of outward beauty. No tailoring or millinery, no cosmetics or perfumery, will make beautiful the face and form behind which is an ugly heart; selfishness and pride and envy will never look anything but unsightly and forbidding. The thoughts that breathe, the feelings that glow, the spirit that animates, the character that shines throughit is this which beautifies, which adorns, which makes attractive, which wins confidence and love. These are the things to care for, to cultivate, to cherish; it is thence that our influence for good will spring.
II. THE CARE WHICH GOD TAKES OF HIS OWN IN THEIR TIME OF SPECIAL NEED. What was the purpose of this wonderful scene? It was to prepare the disciples (and perhaps the Master) for the last scenes of all. Those two celestial visitants spake of “the decease which he should accomplish,” etc. A terrible ordeal was that through which he and they would pass. Therefore it seemed well to the Father to give to him and to them the most imposing, the most impressive, the most convincing proof that he was well pleased with his Son, and that he was, indeed, the Messiah of their hopes. We know from Peter’s Epistle (2Pe 1:16, 2Pe 1:17) how strong a confirmation of their faith it was and continued to be. Thus God cared for his own, and thus he still cares. Our lives glide on like peaceful rivers; but most human lives prove to be rivers with cataracts in their course. Times of grave trial and peril come, when there is a great strain on our faith and patience; when we have to draw on our last resources; critical trial-hours they are, like those which came to the Master and to his faithful baud. How shall we be assured of calmness, fortitude, fidelity, when we pass through them? If we are loyal to our Lord in the days of sunshine and prosperity, if we “abide in him” now, he will not fail us then. As our day his grace will be. He will prepare us for the trial-hour; he will be with us in its darkest moments; he will lead us oat into the sunshine on the other side.C.
Luk 9:35
The wisdom of hearing Christ.
Three things are clear to us, preliminarily.
1. Jesus Christ is addressing us. From his home and throne on high our Saviour stoops to call us, to instruct us, to bless us. He is saying to us, “Come unto me;” “Abide in me;” “Follow me.“
2. We need not hear him if we choose not to do so. As in a room where many groups of people are conversing, we only hear the voice of treat company to which we join ourselves and listen, so in the large room of this world there are many voices speaking and it rests with each of us to determine which we will regard. Shall it be the voice of ambition? or that of appetite? or that of human learning? or that of Christ?
3. Our heavenly Father urges us to give our best attention to Jesus Christ. “This is my beloved Son: hear him.“ We shall see, if we consider, how and why God presses on us this act of hearing.
I. BECAUSE OF OUR URGENT NEED OF A VOICE THAT IS DIVINE. There are two things we urgently require, but which, apart from Jesus Christ, we cannot have.
1. One is a knowledge of what is true. We are “strangers on the earth,” and know but very little. Like the little bird (of the ancient story) that flew from the darkness into the dimly lighted room and out into the darkness on the other side, so from the darkness of the past we enter and stay for a brief time in the dimly lighted present, and forth we pass into the darkness of the future.
2. The other is the power to do what we know to be right. Truly pathetic is the Roman’s confession, “I see the better course, and approve; 1 follow the worse.” What men everywhere have wanted is the inspiration and the power to be and to do that which they perceive to be good and right. Whence shall we gain this? Only from a Divine Saviour, from One who has lived and died for us, to whom we offer our hearts and our lives, the love of whom will constrain us toward all that is good and pure, and restrain us from all that is bad and wrong.
II. BECAUSE OF HIS INTIMATE RELATION TO HIS DIVINE FATHER. “This is my beloved Son,” therefore should we “hear him.” For one of the deepest and most practical questions we can ask isWhat is God’s thought, feeling, purpose, toward us? If there were any human being who sustained toward us a relation which at all approached in intimacy and importance that which God sustains to us, we should be eager indeed to know what was his feeling and intention concerning us. How eagerly, then, should we inquire of him “in whom we live, and move, and have our being,” “with whom we have everything to do,” on whose will we are absolutely dependent for our future here and hereafter! What does God think about us? On what conditions will he receive and bless us? Christ, “the beloved Son,” who came forth from God, and who knows his mind as none other can (Mat 11:27), can answer this supreme question for us.
III. BECAUSE OF HIS CLOSE AND INTIMATE RELATION TO OURSELVES. We want some one to speak to us who knows us well, who understands us altogether; one about whom we can feel that this is true. To whom, then, should we listen, if not to the Son of God, our Maker; to the Son of man, our Brother? “He knew what was in man,” as the evangelist testified, and again and again he showed that he knew his disciples far better than they knew themselves. Such is his knowledge of us. We may think that we know ourselves and what is best for ourselves. But we may be utterly mistaken. We find that our neighbours display lamentable and ruinous ignorance on these great matters. Who are we that we should be full of wisdom where others err? Let us distrust ourselves: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Ignorant presumption is a foe that “hath slain its ten thousands.” The truly wise will seek the great Teacher’s feet, and say, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”C.
Luk 9:37-42
The healing of the lunatic child.
From this most interesting story we may gather the truths
I. THAT FROM THE VERY FANGS OF DEFEAT A GREAT VICTORY MAY BE SECURED. More than once in the history of war there has occurred such an incident as that which is related concerning the great struggle in the United States. A severe and successful attack is made by one army on the other; the enemy is driven back, his guns and his camp captured. As his regiments are in full retreat, the general of the defeated force, who has been unfortunately absent, arrives on the scene; he arrests the tide of retreat, gathers his soldiers about him, stops the pursuing host in their career, leads a triumphant attack upon them, drives them beyond his own camp, recaptures his guns, and chases the once-conquering but now defeated army for miles to the rear of its first position. Such a victory snatched from the jaws of humbling defeat took place on this occasion. The returning Saviour found his disciples driven before the hostile attack of his enemies, but his presence soon availed “to restore the day,” and before long transformed humiliating failure into joyous triumph. In the Master’s actual, spiritual absence the cause of the Church may be brought very low indeed, and a complete and crushing disaster may impend; but let the Lord return, let his presence and his power be felt, and from the very teeth of threatened calamity there shall be secured a glorious victory. Let no heart despond so long as there is a present Captain; failure is never irretrievable when he is “on the field;” under his leadership even “death is swallowed up in victory.”
II. THAT HUMAN AFFECTION IS MEANT TO LEAD TO SPIRITUAL ATTACHMENTS. It was his son‘s sickness that led this man to seek Jesus; but for that he would not have sought and found him. It was his strong parental love that would not be denied, that led him to urge his plea, that enabled him to overcome his fears and to gain that valuable victory. God employs many instrumentalities to lead his children into his kingdom. We ought to be influenced by our sense of what is right and of what is wise in the matter; but, if not won by these, let the consideration of the deep and tender interests of those who are dear to us convince and determine us. For the sake of those children of ours, whom we love so profoundly, and who have such a vital interest in Christian truth, let us sit at the feet of Christ, and be subject to his sway.
III. THAT THE VERY WORST CASE WILL YIELD TO THE TOUCH OF THE DIVINE HAND. There could not well be a worse case of possession than this (see Luk 9:39, Luk 9:42). If the malignant forces could have triumphed over the benevolent Spirit, they would have triumphed here. But everything was accomplished when “Jesus took him by the hand” (Mar 9:27). So is it with the worst spiritual maladies. They may seem so bad as to be incurable; it may be the general opinion that the case is utterly hopeless. But there is a power in reserve against which the most virulent and the most violent evils are not able to stand. For
“… many of whom all men said,
‘They’ve fallen, never more to stand,’
have risen, though they seemed as dead
When Jesus took them by the hand.”
The most stricken souls will be healed, the most sorrowing ones comforted, the most despondent filled with a new and blessed hope, the most fallen and sunk in sin lifted up to purity and even to beauty and nobility of spirit and of life, when the Divine voice is heard bidding to be comforted, when the Divine hand is laid on the broken heart or the defiled and guilty soul.
IV. THAT THE EARNEST SOUL NEED NOT LET ANYTHING KEEP HIM BACK FROM CHRIST AND HIS SALVATION. This father had much to overcomethe natural reluctance he would have to bring the poor demoniac into such publicity; the failure of the disciples to effect a cure, well calculated as that was to discourage and dishearten him; his own imperfect faith. But he overcame all these, and gained his plea. Many may be the obstacles in the way of our salvation; they may be circumstantial, or they may be inward and spiritual; but if there be a thoroughly earnest spirit, they will not prevail over us; we shall triumph over them, and go on our way with our cause gained and our hearts gladdened.C.
Luk 9:46-48
The Church and the child.
The scene is well worthy the genius of the artist: the disciples together, but still at variance with one another, with cold or averted look; the Master with a little child in his arms (Mar 9:36), either turning a reproachful glance on his, disciples, or a look of tenderness upon that little one; the child himself with a trustful but wondering expression in his countenance. The scene is suggestive of the thoughtWhat’s the child to the Church? (For homily on the contention between the apostles, see Luk 22:24.) We may consider
I. WHAT THE CHILD WAS TO THE DISCIPLES. The answer to this question isnot much. They were devout and worthy men; but they were Jews, and they shared the mental habits of their countrymen. To them the little child was of small accountone to be kept carefully out of sight; one to be taken charge of by parent or teacher, but superfluous in society; one too many when a great man was present, when a great prophet was speaking, or a great healer was healing. This we know from their conduct on a memorable occasion (Luk 18:15).
II. WHAT THE CHILD IS TO THE CHURCH. The poor, our Lord said, we have “always with us.” So is it with the children. Whoever are absent, they are present; whoever fail, they abound. The child is in the midst of us, and we have to decide what he shall be to us. Taught by our Lord’s teaching, led by his example, imbued with his Spirit, we have to take up a very different attitude from that of the disciples. The Christian Church no longer regards the child as one that has to be carefully kept out of the way lest he should be troublesome. It welcomes him cordially; like its Master, it takes him into the embrace of its affection and its care.
1. It regards the children as the Church of the future. It remembers that “death and change are busy ever,” that the fathers and mothers are passing on and away, and that others will soon be needed to take their place. When a few more years have come, the place which knows us now will know us no more; who then, but the children about our feet, will bear the flag we bear, will speak the truth we speak, will do the work we do?
2. It regards the children as a present valuable heritage. For the little child
(1) can be a recipient of Divine truth, and not only can he be this, but his natural open-mindedness and trustfulness make him a peculiarly apt learner in Christ’s great school;
(2) can be a true follower of the Divine Masterto him also Jesus says, “Follow me,” and not only can he “rise and follow” him, but his disposition to trust and love and obey makes him to be a close and a very acceptable follower of his Lord;
(3) can illustrate in his own way the excellences of the Christian life, by the exhibition of those virtues and graces which most become childhood and youth. The Church of Christ should find in the little child its most interesting and its most valuable disciple. And this a great deal the more because of
III. WHAT THE CHILD IS TO THE SAVIOUR HIMSELF. This is very much indeed. For Christ knows, as we do not, all the possibilities of the little childthe height to which he may rise, or the depth to which he may sink; the good he may live to do, or the evil he may live to work; the blessedness to which he may attain, or the shame and woe which may be his end. He is more deeply interested in the young than we are, and however earnest and eloquent our voice of invitation or of warning may be, more earnest far is the voice of the Lord himself, as he says, “Come unto me, take my yoke upon you, my yoke is easy, my burden is light.”C.
Luk 9:49, Luk 9:50
Exclusiveness and neutralitythe forbidden and the impossible thing.
We do well to take together this passage and that of Luk 11:23. For one is the complement of the other. “He that is not against us is for us;” “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.” There is not the slightest inconsistency between these two declarations of our Lord. One states one truth, and the other a different one. They teach successively
I. THAT WE ARE IN DANGER OF COUNTING AMONG OUR OPPONENTS THOSE WHOM WE SHOULD RECKON AS ALLIES. It did not seem to be a service of any particular account that a man should use the name of Jesus to exorcise demons, even though he may have had a measure of success in his attempts. But Christ said he was not to be “forbidden” as an outsider, but rather hailed as a friend and as an ally. What, then, would he not say now of those who go so far towards the fullest declaration of his truth as many thousands do, but who remain outside the particular Church with which we may be connected? Would he have us blame and brand these because they “follow not with us”? The spirit of persecution is cruel, foolish, and emphatically unchristian. Rather let us rejoice that there are found so many who, while not feeling it right to connect themselves with our organization, are yet loving the same Lord and serving the same cause. These are not our enemies; they are our allies.
II. THAT WE CANNOT WITHHOLD OUR EARNEST THOUGHT AND DELIBERATE CHOICE FROM CHRIST without being counted by him as his enemies. “He that is not with me is against me,” etc. There is no neutrality in the great campaign now being fought out between sin and righteousness. In great European wars it is customary for generals and correspondents from other countries, not involved in the strife, to attend the movements and watch the operations of the armies; they, of course, are strictly neutral. But in this great spiritual campaign we cannot be mere spectators; we must be soldiers fighting on one side or on the other. For we are all deeply involved; we are implicated in what is past; we are interested in the issue; we have great responsibilities resting on us; we have great things at stake. God is addressing himself to every one of us, and it is not open to any of us to refuse to take up a decisive attitude in regard to the subjects of his address.
1. He speaks to us of himself. He makes himself known to us as our Creator, our Preserver, our generous Benefactor; he makes his appeal to us as our Divine Father, who earnestly desires our return to his home that he may bless us with his parental love. Can we possibly remain unaffected by this? Is not our very silence a most grievous offence and injury? Not to respond to him is to sin grievously against him.
2. He comes to us in the Person of his Son Jesus Christ. And he offers himself to us as the Redeemer who at the greatest possible price has wrought out our redemption, as the Divine Friend in the shelter of whose love and power we may spend our days, as the Source of our eternal life. Can we possibly take up a position toward him in which we are neither one thing nor anotherneither enemy nor subject? Can we do other than either accept him or reject him?
3. He summons us to his service, and to the service of our kind. We are to be “living epistles,” making known his truth, revealing to men the goodness of God, the grace of Christ, the excellency of his service. We are to bear witness unto him. Either our life is witnessing for him and for his truth, or our influence is thrown into the other scale. Those who know us are either being attracted toward Christ through all they see and know about us, or they are being repelled. We cannot be cyphers, try how we may. Our lives are telling on one side or on the other. Either we gather with Christ or we scatter abroad. We must make our choice.C.
Luk 9:51-55
Wisdom, duty, danger.
Among the various difficulties in this passage that have been the subject of exegetical debate, we may clearly discern three important lessons.
I. OUR WISDOM IN FRONT OF APPARENT EVIL. At this time our Lord had before him the dark days which would bring his ministry to a close. The contemplation of them had evidently gone down deep into his own mind, but he found none to share the thought or to sympathize with him in the prospect. He asked his disciples to let these things “sink down into their ears” (Luk 9:44), but they understood him not. He was the sole possessor of the great secret of his coming sorrow, struggle, and death. How did he face it? With an immovable resoluteness of soul. “He steadfastly set his face to go up to Jerusalem.” What reason have we to be thankful for that holy and noble tenacity of spirit! Could anything less strong than that have carried him, unscathed, through all that followed? And if there had been any, even the slightest failure, what would have been the consequences to our race? When we have to face a future of pain, or of separation and attendant loneliness and single-handedness of struggle, or of strong and sustained temptation, in what spirit shall we face that? In the temper of calm and devout resoluteness; with a full and fixed determination to go bravely and unfalteringly through, shrinking from no suffering, enduring the worst that man can inflict, yielding nothing to the enemy of our soul. An unflinching resoluteness will do great things for us.
1. It will save us from much suffering; for cowardice and apprehension do not simply add to human wretchedness; they multiply it.
2. It will save us from the chief peril and go far to secure us the victory. The greatest of all perils before us is that of recreancy, uufaithfulness to our own convictions. An unstable mind is only too likely to be guilty of it. A resolute spirit is almost certain to escape it.
3. It will place us by the side of our Divine Leader and of the noblest of his followers. We shall be treading in the footsteps of him who “steadfastly set his face,” etc., and who went up to that city of martyrs and gloriously triumphed there.
II. OUR DUTY IN THE PRESENCE OF A PROFESSED PROPHET. “They did not receive him; They went to another village.” How much is contained, in these simple words, of human folly and privation! These villagers were profoundly prejudiced against Christ, and declined absolutely to see what he could do, to hear what he would say. They would not “judge for themselves” on the evidence ready to be furnished. Anti consequently they suffered a great privation. The great Healer and Teacher of mankind went another way; their sick went unhealed, their souls went unenlightened, while Divine tenderness and truth found other hearts and homes. Often since then has Christ gone, in the person of some one of his prophets or spokesmen, to the city, to the village, to the home, to the individual heart, and offered his truth, his grace, his salvation. But deep-seated prejudice, or strong material interests, or keen love of pleasure, has barred the way. He has not been received. And as he does not force an entrance anywhere, he has gone elsewhere; he has passed by, and all the treasure of his truth has been unpossessed, all the blessedness of his salvation unknown. Of what unimaginable good, of what highest heritage, does human folly deprive itself!
III. OUR DANGER OF MISTAKING THE LOWER FOR THE HIGHER FEELING. The apostles, James and John, gave vent to a burst of strong resentment, and proposed to have a severe punishment inflicted. They supposed themselves to be actuated by an honourable and acceptable indignation. But Jesus “turned, and rebuked them;” they were entirely mistaken; their feeling was not that of pure indignation, it was tainted by an unholy irritation against men who would not receive them and their Master; moreover, the desire for immediate punishment was to give place, under Christian teaching, to a determination to win to a better way. Not extinction but reformation, not the infliction of the death which is due but the conferring of the life which is undeserved, not rigorous exaction but patient pity, not the folded fist of law but the open and extended hand of helpfulness, is the Christian thing. When we find ourselves giving way to wrath and proposing punishment, we do well to ask ourselves whether we are sure we know the “spirit we are of,” and whether there is not a “more excellent way” for Christian feet to tread.C.
Luk 9:61
Decision and indecision.
“Lord, I will follow thee; but,” etc. Two trains may leave the same platform and travel for a while along the same lines, and they may look as if they would reach the same terminus; ‘but one of them diverges slightly to the right and the other to the left, and then the further they go the greater is the distance that separates them. Two children born under the same roof, brought up under the same religious conditions, are baptized into the same faith, receive the same doctrines, are affected by the same influences;they should reach the same home. But they do not. One makes a resolution to serve God outright, unconditional, without reserve; he says simply, deliberately, “I will follow thee;” but the other makes a resolution under reserve, with conditions attachedhe says, “Lord, I will follow thee; but,” etc. The one of these two goes on, goes up, in the direction of piety, zeal, devotedness, sacred joy, holy usefulness; the other goes down in that of hesitation, oscillation between wisdom and folly, and finally of impenitence and spiritual failure. We will look at
I. THE MAN OF INDECISION ALONG THE LINE COMMON TO HIMSELF AND THE MAN OF RELIGIOUS EARNESTNESS.
1. They both receive instruction in the common faith; they learn and admit the great fundamental truths of the gospelthe life, death, resurrection, teaching of Jesus Christ.
2. They are both impressed by the surpassing excellence of Christ; for there is in him now, as there was when he lived among men, that which constrains admiration, reverence, attraction.
3. They both feel the desirableness of availing themselves of the blessings of the gospel of graceof the pardon, peace, joy, worth, hope, immortality, which it offers to the faithful. And when Christ’s voice is heard, as it is in many ways, each of these men is prepared to say, “Never man spake, Lord, as thou speakest to me; no one else will give me what thou art offering; evermore give me this living bread, this living water. Lord, I will follow thee.”
II. THE MAN OF INDECISION AT THE POINT OF DIVERGENCE. He says not, simply and absolutely, “I will; “he says, “I will follow thee; but,” etc. One word more, but how much less in fact and in truth? What is in that qualifying word?
1. But I am young, and there is plenty of time. I am a long way off the “three score and ten years;” and all along the road of life there are paths leading into the kingdom; let me go on unburdened by such serious claims as these of thine. “I will,” etc., but not yet.
2. But I have a bodily as well as a spiritual nature, and I must satisfy its claims. These hungerings and thirstings of the sense are very strong and imperious; let me drink of this cup, let me lay by those treasures first.
3. I am waiting for some decisive intimation from Heaven that my time has come. I do not wish to act precipitately or presumptuously; I am looking for the prompting of the Divine Spirit, the direction of the Divine hand; when the Master says distinctly, “Follow thou me,” I will arise at once.
4. I am in embarrassed circumstances, and am waiting until they clear away. The claims of the business or the home are so urgent, so near, so practical, that they consume my time, and I have none to spare for thee; there are bonds I have formed which I do not know how to break, but which must be broken if thy friendship is to be made and kept.
5. But I am old and unable. I have heard thy voice in my ear in earlier days; but I am old and spiritually blind; old and deaf; old and insensitive. I do not expect thee to come this way again; I would follow thee if I felt once more the touch of thy hand upon me.
III. THE GREATNESS AND SADNESS OF HIS MISTAKE. A grievous thing it is for a man to buoy himself up with such false imaginations, to build his house of hope on such shifting sands, to rest the weight of his destiny on such a sapless, strengthless reed.
1. Does death never lay his cold and hard hand on youth? and does not Christ command our strength and our beauty as well as our feebleness and our unsightliness?
2. Does Christ ask us to give up one rightful pleasure? and had we not better sacrifice all wrongful ones? And has he not promised all we need if we do but take the one true step into his kingdom (Mat 6:33)?
3. No man is waiting for God; but God is waiting for many halting and hesitating human souls. Behold, he stands at the door and knocks!
4. We are not more embarrassed than thousands have been, or more than we shall continue to be. If it is hard to find time, then for a purpose so supreme as this time must be made; if evil friendships are in the way, they must be made to stand out of the way. The voice that speaks from heaven is commanding; the case of our eternal destiny is critical in the very last degree.
5. It is true that long disuse is dangerously disabling, and spiritual capacity wanes with neglect; but men are not too deaf to hear the sovereign voice of Christ, not too blind to find their way to his cross, his table, his kingdom.C.
Luk 9:61, Luk 9:62
The workman’s qualification.
What more natural, we are inclined to say, than that, before setting out on an unknown future, a man should wish to say farewell at home? How do we account for this strictness, this disallowance of our Lord? First, however, let us remark
I. WHAT CONSCIOUSNESS OF POWER AND OF ULTIMATE SUCCESS the Saviour shows! How eager we are to secure followers, how pleased and proud to add to our ranks! Especially when a cause is yet young are we desirous of making converts and counting new disciples. At this time the cause of Christianity was very far from being an assured success; yet Jesus did not hurry to be successful, to crowd his Church. He said to the scribenot an ordinary disciple”Foxes have holes,” etc. (Mat 8:19, Mat 8:20; verse 58). He risked the attachment of another (Luk 9:60); and again of this man (text). How was this? It was that he had such absolute confidence in the rectitude of his cause, in the support of his Divine Father, and therefore in the triumph of his truth and grace. It is never well to hurry even good issues; we should only work with right instruments, content to wait for the result. “He that believeth will not make haste.” To the too-anxious workman there needs to come the remembrance of his Master’s holy confidence; it says to such a one, “Be still, and know that I am God.” We shall better understand our Lord’s reply if we consider
II. WHAT SUPERHUMAN KNOWLEDGE OF INDIVIDUAL HEARTS the Saviour shows! He did not commit himself to men; “for he knew what was in man.“ This is the key which unlocks the difficulty in many instances. It is this which explains how it was that he encouraged or accepted, how it was that he tested or declined, the services of men. And it is this which explains the differences in his treatment of us now; how it is that to one man he sends so many more trials and sufferings than to another; how it is that he withholds from one man so many bounties or privileges which he gives to another. He knows both perfectly; he knows their nature and their need, and he treats them accordingly.
III. THE FACT THAT CHRIST REQUIRES SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR SPECIAL WORK, There is a faith that “removes mountains” of difficulty; but there is also a faith, much more common, which will do good work, though it will not accomplish such great things. Christ had work for the contemplative John which that man of speech and action, Peter, could not have done; work for the many-sided and devoted Paul which John could not have done. To “follow Christ” as this scribe (of our text) proposed to do was work which meant many and great thingsthe severance of old and strong ties, the endurance of privation, exposure to hatred and violence, readiness to look death in the face, self-immolation on the altar of a sacred cause. Jesus probably knew that this man had not the spiritual qualifications for such a sacrificial post as this. Even the common labourer must have concentration of mind; he must not have his hand on the plough while his eye is off the field. And the workman in his field of holy service must be a man of unflinching steadfastness, of unwavering resoluteness of soul. No other would be fit for such work as he had on hand. Surely it is far kinder of the Master to keep back, even by strong and apparently hard words, the unfit servant from the sphere in which he would fail miserably, than to let him go on and reap all the bitter fruits of failure; and surely it is wiser far, on our part, to reckon well beforehand, and see whether our mental and spiritual resources will carry us through a proposed service and to retire if we find ourselves unequal to it, than to go blindly forward and to have to come back with something else upon our brows than the crown of honour and success. We may also learn
IV. WHAT ARE THE PRESENT, CONSTANT REQUIREMENTS which Jesus Christ makes of those who work for him. He is saying to us, “Follow me into the vineyard of holy usefulness.” It is in our hearts to say, “Lord, I will follow thee.” What must we have in order that he will readily engage us in his active service? We must have that spirit of self-surrender which will make us willing to give up to our Lord all that he asks us to part with; we must be whole-hearted, single-eyed. We must be workmen that have the hand on the plough and the eye on the field. We must be thorough in all that we do for him, contributing all our strength and energy in his cause. And there is every reason why we should be.
1. Our Master is worthy of the very best we can bring to him.
2. The sinful, suffering world around us is crying for our pity and our help.
3. It is well worth our while to do our utmost. In full-hearted service is the present recompense of sacred joy as we warm to our work and spend ourselves in it, while in the future there await us those” many cities,” that enlarged sphere of influence which will reward the faithful followers of their Lord.C.
HOMILIES BY R.M. EDGAR
Luk 9:1-17
The mission of the twelve.
After the group of miracles, we have our Lord next conferring the power of working miracles upon the twelve. This was miraculous power in its highest form. It is important to work well one’s self; but it is a still greater feat to get all about one’s self into working order too. Jesus was training his disciples to be workers like himself. Let us, then, consider
I. THE CONDITIONS OF THE MISSION OF. THE TWELVE. (Luk 9:1-6.) And here we have to notice:
1. The power delegated was healing and exorcising power. That is to say, their miraculous power was to change the sick and the insane into able-bodied members of society. The aim of our Lord’s philanthropy and of theirs was to enable men to become useful workers. When men can help themselves, then are they in the happiest of all conditions. This is infinitely better than spoon-feeding and pauperizing people.
2. The disciples were not to use miracle to make themselves independent of the hospitality of the people. Christ never used miracle to make life easier for himself; nor did he allow his delegates to do so. it would seem to some a wiser arrangement to make them independent of random hospitalities. But it was better for all parties that hospitality should be looked for. Rabbis were hospitably entertained, and so should these disciples be. They were also to accept of hospitality as it came, and not to be choosers of the grand and pretentious houses which might be opened to them. There may be as much magnanimity in accepting hospitality as in extending it.
3. In case of rejection, they were simply to symbolize their separation by shaking off the dust of their feet against them. This was the symbol of hostility and war; but there was no further outward act to be undertaken. The war was spiritual, and the judgment of the rejectors must be left with God. Toleration was thus made consistent with faithfulness to their convictions; and was freed from all laxity.
4. Their career of preaching and of accompanying philanthropy was continued throughout the towns of Galilee. The gospel they brought to men was one of trust in the Saviour who had come and of devotion to him. It was a gospel of work inspired by that faith which operates through love. Hence it carried philanthropy with it, and this philanthropy was of the most useful and stimulating character.
II. HEROD‘S FEARS AND CURIOSITY. (Luk 9:7-9.) The mission of the twelve had proved sufficiently influential to attract the notice of Herod. It led him to consider his sin and danger in murdering the Baptist. The miracles of which he heard, however, were merciful, and not wrathful; and so, though he was perplexed about the Saviour, he was curious to see him. Most likely he thought he would get Jesus into his power, as he had got John. But John’s ideas about the kingdom and its coming were essentially different from those of Jesus. Hence Herod is left in isolation; his curiosity and desire to see Jesus are alike unsatisfied.
III. THE RETIREMENT INTO WHICH JESUS TAKES THE DISCIPLES AFTER THEIR CAREER OF SUCCESS. (Verse 10.) The disciples, as we learn from the other Gospels, returned with joy, highly elated with their success. It was on this account doubtless that our Lord deemed retirement so needful for them. There is nothing, so wholesome for us when dangerously elated as solitude and prayer. In thin way the true character of success is appreciated, and all undue elation about it overcome.
IV. THE INCONVENIENCES OF POPULARITY. (Verse 14.) The seasons of retirement so salutary for public men are apt to be invaded, and more work forced upon them than they would themselves desire. The disciples and Jesus had most likely secured some fellowship with God before the popular invasion; for our Lord anticipated both friends and foes, and wrought out his beautiful plan in spite of interruption. So when the people came crowding around him, he was able to receive them with unruffled spirit, and to give them the counsel and the healing they needed. It was the same policy which the disciples had pursued by his directions which he here pursues. Miracle is used to heal and render useful, but not to minister to self-indulgence or render life easier to men. He made the multitude hopeful through his preaching, and healthy through Iris miraculous power.
V. THE FEEDING AND DISMISSAL OF THE PEOPLE. (Verses 12-17.) This miracle is narrated by all the evangelists. The sending of the multitude away is urged by the disciples. They have got the healing, and should expect no more. As for hospitality, the five thousand should have entertained Jesus and the disciples, rather than be entertained by them. But our Lord would go beyond his previous limitations, and become the Host instead of the Guest of men. For after all, he is really men’s Host, and we all sit at his board, though he condescends to be our Guest and to take of what we provide. Hence he shows by this miracle how all men really depend upon his bounty and are fed from his hand. The multiplication of the five loaves and two fishes, that is, of cooked food, cannot be assigned to any natural law, and could only have been miraculous. It was not quantitatively so great a miracle as the feeding of the Israelites with the manna for forty years; yet it was a sufficient miracle to show that the Sustainer of the world was among them. Upon him they should depend, and, if they fed by faith on him, they would always be strengthened. It was at the same time sufficiently moderate in its size and duration to show that he was not going to keep lazy men in idleness by spreading a gratuitous feast for them every day. They are dismissed by him that very evening, that they might not be able to go through the selfish ceremony of making him a king. He did not want to be a king over idlers, over men who would like to eat without the trouble of working; and so he defeated their worldly plans. His lesson of frugality also was most significant. He wanted no waste in his kingdom. He would not prostitute miraculous power to minister either to idleness or to wastefulness. Very clear light is thus cast upon the economy of Jesus. He kept miracle in its place. It ministered to usefulness; it was not allowed to minister to idleness or waste. It would be well if all learned the wholesome lesson which Christ thus conveys.R.M.E.
Luk 9:18-36
The Saviour’s secret revelations.
After the miracle of the loaves Jesus resumes his season of devotion, and in the course of it he asks the disciples who had just returned from their mission-tour what reports are being circulated about him. They tell him that some say he is John Baptist, some Elias, some one of the prophets risen again. This shows that they regarded his present life as preliminary only. The idea of his being the real Messiah, “the Christ of God,” was not entertained by any of the outsiders at all. It is then he asks them what their idea is, when Peter answers unhesitatingly, “The Christ of God.” And now we must inquire
I. THE REASON FOR THIS SECRECY ABOUT THE MESSIAHSHIP. (Verses 18-22.) Though the disciples believed in his Messiahship, they are directed not to make it known. Now, we must remember how different the Jewish ideas of the Messiahship were from the reality presented by Christ. Even such a noble-minded man as John Baptist had doubted the propriety of the course Jesus took. How much more liable to mistake would the common people be, if it had been blazed abroad that he was Messiah! It was needful, therefore, to wait till the picture was nearer completion before people were asked to look upon it. In fact, it was only his intimates who could at such a stage realize his magnificence at all. To give the people time to form a proper opinion, to prevent them from rising into premature opposition, to allow them no valid excuse if they rejected him at last, was the purpose of his secrecy and patience. He saw clearly that he “must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain,” but he would not provoke the crisis by publishing his Messianic claims. His modesty and secrecy in this matter are in striking contrast to the manners and methods of the world.
II. PERSONAL SALVATION THROUGH SELF–SACRIFICE. (Verses 23-27.) While predicting his death, he also predicts his resurrection. This is salvation through self-sacrifice. He immediately indicates that we are under the same law. The man alone saves himself who dedicates himself even unto death to Jesus. There are two policies pursued.
1. The selfish policy. People think they are so very valuable that they must save themselves at every turn. Hence they give the strength of their time and attention to self-preservation. This is their first law of nature. In doing so, they think that if they can only gain as much of the world and worldly things as possible, the better. They think it wise to win the world. But now Jesus shows that such a course only ends in utter loss of self. What does the self-centred, self-preserving soul become? What is the fate of the grasping, worldly mind? Such a soul shrivels up, becomes a nonentity, a mere derelict or castaway on the sea of existence. Such a life is “not worth living.”
2. Notice the self-sacrificing policy. This is the policy pursued by the soul which is devoted to Jesus as supreme. It is no trial to carry the cross; such a soul is ready to die any day for Jesus. He cannot be ashamed or’ Jesus, or of his words, but prizes him and them as beyond all price. And what is such a soul’s experience? He feels that he is self-possessed and the subject of a grand development. He really has gained himself. His powers of mind and of heart grow into luxuriance, and he feels enriched in all the elements of being as he goes onward. And if perchance he becomes a martyr for the faith and lays down, as these disciples did, his life for Jesus, he finds in an immortal future of further dedication all his best being carried forward. Death may cripple him in working powers here, but promotion awaits him beyond the shadows, and he finds that “he is himself again” after the death-experience is over. Jesus thus presents the case in the proper lightself-sacrifice is real salvation of self if our self-sacrifice is for the sake of Jesus.
III. THE PRIVATE GLIMPSE OF GLORY. (Verses 28-36.) Eight days after the noble confession of Christ by the disciples, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up to a mountain-top, that he might have another season of prayer. Though so busy, he never became prayerless. A most useful lesson! And here we have to note:
1. That transfiguration came through prayer. (Verse 29.) There is nothing changes people’s appearance so suddenly and so satisfactorily as being on the mountain-top of prayer. Jesus in transfiguration-glory is but a type of his people who come radiant from the secret places too. If there were more prayer on the part of God’s people, there would be more transfiguration and less scepticism about its efficacy.
2. Transfigured ones are attractive to the heavenly world. (Verses 30, 31.) Moses and Elias from their abodes of bliss are but indications of a perpetual interest in transfigured men. A new star is not more attractive to the astronomer than is a transfigured and radiant soul to the inhabitants of heaven. And further, the decease to be accomplished at Jerusalem is the supreme topic with the men from the heavenly city. For to this did the Law and the prophets point, and in the abodes of bliss other interests have not superseded this. If the cherubim were represented as gazing rapturously upon the mercy-seat and its baptism with blood, so may we believe the whole society out of which Moses and Elias came concentrate their interest upon the salvation which comes through the death of Jesus.
3. Transfigured ones attract attention from the inhabitants of earth. (Verse 32.) The disciples had fallen asleep, but the glory awoke them, as a candle will when brought before a sleeper. They saw the Master’s glory, and Moses and Elias at his side, and they regarded the Messianic kingdom as having in this triple glory dawned.
4. There is a natural desire to retain the rapturous vision. (Verse 33.) As soon as the disciples became watchful witnesses, Moses and Elias appear to have moved away. Their converse has now been interrupted by unspiritual auditors, and so they prepare for their departure. It is in these circumstances that Peter proposes to retain the visitors by making “tabernacles“ in the mount. With such a reinforcement, he thinks, as Moses and Elias, in radiance bright, the victory of Messiah will be assured. It is thus we dream. We read the history of the heroes who are gone, and we imagine that it’ we were only reinforced from the past we should be triumphant all along the line. Their spirit and their history may well inspire us, but they cannot take our burden.
5. The rapture may pass away in cloud, but Jesus abides with us for ever. (Verses 34-36.) There can be little doubt about this bright cloud being the Shechinah. It came to indicate the true manifestation of God in the incarnate Son, and to withdraw the possible competitors. The disciples feared as they entered the cloud. But a gracious paternal voice assured them, “This is my beloved Son: hear him.” And when the cloud cleared away, they saw no man, but Jesus only. To the teaching of Jesus, consequently, they would yield intenser attention. Besides, they kept it secret what they had seen. It was one of those glorious visions which could not wisely be yet revealed. Let us enjoy Jesus, no matter how rapturous associations may fade away.R.M.E.
Luk 9:37-62
The secret of successful work.
We saw that the Transfiguration was the result of prayer; but it was not the end of the prayer. This was preparation for further service. The glory is not the end, but only an incidental accompaniment, of devotedness of spirit. It is work for God, further service in his kingdom, which is the aim of all means of grace. And now these verses bring out in different aspects the secret of successful work. Let us notice
I. SUCCESSFUL WORK MUST BE PRAYERFUL. (Luk 9:37-42.) We have here a case of failure on the part of the nine disciples, and of success on the part of the descended Christ. The difference between the two cases was that Christ had been praying on the mountain while they had been prayerless in the valley. Prayerlessness and powerlessness go hand-in-hand. Work done in a prayerless spirit cannot succeed as it ought to do. The transfigured ones alone can meet the emergencies of Christian work, and succeed where others fail. Some cases are doubtless more difficult than others, and some demons make a harder fight of it than others; but there are none of them who can stand a prayerful Christian who faithfully follows Jesus in his line of attack.
II. SUCCESSFUL WORK MUST BE IN SPITE OF MALIGNANT OPPOSITION. (Luk 9:43-45.) Our Lord, as the crowd are wondering at his success, tells the disciples plainly that he is destined to be delivered into the hands of men. This is a sufficient set-off to his success. Men will take and kill him, notwithstanding all his philanthropy and exorcising power. This crucifixion of Jesus is but the type of the world’s recognition of the best work done by human hands. A long line of noble workers have followed Jesus along the path of martyrdom. Let no worker, then, be surprised at the world’s malignity.
III. SUCCESSFUL WORK MUST BE DIVESTED OF BASE AMBITIONS. (Luk 9:46-48.) Notwithstanding recent failure through want of prayer, the disciples are soon selfishly contending about the first places, and who is to be greatest. It is wonderful how soon we forget our failures and betake ourselves to our ambitions. Now, one characteristic of base ambition is pride about work. Certain lines of work are thought to be beneath our dignity and worth. To correct this in the disciples, our Lord sets a little child before them, and shows that such a child might be received in such a spirit as would be recognized by God himself. The nursing of a little child may be done for the sake of Jesus Christ, and in such a case it is such a work as he will regard, and the Father who sent him also. It is not a great work, therefore, that is needed, but a great heart carried into the smallest work. We think of quantity; Christ thinks of quality. We will not “take our coats off,” so to speak, unless it is some work eminently creditable; Christ could throw his great spirit into the fondling of a little child, and do the little one everlasting good. Hence we must do any work clearly laid to our hand with large-heartedness, and we shall find it successful in the best sense. It is the meek ones who are ready to put their hand to anything who are great in the kingdom of God.
IV. SUCCESSFUL WORK DEMANDS, BESIDES, A TOLERANT SPIRIT. (Luk 9:49-56.) John and James, after the Transfiguration privileges, seem to have got very excited and ardent in Christ’s service. Two cases in particular show how heated and hasty they were. The first was a case of exorcism through Christ‘s Name. Some Jew had witnessed the exorcisms of Christ, and, abandoning the Jewish methods and traditions, had tried the new plan, and proved the power of “the Name which is above every name.” But because he did not join the disciples, and so preserve their monopoly of delegated power, he is forbidden by them to do such work. This was intolerance misplaced. The worker, though not uniting with the disciples, was promoting the Master’s glory by showing the power of his Name. He was an ally, though not a disciple of the same set. Hence Jesus instructs them always to act on the tolerant principle that “he that is not against us is for us.” The second case in which the sons of Zebedee exhibited unholy zeal was in a certain Samaritan village, during Jesus’ journeys to Jerusalem. The last journey has begun (verse 51), and nothing will keep him flora accomplishing it. The Samaritans would have liked him to linger with them, and avoid his enemies and theirs. But he would not listen to their syren voice, but insisted on going up to Jerusalem. Taking umbrage at this, one Samaritan village denied him the usual hospitalities when his forerunners sought it. Incensed at this, John and James inquire if they should not call down fire from heaven to consume the inhospitable Samaritans, as Elijah had done. Samaria was the scene of that fiery ministry. But Elijah’s spirit would not suit the Saviour’s times. Had the prophet descended from the Mount of Transfiguration, he would not have insisted on any such policy as this. lie had doubtless got less fiery in the peaceful abodes above! As a destructive force, he had served his generation, but the disciples were to remember that saving men, not destroying them, was to be their mission. From both these cases we learn that the true evangelical spirit must reject all intolerance if it is to secure the highest success.
V. SUCCESSFUL WORK REQUIRES FAITHFUL DEALING WITH INDIVIDUAL CASES. (Verses 57-62.) As Jesus was moving upwards to the capital, the people perceived that a crisis was at hand. Hence the desire of some on insufficient grounds to cast in their lot with him who is to be the conquering King. Here is a case in point. A man comes and professes his willingness to be a follower of Jesus wheresoever he goeth. But Jesus undeceives him by indicating that he is not going to be sure of any lodging in this world. Perhaps the man was hoping to reach a palace by following him; but Jesus shows that the birds and beasts have more certain lodgings than he. He thus laid bare the man’s danger, and prevented a rash decision. The second case is an invitation to the individual by Jesus himself. It is a case of bereavement, and Jesus seizes on it to secure a disciple. He knew that the best thing this broken-heart could do would be to become a herald of his kingdom. The bereaved one naturally enough asks leave to go and bury his father, but Jesus assures him that there are sufficient dead hearts at homo to pay due respect to his father’s remains, and the formalities of the funeral may only change his promptitude into delay and neglect; and so he urges him to become a preacher at once. A third case is that of one who is ready to follow Christ, but wishes to bid those at home farewell. Our Lord tells him the danger of looking back. The farewells at home might have resulted in a farewell for ever to Jesus. It is thus Jesus shows the importance of dealing faithfully with individual souls. We have the secret of successful work laid clearly before us.R.M.E.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Luk 9:1-6 . See on Mat 10:1 ; Mat 10:7 ; Mat 10:9-11 ; Mat 10:14 ; Mar 6:7-13 . Luke follows Mark, and to that circumstance , not to any depreciation of the Twelve by contrast with the Seventy (Baur), is due the shorter form of the succeeding discourse.
.] depends on . . . (power and authority, Luk 4:36 ). The reference to (Bengel, Bornemann) is more remote, since the is actually a . .
Luk 9:3 . . ] nor even to have two under-garments (one in use and one to spare). A mingling of two constructions, as though had been previously said. See Ellendt, ad Arrian. Al . I. p. 167; Winer, p. 283 [E. T. 397]. For the explanation of the infinitive with there is no need of supplying (Lobeck, ad Phryn . pp. 753 f., 772); but this idea is implied in the infinitive itself. See Khner, ad Xen. Anab . v. 7. 34. It would be possible to take the infinitive for the imperative (Kuinoel and many of the earlier critics, comp. also Buttmann, Neut. Gr . p. 233 [E. T. 271 f.], who understands ) only if the connection brought out a precise injunction partaking of the nature of an express command (see generally, Winer, p. 282 [E. T. 397]; Bernhardy, p. 358; Pflugk, ad Eur. Heracl . 314), which, however, in this case, since the imperative precedes, and, moreover, immediately follows, is not applicable.
Luk 9:5 . . .] Even the dust also ; see Hartung, Partikell . I. p. 134.
.] against them , more definite than Mark: . Theophylact: .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
4. The Son of Man proclaimed by the Twelve, feared by Herod, honored by the Company which He had fed
Luk 9:1-17
(Parallels: Mat 10:5-15; Mat 14:1; Mat 14:13-21; Mar 6:7-16; Mar 6:31-46; Joh 6:1-14.)
a. The Sending Forth Of The Twelve Apostles (Luk 9:1-6)
1Then he called his twelve disciples [the twelve; om., disciples] together, and gave 2them power and authority over all devils [the demons], and to cure diseases. And he 3sent them to preach [proclaim] the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.1 And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip [wallet], neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats [tunics] apiece. 4And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. 5And 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. 6And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Harmony.The raising of Jairus daughter is immediately followed by two other miracles, which Matthew alone relates, Luk 9:27-34. Hereupon the Saviour appears to have undertaken a new journey through Galilee, and to have convinced Himself repeatedly of the exceeding spiritual necessity of the people. (Ibid. Luk 9:35-36.) He therefore exhorts His disciples to entreat the Lord of the harvest for laborers (Luk 9:37-38), and gives them finally opportunity with this praying to unite working, and themselves to lay their hand to the plough.
In the narrative of the sending out of the twelve apostles, also, the briefer account of Luke must be complemented by that of Matthew and Mark. It then appears that the Saviour sent them out two and two, and in their instructions, according to the statement of all the Synoptics, adduces the expulsion of the demons as a special and main part of their activity, clearly distinguished from the healing of ordinary illnesses. The discourse given on this occasion is communicated by Matthew far more in detail and more precisely than by the two others. Luke merely, Luk 9:3-6, communicates somewhat of the first part of it (Mat 10:5-15), while we find again some elements of the continuation in the tenth and twelfth chapters.
Luk 9:1. The Twelve.Although weighty testimonies declare for the reading , it must not be overlooked that Luke usually uses as a standing formula, and that other manuscripts use the word , which appears to be an interpolation by a later hand, as well as the former, which is borrowed from a parallel passage in Mat 10:1. At the same time, Matthew here gives the names of the twelve apostles, which Luke had earlier communicated in another connection (Luk 6:12-16). Luke, on the other hand, is more particular in stating the substance of their instruction, and mentions also the . . ., while the two others speak only of miraculous acts. As to the manner in which the may have been imparted to them, comp. Lange on Mat 10:1.
Luk 9:3. Take nothing,There is some difference among the Synoptics in reference to the instruction given to the Twelve as to their preparations for the journey. According to all three, they were to take no money in their purses, no change of coats, and no provision of food. According to Mark and Luke, the taking of bread with them is also not permitted, as to which Matthew is silent. But while according to Matthew and Mark, Luk 9:8, they might take a staff alone, we find according to Matthew and Mark, this also forbidden them (for the reading is apparently not genuine). We believe that Mark, who here alone gives the narration in an oratio obliqua, expresses himself more freely than the two others. The spirit of the command is, however, according to all, the same. The Saviour speaks of that which they must procure for the journey. If they already had a staff they were permitted to take it with them (Mark), but if they possessed none, they were not to buy one (Matthew and Luke). Nothing were they to take with them, nothing were they to take to them in requital of their benefits. Their history instructs us how the apostles understood these commands: the last literally, as the curse of Peter upon Simon Magus shows, Act 8:20, the former in the spirit of wisdom, e.g. 2Co 11:12; 2Ti 4:13.
Luk 9:4. There abide.Comp. Luk 10:7. Wander not from house to house.Thence depart.From thence continue your journey without having capriciously chosen another abode.
Luk 9:5. And whosoever will not receive you.Comp. Mat 10:14. With Lachmann and Tischendorf, it seems that we must unquestionably read , since is borrowed from parallel passages. The shaking off of the dust, a symbolical action, as a testimony against them, as Theophylact says: . From Act 13:51, we see how the apostles casu quo followed this command of the Saviour literally.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. In investigating the purpose of this missionary journey of the Twelve, too little notice perhaps has been taken of the word of the Saviour, Mat 9:38. With no warrant whatever has this journey been often considered as a kind of practising for the future work of the Twelve. The Saviour at least gives not a single hint that He will have it so understood. Nor was the practice of having probationary sermons by destined preachers of the gospel at His time as yet in use. As little did this mission serve to prepare for the personal arrival of Jesus in some towns and villages of Galilee. It is at least not to be proved that the apostles came into towns where He was wholly unknown; moreover, it would have little accorded with His wisdom to have let the gospel even during His life to be brought into places, and that by inexperienced men, where as yet they did not know Himself. No. The Twelve were not to go before, but here and there to return upon His track; not in order to sow but in order first to reap, does He bid them to go forth: not to begin what He will continue, but rather to continue what He Himself has already begun. Thus does all become clear. Thus does it appear why they had at each time to inquire who was worthy to receive them; in other words, who was favorably disposed in reference to the Saviour and the cause of His kingdom. Thus does their right to shake off the dust become manifest, which for the rejection of a first preaching was almost too stern, but for the spurning of a renewed essay, was fully justified. Thus first do we get a true light as to the prohibition of extensive preparations for journeying. For they were not going as strangers among enemies, but as friends unto a region where the Saviour Himself had already prepared a way for them. And thus does it at the same time become plain why He let them just now undertake this journey. Already had He denounced against the impenitent cities of Galilee the judgment threatened them, Mat 11:20-24, but now He will through His apostles make a last attempt to win the apostates to Himself. The more He beholds in the spirit the unfolding of the great drama of His life, the more does He proceed with the thundering tread of decision. Ever more threateningly do the parties begin to stand over against one another; in order that now the thoughts of hearts may become more manifest does He now send forth His apostles. They are to water the seed already sown by Him for the kingdom of heaven: to tend with care what promises fruit: and what shows itself as tares to make known to Him as such: in a word, to be workers for the harvest.
2. As respects the duration of this journey, it can be as little determined as the names of the towns and villages visited. But surely it endured longer than a day (against Wieseler, l. c. p. 291), as certainly some time is always required to go from town to town, to seek out the worthy, and abide there, &c. But if we consider that they, divided into six pairs, traversed only one part of Galilee, and were as yet in no way adapted to get on independently, it is not then probable that the Saviour was many days or weeks separated from the Twelve. Apparently He waited for them meanwhile at Capernaum, and when, after their return, the miracle of the Loaves took place, the second passover was no longer far distant, Joh 6:4. As we hold the view that the sermon at Nazareth only took place once, and that at the time indicated by Luke, Luk 4:16-30, it is therefore not necessary for us to intercalate immediately after this mission of the Twelve the narrative Mat 13:54-58; Mar 6:1-6.
3. Although the exercising of the apostles was not here the main matter, yet even on our view there is displayed in this mission, in a lovely light, as well the wisdom of the Saviour in the training of His witnesses, as also His love to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The healing activity for which power is bestowed upon them, is at the same time a striking symbol of that which evangelization and missionary labor must even now everywhere accomplish wherever it directs its steps. And the spirit which the Saviour, even according to the brief redaction of Luke, has here commended to His witnesses, unconcern about earthly matters, freedom from pretension, but also holy zeal where their word is obstinately disdained, must even now not be missing in any one who will bear His name with honor among baptized or unbaptized heathen.
4. Love to a convenient life is a great hinderance to the work of God in an evangelist, for it is with the poor who cannot afford it him that he has most to do, Luk 7:22, and the rich are far more apt to draw him into such a life than he to draw them from it. The world must know that one does not seek it for its goods, and that he has no communion with it but for its salvation. If it will not hear of that, then we must go forth from it. O. Von Gerlach.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
The apostolic authority: 1. Its extent, 2. its grounds, 3. its purpose, 4. its limits.The missionary of the gospel at the same time the physician of souls.The evangelizing journey of the witnesses of the Lord, their equipment, aim, fruit.Who first seeks the kingdom of God and its righteousness may trust that all other things shall be added to him.Freely ye have received, freely give.The testimony for the believing and against the unbelieving world.How the faithful servant cares for the honor of the Lord, the Lord for the necessity of His faithful servant.The gospel of the kingdom must everywhere be preached.The preaching of the gospel an act of the obedience of faith.The spirit of domestic missions.
Starke:Cramer:The sacred ministry still delivers man from the power of Satan.To the ministry pertains a regular call, both internal and external.Hedinger:Whoever serves the gospel is to live therefrom, 1Co 9:14.Canstein:If the disciples of Christ, for the sake of convenience, were not to go from one house to another, much less should preachers, for greater accommodation, seek after better parishes.The ministry not an otium, but a gravissimum negotium.
Footnotes:
[1]Luk 9:2.Tischendorf, supported by Meyer, has simply , without a following accusative. The variations: , , , , and omnes infirmitates (Brix.), are so numerous, that it is almost certain that they were introduced by different transcribers as natural complements of . Tregelles brackets the accusative. B. is the only uncial, however, which omits it.C. C. S.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
The Lord Jesus is here sending forth his Apostles. An Account of Herod. Jesus feedeth the Multitude in the Wilderness. Peter’s blessed Confession of Christ. The Transfiguration. The Lunatic healed. Jesus going through Samaria.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
(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 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 everywhere.
The two former Evangelists have given us an account of our Lord’s ordination of his apostles; Mat 10:1 , etc. Mar 6:7Mar 6:7 ; and there is somewhat truly interesting in the relation of it. But certainly the commission, at this time, must have been very limited. For the apostles themselves, had but imperfect notions of their Lord’s kingdom of grace, leading to his kingdom of glory. So strongly were their minds rivetted in the Jewish nation of a temporal kingdom, that not even the death of Christ had power to do away the impression. See, in proof, Act 1:8Act 1:8 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Healing the Sick
Luk 9:2
It is the pressing task of the Christian Church to see, first, that the faith of Christ shall not be reduced to mere philanthropy; secondly, that it shall earnestly appropriate all that is good in human life, and animate, elevate, and enlarge it by making it the expression of Christian faith and love. The particular good in human life to which we shall now apply Christian principles is the noble work of healing the sick.
I. The healing of the sick as a part of the ideal mission of the Christian Church. Healing the sick was a part of Christ’s work on earth, not as a disconnected marvel, but in necessary and organic connection with the moral and spiritual redemption He came to effect. He healed the sick, not by superior medical knowledge, nor by supernatural power acting independently of human moral conditions, but through the energy of moral and spiritual forces. He confined His miraculous work within a limited sphere, and within that limit there were still further limits to its exercise. So, even if the Church had been able to continue His work on all its sides, it would not have meant the complete abolition of sickness. The work of healing the sick would continue to be definitely limited by deeper moral and spiritual conditions. Only a perfected moral humanity can bring the entire abolition of disease.
II. The relation which the Church should sustain to the general art of healing. There ought to be a peculiarly close and active relation between the Church and medical science and art. It is of very great importance both for Christian principle and for the general elevation of humanity that medical science and art should not become materialistic and atheistic. We ought not to rest until we have completely Christianised medicine, have imbued it with the Spirit of Christ, and made it the bounteous handmaid of the Church. In order to accomplish this there lie before us three duties of pressing importance: (1) We must hold fast and earnestly teach the truth that the moral cannot be divorced from the physical healing of man without grievous injury to both, for it is the spiritual man that gives worth, dignity, and grandeur to all besides. (2) We must earnestly strive to imbue the medical profession with the Christian spirit and Christian ideas. (3) We must see to it that there shall be no poor sufferer lying unhealed for lack of the love and practical sympathy of Christian people.
III. The course of our thought must ere this have impressed upon us the sanity and humaneness of the Christian view and treatment of the human body. The Christian conception of a complete life is that of a great dominating spirit in a vigorous and responsive body.
John Thomas, Myrtle Street Pulpit, vol. ii. p. 37.
References. IX. 1. Expositor (6th Series), vol. viii. p. 74. IX. 2. F. W. Farrar, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xlviii. p. 17. J. H. Jowett, British Congregationalist, 5th Sept. 1907, p. 198. IX. 2-6. Bishop Stubbs, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xlv. p. 152.
The Missionary for Today
Luk 9:6
For a double curse there must be a double cure. That prince of African missionaries, Dr. Robert Moffat, in laying the foundation of the Livingstone Medical Missionary Memorial in Edinburgh in 1877, uttered these words: ‘I have often said, and I say it again, that a missionary is a good thing, and anyone who knows his work will say so; but a medical missionary is a missionary-and-a-half or, rather, I should say, a double missionary’.
I. Medical Missions Their Origin and History. The Bible is the oldest medical journal in the world. Far back in Old Testament story we see traces of medical missionary work, for we read that Elijah and Elisha were healers as well as prophets and teachers. But the greatest of all medical missionaries and the perfect model for all time was our Divine Master, Jesus Christ. After Christ came the Apostles, who faithfully carried on the healing work which He had so nobly inaugurated. It is evident, then, that preaching and healing were old-time allies; but, unfortunately, the alliance was dissolved for centuries, and the kingdom of Christ suffered incalculable loss.
II. Medical Missions Their Object. (1) One object in view is bodily healing. Men are not disembodied spirits; and Christian philanthropists are just beginning to realise this fact. (2) Another, and far nobler object, which the medical Evangelist has in view is spiritual healing. All the medical work is preparatory for, and subsidiary to, the higher work of soul salvation.
III. Medical Missions Their Authority. (1) We find our authority in the special command of Jesus Christ: ‘And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick’ a beautiful union of the two ministrations. (2) We also find our authority for medical missions in the noble example of Christ ‘ Himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses’.
IV. Medical Missions The Crying Necessity for Them.
V. Medical Missions Their Positive Advantages.
VI. Medical Missions Their Perils. (1) It is a dangerous experiment to send out unqualified men as medical missionaries. (2) Another peril which has to be guarded against the Evangelist must not sink himself in the Physician.
VII. Medical Missions Their Wonderful Success. The story of the medical Evangelist reads more like a romance than a page of sober history.
J. Ossian Davies, The Dayspring from on High, p. 132.
References. IX. 6. Expositor (5th Series), vol. i. p. 398. IX. 10-17. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture St. Luke, p. 254. IX. 11. Bishop Wilberforce, Sermons , p. 24. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. v. No. 889; vol. xxvii. No. 1624. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture St. Luke, p. 260.
Luk 9:13
God requires no man to do, without ability to do; but He does not limit His requirement by the measures of previous or inherently contained ability. In many, or even in a majority of cases, the endowment of power is to come after the obligation, occurring, step by step, as the exigencies demand…. All the pillars of the Church are made out of what would be weeds in it, if there were no duties assumed above their ability in the green state of weeds. And it is not the weeds whom Christ will save but the pillars. No Christian will ever be good for anything without Christian courage, or, what is the same, Christian faith. Take upon you readily, have it as a law to be always doing great works; that is, works that are great to you; and this is the faith that God so clearly justifies, that your abilities will be as your works. With your five loaves and two fishes He will show you a way to feed thousands.
Horace Bushnell.
References. IX. 18. C. J. Vaughan, The Prayers of Jesus Christ, p. 43. Expositor (5th Series), vol. iv. p. 39. IX. 18-27. Ibid. (4th Series), vol. v. p. 4. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture St. Luke, p. 271. IX. 21. J. Keble, Sermons for Lent to Passion-tide, p. 193. IX. 22. Expositor (6th Series), vol. iv. p. 122.
The Law of Self-denial
Luk 9:23
I have seen the face of a high-souled and sensitive teacher colour with the deep flush of a young girl in her moment of keen feeling when he was compelled to censure a slothful student. The face of Christ was flushed with pain when He uttered His words of rebuke to Peter, ‘Get thee behind Me, Satan’. Jesus did not love to utter reproach. His usual method of rebuke was by a silent look. For that reason He turns at once from the ashamed man and begins to speak to them all. He will no longer emphasise his fault. And He is well aware that the mind which was in Peter was in all his fellow-disciples, and would require to be purged out of every man who would come after Him. He lays down that law of self-denial which is the primary law of the Cross.
The Christian life presents itself in a full-orbed teaching under two contrasting aspects. In one aspect it is a life of liberty in Christ. It is the coming into full and lovely flower of the whole nature of man. Its keyword is not repression, but expression. Its method is culture, not restraint. Christ has come to give us life, ‘life more abundantly’. It is a call to walk in the Spirit, and to live in that kingdom whose delights are righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Augustine states this truth in his great saying, ‘The Christian law is to love, and to do as you please’. But in the other aspect it presents itself not as a liberty but as a captivity, not as a self-abandonment but as a self-control, not as an easy yoke but as a stern and ceaseless struggle. This contrast is to be found on every page of the New Testament. It is set down clearly in Christ’s teaching, and it is illuminated by His life.
Let me make this law clear by considering two points. Look, in the first place, at the spheres of the law of self-denial; and, in the second place, at the penalty of its refusal.
1. In the first place: the spheres of the law of self-denial.
We must, to begin with, deny ourselves in the sphere of our natural appetites. There are appetites which are God-given, and, when wisely indulged, are God-blessed. We have the natural hunger for our daily food, a healthful longing for pleasant sights and sweet sounds, and all that ministers to our delight, a craving for rest when we are weary, and for recreation when we are jaded, and a longing for the satisfactions of the mind and the heart. As we grow older we thirst for recognition and influence and reward. From youth to age we crave to love and to be loved in return. These are all natural and innocent appetites, but every one of them must be controlled if our life is to be Christlike.
The law operates with a sterner rigour in the subtler sphere of duty. The demand of duty may not fall upon our ears with so sharp a tone as the call to school our appetites, but it persists through all the hours, and exacts a more trying obedience.
A third sphere in which this law must be obeyed is the sphere of service. Service is a continuous self-denial. Young hearts present themselves for the service of Christ in an hour of chivalrous devotion, but they do not walk far on in the way until they find the pressure of this law. I have seen a shadow fall upon the face of a man who was worn by nights of service he had given to Christ, when some other, who had sat beside his evening fire, was pouring forth the treasures of a full mind to the delight of all who heard him. He felt a keen pang as he realised his impoverishment. But there were many to whom that shadowed man was dear, to whom his very name was music, and I doubt not but that He, whom he had come after, had given him other rewards of his obedience to the law of self-denial. In the great day when the secrets of all hearts are revealed, he may be amazed to find how rich he is in the treasures laid up in heaven. Yet the cost is great.
II. In the second place: the penalty of its refusal. ‘If any man will come after Me,’ said Jesus, laying down the penalty of the refusal of this law. We may think that we are following in His footprints. We may call ourselves by His name. We may be busy with the exposition of His thoughts. We may preach His Gospel. We may be melted to tears by our visions of His grace. But if we will not deny ourselves in all the spheres, up to the sphere of the Cross, we are not to be found in the company that follow Christ. We do not come after Him.
W. M. Clow, The Secret of the Lord, p. 96.
Luk 9:23
It seems that Christian obedience does not consist merely in a few occasional efforts, a few accidental good deeds, or certain seasons of repentance, prayer, and activity, a mistake which minds of a certain class are very apt to fall into. This is the kind of obedience which constitutes what the world calls a great man, i.e. a man who has some noble points, and every now and then acts heroically, so as to astonish and subdue the minds of beholders, but who in private life has no abiding persona] religion, who does not regulate his thoughts, words, and deeds according to the law of God…. To take up the cross of Christ is no great action done once for all, it consists in the continual practice of small duties which are distasteful to us.
Newman.
References. IX. 23. Expositor (4th Series), vol. iii. p. 276. Ibid. (5th Series), vol. v. p. 6. J. J. Blunt, Plain Sermons (2nd Series), p. 177. W. C. Wheeler, Sermons and Addresses, p. 209. H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. iii. p. 32. J. Stuart, Baptist Times and Freeman, vol. lv. p. 3. A. H. Bradford, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xlix. p. 127. A. Stewart, Eden and Gethsemane, p. 16. IX. 23-25. Len. G. Broughton, British Congregationalist, 11th Oct., 1906, p. 249.
Luk 9:24
In his volume on Bushido, Dr. Nitob quotes the following sayings of a seventeenth-century priest in Japan: ‘”Talk as he may, a Samurai who ne’er has died is apt in decisive moments to flee or hide”. “Him who once has died in the bottom of his breast, no spears of Sanada nor all the arrows of Tametono can pierce.”‘ ‘How near,’ adds the author, ‘we come to the portals of the temple whose Builder taught, He that loseth his life for My sake shall find it!’
All really human persons want to give themselves away, at least for something, if not for somebody…. We may preach a prudential morality sometimes, because it seems so sane, and men are so selfish, ourselves included, we say; but we know very well that no man ever satisfied his soul with prudence with the sanest selfishness though many have tried. The only thing that can satisfy a human being is an object of devotion, not himself, for which he can feel it worthy of him to sacrifice himself without limit. No man is fully alive, who is not ready to die for something. The characteristic law of human life, as we feel it in our most vivid moments, is not self-preservation, but self-devotion passing into readiness for selfsacrifice. ‘He that loseth his life for My sake’ for some sake ‘shall find it.’
Dr. Sophie Bryant, Studies in Character, pp. 47, 146 f.
References. IX. 24. Expositor (4th Series), vol. iii. p. 278. IX. 25. Ibid. (4th Series), vol. vii. p. 333.
Ashamed of Christ
Luk 9:26
I can understand how men were ashamed of Christ as He moved about the villages of Galilee. Born in a humble and malodorous village, living in the deepest obscurity for thirty years, then suddenly appearing with a claim to be Messiah yet contradicting the warmest hopes of Israel, it is not to be wondered at that there was disappointment, and that many were ashamed of Jesus and His words. But the thing that is difficult to understand is how any man can be ashamed of Jesus now. The man who is ashamed credits that Christ is living and is energetic in human hearts today; and the mystery is how crediting all that, it should be possible to be ashamed of Christ. That it is possible every one of us knows, and it is on that strange possibility I wish to speak.
I. First, then, about its revelation, about the way in which this shame of Christ betrays itself; and (1) the first feature that rises before me is concealment. When you are ashamed of a man you are ashamed of being openly seen with him; and as that is a feature of all shame between man and man, it is a mark of the man ashamed of Christ. (2) The second feature of all shame is silence. The feeling of shame whenever it is operative has a way of putting a seal upon the lips. (3) The third witness of shame lies in avoidance.
II. What are the roots of this shame? Whence does it spring? It will be best to keep close to Scripture in our answer. (1) Sometimes we are ashamed of Christ through fear. We are ashamed as Nicodemus was. He came to Jesus by stealth and in the night-time, and he came so because he feared the Jews. (2) Again the cause of this shame may be social pressure. We may be ashamed of Christ as Simon Peter was. Peter sat by the fire in the courtyard, and they taunted him with his discipleship; and then the girl who kept the wicket recognised him, and every one present was antagonistic; and Peter denied his Lord Peter was ashamed of Him and the shame had its source in His society. (3) One other reason only would I mention, and that is intellectual pride. Men are ashamed of Christ because His message is so plain that the illiterate peasant can live by it and die by it.
III. What are the remedies for this besetting shame? (1) Endeavour to realise who Jesus is. (2) And then endeavour to realise what Christ has done for you. When we once feel deeply all that we owe to Him, the black bat, shame, has flown.
G. H. Morrison, The Unlighted Lustre, p. 20.
Luk 9:26
The cruellest lies are often told in silence. A man may have sat in a room for hours and not opened his teeth, and yet come out of that room a disloyal friend or a vile calumniator. And how many loves have perished because, from pride, or spite, or diffidence, or that unmanly shame which withholds a man from daring to betray emotion, a lover, at the critical point of the relation, has but hung his head and held his tongue.
R. L. Stevenson.
References. IX. 26. S. A. Tipple, The Admiring Guest, p. 92. R. W. Church, Village Sermons (3rd Series), p. 236. W. M. Clow, The Secret of the Lord, p. 151. IX. 27 . Expositor (4th Series), vol. iii. p. 22. Ibid. vol. x. p. 191. Expositor (5th Series), vol. vi. p. 372. IX. 28. Marcus Dods, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xlvi. p. 155. C. J. Vaughan, The Prayers of Jesus Christ, p. 43.
The Mount of the Transfiguration
Luk 9:28-35
Mr. Robert Hichens says: ‘The ascent of Mount Tabor is often omitted from the programme of visitors to Nazareth. I confess to having enjoyed it much more than any time spent in the town. Ever since the fourth century Mount Tabor has been claimed as the site of our Lord’s transfiguration. On this account monasteries have been built there. The best authorities, however, think it improbable that the transfiguration took place there, as in our Lord’s time the summit was crowned by a fortified town. Nevertheless, multitudes of pious pilgrims, heedless of authority, and intent only on earnest belief, with imaginations aflame, wind up among the little oaks, the terebinths, the bushes of sweet-scented syringa, the starry daisies and small scarlet poppies, singing hymns upon the way and ceasing only when they reach the plateau on the crest of the helmet-shaped hill where stands the Latin monastery. There they pause near the door of the little chapel, above which is boldly written: “Hic Filius Dei Dilectus Transfiguratus est”. The good fathers at least have no doubts as to the sacredness of their strange and beautiful home, and their quiet certainty adds a flame to the fire of the devotees from far-off lands.’
The Holy Land, pp. 128, 129.
References. IX. 28, 29. Expositor (4th Series), vol. iii. p. 384. IX. 28-31. D. Macleod, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lvi. p. 261. IX. 28-36. A. B. Davidson, Waiting upon God, p. 139.
The Transfiguration
Luk 9:29
I. Consider the transfiguration-glory in its relation to the inner life of Jesus Christ. Godet, that magnificent expositor, gives us a suggestion on this head which is as wonderfully beautiful as it is fruitful. He says that our Saviour had now arrived at the highest possible pinnacle of human attainment in the moral and spiritual domain. He had forced His way from point to point until He now reached the very gates of heaven: and now He stands on the glory-peak of a perfect human life, and the way of the eternal glory is open for Him to enter. This is true in Godet’s suggestion: the transfiguration-glory means this, that if Jesus had been man and nothing more, only an individual fighting for His own hand, He had reached the point when, having victoriously perfected His life, He would have found the way open for Him into the eternal glory. But Jesus was more than an individual. He had not come simply to conquer for Himself. He had come to be the Saviour of the world, and so, even though he merited for Himself and in Himself the crown of glory then, yet that crown must not be seized by Him until He had entered the shadows of death, and brought others upward with Him into the glory. In this transfiguration-glory of Jesus Christ we have a picture of the way in which man would have entered into glory if he had not fallen.
II. The next thought that presents itself for our consideration is, the transfiguration-glory in its relation to the passion of the cross. Now that Jesus has reached the height of personal victory, the time has come when as a Conqueror He must descend into the valley and into the darkness in order to fight the final battle on behalf of men. The mount reveals Him perfected for suffering; by the cross He will be perfected through suffering.
III. The transfiguration-glory in its testimony to the sole authority and lordship of Jesus Christ. Now we have reached a point where we are compelled to see that Jesus is not in the same plane as other men. He stands absolutely alone. He is the one and only victor in a world of defeated men, the only one in human history that has ever won His way through unsullied holiness and gained the crown of transfiguration by unbroken triumph. Yes! but how do you account for such a man? There is only one explanation of Jesus, and it is this; that He was ‘God manifest in the flesh’.
John Thomas, Myrtle Street Pulpit, vol. ii. p. 213.
The Metamorphic Power of Prayer
Luk 9:29
It is in the study of our Lord as a Man of Prayer that we realise the blessedness, the potentiality of prayer. In every crisis of His experience He found inspiration and strength in prayer. He who, humanly speaking, needed prayer least, prayed most. And He was always in the spirit of prayer. I would have you consider the strength and inspiration of prayer from its practical side.
I. It produces a calm, a contentment, a peace in our souls which the world cannot give. There are days of dull monotony, of depressing drudgery; there are days when our souls are vexed within us because of the hardness of the way. Then it is that the evil spirit of discontent strives to enter in and possess the heart, then it is we have need to fall on our knees in prayer and to cast all our care upon Him.
II. Prayer engendereth courage. The prayer of Gethsemane preceded the courage of the judgment-hall, the victory of Calvary. What is the lesson? That, as for the Master, so for the disciple. Prayer braces the human spirit for the conflicts of life.
III. But we learn from my text that there is a metamorphic power in prayer, that prayer transfigures. The face reveals the inward life. It is when our faces are turned heavenward day by day that the fashion of our countenance is changed.
T. J. Madden, Tombs or Temples? p. 90.
References. IX. 29. J. C. M. Bellew, Sermons, vol. iii. p. 1. G. Campbell Morgan, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lix. p. 364. W. M. Clow, The Secret of the Lord, p. 178.
The Holy Mount of Prayer
Luk 9:29-30
Prayer is the toilet of the mind, the bride of the heart, the key to things invisible. Jesus prayed, and, as He prayed, three wondrous things came to pass.
I. There was a revelation of the unseen. The three who were with Jesus on the Mount saw, and felt, and heard the invisible. They became conscious of what Emerson calls ‘the sweep of the celestial stream’. And is not the law of the spiritual life this that knowledge of unseen realities by the human soul is contingent upon the diligent practice of spiritual intercession? The man of mind may ‘hitch his waggon to a star,’ but the man who prays has fellowship with Him who makes the stars.
II. There was a glorification of common things. Common things took on new forms of loveliness, and both nature and life revealed new splendours while He prayed. It is thus that prayer both hallows and transfigures all life’s commonplaces. The exaltation of the ordinary to the sublime is characteristic of the Christian religion. Pope, in his preface to his translation of the Iliad, says, that Homer’s poetry ‘brightens all the rubbish about it, till we see nothing but its own splendour’. And prayer, by which I mean reverence, sympathy, worship, adoration in the presence of the Supreme, can alone create that spiritual mood which in common things discovers the beauty of the Lord.
III. There was a transfiguration of self. It is a law of science that environment influences life. It is also a law of the spiritual realm that associations colour personality. Looking unto Jesus will produce a new face, as well as fashion a new soul. Prayer has power to transform flesh as well as spirit.
J. Flanagan, Man’s Quest, p. 149.
References. IX. 29. Expositor (6th Series), vol. viii. p. 117. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture St. Luke, p. 277. IX. 30. E. White, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xlvii. p. 388. IX. 30, 31. H. J. Bevis, Sermons, p. 279. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture St. Luke, p. 286. IX. 31. W. M. Clow, The Secret of the Lard, p. 190. Expositor (5th Series), vol. vi. p. 270.
The Pre-requisite of Vision
Luk 9:32
I. It is one mark of every great awakening that it reveals to us unexpected glories. When intellect is quickened and the feelings are moved; when the will is reinforced and conscience purified, the world immediately ceases to be commonplace, and clothes itself in unsuspected splendour. Do you think it is an idle figure of speech when we talk of the long sleep of the Middle Ages? Do you imagine that we are only using metaphor when we describe the Reformation as an awakening? I hardly think that we could speak more literally than when we use such simple terms as these. It was not till powers and faculties were quickened in the great movements of Renaissance and Reform that the clouds scattered and the blue heaven was seen.
II. In spiritual awakening we find that the suggestion of our text arrests us. There are many glories which we never see till the call of our Lord has bidden us awake. (1) There is the Bible, for instance. It is one thing to feel the Bible’s charm, and it is another thing to see the Bible’s glory: and the glory of the Bible is a hidden glory, until a man is spiritually awake (2) Or think again of the life of our brother man. Underneath all life of passion and affection there are spiritual possibilities for the meanest, and not till the world is wakened by the Gospel are the hidden glories of humanity revealed. (3) And the same thing is true of our dear Lord Himself. We must be spiritually wakened if we would see His glory. It is only then that He reveals Himself, in the full and glorious compass of His grace.
III. It is part of God’s discipline with us in the years, that the years should waken us to see glories which once we missed. (1) The value of our college education is not the amount of raw knowledge which it gives us. True education is not meant to store us; true education is intended to awaken us; and the joy of the truly educated man is no poor pride in his superior knowledge: it is that he has been so wakened that in every realm and sphere he can see glories unobserved before. (2) Now if this be true of our schools and of our colleges, do you not think it holds also of God’s education? It is a truth we should ever keep clear before us. But the deepest interpretation of the text is not of this world. It will come to its crown of meaning in eternity.
G. H. Morrison, Surprise: Addresses from a City Pulpit, p. 290.
Fully Awake
Luk 9:32
Thus it must ever be. Most men are half-asleep, and they do not know it So they see nothing, and go home to tell nothing, and say, worst of all, that there was nothing to be seen. It is always so, and yet men complain that they have but little success in life. They have all the success they deserve. It would be surprising if some men had success. They are half-asleep; to put it more charitably, they are only half-awake, and they wonder when they hear what other people have seen. They do not believe it; they say that the other people have spoken in a tone of rhetorical exaggeration.
Christianity is a fully-awake religion. It is no blurred dream, it is no shifting nightmare; it is a stand-up and fully-awake religion. That is the reason that so few people are religious. We speak of some men in business as being wideawake; it may be a great compliment, it may be a poor one; still, wakefulness may be the key of success. Watch everything. In order that we may watch there is a preliminary rule, and Jesus Christ laid it down; He said, ‘Be sober’. The blurred eyes of a drunkard can see nothing. Be sober, be vigilant. You cannot alter this arrangement; this is the rhetoric of God. If we are not sober we shall make but poor watchmen, and the city gates will be violated by any enemy that cares to assail them.
I. ‘When they were fully awake they saw His glory.’ The Christian religion is a challenge to the highest powers of the mind. The Christian religion waits until a man is fully awake, and then says, What of this, this vision, this revelation, this solution of what you call the social problem? O ye makers of toy words, india-rubber or alabaster words, with your social problems! The Gospel attacks man at his highest power, wakens him, stirs him up, says, ‘Awake, thou that sleepest!’ Christianity only addresses attentive people.
It is because we are not awake that we see so little. Christianity has great messages to the intellect; the Christian Gospel is a wonderful and most pathetic appeal to the highest imagination of the soul.
II. As the Gospel will have no half-awake assent, so the Gospel will have no half-awake service. It will not accept it; it repudiates it. Of course the most of people live under the delusion that business must be first attended to. Christ never said so; I have been with Him now some fifty odd years, and He never said to me, The first thing you have to do in the morning is to arrange all about the business of the day, lay it out, and then if you happen to have half an hour in the afternoon, come and meet Me in the sanctuary. Never! He is an austere Master, austere even when the tears are welling in His eyes. He says, ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness’. ‘But, Lord, my business must be attended to down in the City.’ He said, Why? He takes all these things so calmly; He always took this whole creation, so far as we can see it, as a thing that was to be burned. You say, ‘We must live’. Christ says, Why? who wants you to live? what necessity is there for you to live? at what cost are you going to live? and is it living if the cost exceed a certain value? is it not really suicide, self-slaughter.
III. ‘When they were fully awake.’ The word ‘fully’ is in the Revised Version. We have in the Authorised Version ‘awake,’ in the Revised Version we have the ‘fully,’ bringing up the condition to the very highest efficiency. ‘When they were fully awake,’ and there was no mistake about the environment, ‘they saw His glory,’ and they saw a great perspective of law and prophecy, going back to the morning when the fountains of waters were opened, and the Lord set a bound to all habitable things. We have not seen this; in fact, we say, Now do you think on the whole that all these things in the Bible are really true? Not to you who ask the question in that dreary tone; there is nothing true to you; you are not true to yourself; you are shut out, and your place is in outer darkness. And yet my dear young Mends, my young men and temporary disciples, come to me and say that somebody has asked them if they think this miracle really did occur. Not to them; no miracle ever occurred to them. Why not? Because they are half-asleep; when they are fully awake they will have no difficulty about miracles. It is when the Lord is seen by eyes that are purged to see Him that the soul enters into full Sabbath-tide and into the whole festival of the Divine love.
IV. Remember that this wakefulness is a duty. We have to stir ourselves. ‘Stir up the gift that is in thee,’ said the Apostle to the younger man; stir it up. There is so much to distract attention, to break it into two, to split it up into many, so that we can hardly give our whole soul to one continuous thought or prayer. The Apostle Peter said, speaking of this very incident of the text, in which he himself was concerned, ‘We were eye-witnesses of His majesty’. And what if we have to wait for our full view of Christ until we have passed through the valley? ‘When I am awake, my soul shall be satisfied when I behold Thy likeness; when I awake I am still with Thee.
Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. vi. p. 84.
References. IX. 32. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xlvi. No. 2658. IX. 33. J. T. Bramston, Fratribus, p. 42. IX. 34. J. Keble, Sermons for Lent to Passion-tide, p. 1. IX. 34; 35. W. M. Clow, The Secret of the Lord, p. 229. IX. 34-36. J. C. M. Bellew, Sermons, vol. iii. p. 1. IX. 35. F. B. Cowl, Preacher’s Magazine, vol. xvii. p. 286. J. Learmount, The Examiner, 14th June, 1906, p. 580. IX. 36. Expositor (4th Series), vol. iii. p. 389. IX. 38. W. M. Clow, The Secret of the Lord, p. 308. Expositor (4th Series), vol. iii. p. 462. IX. 39. Expositor (4th Series), vol. iii. p. 210; ibid. vol. iv. p. 210; vol. viii. p. 189. IX. 42. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. ii. No. 100; vol. xxix. No. 1746. Expositor (4th Series), vol. iii. p. 211; ibid. vol. iv. p. 211.
Rivalry and Service
Luk 9:46-48
With a fearless candour, the Evangelists tell us that more than once the spirit of rivalry manifested itself among our Lord’s disciples, and the first occasion is that of which the description has just been read to you.
Christ calls upon His disciples to be voluntarily and deliberately what children are unconsciously. They are not to be self-seeking and self-asserting, like the grown children of this world, but meek and lowly of heart, not thinking of their relative rank and importance, but in singleness of heart giving themselves to the twofold service, that of each other and that of their King. In this sense the greatest of all in the Kingdom, the Head of the Kingdom Himself, was the humblest of all.
I. It was New Teaching for the World that the meek were to inherit the earth, and that self-repression was a surer mark of worth than self-assertion. The Apostles of Christ, on whom that teaching had been so often, so emphatically impressed, placed it in the forefront of their ministry. Yet it is evident that the childlike spirit was not easy to develop, even in the first days, when hearts glowed with a newly-found peace and joy in believing. The Epistles speak in many places of a disappointing state of things, reveal to us jealousies and heart-burnings, assertions of superiority, factious efforts to gain the upper hand, and St. Paul has to insist again and again on the greatness of meekness and lowliness. The temper for which He pleads is the voluntary surrender of the individual for the common good.
II. The Spirit at Work in Society To-day. Is it not disquieting, to say the least, to turn from such teaching to observe the spirit at work in the society of today? It has been well remarked that not only has humility fallen into disrepute, but even its place in the list of virtues has been questioned. As with humility in its political phase, so also with its social phase. Men ask themselves, ‘Why should I be humble? Why should I even temporarily take up an attitude of subordination to another? Why should not my will, my wishes, my purposes prevail, or at least assert for themselves whatever place they can gain?’ and the answer to be given to all these questions seems conclusive, even apart from the Christian motive. It is this: that civilised society would be impossible, or if possible would be intolerable, were it an arena from which conciliation was absent, and in which every man was fighting for his own end.
III. The Place where we can Serve Best. To a man in whom the Spirit of Christ is at work, the humblest place is the highest if his heart tells him it is the place where he can serve best. It is a law which only a sincere faith can bow to and cheerfully live by, but the very severity of the law which makes service the highest dignity has a fascination for every noble nature.
References. IX. 46-48. Expositor (6th Series), vol. iv. p. 416. IX. 48. J. H. Jowett, British Congregationalist, 15th Aug. 1907, p. 138.
The Providence of Time
Luk 9:51
If we look carefully into things, we shall find that every matter is related to a plan, a method or scheme of life. Time has hitherto been treated in the sacred record almost with contempt; it is spoken of as so transient, so empty, and our very life as measured by time is as a post hastening on his way, is as a vapour rising up to be blown away by the wind. What is our life as measured by time? A breath, a gasp, nothingness. Yet here we have time elevated into a kind of significance and special importance. ‘When the time was come:’ cannot man hasten the time? That man can never do. Cannot man hasten the coming of the summer? Not by one hairsbreath. Is it not in the power of man to say to the snow, Be melted and flow away in fertilising rivers among the valleys and the meads and the fair gardens? The snow does not know the name of man. The Lord keeps all the great opportunities and appointments in His own hand, and He will not allow the most scientific and painstaking of us to interfere for one moment in the degree in which His providences shall ripen and take effect.
I. This or that action, says the Divine Ruler, shall be done at such and such a time; it shall not be done one hour before the appointed moment; all the kings in the world cannot hasten the chariot-wheels one hairsbreadth; we simply have to stand still and see the Divine movement and watch the palpitations that make the very clouds of mystery alive as if a heart were throbbing within their folds. Jesus Christ was very careful in pointing out this matter of providential time, and so was the Apostle Paul. Jesus Christ said, ‘Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come:’ it may come at any moment, but that moment itself has not yet arrived; we must not forestall or anticipate. Jesus Christ was ready to show the world all His miracles; He was prepared from eternity with all the wonders which were to accompany the Messianic reign. Yet Jesus Christ waited for the moment, Jesus Christ tarried for the Divine will; Jesus Christ said, Mine hour is not yet come, I am watching, I am waiting, I am neither wishing nor praying, I am simply awaiting the ripening of time, the almost visible presence of the one moment that is critical and agonistic. We are too small to live as Jesus did; we can only hope and pray to live in the direction of His life, to show what we would be if we could but for this sense of death that outruns the summer and this sense of incompleteness that mocks our most aspiring ambition.
II. Something is to be learned from the almost taunt with which Jesus Christ replied to the scribes and Pharisees upon one occasion; said He, ‘Your hour is always ready’. That is the distinction between philosophy and impatience or ignorance. Your hour is always available; it came from nowhere, and it is not going anywhere in particular; it is something that comes and goes bubble-like, but how it rose, how it burst, and how it was forgotten are matters of no concern to the sorrowing heart of the world. You have no forethought, no afterthought, no sense of the relation, fitness, and spiritual music of things; so you can at any moment do what you want to do, only the thing you want to do is not worth doing, because it goes not back into the eternal or forward into the everlasting.
III. The Apostle Paul also made observations upon this matter of moments of time. Said he, in 1 Corinthians iv. 5, ‘Judge nothing before the time’. If we could be kept to that rule what generous judgments we would often pronounce! We should be no longer censorious, vengeful, resentful; we should wait for the signal from heaven. When all is known much will be forgiven. You cannot even in your confession tell your priest everything. Even when you think you have emptied your memory of its last recollection you have not begun the real story. Your words are not understood because you cannot explain yourself; if you are charged with this or that sin or offence, it may be broad black crime, you cannot always tell exactly and exhaustively how it came to be; you would have to go over the centuries and dig up your grandsires and call them as living witnesses to say what lives they lived. There is a descent of poison, there is an old, old acridness traceable two centuries since or ten centuries ago. Beware of ill-timed judgments; beware of hasty speeches upon other men’s conduct; beware of that foul Pharisee who thanks God that he is not as this publican. When the two histories are searched into and lifted up into the light, what if the publican have the crown and the Pharisee be not in the broad heaven at all? Therefore judge nothing before the time. Wait another moment; by the next post we may get the explanation; in a moment more the light may flash. Great things are done in great moments. ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light; no chronometer could measure the distance between the fiat Lux! and the shining glory. Judge nothing before the time.
Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. iii. p. 59.
The Appointed Time
Luk 9:51
Is not every time alike? Is there a ripening ministry proceeding in nature and in the affairs of men? Is there any poetry in the clock? May we not strike our own hours? What is the meaning of this continual allusion to punctual moments, points of time, the analysis of hours, the waiting, the watching, the flying, the word of command as to time and arrangement? Can we not do things just when we like? Certainly not. Why not? Because we are not atheists. There is a providence of moments; everything is settled, defined, delimited, and is to be known at the altar. We are impatient because we are small; the humming-top goes round sooner than the sun. There is a religion of magnitude; the velocity of every planet is determined and the fall of every sere leaf is known; not a sparrow falleth to the ground without your Father. Is this the teaching of Jesus Christ? This is pre-eminently the doctrine which Jesus Christ laid down and upon which Jesus Christ acted; He did nothing roughly He moved step by step according to the footfall of the Divine going. ‘Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come.’ Is there a coming of hours? are there jubilee days and victory moments? has the summer a birth-time? is she calendared and scheduled among the expected and certain visitors? does she come regularly? is there a punctual moment in which summer, the daughter of the skies, is born? ‘Mine hour is not yet come.’
I. And Jesus said, ‘Father, the hour is come.’ Do you recognise this? The same voice of patience; it has lost its reproving accent. ‘Woman, what have 1 to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come:’ a whispered rebuke, a censure amid the wedding favours and confectioneries and wines; then years after, ‘Father, the hour is come’ just come, it came a moment ago ‘now glorify Thy Son’. Why not three years before, or thirty? The hour was not then come; now that the hour has come, let the glory flow. I would enter gratefully and reasonably into these mysteries of the economy and providence of time that I may chide myself with many a cutting rebuke for impatience and hurry, when I ought to have been tranquil with the calm of God.
II. This makes life very solemn. This consideration, and all the issues that belong to it, should penetrate into our business calculations and arrangements and all our forecasts and vaticinations of things; specially ought it to penetrate into that evil temper of ours, which is prone to ascend the judgment-seat and doom men to penal servitude. ‘Judge nothing before the time:’ you do not know the whole case yet; you think you know it, but you are only common jurymen under the direction of a paid magistracy, and you are only wanted to return a verdict according to the evidence that is laid before you, and within these small points you can build prisons, and put irons on the wrists and ankles of men. It is not judgment, it is a miserably inadequate reply to a sin old as the devil and inwardly as hot as one of hell’s own cinders. ‘Judge nothing before the time:’ the man is not so bad, or so good, as you think him to be; all the evolution will take place, and the harvest will determine everything; let us have no offhand, hurry-scurry judgments, but a waiting upon God, because only God can show you the evidence of the man’s heart, and there you will some day trace how he came to be a criminal, and you will forgive him and kiss him and break bread with him. ‘Judge nothing before the time.’
III. What, then, have we to do? To wait. You have not to force your destiny, you have not to be impatient with time, but to accept its slow hours; and oh, how leaden can be the foot of time! the weary day, the endless night, the pendulum that oscillates, and yet ticks off no sign of progress, the sleep that will not come, the tranquillity that puckers its face into a bitter sneer! Yet we have to wait; we think we could open the gate now, but God says it is not now to be opened; He keeps us standing outside gates which we could vault, but we must stand outside until the gates are opened. What can keep us in any state of quietude during those moments of resentful, impatient waiting? Only one ministry can keep us right, and that is the ministry of faith. Is there a text upon that subject? There is a beautiful text which every man should write upon the very equator of his heart and make a belt of gold bearing this legend, ‘He that believeth shall not make haste’.
IV. There are two times that cannot be too soon recognised. ‘It is high time to awake out of slumber, for now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed.’ That time is ready, the time to get up, to shake off slumber, to rise to kiss the morning wind and to lay hold of the morning plough and have a good long day’s work of honest service. The man who is going to succeed is the man who gets up first and works with a will, and that tells old mocking, tempting, bribing slumber to stand back till he has tired himself into a condition to deserve and enjoy it.
There is another time, a pre-eminently Biblical time; that time has come, that time has always been here, making its silent or its resounding appeals to human attention. What is that other time? Shall I name it? ‘Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.’ ‘Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.’ ‘Now’ that is God’s time in the matter of salvation of the soul. Blessed are they who hear that Now and answer it with a great love!
Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. vii. p. 71.
References. IX. 51. J. Bannerman, Sermons, p. 163. W. M. Clow, The Secret of the Lord, p. 323. Expositor (4th Series), vol. iii. p. 307. Ibid. vol. vi. p. 51. Ibid. (6th Series), vol. vii. p. 297. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture St. Luke, p. 296. IX. 62, 63. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xlii. No. 2463.
Misused Precedents
Luk 9:54
I. Elias is a New Testament name for the Elijah of the Old Testament. Elijah was a prophet of fire and vengeance and doom, a most austere and terrible man, well fitted for his time, speaking the word of the Lord directly and with memorable effect Once he called down fire, once he called out bears from the woods to devour those who insulted him; he handled the great ministries of vengeance and resentment like an expert. The poor disciples who had been rejected in the village referred to in the text, a village of the Samaritans, thought they might do something in the way of fire; they besought the Lord saying, ‘Wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?’ Take care how you play at being Elias! Only an Elias can do what Elias did. We are not all Elijahs. Fire is a dangerous thing even when handled by the most noble and powerful of the prophets; fire would very likely consume us if we attempted to use it in the destruction of other people. What a tendency there is to quote history just as it may happen to suit our purpose at the time! This is characteristic of human life, this is notably characteristic of religious life; we do not look at the man in his totality, but at some little odd incident which marked his life or some peculiar phrase which was distinctive of his speech, and if we can use either of these to our own advantage we are willing to choose some emblematic flower by which to commemorate his name and memory.
II. We may, I think, edify ourselves by bringing together a few thoughts under the general title of Misused Precedents. Many people would almost die for a precedent; they may not thoroughly understand what a precedent involves in all its applications, but their instinct of order and traditional decency is so great that they would almost cut off a right hand in order to support a precedent, especially in the degree in which they do not understand either the precedent or its application. What would the world be without precedents? What did they do in the olden time? What has been the custom of this society? If you were to move anything novel in that particular organisation which is now present to the consciousness of your memory, some very small man not more than five feet high would rise in a distant corner of the room and inquire of the presiding officer what the precedent is upon this matter. The disciples thought they had a good precedent to rely upon; it never could have occurred to their infertile and non-enterprising minds to cut their way through difficulty and opposition by fire, but they suddenly remembered that once Ellas called down fire from heaven, and as he was not present at that particular time they did not see why they should not be Elias by proxy. They mentioned the matter to the Saviour, and He burned them, He called down fire upon their suggestion, He condemned them as misrepresenting the precedents of history, the great emblems and types of the Divine dispensations in their mysterious and beneficent evolution.
What, then, is the lesson? Not to quote the shortcoming as a defence of our own deficiencies, but to look at the sum total of the character and to endeavour to emulate it according to our ability and opportunity.
Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. vii. p. 61.
References. IX. 64. Expositor (4th Series), vol. vii. p. 167. IX. 54-56. H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 1601, p. 211. IX. 55. Expositor (4th Series), vol. i. p. 190; ibid. (6th Series), vol. vi. p. 298.
The Mission of the Son of Man
Luk 9:56
I. The title assumed by Jesus, ‘The Son of Man’. It is remarkable that throughout the Gospels no person ever addressed the Christ as the Son of Man, or even called Him by that name. It is, however, the most common title used by Him in speaking of Himself. (1) The title ‘Son of Man’ affirms his incarnation, his real humanity. (2) By becoming man He has magnified humanity. (8) The title implies that Jesus owns humanity.
II. The mission of the Son of Man. (1) We have a negative view of His mission. He came not to destroy, (a) There was no need for Jesus to become man in order to destroy. (b) There was no need for Him to come to destroy, because the element of destruction was already in man himself, (c) He has not come to destroy, for it is contrary to, His nature to destroy. (2) The positive aspect of His mission. He came to save, (a) This suggests the benevolent character of His mission, (b) This marks the preciousness of humanity.
Richard Roberts, My Jewels, p. 61.
References. IX. 56. Expositor (6th Series), vol. viii. p. 130. IX. 57, 68. H. M. Butler, Harrow School Sermons, p. 244. John Watson, The Inspiration of our Faith, p. 48.
The Three Candidates for Discipleship
Luk 9:57-62
I. The circumstance which evoked this scribe’s sudden exclamation was simple enough. Jesus, wearied with a forenoon of attendance on the sick, and an afternoon of loud speaking from a boat to the crowd on the shore in an atmosphere sultry, close, and thundery, portending the storm that quickly followed, proposed to cross over to the wild, eastern side of the lake, and so for a time get quiet from the pressure of the busy, thickly peopled western shore. The scribe had evidently been greatly impressed by the parables regarding the kingdom which our Lord had been uttering, and which are recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew. Himself a man of education, he saw, perhaps more clearly than the multitude, the extraordinary literary grace and point of these parables, and probably, also, he was influenced by a desire to have a secure place in the kingdom spoken of, which he expected our Lord would immediately establish in Jerusalem. Seeing our Lord about to leave, he proposes to attach himself to Him.
The scribe was sincere but hasty. He was the kind of man who leaps before he looks: by no means the worst kind of man, and very decidedly better than the man who neither leaps nor looks. He was a man of impulse. And impulse has a most important function in life.
Now, a person who is naturally impulsive will be so, of course, in his religious actings as much as elsewhere. He will fail to weigh the issues of becoming a disciple of Christ He will run into the matter heedlessly. He will not anticipate and make quite present to his mind the kind of life he is committing himself to. He will not look at the matter all round, in every light, from every point of view. And so when the strain comes he gives, he yields like the bad bolt, he proves to be no Christian at all.
Our Lord, therefore, does not wish facile converts, headlong followers. He desires that those who propose to follow Him should see both sides of the matter. It is not that He does not want followers, but that He wants persistent followers. He does not reject this man; He throws him back on a more resolute desire. He bids him exchange his whim for a purpose rooted in conviction. Therefore He says to the scribe, ‘To follow Me means homelessness, vagrancy, to be hunted down’. To the fishermen accustomed to spend nights in an open boat on the treacherous Sea of Galilee this want of shelter might not seem formidable, but it was a serious prospect for the scribe. ‘Every man has his price,’ it is said; and it is true in this sense, that for every man there is a test which will bring out the real worth of his attachment to Christ: some condition in life which he so shrinks from that, if he can make up his mind to accept that for Christ’s sake, nothing else can separate him from Christ.
II. Strangely enough, while one member of the crowd was deterred, another was urgently pressed to follow. The Lord has a fresh method for each individual. One He retards, another He quickens. There is no mechanical or uniform or formal appeal; no urging the same action on every one. Entrance to Christ’s kingdom is obtained not by a password known only to the initiated, but by the knock of the ignorant suppliant. The wall of His kingdom is all doors. From opposite quarters, with diverse pleas, needing distinct individual treatment, come the applicants, and are dealt with as differently and discriminatingly as the patients who are ushered one by one into the presence of the physician. While our Lord restrains and moderates the ardour of the scribe, He claims as His follower one who had been merely viewing the scene as a spectator. But whether by previous acquaintance or present discernment, Jesus sees in him the stuff of which disciples are made, and utters the determining word, ‘Follow Me’. Think of the joy of being thus singled out by Christ, and summoned by Him into eternal connection with Him. But has not His call come to you? Ought you not to recognise that you are thus summoned into that connection which is fruitful of every blessing the soul can crave? Can you say that He has not given you reason to know that He desires your friendship and service?
III. On the third candidate for discipleship there is not time to dwell. The essence of what our Lord says to him is: ‘You must carry your discipleship through to all its issues and consequences, and this you can only do by giving your heart and mind to it’. To serve Christ with the fag-ends of life, to be devoted when in the mood, to give Him a third or fourth place in our thoughts, or even a second place, will not do. We all compromise, but compromise is fatal. All life must run on one line, and all interests must be subordinated to Christ’s service, included in it, coloured by it. The figure He uses brings this out. The plough demands undivided attention foot, hand, and eye always on the strain. You cannot even walk straight for a few yards if you turn your head to look behind you, still less can you draw a straight furrow. Success in any work demands that we give ourselves wholly and heartily to it. The late Master of Balliol, who launched so many men upon successful careers, when asked what it was that secured success, promptly replied: ‘Complete devotion to the end we have in view. Pleasures and feelings and society must all be made to give way to it.’ Our fitness, then, for Christ’s Kingdom is thus tested.
If we would be Christ’s followers, we must be prepared to make His experience ours, His work our work, His person our chief joy. In other words, we must be prepared to be unworldly, consecrated, devoted.
Marcus Dods, Christ and Man, p. 96.
References. IX. 57-62. C. Perren, Outline Sermons, p. 211. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxviii. No. 2273. J. D. Jones, The Gospel of Grace, p. 41. Expositor (4th Series), vol. iv. p. 286; ibid. (5th Series), vol. viii. p. 1; ibid. (6th Series), vol. vii. p. 350.
The Homeless Life
Luk 9:58
We shall much misunderstand these words if we think of them as merely referring to the circumstances of Christ’s outward life and to the duties of discipleship then. They are true for all time, and the contrast and the requirement in them is for us quite as much as for the disciples who companied with Him as He walked through all Judea, preaching the Gospel and healing the sick.
I. This homeless life raises man above the beasts. What a contrast between the rest of the creatures of the field and the unrest of man! This contrast is really the exhibition of man’s superiority. Our sense of homelessness comes from our loftier endowments and can only be stifled by self-degradation, by becoming material and confined to the present.
II. This homeless life must be ours if we are to follow Christ. It is not the mere natural facts of transiency and change which are spoken of here, but it is our attitude in regard to them. Christ’s homelessness embraced the literal, and that is wonderful when we reflect that day by day He consciously surrendered it all, and for our sakes. But what constituted it with Him must with us. (1) There must be the habitual sense of transiency and change. (2) Habitual consciousness of disproportion between this and us. (3) Habitual detaching of ourselves from all the outward that we may live in and strain towards God. This strain of mind is ours in proportion as we are Christ’s disciples.
III. This homeless life is the only one which makes us feel at home here.
A. Maclaren.
The Burial of the Past
Luk 9:59-60
Let the dead bury their dead. Ah! if only they would! If only the dead things could be left to the dead men to put away! If only the dead world would make itself scarce and clear up its rubbish and disappear off the scene! But that is just what will not happen. The dead generations have left behind them a heavy deposit. All about us their ruins block the roads and choke the passages and obstruct the channels.
I. We find this literally true in physical fact. Our town plannings, for instance, with their seemly schemes, cannot get forward an inch without being brought up short by the dead weight of the past. We cannot get our spaces clear. The dead hand withholds. We are powerless against the dead. It is they who are strong; it is we who are as impotent ghosts. Those who are in their graves long ago put out their wills upon the living world of today and forbid it its free growth.
The bad cities that the dead built up for our damage and disgrace are round us still. They breed their ancient diseases; they spread their familiar plagues. We cannot sweep them into some vast dustbin, and breathe freely and begin again. The dead have gone their way, but they have not taken their work with them. It is we who have got to bury them somehow, and half our time is taken up in the dreary job of burying dead things which have been left on our hands. Bishop Creighton ironically declared that each generation as it came along had for its main occupation the task of undoing the mistakes of the generation that preceded it. A dismal picture of a melancholy half-truth!
Yet, again, in the social world, what a weary amount of wreckage still encumbers the ground, that no one has the leisure, or the strength, or the heart, to clear up. Old relics of a dead tradition are still about us. They have no intelligible significance now. They carry no responsibility with them. They tell of a story that is told. Yet they are here still, and have power to prevent the realities of the actual day from making themselves felt. They carry on a pretence which disguises the ideals which are now doing the real work. They hinder us, therefore, from understanding where we are, or taking true measure of the forces under which we are living. They are dead, but there is no one to bury them.
II. Our Lord in this imperious ‘Follow Me’ did not require us to ignore the past out of which we came. He cannot have intended to claim that it should be blotted out and a start made as with a clean canvas. There is no possibility for man of a clean canvas, such as Plato asked for long ago. We cannot bury the past away out of sight and follow Christ as if nothing had ever occurred that would qualify that following. For Jesus Christ Himself is historical. He enters in upon a drama already long in action. He takes man’s story up just there where it stood. He ignores nothing of what has been; He justifies the process, the gradual growth, the slow development. He makes historical conditions His medium, His material, His interpretation. Out of what has been we all come to Him, and He is unintelligible, except in relation to His evolution. The experience of the past is essential to His manifestation. It is impossible for Him not to give it its full value.
‘Let the dead bury their dead ‘was on His lips no iconoclastic watchword, no Philistine formula that slighted what the dead had done or cut the tender threads that bind us to our fathers. Our Lord was essentially the very last who would ignore the enduring claim upon us of the home that had nourished us and of the father who begot us. We know how profoundly He valued the tenderness that hung round the grave at Bethany, and the passionate love that poured itself out in such self-forgetting abandonment over His own burial. Better than the utilitarian service of the poor to have broken the box of spices, and spilt its wealth over His dying body. ‘She hath done it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, whenever the Gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this thing that this woman hath done he told for a memorial of her.’
No! He prized dead and dying things.
But dear and near and real as is the dying past, holy and honourable as are the funeral rites of our decay, there is one claim which overpasses it. So He must declare; one supreme and dominant cause, which no death may hinder or withhold. It is the cause of life. Life is for ever moving, advancing, growing.
Life is lord. It makes demands which nothing can gainsay. And Christ is our life. He takes up into Himself all the significance of life. He raises its claims to their highest power. His cause overrides every other plea. ‘Let the dead bury their dead. Follow thou Me.’
That is the final and masterful necessity before which all must give way. ‘Follow thou Me.’ He has come out of that past, and it is made all the more precious and significant because it has led up to Him. It has not died in vain! for He, who is its life, remains. Let it die! Not because it is not dear, and true, and real, but because all its value, its reality, its truth, are all so far beyond everything that could have been anticipated, so far beyond what it itself could have ever dreamed.
He, the Christ, is greater than all. He must increase, and, as He increases, it must decrease Now that He has come, it is already obsolete and ready to vanish away. The friend of the Bridegroom rejoices to hear the voice of the Bridegroom, even though at the sound of that voice his own part is ended.
H. Scott Holland, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lxxix. p. 21.
References. IX. 69, 60. H. M. Butler, Harrow School Sermons, p. 255. H. S. Holland, Christian World Pulpit, vol. liii. p. 40. IX. 59-62. G. T. Newton, Preacher’s Magazine, vol. iv. p. 554. IX. 60. J. A. Alexander, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, p. 247.
The Three Candidates
Luk 9:61
I would ask you to consider these three characters which are brought before us here at the close of this ninth chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke.
I. Now in the fifty-seventh and fifty-eighth verses you have an example of enthusiasm awakened by the teaching, the character, and the person of Jesus Christ. ‘It came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto Him, Lord, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.’ Now have we not oftentimes felt something of the same enthusiasm? We have seen a life wholly given to God, or we have marked the daily steps of one who gave forth a loving invitation, not so much by the words she spoke as by the life she lived. Or we have been kindled by the story of some missionary biography. And have you not felt the same thing when first it has broken in upon you how wonderfully forgiving God is? And yet is it not strange this man is not now welcomed? Our Lord, on the contrary says: ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head’. He wanted him to count the cost. Jesus Christ would have you weigh well the pros and cons. He will not have you join Him on false pretences.
II. Now the next case which is suggested to us is the very opposite. ‘And He said unto another, Follow Me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead; but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.’ If the first was enthusiastic, the second is reluctant The lesson is very clear. It is this. Beware of anything which says to you, ‘Jesus Christ may call you, but first do this’. No, you must let Jesus Christ be first.
III. The third case which is brought before us has something in it in common with both the others. The man volunteers to follow, but he petitions for delay. He said: ‘Lord, I will follow Thee; but let me first go and bid them farewell which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’ Christ wants an undivided affection. He wants you to take up His work not as hard duty service, but as service in which you have put your heart. He wants you to realise His service is perfect freedom.
E. A. Stuart, The New Commandment and other Sermons, vol. vii. p. 145.
Luk 9:61
‘I think,’ wrote Mrs. Fry once to her niece, ‘we are all tempted to take up a half-way house in the religious life, to say, “Thus far will I go and no farther”; but I believe that it is by making no restrictions that we may be brought at last into the glorious liberty, rest, and peace of the children of God.’
References. IX. 61. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. vii. No. 403. Brooke Herford, Courage and Cheer, p. 203. J. C. M. Bellew, Christ in Life! Life in Christ, p. 54. IX. 61, 62. H. M. Butler, Harrow School Sermons, p. 266.
The Spiritual Ploughman
Luk 9:62
There are many metaphors and similes in the New Testament to understand which we require a special knowledge of the country in which the words were spoken. But this particular metaphor is one that appeals at once to every one.
I. Characteristics of the Ploughman.
(a) Dogged Perseverance. It is true of his work, if of any work, that it is ‘dogged’ that does it, to use an old proverb. He has to go on hour after hour, and there is little apparent result of his work. The man who passes down the road in the early morning, and sees him steadily engaged upon his work, is almost surprised, as he goes home in the evening, to see the same man still ploughing in the same field, and with apparently so very little result. He has to be a man of dogged perseverance.
(b) Undeterred by Weather. In the second place he has to go on, and he does go on, whether the weather is fine or the reverse. He may begin with the sunshine in the early morning, but clouds may gather at noon, and he may finish his work in mist and rain.
(c) Must Look Straight On. And then, again, the ploughman not only must never look back, but he must never look on one side or the other, if he would plough his furrow quite clean and perfectly direct. He must be wholly bent and wholly intent upon his work. It is not an easy thing to plough well, and the ploughman who knows his work looks steadily ahead, that he may keep the furrow straight.
(d) And Work in Hope. Fourthly, and in some respects most touching and true of all, when we understand the application, the ploughman ploughs wholly in hope. He practically sees nothing, and, perhaps, never will see anything of the work that he does. As he ploughs on, hour after hour, there is a picture ever cheering him of something in which he perhaps will never take part, and it is of a strong sinewy arm gathering in the harvest; and there is a song ever in his ears which he, perhaps, will never hear, the song of the harvest home.
II. Spiritual Ploughman. Now it is quite certain that our Lord Jesus Christ, Who never used His words or His metaphors lightly, meant a great deal by comparing the work of the Gospel to the work of the ploughman at the plough. What he must have meant was this, that all these four characteristics which we see essential to the ploughman, are also essential for the work of the Gospel. We are to be for every single baptised member of the Church has his infant hand placed upon the plough at his baptism men of dogged determination, we are to be men who go on whether the sun fall upon us the sunshine of popular favour or the cold rain and mist of hostile criticism; we are to be men who never look to the right hand or to the left, who do not say to ourselves in the middle of our work, ‘I am sorry I was ordained,’ or ‘I am sorry I took these responsibilities upon me again on my confirmation,’ who never look back or look to the one side or to the other for mere comfort in life, or easier circumstances, but who are wholly bent upon this one thing, seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and, above all, we are to be men of unbounded hope with something before us, a future which, perhaps, we shall never see, and ever ringing in our ears a song which on earth, perhaps, we shall never hear that picture the picture of a redeemed humanity, and that song the song of the eternal Harvest Home.
Entire Consecration
Luk 9:62
I. Christ seeks to produce absolute devotion to Himself. It is very remarkable to notice how lofty and uncompromising are His claims. No man ever made such demands on men. Notice the nature of this entire consecration. (1) It is not devotion to a cause, but to a Person. (2) It is not outward action, but inward disposition. (3) Resolute concentration of purpose.
II. Christ secures that entire consecration by the influence of His own entire surrender to us.
III. This consecration is absolutely necessary from the very nature of the case. Christ’s demand looked at more closely becomes Christ’s gift. To demand all implies that He can satisfy all. He cannot satisfy all without the full adherence of the whole man.
IV. Christ accepts and helps imperfect consecration.
A. M ACLAREN.
Waverers
Luk 9:62
I. Note that unwavering devotion is sure of success in all spheres of life.
II. Unwavering concentration is in the highest degree essential in the disciple.
III. Entire consecration is interfered with by strong temptations.
IV. Wavering unfits. There is forgiveness for all our wavering.
A. Maclaren.
Luk 9:62
In the life of St. Francis Xavier there is a striking illustration of this text. While on his way to his great missionary work among the Indians, St. Francis, returning from Italy, passed through Spain and came into his native country. One of the party was the Portuguese Ambassador to the Pope, Don Pedro Mascareas. The travellers entered a rich and fertile valley and the rays of the setting sun shone upon the turrets of a noble castle.
‘What a lovely spot!’ said Mascareas to his companion, as he slackened his pace the better to enjoy the view; then, suddenly stopping, he exclaimed, ‘Why, surely, Father Francis, we must be in the close neighbourhood of your home. Is not that the castle of Xavier we see yonder, just visible between the trees? You have said nothing, and it had wellnigh escaped my memory. We must make a halt hard by, in order to give you time to pay a visit to your mother and your family.’
‘With your permission, noble sir,’ returned Francis, ‘we will pursue our journey. My dwelling is now wherever our Lord is pleased to send me; I have given up my earthly home to Him, and have no intention of revisiting it.’
‘But consider,’ resumed the other, in astonishment at such a resolution, ‘that you are about to depart for India, that you may probably never return, and, anyhow, seeing your mother’s age, you are not likely to do so during her lifetime.’
Francis smiled gently as he replied: ‘I thank you, noble sir, for the kindness which induces you to urge me in this matter, but pardon me for continuing steadfast in my first intention. Such a visit, and such a leave-taking would be productive only of useless pain and regrets. It would be like a looking back after having put the hand to the plough, and would tend perhaps to unnerve and unfit me for the labours which are before me; while the non-indulgence of my natural wishes is a little offering which I cheerfully and gladly make to our good God.’
References. IX. 62. J. H. Jowett, The Transfigured Church, p. 205. Expositor (5th Series), vol. ii. p. 41; ibid. (6th Series), vol. vi. p. 448. R. J. Wardell, Preacher’s Magazine, vol. xviii. p. 554. J. H. Jowett, British Congregationalist, 23rd Aug. 1906, p. 84.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
Typical Men
Luk 9
This chapter shows us how very different men may be from one another. It also shows us the point of union by which all men are kept together, notwithstanding their contrariety to make and fire and purpose. There is no monotony in human nature; yet human nature is one. It will be interesting to give speciality of position in the eye of our imagination to some of the typical men who are so graphically described in this chapter.
First of all, here is the perplexed man:
“Now Herod the tetrarch [see note, p. 252] heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed” ( Luk 9:7 ).
This is a singular word. When we have a pictorial dictionary we shall see a very graphic illustration of the meaning of this term. We use another set of words which are very homely but quite memorable; words which are often quoted, and which are not always fully understood in their etymological references. This word ( dieporei ) imports that the man who was in this condition was perplexed, really stuck in the mud. That is the literal import of the word. He could not move easily, and in all his movement he was trying to escape, now he was moving to the right, then he was moving to the left; now forward, now backward, now sideward; he was making all kinds of motion with a view to self-extrication, and he could not deliver himself from this mood of hesitancy and incertitude. Herod was perplexed about Christ, and curiously perplexed; for his instinct put down his dogma, his conscience blew away as with a scornful wind his theological view of life and destiny.
Why was Herod perplexed?
“Because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead; and of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again” ( Luk 9:7-8 ).
Why did Herod trouble himself about these dead men? As a Sadducee he did not believe in spirit or in resurrection. If he had been quite faithful and steadfast to his creed, he would have said in answer to all these rumours, Whoever this man may be, he has nothing whatever to do with another world, for other world there is none: as to resurrection, dismiss the superstition and forget it. But Herod had never been in this situation before. Circumstances play havoc with some creeds. They are admirable creeds whilst the wind is in the south-west, and the way lies up a green slope, and birds are singing around us, and all heaven seems inclined to reveal its glories in one blaze; then we can have our theories and inventions and conjectures, and can play the little tricky controversialist with many words: but when the wolf bites us, how is it then? When all the money is lost; when the little child lies at the last gasp; when the doctor himself has gone away, saying it will be needless for him to return, how then? Men should have a creed that will abide with them every day in the week without consulting thermometer or barometer; a creed that will sing the most sweetly when the heart most needs heaven’s music; a great faith, an intelligent, noble, free-minded faith, that says to the heart in its moods of dejection, All will come well: hold on, never despair, never give up; one more prayer, one more day, in a little while. A faith of this kind saves men from perplexity; it gives the life of man solidity, centralisation, outlook, hope. It is an awkward thing to have a creed that will not bear this stress. Herod’s Sadduceeism went down when a tap came to the door by invisible fingers. We can do what we will with matter; if the fingers are of bone and flesh, they can be smitten and broken: but who can touch invisible fingers! Then what have we to take down by way of comfort? We have declared that we know nothing, and have taken quite lofty pride in our boundless ignorance; but here is a hand at the door, and the door must be answered, and you must answer it. Herod was perplexed, hesitant, now on this side, now on that side; he could not tell what to do. So are men perplexed about Christ to-day who do not believe in him. It is one of two things in regard to this Son of man: cordial, loving, positive trust, the whole heart-love poured out like wine into a living flagon; or it is now belief, now unbelief, now uncertainty, now a prayer breathed to the very devil that he would come and take possession of the mind so as to drive out all perplexity and bewilderment. The latter course ends in deepening confusion and darkness. The only thing that will bear the stress of every weight, the collision of every conflict, is Faith simple, loving, grateful faith. Lord, increase our faith.
Here is the helpless and despairing man:
“Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again. Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to thine own house, and show how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus hath done unto him. And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him. And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: for he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him” ( Luk 8:37-42 ).
Why did not the man help himself? Why did not his friends help him? Why did not the disciples come to his assistance? Luke takes note of many particular incidents. His narrative is distinguished by points of observation which we do not find in the other evangelists; he alone says “for he had one only daughter.” So with regard to the widow of Nain; speaking of her son, he says, “the. only son of his mother, and she was a widow.” There are men who see little pathetic points in history. They sprinkle their history with the dew of tears. Other men see nothing but hurrying events, a rush and a tumult. Blessed are they who see heartbreak, and signs of sorrow on the cheek, and channels wrought in the flesh by flowing grief. Why did not this man heal his child? The clamour of twelve children was not in his ears; he had but one daughter: why did he not make her immortal? Alas, we are limited; we soon come to the last bottle of medicine, the last prescription; even the pharmacopoeia may be emptied. Does this man represent those who only come to Christ in extremity? Whilst there is another recipe in the house they will not pray; whilst there is another draught that may be taken they will not lift up their eyes appealingly to kind heaven. We cannot tell. There are men who do just so. They come to prayer at last, they end where they ought to have begun. There is no medicine that prayer will not sweeten; there is no application that prayer will not assist the working of. It has a magical influence upon the life. If it does not take away the burden, it increases the strength; if it does not enlarge the print, it increases the light by which we read it. This is the testimony of men strong men, wise, shrewd, penetrating men, who know the value of words; and they are prepared to stand up and say that but for the power of prayer the night would have been too dark for them, and the wind would have blown them over the brink.
The disciples could do nothing in the case. It is right that there should be limitation on that side. It would never do for the Church to be omnipotent. It would never do for us to reach an ideal faith, because then confusion would follow: If ye had faith as a grain of mustard-seed ye should say to this mountain, Depart, be removed into the sea, and instantly it would plunge into the deep like a stone thrown by the hand. That is ideal, that touches another region, and falls into the action of another gravitation; but it is along that line that men must climb. See what confusion would arise if every man could say to a mountain, Depart! Because, therefore, it is literally impossible, it is spiritually educative and inspiring. But we must not reason from that circumstance that therefore little faith would do, a crippled Christianity would be enough: Jesus Christ rebuked the disciples, and traced their failure not to their modesty, but to their perversity and faithlessness. We might do more miracles than we accomplish. Where is there a man who might not sit up five minutes later at night to finish the appeal, to complete the letter, to add a last touch to the tender entreaty? Where is there a giver who might not have added something to his donation? Where is the preacher who might not have reached a higher level of inspired eloquence, exposition, and appeal? Where is any life that is not conscious of shortcoming? We might do more. And it would be helpful to us if, having given our last loaf away, we were obliged by a common hunger all to go to Christ together. Our appearance would be a prayer, and his look would be an answer. Take heart, poor suffering one; at the core of things there is Love. It does not always appear; sometimes, indeed, the appearance is quite to the contrary; sometimes we feel as if we were under discipline that is penal and almost excessive; then we cry out, and no answer comes from the wind that bears our cry away into oblivion: but at other times we get revelations, we see light, and we ought to put down such occurrences and read them as we read the Bible. The Bible does not end upon any given age; it continues itself into the experience of mankind; so much so that a man should come back and say, Isaiah, thou art my companion to-day, I understand thee now. Ezekiel, I have got some hint of thy wheels and colours, thy flashing light, thy mysterious imagery Job, I will cry with thee to-day; let us lean upon one another and pour out our love in a common psalm. Psalmist, Asaph, David, I can sing to your harps; oh, accompany me whilst I sing the goodness of God. So every life ought to be a comment upon the Scripture. We cannot all comment upon the same book. Some do not understand the book of Genesis, or the book of Revelation; others can make nothing of the historical books, because they are filled with long names, and apparently have no home music in all their polysyllables; but other men can touch even the deepest parts of the Bible, the most mysterious instances of revelation, and all can gather around the Cross.
Here is the ambitious man:
“Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest” ( Luk 9:46 ).
How shall the hierarchy be formed? Who shall be first? Which of us shall stand bracketed as equals? Who shall speak the determining word, who shall give the casting vote? Who shall be crowned? When men are left to themselves we see the kind of questions they ask. These are the inquiries men put when they lose hold of the spiritual, the immaterial, the immortal. What conflict then arises, what petty controversy, what contention battling against contention! We need eternity to keep us up to the true level. That is the great use of religious thinking and religious worship. We cannot always explain the mystery, but we can feel its elevating influence. Whatever enlarges our veneration, quiets our spirit, turns our wonder into a telescope that can search the heavens, does the soul real good: it is not fanaticism, it is instruction; it is not sentiment, it is the beginning of conduct. When Jesus Christ enters into any conversation, the conversation instantly rises to another level. We know his voice; there is none like it. We all speak much in the same tone, but when Jesus joins the conversation he makes us ashamed of all we have said, and teaches us the beauty, the utility, and the dignity of silence. Whoever multiplies the ceremonial officers of the Church, departs from the spirit of Christ. All high-sounding titles, all ambitious distinctions, all differences in status and in function that imply inferiority on the part of others, were never learned at the Cross of Christ. Whoever makes the ministry a profession, and speaks of a minister as if he were separate from the people, having access to sealed secrets, having a key that can open the arcana of God, does not understand the spirit of Christ. “One is your Master”; all ye are brethren. What distinguishes one brother from another will soon be evident to the brethren themselves, and men have that instinct of recognition and justice which will soon settle all classifications; but purple, and velvet, and crimson, and gold, and gem, and staff of office are unknown to the Cross of Christ.
Quickly following is the sectarian man.
“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” ( Luk 9:49 ).
He thought he had a great message to deliver, and that the Lord would be exceedingly pleased with the news which he brought that day. John did not understand anything about the kingdom of heaven at that time, or he never would have done what he did. Yet still it enables a man to increase his stature by standing upon his toes when he can forbid some other man. Where is there a man who does not enjoy his food all the more since he has the consciousness that he has exercised a little brief authority? There is a pleasure in snubbing other people. There is a subtle comfort in telling another man to sit down. That is what the sects are doing to one another all the week long. I am not now speaking of denominations, for we must have them to the end of the chapter, as we must have families, households, separate communes; I am speaking now of the sectarian spirit which says, Because you do not worship under my roof, therefore you are not of Christ; because you do not accept my credenda, therefore you are without faith; because you do not call yourself by my name, therefore you cannot be going to the kingdom above. That is the spirit of hate, the spirit of illiberality; let us renounce it with detestation. It is beautiful to see what different views men can entertain. These differences of opinion ought to occasion us delight, when they are held with reverence, and when they are defended with reason. The idea that a man can see differently from me ought to enlarge me, in my thinking, my faith, my hope. When two men pursue the same text and each comes with a conclusion of his own, we should not think of the petty differences between the two men, but of the greatness of the text. It is because Christianity, as we have often said, is so large that men have so many different opinions about it. There are more differences of opinion about a firmament than about a gasometer. It is wonderful how sectarian some people can be. They never travel, and that is an infinite disadvantage. Always to live in the same street, mingling with the same people, going out at the same hour, returning at the same time, speaking always the same language, reading only one class of literature, why, but what angel could endure it? It is destruction. Men should travel; they should go into countries where they cannot speak a word of the language, to learn how ignorant they are; into countries that are established upon novel lines, and yet are as solid as rocks, to see that things can be done in other lands that are not done at home. Men should often turn themselves as to all their thinking upside down, so as to get hold of a larger view. The artist will tell you that in order to lay hold of the real image and colour of a landscape he puts his head down and looks at the landscape as from below. Any person coming behind him, not understanding art, would of course remark upon the eccentricity of the individual for some people cannot be eccentric. To the artist it is needful to see the landscape just from that angle; he sees what cannot be seen from any other angle, and he gets colour and lights that are otherwise impossible of recognition. To think that a man boasts of never having been absent from his own church for forty years! What a ridiculous little man he must be! How exceedingly uncomfortable to live with! I believe in all churches, in all forms of life, in all variations of music. We may pride ourselves on that which ought to be our humiliation; we may belittle the Christianity which we have undertaken to patronise.
Following the sectarian man comes in due sequence the religiously vindictive man:
“And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. 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 Elias did?” (Luk 9:51-54 .)
You cannot make Eliases. You may do just the very thing that Elias did, and so make the greater fools of yourselves. Elias is sent when the world needs him, son of thunder, son of consolation, each will be sent from heaven at the right time, and be furnished with the right credentials. But how delightful it is to set fire to somebody else! The dynamitard is a character in ancient history. Would it not be convenient for the Church always to have in its pocket just one little torpedo that it could throw in the way of somebody who differed in opinion from somebody else? The Lord Jesus will not have this; he said, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” The spirit of Christianity is a spirit of love, a spirit of sympathy, a spirit of felicity, a spirit that can weep over cities that have rejected the Son of man.
Then said he, or said the historian the words might be his, for they are part of his very soul
“For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” ( Luk 9:56 ).
Tell this everywhere. Go ye into all the world and say to every creature, “The Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” The strongest man amongst us might devote his life to that sweet, high task. The brightest genius that ever revelled in poem or picture might devote all its energies to the revelation of that sacred truth. There are destroyers enough. Nature itself is often a vehement and unsparing destroyer. We are our own destroyers. There needs to be somewhere a saviour, a loving heart, a redeeming spirit, a yearning soul, a mother-father that will not let us die.
Note
“Tetrarch ( ). Properly the sovereign or governor of the fourth part of a country. In the later period of the republic and under the empire, the Romans seem to have used the title (as also those of ethnarch and phylarch ) to designate those tributary princes who were not of sufficient importance to be called kings. In the New Testament we meet with the designation, either actually or in the form of its derivative , applied to three persons: “(1) Herod Antipas (Mat 14:1 ; Luk 3:1 , Luk 3:19 ; Luk 9:7 ; Act 13:1 ), who is commonly distinguished as ‘Herod the tetrarch,’ although the title of ‘king’ is also assigned to him both by St. Matthew ( Mat 14:9 ) and by St. Mark (Mar 6:14 , Mar 6:22 sqq .). St. Luke, as might be expected, invariably adheres to the formal title, which would be recognised by Gentile readers. Herod is described by the last-named Evangelist ( Luk 3:1 ) as ‘Tetrarch of Galilee’; but his dominions, which were bequeathed to him by his father Herod the Great, embraced the district of Pera beyond the Jordan (Joseph. Ant. 17:8, 1): this bequest was confirmed by Augustus (Joseph. B.J. 2:6, 3). After the disgrace and banishment of Antipas, his tetrarchy was added by Caligula to the kingdom of Herod Agrippa I. ( Ant. 18:7, 2).
“(2) Herod Philip (the son of Herod the Great and Cleopatra, not the husband of Herodias), who is said by St. Luke ( Luk 3:1 ) to have been ‘tetrarch of Itura, and of the region of Trachonitis.’
“(3) Lysanias, who is said ( Luk 3:1 ) to have been ‘tetrarch of Abilene,’ a small district surrounding the town of Abila, in the fertile valley of the Barada or Chrysorrhoas, between Damascus and the mountain-range of Antilibanus.” Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible.
Prayer
Almighty God, thou hearest the prayer of men when spoken in the Name that is above every name, which Name alone do we now breathe in approaching the throne of the heavenly grace. We come by the new and living way, henceforward the only way, and we humbly beseech thee to grant unto us such blessings as our hearts require. We pray for the forgiveness of our sins. God be merciful unto us sinners! We come to the Cross of Jesus Christ our infinitely sufficient Saviour, and there confess our sins, and humbly seek the pardon of God. If we confess our sins, thou wilt surely forgive us. We now make confession of our iniquity, we now speak of our transgressions, that they may be taken away by the blood of the one Sacrifice. Create within us a clean heart, renew within us a right spirit, and give us to know the meaning of holiness as thou dost know it. Purify us by the blood of Jesus, and there shall be no stain upon our hearts or upon our life. Put within us thy Holy Spirit, so as to enlighten the understanding, to regenerate the heart, and sanctify the whole nature; then shall we grow in grace, and shall become beautiful with the purity of God. Let the Holy Ghost descend upon us! Now may we know that he is here by the warmth of our affections, by the loftiness and purity of our desires, and by a holy resolution to give ourselves, body, soul and spirit, to the service of the living Lord. Prepare us to hear the messages of the gospel. May we receive them as good seed cast into good ground. May no word of all the message of thy love escape us. May every tone of the music of the gospel enter into the ear of our hearts and charm our life. May we know thy truth more perfectly, and love it more truly, that men, noting our behaviour, may wonder concerning the sources of our power. We would live in God, we would live according to the law of Jesus Christ. Daily would we carry, with unmurmuring patience and cheerful hope, the Cross of our Lord and Saviour. Direct all the way of our life. Suffer none of our steps to slide; when the wicked, even our enemies and our foes, would come upon us to devour and to destroy, save us in the time of peril. Set our feet upon a rock and hide within our hearts thy word, that we may not sin against thee. We now await thine answer, O living One! We have spoken our prayer at the Cross; we now abide the answer of God. Let it be an answer of peace and love and tender mercy, and our hearts shall burn within us: Now unto him that is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
XXXII
OUR LORD’S GREAT MINISTRY IN GALILEE
Part VII
STILLING THE TEMPEST, THE TWO GADARENE DEMONIACS, SECOND REJECTION AT NAZARETH, SENDING FORTH THE TWELVE, AND HEROD’S SUSPICION
Harmony -pages 66-75 and Mat 8:18-23 ; Mat 11:1 ; Mat 13:54-58 ; Mat 14:1-12 ; Mar 4:34-5:20 ; Mar 6:1-29 ; Luk 8:22-40 ; Luk 9:1-9 .
When Jesus had finished his discourse on the kingdom, as illustrated in the first great group of parables, he crossed over the Sea of Galilee to avoid the multitudes. While on the bosom of the sea a storm swept down upon them, as indicated by Luke, but our Lord had fallen asleep. So the disciples awoke him with their cry of distress and he, like a God, spoke to the winds and the sea, and they obeyed him. Such is the simple story of this incident, the lesson of which is the strengthening of their faith in his divinity.
Upon their approach to the shore the country of the Gadarenes occurred the thrilling incident of the two Gadarene demoniacs. The story is graphically told here by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and does not need to be repeated in this interpretation, but there are certain points in the story which need to be explained. First, there are some difficulties: (1) The apparent discrepancy of long standing, relating to the place, is cleared up by Dr. Broadus in his note at the bottom of page 67 (see his explanation of this difficulty);
The long famous instance of “discrepancy” as to the place in this narrative has been cleared up in recent years by the decision of textual critics that the correct text in Luke is Gerasenes, as well as in Mark, and by Dr. Thomson’s discovery of a ruin on the lake shore, named Khersa (Gerasa). If this village was included (a very natural supposition) in the district belonging to the city of Gadara, some miles south-eastward, then the locality could be described as either in the country of the Gadarenes, or in the country of the Gerasenes
(2) Matthew mentions two demoniacs, while Mark and Luke mention but one. This is easily explained by saying that the one mentioned by Mark and Luke was probably the prominent and leading one, and that they do not say there was only one. Second) there are some important lessons in this incident for us: (1) We see from this incident that evil spirits, or demons, not only might possess human beings by impact of spirit upon spirit, but they also could and did possess lower animals. (2) We see here also that these evil spirits could not do what they would without permission, and thus we find an illustration of the limitations placed upon the Devil and his agencies. (3) There is here a recognition of the divinity of Jesus by these demoniacs and that he is the dispenser of their torment. (4) There is here also an illustration of the divine power of Jesus Christ over the multitude of demons, and from this incident we may infer that they are never too numerous for him. (5) The man when healed is said to have been in his right mind, indicating the insanity of sin. (6) The new convert was not allowed to go with Jesus, but was made a missionary to his own people) to tell them of the great things the Lord had done for him. (7) The Gadarenes besought him to leave their borders. Matthew Henry says that these people thought more of their hogs than they did of the Lord Jesus Christ. Alas I this tribe is by far too numerous now.
In Section 55 (Mat 10:1-42 ; Mar 6:7-13 ; Luk 9:1-6 ) we have the first commission of the twelve apostles. The immediate occasion is expressed in Mat 9:36 . (See the author’s sermon on “Christ’s Compassion Excited by a Sight of the Multitude.”) These apostles had received the training of the mighty hand of the Master ever since their conversion and call to the ministry, and now he thrusts them out to put into action what they had received from him. The place they were to go, or the limit of their commission, is found in Mat 10:5-6 . This limitation to go to the Jews and not to the Gentiles seems to have been in line with the teaching elsewhere that salvation came first to the Jews and that the time of the Gentiles had not yet come in, but this commission was not absolute, because we find our Lord later commissioning them to go to all the world. What they were to preach is found in Mat 10:7 and what they were to do in Mat 10:8 . The price they were to ask is found in the last clause of Mat 10:8 . How they were to be supported, negatively and positively, together with the principle of their support, is found in Mat 10:9-11 . The principle of ministerial support is found also, very much elaborated, in 1Co 9:4-13 , and is referred to in 1Co 9:14 as an ordinance of our Lord. The manner of making this operative on entering a city is found in Mat 10:11-12 . The rewards of receiving and rejecting them are found in Mat 10:13 , while the method of testimony against the rejectors is expressed in Mat 10:14-15 .
The characteristics of these disciples are given in Mat 10:16 : “Wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” If they should have had the characteristic of the dove alone they would have been silly; if the serpent alone, they would have been tricky. But with both they had prudence and simplicity. In this commission we find also that they were to be subject to certain hazards, recorded in Mat 10:18 . Their defense is also promised in Mat 10:19-20 . The extent of their persecutions is expressed in Mat 10:21-22 . Their perseverance is indicated in the last clause of Mat 10:22 . In Mat 10:23 we have the promise that the Son of man would come to them before they had gone through all the cities of Israel. What does that mean? There are five theories about it, all of which are amply discussed by Broadus (see his Commentary in loco).
The consolations offered these disciples, in view of their prospective persecutions, are as follows (Mat 10:24-31 ): (1) So they treated the Lord, (2) all things hidden shall be made known, (3) the work of their persecutors is limited to the body, but God’s wrath is greater than man’s and touches both soul and body, and (4) the Father’s providential care. The condition of such blessings in persecution, and vice versa, are expressed in Mat 10:32-33 . From this we see that they were to go forth without fear or anxiety and in faith. The great issue which the disciples were to force is found in Mat 10:34-39 . This does not mean that Christ’s work has in it the purpose of stirring up strife, but that the disturbance will arise from the side of the enemy in their opposition to the gospel and its principles, whose purpose means peace. So there will arise family troubles, as some yield to the call of the gospel while others of the same family reject it. Some will always be lacking in the spirit of religious tolerance, which is not the spirit of Christ. In this connection our Lord announces the principle of loyalty to him as essential to discipleship, with an added encouragement, viz., that of finding and losing the life. In Mat 10:40-42 we have the identity of Christ with the Father which shows his divinity and also his identity with his people in his work. Then follows the blessed encouragement of the promise of rewards. When Jesus had thus finished his charge to his disciples, he made a circuit of the villages of Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom.
From this incident come three important lessons for us: First, we have here the origin and development of a call to the ministry as follows: (1) Christ’s compassion for the perishing and leaderless, (2) prayer to God that he would send forth laborers, and (3) a positive conviction that we should go. Second, there is also suggested here the dangers of the care for fine preaching: (1) If it has its source in anxiety and selfishness it restrains spirituality; (2) it manifests itself in excitement and excess which adulterates spirituality; (3) it leads to weariness or self-seeking and thus destroys spirituality. Third, we have here several encouragements to the preacher: (1) The cause is honorable; (2) the example is illustrious; (3) the success is certain; (4) care is guaranteed; (5) the reward is glorious; (6) the trials become triumphs; (7) the identification with Christ.
The account of the miracles wrought by the disciples of Jesus on this preaching tour impressed Herod Antipas, as well as those wrought by Jesus himself, the impression of which was so great that he thought that John the Baptist was risen from the dead. The account in the Harmony throws light on the impression that was made by the ministry of John. Some were saying that Jesus was Elijah or one of the other prophets, but Herod’s conscience and superstition caused him to think it was John the Baptist, for he remembered his former relation to John. Then follows here the story of how John had rebuked Herod which angered his wife, Herodias, and eventually led to John’s death at the band of the executioner. Josephus gives testimony relative to this incident. (See chapter X of this “Interpretation.”)
There are some lessons to be learned from this incident. First, we are impressed with the courage and daring of the first Christian martyr, a man who was not afraid to speak his convictions in the face of the demons of the pit. Second, the life must leave its impress, but that impress will be variously interpreted according to the antecedents and temperaments of the interpreters. Third, the influence of a wicked woman, often making the weak and drunken husband a mere tool to an awful wicked end. Fourth, the occasion of sin and crime is often the time of feasting and frivolity. Just such a crime as this has often been approached by means of the dance and strong drink. Fifth, we have here an example of a man who was too weak to follow his conviction of the right because he had promised and had taken an oath. He had more respect for his oath than he had for right. Sixth, there is here also an example of the wickedness of vengeance. It is a tradition that when the daughter brought in the head of John and gave it to Herodias, her mother, she took a bodkin and stuck it through the tongue of John, saying, “You will never say again, It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
QUESTIONS
1. Give the time, place, circumstances, and lesson of Jesus stilling the tempest.
2. Tell the story of the two Gadarene demoniacs.
3. What two difficulties here, and how is each explained?
4. What seven important lessons for us in this incident?
5. Give the story of the second rejection of Jesus at Nazareth and its several lessons.
6. What was the immediate occasion of sending forth the twelve apostles on their first mission?
7. What preparation had they received?
8. Where were they to go, or what was the limit of this commission?
9. Why was it limited, and was it absolute?
10. What were they to preach, and what were they to do?
11. What price were they to ask?
12. How were they to be supported, negatively and positively, and how do you harmonize the Synoptics here?
13. What was the principle of their support and where do we find this principle very much elaborated?
14. How is this principle referred to in 1Co 9:14 ?
15. What was the manner of making it operative on entering a city?
16. What rewards attached to receiving and rejecting them?
17. What was the method of testimony against those who rejected?
18. What was to be the characteristics of these disciples?
19. To what hazards were they subject?
20. What was to be their defense?
21. What was to be the extent of their persecution?
22. What was text on the perseverance of the saints, and what was its immediate application to these apostles?
23. Explain “till the Son of man be come.”
24. What were the consolations offered these disciples?
25. What was the condition of such blessings?
26. In what spirit were they to go forth?
27. What great issue must they force? Explain.
28. What principle of discipleship here announced?
29. What proof here of the divinity of Jesus Christ?
30. What promise here of rewards?
31. What did Jesus do immediately after finishing his charge here
32. What lessons here on the origin and development of a call to the ministry?
33. What dangers of the care for fine preaching?
34. What seven encouragements from this incident to the preacher of today?
35. How was Herod and others impressed by the miracles of Jesus and his disciples?
36. What several conjectures of Herod and others?
37. What part was played in this drama by John? by Herod? by Herodias and by Salome, the daughter of Herodias?
38. What testimony of Josephus on this incident?
39. What lessons of this incident?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
1 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
Ver. 1. See Mat 10:1 ; Mar 3:13 ; Mar 6:7 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1 5. ] MISSION OF THE TWELVE. Mat 10:5-15 .Mar 6:7-13Mar 6:7-13 . Mark’s account agrees nearly exactly with the text. The discourse is given at much greater length in Matt., where see notes.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1. ] belongs to . ., as in 1Co 9:5 ; some join it with , as in Joh 5:26 ; Mat 13:11 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Luk 9:1-50 contain sundry particulars which together form the closing scenes of the Galilean ministry: the mission of the Twelve, the feeding of the thousands, the conversation on the Christ and the cross, the transfiguration, the epileptic boy, the conversation on “who is the greatest”. At Luk 9:51 begins the long division of the Gospel, extending to Luk 18:14 , which forms the chief peculiarity of Lk., sometimes called the Great Interpolation or Insertion, purporting to be the narrative of a journey southwards towards Jerusalem through Samaria , therefore sometimes designated the Samaritan ministry (Baur and the Tbingen school), but in reality consisting for the most part of a miscellaneous collection of didactic pieces. At Luk 18:15 Lk. rejoins the company of his brother evangelists, not to leave them again till the tragic end.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Luk 9:1-6 . The mission of the Twelve (Mat 10:1 ; Mat 10:5-15 , Mar 6:7-13 ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Luk 9:1 . : the turns attention to a new subject, and the part . implies that it is a matter of importance: calling together the Twelve , out of the larger company of disciples that usually followed Jesus, including the women mentioned in Luk 8:1-3 . , power and right; power implies right. The man that can cast out devils and heal disease is entitled to do so, nay bound. This principle found an important application in St. Paul’s claim to be an apostle, which really rested on fitness, insight. I understand Christianity, therefore I am entitled to be an apostle of it. Lk. alone has both words to express unlimited authority (Hahn). Mt. and Mk. have . , etc., over all the demons, and (also power and authority) to heal diseases, the latter a subordinate function; thoroughly to quell the demons ( emphatic) the main thing. Hence the Seventy on their return speak of that alone (Luk 10:17 ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Luke Chapter 9
Luk 9:1-6
Mat 10:1-7
The last chapter showed Christ’s testimony to the change that was coming. This chapter gives us the twelve entrusted with the same testimony. They were to go forth representatives of Christ everywhere, invested with the power of the Kingdom. They had both “power and authority over all demons and to heal diseases,” as well as a mission “to proclaimtid=54#bkm220- the kingdom of God.” The Lord gave them their authority. They were to be manifestly dependent on the King, and in a remarkable way the King’s power would open and none should shut, and shut and none could open. Nevertheless, this sovereign power of the King over the hearts of His people Israel was not without the maintenance of their responsibility. Whoever rejected Him must bear his burden. The word, however, is, “Take nothing for your journey, neither staff,* nor wallet, nor bread, nor money.”tid=54#bkm221- It must be manifestly the resources of God, however He might work by men. They were not to care for themselves, not even to have two coats (vests) apiece. “And into whatsoever house ye may have entered, there abide, and thence go forth. And as many as may not receive you, going forth from that city, shake off even the dust from your feet for a witness against them.” Thus then they departed, “and passed through the villages, announcing the glad tidings, and healing everywhere.”
*”Staff”: so Edd., after BCpmDL, 1, 33, 69 Old Lat. Syrcu, Sah. Aeth. Arm. – “Staves” (Meyer) is found in ACcorr, and other later uncials, many cursives, Syrsin, Goth.
“Even (the very)”: so Tisch., after ACcorrE, etc., Syrr (including sin.), Amiat.; but other Edd. omit, following BCpmDLX, 1, 33.
Luk 9:7-9 .
Mat 14:1-2 ; Mar 6:14-16 .
Then we find the working of conscience in Herod. “And Herod the Tetrarch heard of all the things which were done [by him]:* and was in perplexity, because it was said by some that John was risen from among the dead; and by some, that Elias had appeared; and by others, that one of the old prophets had risen again.” Herod’s conviction was that he had beheaded John: he knew this too well. “John,” he said, “I have beheaded: but who is this of whom I hear such things? And he soughttid=54#bkm222- to see him.” But desire in Divine things, unless it be accompanied by the action of conscience in the sense of sin on the one hand, and of grace on the other on God’s part, never comes to any good. Many a man has heard God’s testimony gladly, and given it all up. Many a man has had respect for the witnesses; but, as we see in Herod’s case, first as to John, it did not hinder him from beheading John; and next, as to Jesus, it did not hinder him from taking his part in the last scene of the uttermost humiliation of the Lord. There was nothing of Divine life in the action of his conscience. There was no working of grace, because there was no sense of his own sin and need in God’s sight, which might drive him to God.
*[“By him”]: so AE and most later uncials, nearly all cursives (1, 33), Syrpesch, Amiat. Edd. reject, after BCL, 69, Syrrsincu, Vulg. Sah. Memph. Aeth. Goth. Arm.
Luk 9:10-17 .
Mat 14:13-21 ; Mar 6:30-44 ; Joh 6:1-13 .
The apostles return, telling the Lord of all that they had done. But it is evident that they knew not how to avail themselves of the power that was entrusted to them. So Jesus takes them, and goes aside “aparttid=54#bkm223- intotid=54#bkm224- [a desert place of]* a city, called Bethsaida.” And now we see how perfectly Jesus wielded the power of which He was the vessel as man. For although He had turned aside privately, the people follow Him there; “and he received them, and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and cured those that had need of healing.”tid=54#bkm2224A- No one ever came amiss to Jesus. No need ever was presented without drawing out His grace. No retirement led Him to treat those who came as intruders. But the difference between the Master and the servant appears. For “the day began to decline,tid=54#bkm225- and the twelve came and said to him, Send away the crowd, that they may go into the villages around, and the fields, and lodge, and find victuals: for here we are in a desert place.” But this would not suit Jesus. “He said to them, Give ye them to eat.” Unbelief begins at once to reckon. They counted the loaves and the fishes: there were but five loaves and two fishes, except they should go and buy meat for all this people. Thus those who ought to have been the witnesses of the power and grace of God are ignorant of the Lord’s present resources, and only think of what might be procured by money from man. The Lord says to His disciples – so great was His grace that He would put honour upon them even in their weakness and want of faith – “Make them sit down in companies by fifties. And they did so, and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fishes, looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave tid=54#bkm226- to the disciples to set before the crowd.” Viewed as the Son of man, and the Son of God as man (and so Luke does view Him), God was with Him, not only when He went about doing good, but when men followed Him into the wilderness. There was no difference. Everywhere the grace of God was upon Him, the power of God with Him. So He blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. He fed His poor with bread. It was not the true Bread which came down from heaven, because He, and He alone, was this. But He Who was the true Bread loved to feed them even with the bread that perishes, though He would have loved still better to feed them with that Bread which is unto life eternal. The Lord Jesus alone knows, therefore, how to use all the resources of the kingdom of God. He waited for no special time and for no special circumstances. He is able to bring in the blessing according to need now; for God was with Him, and He was with God touching all circumstances. “And they all ate and were all filled; and there was taken up of what had remained over and above to them twelve hand-baskets.” There was more at the end than at the beginning, though five thousand men, besides women and children, had partaken. Such was Jesus; and such will Jesus be when the kingdom of God appears – the furnisher of all the nourishment,. and joy, and blessing of the kingdom. Nor is He less, or other, but the same now,tid=54#bkm227- though the manner of exhibiting, His gracious power is according to the present purpose of God in the Church. But He is the same yesterday, today, and for ever. Heb 13:8 .
*[“A desert place of”]: so AC and other uncials, most cursives, Goth. Aeth. Arm. Edd. adopt “(into) a city called Bethsaida,” with BD (“village”) LXX, 33, Sah. Memph. – Amiat. and Old Latin have “a d. p. which is B.”
“Go”: so Edd., after ABCDL, etc., Syrsin. 33, 69, – , etc., “go away” (which is in Mark).
Luk 9:18-27 .tid=54#bkm228-
Mat 16:13-28
The Lord is again praying alone, as we have found Him in previous parts of this Gospel, and indeed in others. So it was at His baptism, when the Holy Ghost descended on Him,. and afterwards in His ministry, when we are told that He withdrew Himself into the wilderness and prayed. This was. when multitudes came to hear and to be healed, when the power of the Lord was there to heal afresh. So also before He chose the twelve apostles, it is said, “He continued all night in prayer to God.” It was after men were communing to kill Him, and before the appointment of the apostles and the discourse on the mount.
Now He is about to disclose, His death. The sense of His entire rejection filled His soul, because of the unbelief of the people; and the Father was about to give the most direct personal witness of His glory, as well as to show what was reserved for Him in the Kingdom. He would own Him as Son of God now, He would display Him by and by as the Son of man. Accordingly “it came to pass, as he was praying alone, his disciples were with him; and he asked them, saying, Who do the crowd say that I am? But they answering said, John the Baptist; but others, Elias; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen again.” This elicited from Peter, in reply to the direct question of the Lord – “But ye, who do ye say that I am?” – the confession that He was the Christ of God.*
*Syrsin omits “of God,” as also the Curetonian, and Old Latin, Codex Vercellensis.
It is remarkable how Luke here omits what Matthew records. In point of fact He owned Him to be the Son of God as well; but this is peculiar to Matthew. The reason why it is given in Matthew seems to me because that is the title of Christ’s personal glory, which is the joy of the Christian. The Church of God delights in Christ as the Son of the living God; Israel will hail the Christ as the Son of David. The world, all mankind, will be blest by Christ as the Son of man; but the Christian and the Church have their joy in Him as the Son of the living God. It is clearly the most elevated and properly Divine of His titles. It is intrinsic and personal. Along with this we find in Matthew, and in his Gospel alone, the revelation from the Lord Jesus that upon this rock He would build His Church – that is, on this confession of His name. Consequently as Matthew is the only one who gives us His name, and the confession of it by Peter, so the Lord is represented only there as about to build the Church.
All this disappears from Luke. Here Peter simply says “The Christ of God.” The Lord “earnestly charging them, enjoined [them] to say this to no man.” This is a remarkable word. Why withhold from people that He was the Christ of God? Why this reserve as to His Messiahship? It was useless to bring it forward. Some said one thing, and some another. No man had faith in Him except those who were born of God. Man, as man, rejected Him. The Jews rejected Him. The disciples confessed Him, Peter pre-eminently; but it was no use to go on preaching Him as the Christ or Messiah of Israel. He was the Anointed of God, but in truth He was going to suffer, and consequently the Lord introduces another title in connection with His cross. “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.” It was particularly this very title that the Lord habitually gives Himself. So in Matthew: “Who say ye that I the Son of man am?” Peter then confesses Him as really the Jewish Christ, but also “the son of the living God.” The Lord intimates that they must drop the first. It was useless to speak about it, it was too late. Had the people received Him, He would have reigned as Messiah. But, morally speaking, that could not be. On the one hand man was unbelieving, Wicked, and lost; on the other hand it was according to the counsels of God that Jesus was to be put to, death on the cross, and to rise into a new creation in which He would have men His fellows. If Jesus had not been crucified, it would have proved that man was not altogether so evil as God had said. But as man really is profoundly bad, according to the Word of God, it was a moral certainty that man would crucify the Lord Jesus, and so God predicted by His prophets. The Lord now reminds them that the old proclamation as the Christ must close. He was going to die as Son of man. He had His death always before Him. It was the settled counsel of God the Father, and the settled purpose of the Son. He came to die, not only knowing it, but with his heart fully devoted to the accomplishment of the will of God, cost what it might, as it did cost His own death and rejection. In His death He wrought atonement for our sins. Here, however, His death is simply viewed as rejection from man: “The Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders, and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and the third day be raised up.” God’s part in the matter, either in judgment of our wickedness or in introducing redemption, is not stated. Assuredly it was then and there, as it was always destined to be; but sometimes the one side of truth, sometimes the other, is presented in Scripture. He is rejected by the heads of the Jews. It was a sad and humbling fact that they should cast off their own Messiah, who was, adds He Himself, to “be raised up the third day.”
This suffering of the Son of man at once defines the path for the disciple. “He said to [them] all, If any one will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,* and follow me.”tid=54#bkm229- It was in no way enjoyment of earthly things. That would be all suited and seasonable in the Kingdom when He reigns as the Christ, as well as Son of man, according to the hopes furnished by the prophets. There we find every kind of proof of God’s beneficence, and men’s hearts will be filled with gladness. But such is not the character of Christianity. The Cross shows us our true path. If Christ suffered, the Christian cannot expect to be above his Master. Christ was going to the cross; therefore if any man would come after Him, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever shall desire to save his life” shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, he shall save it. For what shall a man profit if he shall have gained the whole world, and have destroyed or come under the penalty of the loss of himself?”
*”Daily”: so Edd., following ABKL, and later uncials, 1, 33, 69, Syrrpesch cu, Amiat. Goth. Memph. Arm., CDEX, etc., many cursives, Syrsin and most Old Latin omit.
The truth comes out. Everything now depends on eternal life. It is no longer a question of living long on the earth. This was, and will be, all very well for the Jew. But the Cross of Christ is the burial of all Jewish thoughts. Hence if a man is careful to save his life now, he will lose it. He may save it in a lower sense, but he will lose it in a deeper. He may save it in this world, but lose it for eternity. But if I am willing to lose it in the lower, I shall save it in the best – the eternal – sense. The death of Christ brings everything to a point: all then becomes the momentous question of eternal life and salvation. The Jews did not think of this. They panted for a great king that would raise them to the pinnacle of earthly greatness. Christianity shows us the One on Whom all turns, Himself crucified; and those who come after the Crucified cannot escape from the cross. Each Christian must deny himself, and that not merely once, but daily taking up His cross, and following Him. “For whosoever shall have been ashamedtid=54#bkm231- of me and of my words, of him will the Son of mantid=54#bkm232- be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and [in that] of the Father, and of the holy angels.”
There lies the solemnity of the issue. If ashamed of One rejected and of His words, He will be ashamed of us in glory. We have not Christ personally, but we have Him by faith, His name, and also, as a test of our truth of heart, His words. A man might plead the words of Moses and the prophets; but these would not avail now. A man who merely attached himself to the words of the law and the prophets, to the exclusion of the New Testament, could not be saved. When God brings out the full revelation of Christ, I must go forward and be subject to what God gives. The Jews hold on to the truth of the unity of God in order to deny the truth of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. True faith now values all that God lives. It is not real if it does not value what He gives for the present time. Hence the test is truth freshly used of God for the actual moment, and not merely what was known of old. Unbelief is always wrong; it takes advantage of what is traditional to deny what was newly revealed.
“Whosoever shall have been ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his glory.” There we find the proper glory of the Son of man. It is a rejected Man Who is exalted on high; but He will come in His own glory, and “[in that] of the Father, and of the holy angels.” His being a man did not at all touch His Divine rights. The angels were all subject to Him as man, He had a title above them because He was God; and He had won a title superior to them, because He had died on the cross. Thus by a double title the Lord Jesus has not only all mankind but angels subject to Him as man. “But I say unto you of a truth, there are some of those standing here who shall not taste deathtid=54#bkm233- until they shall have seen the kingdom of God.”tid=54#bkm233A- This was a bright witness calculated and intended to strengthen those who were meant to be forward and at the head of things in God’s testimony and in the Church. The reference is to Peter, James, and John, who were permitted a sight of the kingdom of God before it comes in power.
Luk 9:28-36 .
Mat 17:1-9 ; Mar 9:2-9 .
Eight days after,tid=54#bkm1234- when the glory was about to appear, the Lord prays. “And as he prayed, the fashion [aspect] of his countenance became different, and his raiment whitetid=54#bkm235- [and] effulgent.” Luke is the only one of the Evangelists who mentions His prayer here, and that, as He prayed, He was transfigured. “And lo, two men with him, who were Moses and Elias,” the representatives of the saints dead and raised, living and changed. Moses died and is here seen as risen, and Elias as the pattern of those who shall be changed. “Who appearing in glory, spoke of his departure which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.tid=54#bkm236- This is the great topic of heavenly discourse. There can be no fact above so precious as the death of Jesus. It will be the grand theme throughout eternity. It is the foundation of all the ways of God in redemption, the highest moral glory of God as it is the fullest proof of ‘ His love. “They spoke with him of his departure which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.” On earth Jesus takes the highest place, as alas! the lowest also for us and our sins, yet He is, too, the highest in grace, as He will be in the ways of God. It will be so in the days of the Kingdom, when God’s counsels shall appear for the earth as well as the heavens.
“But Peter and those with him were oppressed with sleep.”tid=54#bkm237- They slept in the garden when Christ was going through His agony, and they were heavy with sleep when Christ’s glory was being revealed. Thus man is utterly worthless for communion, whether with suffering or glory, and this, not man without life from God, but the chosen disciples, the future pillars of the work, the most worthy and excellent of the earth. Yet these, as they could not watch one hour when it was a question of the sorrows of Jesus, so they were oppressed with sleep when His glory in His kingdom was revealed. So wholly incapable of answering in his soul to God’s display is man of the grace of Christ or of the glory He intends for him.
“But having fully woke up (or kept awake),tid=54#bkm238- they saw his glory, and the two men who stood with him. And it came to pass as they departed from him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles,tid=54#bkm238a- one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.” Indeed, he did not know. It was sheer forgetfulness of the personal dignity of Jesus. “Let us make three tabernacles,” one for his Master and the other two for His servants, Moses and Elias. Would he, then, put his Master, the Lord of all, on the same level with the head of the law and the chief of the prophets? Peter thought this would be great honour for Him! He was altogether astray. The root of all wrong is depreciation of Jesus. The power for all that is good is faith in His glory. Thus Peter, in a human way, seeking to honour Jesus, in reality lowers Him; and this God the Father would never allow, specially in a disciple. “But as he was saying these things there came a cloud and overshadowed them,” the well-known symbol of Jehovah’s presence in Israel: it was not a dark, but a bright, cloud, as we are told in another Gospel: “and they feared as they* entered into the cloud,” meaning, I suppose, that the disciples feared as they saw Moses and Elias enter the cloud tid=54#bkm239- They could not understand that men, even glorified, should be within the circle of the peculiar presence of Jehovah. The pavilion of His glory might tabernacle over man; but it seemed too much to them that men should thus be at home there, even though it were men in glory.
*”They” (): so Edd., with BCL, Memph. Blass, “those” (), as AD, 1, 33, 69, Sah.
More follows: “There came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.” It is no longer a question of Moses and Elias. The law and the prophets were admirable forerunners, and not a tittle can fall unfulfilled to the ground; but the Son of God comes and necessarily takes precedence of all. “This is my beloved* Son: hear him.” Do not put Moses and Elias on a level with Him. They were to be heard as the finger-posts which point to Christ; but when Jesus the Son of God is there, He is to be heard. This is Christianity. Almost every working of unbelief in Christianity now consists in lowering Jesus to the law and the prophets, or, at any rate, to man, the first man. No one born of God would slight the law and the prophets; but it is one thing to own them as having Divine authority, quite another to put them on a level with the Son of God. They were Divine witnesses, but the Son must have His own due supremacy. In all things He must have the pre-eminence. (Col 1:18 .) And so God the Father here insists upon it. “This is my belovedtid=54#bkm240- Son: hear him.”
*”Beloved”: so ACD and most later uncials, all cursives, Syrrcu pesch, most Old Lat. and Amiat. Edd. adopt “chosen,” after BL, Syrsin, Sah. Memph. Arm.
“And as the voice was [heard] Jesus was found alone.” This is really the very strength of our souls – that we have but one Person who is or can be the full objective revelation of the mind of God to us. We honour most the Father and we show best the power of the Holy Ghost when we have Jesus before us, and we are following Him day by day. “This one thing I do,” says the apostle. (Phi 3:13 .) “And they kept silence and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.”tid=54#bkm240A-
Luk 9:37-45 .
Mat 17:14-23 ; Mar 9:14-32 .
The next scene plunges us at once into the realities of the world as it is, the more painfully felt because of the bright vision of the age to come on the mount of transfiguration, whether in the sample of the kingdom of the Son of man or the inner scene of those who entered the cloud. Here, on the contrary, we have the world as it now is through the power of Satan. “It came to pass that on the following daytid=54#bkm241- when they came down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. And a man from the crowd cried out saying, Teacher, I beseech thee, look upon my son, for he is mine only child: and behold a spirit takes him and suddenly he cries out; and it tears him with foaming; and with difficulty departed from him after crushing him. And I besought thy disciples that they might cast him out, and they could not.” It was a picture, indeed, of Israel and we may say of man. Such was the power of the demon over him; and the fact most distressing was that the disciples were quite unable to meet the case. They were men of God; they were His most honoured servants, already sent out with power and authority by the Lord Jesus, as we saw in the beginning of this chapter: and yet they could not cope with this aggravated form of demoniacal possession.
“And Jesus answering said, O unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and suffer you? bring hither thy son.” The Lord had thus before His mind the vivid feeling of His approaching departure: “how long shall I be with you and suffer you?” It was for want, not of power but of faith, that they could not cast the spirit out. Faith always supposes two things – sense of the weight and yoke of evil that presses on man, and confidence in God as always superior to evil in His gracious power and supreme. There may be failure, but never final defeat where room is left for God to come in, and the heart cleaves to the certainty of His glory concerned in the matter. The lack of this was what grieved the Lord Jesus; their inability was due to want of faith and of self-judgment.
“But as he was yet coming the demon tore him, and dragged him all together. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and gave him back to his father.” The Lord had thus before Him a fresh and, if possible, mightier effort of Satan; but His power, or rather the power of God, which He wielded as the self-emptied Son and obedient Man, rose above all the efforts of Satan. He rebukes the unclean spirit and heals the child. “And they were all astonished at the glorious greatness of God.” Yet why should they have been? Jesus was God Himself manifest in the flesh. But the blessedness of Jesus – was this, that He never did anything simply as God, but as the Man Who was dependent on God. Had He not preserved such a place and wrought by the power of the Holy Ghost as man, He would have failed to preserve the perfect place of man and of servant in the world. But this was His human perfection from the time He came born of woman. Nothing could be so powerful as either motive or example to us.
“And as all wondered at all the things which [Jesus]* did he said to his disciples, Do ye let these words sink into your ears. For the Son of man is about to be delivered into men’s hands.” They were astonished with a wonder which, while it was a homage to what was done, was also an indication of a want of intelligence. The Lord now brings out a far deeper cause of amazement and of adoration, had they only felt it rightly. Alas! it is what unbelief always stumbles at. He who could rebuke all the power, not only of men but of Satan, was nevertheless to be delivered into the hands of men. Such was the purpose of God, such the perfect willingness of Jesus the servant of God and Lord of all! Whatever would demonstrate the truth of man’s state and of Satan’s power here below; whatever would evince the ruin of the people of God and the destruction of His glory through their ruin on earth; whatever would prove the vanity of all present hopes for man and the world – for this Jesus was willing to encounter all and to suffer from to the uttermost, that God might be first morally, then in power, glorified, and man be set in perfect peace outside it all, first by faith and at last in palpable fact and for ever. The work of atonement came within this most complete humiliation of the Son of man; but these words of Christ speak simply, it is evident, of His suffering at the hands of men.
*[“Jesus”]: so AC, etc., Syrrpesch hcl. Edd. omit, after BDL, 1, Syrrsincu, Amiat. Memph. Arm.
“Did”: so Edd., after ABCDL, etc., 1, 33, 69, Syrr. Old Lat. “Had done,” EX, etc.
“But they understood not this saying.” Yet Scripture was full of it; but the will of man blinds him to what he does not like, and nowhere so much as in Scripture. The Jews greedily caught at the vision of glory and the promises for the people – the exaltation of their nation and the downfall of their haughty Gentile oppressors. And so the words of God, which described the humiliation of the Messiah, were quite overlooked in general and always misunderstood. Even when our Lord here told them, not in prophetic form, nor with any obscurity of figure, but in the simplest terms possible, they understood not His saying. How little the understanding of Scripture has to do with its language! The true cause of darkness lies in the heart. The only real power of intelligence is in the Holy Spirit, who makes us willing to bow to Christ sensible of our own need of such a Saviour and really in earnest that God should save us on His own terms.
Luk 9:46-50
Mat 18:1-5 ; Mar 9:33-40 .
This was not the case with the disciples – “They understood not this saying.” They had not confidence fully in His love. Confidence in Him has much to do with intelligence of His Word; and even if we do not understand, confidence in Him leads us not to cavil nor to hurry, but to wait and count upon Him that He will surely clear up what we do not understand. He will reveal even this unto us. The disciples merely dropped the matter. “They feared to ask him concerning this saying.” The real state of their hearts is brought before us in the next account: “And a reasoning came in amongst them, who should be [the] greatest of them. And Jesus, seeing* the reasoning of their heart, having taken a little child, set it by him, and said to them, Whosoever shall receive this little child in my name receiveth me; and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me. For he who is the least among you all, he is great.” This was what they wanted – to become as little children. It is not here presented as in Matthew, in order to enter the Kingdom, but in relation to Christ and to God Himself. They wished each to be greatest; there was consequently a discussion which of them should have the higher place. A little child does not think about this, but is content with its parents’ love and with that which comes before it. It is not occupied with thoughts of itself, nor should it be. Indeed, this is just what is wrought in the heart by conversion; and especially by the subsequent power of the indwelling Spirit of God giving us to see Another’s greatness and goodness, in the enjoyment of which we forget ourselves. “Whosoever shall receive this little child in my name receiveth me; and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me.” The reception of Jesus is the reception of God Himself and thus the root of real greatness. But practically, flowing from this, to be least is the true greatness of the believer now. Such was Christ Himself. He was willing to take, and did take, the place of the most despised of all.tid=54#bkm242-
*”Seeing”: so ACDL, etc. Edd. adopt “knowing,” as in B, etc.
“Is”: so Edd., with BCL, etc., 1, 33, Syrr” sin, most old Lat., Amiat., Memph. “Shall be” (Blass); AD, etc., nearly all cursives (69), Syrr. Arm.
“And John answered and said, Master, we saw some one casting out demons in thy name; and we forbad him, because he follows not with us. And Jesus said to him, Forbid [him] not; for he that is not against you is for you.”* Here comes a considerably subtler form of self. The grossest form was in
*”Against you is for you”: so Edd., following BCDL, 33, Old Lat., Syrrcu sin, Memph. Goth. Aeth. Arm. “Against you is for us,” pmA. E (T.R.), etc., have “against us is for us” (Mark).
the question which of them should be greatest; but now comes a certain disguise of self, which consists in apparent zeal for the Master’s honour. “Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.” What a reason! It was well, it was an immense honour, to follow Jesus; but John betrayed himself by his very language “he followeth not with us.” Had he kept Jesus before his eye, he never would have uttered the complaint. He would have seen that it was for Jesus to call, as they had been chosen by Him in pure grace unto this honour. It was evident that John looked at it as an interference with the apostles, and a failure in acknowledging their importance. But Jesus, superior to everything of a fleshly nature, answers, “Forbid him not; for he that is not against you is for you.” Jesus, in the sense of His humiliation and looking for it even unto death, owns whatever is of God. It was not Satan that cast out Satan. It was the power of God that cast out the demons. Nay, more than this. The demons were cast out in the name of Jesus; why, then, should John have a jealousy so narrow and unworthy? Why should he not own the power that answered to his Master’s name. Ah! was it really his Master and not himself that he was thinking of? “He that is not against you is for you.” Where it was a question of the unbelief of the nation, Where Jesus was utterly despised, the word then was, “He that is not with me is against me.” The converse principle is true, no doubt; but where there was a simple-hearted man, serving God according to the measure of his faith, the Lord vindicates his action in His name. By John’s own account the power was there which answered to the name of Jesus. There was one who resisted the demons, using the name of Jesus against them. And there was power; for he did cast them out, and this through the name of Jesus. Had there, therefore, been a true care for the glory of the Lord Jesus, John would rather have rejoiced than have sought his prejudice. “Forbid him not,” says the Lord, “for he that is not against you is for you.”tid=54#bkm243-
“Against you is for you”: so Edd., following BCDL, 33, Old Lat., Syrrcu sin, Memph. Goth. Aeth. Arm. “Against you is for us,” pm A. E (T.R.), etc., have “against us is for us” (Mark).
Luke 9: 51-56.tid=54#bkm244-
“It came to pass when the days of his being received up were fulfilled he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers before his face. And having gone they entered into a village of the Samaritans that they might make ready for him. And they did not receive him,tid=54#bkm245- because his face was [turned as] going to Jerusalem.” There was no readiness for the Lord. Their dislike of favoured Jerusalem made them utterly forget the glory of Jesus and the testimony of His gracious power which these very Samaritans had every reason to know and to feel grateful for. But, “they did not receive him, because his face was [turned as] going to Jerusalem.” How often circumstances bring out the state of our hearts! What they would not dare to do, were it simply a question of Jesus, some paltry selfish feeling arouses some latent jealousy and brings all to light. These same men stumble over the personal glory of Jesus; others, attracted by the world, prove that they have no heart for a Saviour, by seeking what it has of present things to bestow. Others, again disliking the inevitable shame of the Cross of Christ, shrink from the trial it, brings them into, and prove that they have no faith because wherever this is real, it looks fixedly and simply to Jesus. Where other objects come in, there is a turning aside; but where real faith is, it welcomes the Cross and receive.. Himself, and to such God gives title to become His children.
What was the effect of Samaritan party-feeling now on the disciples? “And his disciples James and John seeing [it], said, Lord, wilt thou that we speak [that] fire come down from heaven and consume them, as also* Elias did?” Now it was not contrary to the principles of the disciples that Elias should thus be the instrument of Divine judgment; but how painfully did James and John (for now John was not alone), two that afterwards were of great weight and value in the Church of God,tid=54#bkm246- show their little perception of the grace of Jesus! The Lord of glory passes on, accepting His rejection, and bows to the ungrateful unbelief of the Samaritans. But His two servants, deriving everything of which they could boast, the only One that could take away their evil and bestow the goodness of God on them, under pretence of honouring Jesus, would command fire to come down from heaven and consume them like a Jewish prophet. flow little love had they for souls! As little was it a true regard for Jesus. It was honest Jewish nature, though in apostles. It was no doubt indignation, but this far more springing from themselves than for Jesus. Jesus turned therefore and rebuked them. It was not now simply a correction of what they were saying, but a rebuke to themselves.
*”As also Elias did”: so Blass, with ACD, all later uncials, 1, 33, 69, Syrrpesch hcl, Memph. Aeth. Other Edd. omit, after BL, and Syrrcu sin, Amiat. and Arm.
“Ye know not of what spirit ye are.”tid=54#bkm246A- The next verse would seem to be – the first part at least – an interpolation.* It was not a question of saving souls in this place. If inserted here, It would make man the reason and end; whereas the suggestion was contrary to the display of what God is, and inconsistent with His grace, which does not merely save the soul but fills the heart with the moral glory of the Lord Jesus. “And they went to another village.”
*[“And said, Ye know not of what spirit ye are”]: so Blass, after D (in part) F, and later uncials, most cursives (1, 69), Syrr, Amiat., etc., Other Edd. reject, following ABCL, etc., 33, Syrsin. See W. H., App., p. 59f. After “are,” FKM, more than sixty cursives (1, 69), Syrrcu sin, several Old Lat., and Amiat. have “For the Son of man has not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save [them].” Edd. omit, in accordance with ABCDL, etc., many cursives (33).
Luk 9:57-60 .
Mat 8:19-22 .
In all this context, since the transfiguration, human flesh is judged in its various forms. Indeed, even there the flesh was shown quite incompetent to appreciate the glory of God, or the new things of His kingdom. Thenceforward disciples and man manifest their unbelief and consequent powerlessness before Satan their unintelligence as to the sufferings of the “on of man their worldly ambition, cloaking itself under the Lord’s name, though so utterly inconsistent with Him; the party-spirit that overlooks the Spirit of God Who deigns to work sovereignly; and the spirit of grace that God was now showing in Christ as contrasted with all that even an Elias did.
But now we have not the failure of the apostles themselves, but the judgment of those who either were or wanted to be disciples. This is brought before us in the close of the chapter in three different forms successively. “It came to pass,* as they went in the way, onetid=54#bkm247- said to him, I will follow thee wheresoever thou goest, Lord. It was apparently a good confession, as it was a zealous resolution; but man never can go before the Lord. No one ever did give himself up to God – he must be called. He who says “I will follow thee” knows not his weakness. When we think what man is and what Jesus is, for man to say “I will follow thee wheresoever thou goest” is manifestly the grossest presumption, yet man sees no presumption in it. So ignorant is man, so besotted in unbelief, that to his eyes real faith seems presumptuous, whereas there is nothing so humble; for faith forgets itself in the goodness and might of Him on Whom it leans. It was the expression of self-confidence to say to Jesus, “I will follow thee wheresoever thou goest, Lord.” Now he who does this always miscalculates. He overlooks the glory of Christ and the depth of His grace. He overlooks also his own total want of power and perhaps even his need of forgiveness. No man is competent till he is called by grace to follow the Lord. And when we are called, the Lord does not send us forth at our own charges. He gives liberally the needed wisdom and ability to those who ask Him; but He goes before us. To follow the Lord whithersoever He went, before His death (as in this case), was beyond man. When even Peter, at a later date, said something like it, it was just before he denied the Lord. Such is flesh. “I will follow thee to prison and to death,” said Peter; but, in fact, the very shadow of what was coming frightened him. A servant-girl was enough to terrify the chief of the apostles. It made him tell lies with oaths; whereas the same Peter, after the death and resurrection of Christ, when his own conscience had been purified by faith according to the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, became bold as a lion, as he finally followed the Lord, not only to prison but to the death of the cross. But this was altogether the strength-giving effect of God’s grace, not of his own power, which utterly failed. When his natural energy was gone, he was stronger than ever: he was only truly strong when he had no strength of his own. The Lord answers the scribe (for such we know him to be from another Gospel): “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven roosting-places, but the Son of man hath not where he may lay his head.” The man was judged. He came for what he could get, and the Lord had nothing to give him – nothing but shame, and suffering, and destitution. The foxes might have holes, and the birds of the air nests, but the rejected Messiah had not an earthly resting-place. There was to be found in Israel no man so poor as the Lord Jesus. When He wanted to teach them a lesson of subjection to Caesar, whom their sins had set over them, He had to ask for a penny to be shown Him. We do not know that the Lord ever possessed a fraction. “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have roosting-places; but the Son of man hath not where he may lay his head.” It was no use therefore for this man to follow Him in hopes of gaining by it. What could be gained by it on earth, but a share of His rejection? “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” (1Co 15:19 .)
*”It came to pass”: so AD, etc., Syrpesch, Goth. Edd. omit, after BCL, etc., 33, 69, Syrrcu sin, Memph. Aeth. Arm.
“Lord”: so AC and later uncials, nearly all cursives, Goth. Edd. omit, after BDL, 1, Syrsin, Amiat. Memph.
But now comes another case, considerably different, where the Lord takes the initiative.
“He said to another, Follow me.” The flesh, so bold in its offers to go after Jesus, is really slow to follow when He calls; as this man, though called, instantly feels the difficulties, and says, “Lord,* allow me to go first and bury my father.” You find this in true believers. When a person has Christianity before his mind as a theory, all seems easy. He thinks he can do anything. Ordinarily, where the faith is genuine, difficulties are felt; and this man pleads the very first of all human duties. What would seem not only reasonable, but so, incumbent on him, as first to go and bury his father? Did not the law command the child to honour father and mother? To be sure; but One was there greater than the law. The, God who gave the law was calling, and if He says, Follow Me, faith gives up everything, even be it father, or mother, or wife, or children, for Christ’s sake. Believers must come to, this sooner or later; generally in the long run, every one who thoroughly follows Christ. It is not felt at every moment; but the principle of Christianity is the sovereign call of God in Christ that takes one clean out of the world. Whilst still in the world one belongs to another – absolutely and only to. Christ, to do the will of God. Hence all natural ties must be in comparison like the green withs with which Samson was bound, and which were no more than tow before his all-overcoming strength. The most intimate of natural ties are after all but of flesh; whereas flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. The link with Christ is of the Spirit; and the Spirit is mightier than the flesh. Therefore, whatever might be the claim of a dead father, or of what was due to the feelings of a Jew – for the Jew regarded him who did not bury his father with suitable care and affection as lost to all that was proper and as unworthy of any association with them – yet if the distinct person and call of Christ come in, at that moment, surely He must be followed.
*”Lord”: so ACL, later uncials, nearly all cursives, Old Lat, Goth. Memph. Edd. omit, after BpmDV, Syrsin.
This was a test; Christ knew all, and not without moral motive had called him at that point precisely rather than any other; and the question for him was whether Christ was more to his soul than any one or thing in the world besides. Was it really so, that standing well with the Jews and with his family was of more consequence to him than Christ, than heaven or hell, than eternity itself? This man may have honestly desired to follow Christ, yet he pleads for a delay on the road. But the Lord’s answer to him is “Suffer the dead to bury their own dead,tid=54#bkm248- but do thou go and announce the kingdom of God” – a perplexing answer to a person whose eye was not single. Thus the Lord tries faith. He does not put things in the simplest possible form to faith or to unbelief – above all, where there is something allowed that hinders. The Lord will be inquired of. So He says here, “Suffer the dead to bury their own dead” – that is, let the dead spiritually bury their natural dead – “but do thou go and announce the kingdom of God.” It was not only that this man was called to follow Jesus, but to be a witness for Him, to be a proclaimer of God’s kingdom. How could it fare with others, if there was not faith in him to give up all for Christ? One of the reasons why there is so little power in the testimony of Christ is because there is so little faith in those who testify it. Mohammedans, etc., constantly tax Christian missionaries with this: “You profess to have a revelation from God in the Bible; but you yourselves evidently do not act according to that book. How can you seriously ask us to believe? How can we think that you believe it? We believe our books, and if we accept loyally the Koran, with its system of prayers and ablutions, we follow it. We scrupulously conform to the prescriptions of the Prophet. You affirm that Christ preached the sermon on the mount, for instance. Yet you constantly get out of the difficulty of not following it by the plea that the times are changed. We stick to the Koran every day and at all costs. God is the unchangeable God, and He has a constant claim upon the faithful.” Thus one of the main obstacles to the conversion of other religionists is the way in which ministers of Christ expose themselves by their want of faith to the mockery of their adversaries. This increases the heart’s unbelief, because for the most part professing Christendom does not even pretend to adhere inflexibly to Scripture. They say that times have so altered that they can take only such parts as suit the present day. They think nothing of seeking the world and its glory and everything that will attract flesh. They think to draw some by this means and some by that; whereas the truth is, they are themselves drawn away by the world from the truth and will of God. To court the countenance of man, to seek what the world values, is practically to abandon Christianity for the will of man. It is the living mingling with the dead, instead of leaving the dead to bury their dead. The Lord’s call must set aside every other.
Luk 9:61 f.
The third case again differs somewhat. “I will follow thee, Lord; but first allow me to bid adieu to those at my house.” There we have one who allows the amenities of life to be “first.” It was no such serious detention. It was merely to pay them ordinary courtesy. But the Lord insists upon the absolute renunciation of every hindrance: “No one, having laid his handtid=54#bkm249- on [the] plough and looking back is fittid=54#bkm250- for the kingdom of God.” If Christianity is anything, it is and must be everything. It admits of no rivals and of no delays. It could not be the kingdom of the true God if it tolerated the turning aside of His servants for ever so little. Christ is the first and the last, and must be all to the heart or He becomes nothing through the wiles of the devil.
NOTES ON THE NINTH CHAPTER.
220 Luk 9:2 . – “Proclaim,” , of the Kingdom (see note 192). Burkitt seeks to distinguish here between the style of Luke and that of Paul (p. 117, note); but see 1Co 9:27 , where having used in verse 16, when the Apostle comes to the conflict connected with reward (cf. note on Luk 22:16 ff.) he uses . Cf. Act 20:25 and the last verse of the same Book.
“To heal the sick.” With the idea that some such power resides still in the Church, a “Guild of Health and Spiritual Healing” has recently been founded by some Anglicans. As to this topic, see art. by Dr. A. T. Schofield, in Contemporary Review, March, 1909, who calls attention to the Epistle of Jas 5:14 (, medical, not , sacramental).
221 Luk 9:3 . – “Money,” i.e., silver (), because Luke is writing for Greeks; Mark has “copper,” from writing for Romans (Farrar).
“Wallet”: cf. that carried by Eastern beggars at the present day (Deissmann,
“Light from the Ancient East,” p. 42 ff.).
222 Luk 9:9 . – “Sought the imperfect, equivalent to “would seek,” as a habit: cf. Luk 23:8 .
Herod seems to have supposed there was a change of soul from an old body into a new one, as part of the current Jewish notion of pre-existence: cf. Joh 9:2 .
223 Luk 9:10 . – Richard Cecil wrote: “Christ’s workmen must not live in a bustle . . . driving through the business of the day. I am obliged to withdraw myself regularly and say to my heart, ‘What are you doing? Where are you'” Cf. Song of Son 1:6 , “Mine own vineyard have I not kept” (Ryle).
224 “Into,” as is commonly rendered; but its use in Luk 19:29 justifies the rendering of the preposition here as “towards”: for the distinction between it and , cf. note 65 on Mark. Joh 6:5 shows that the incident took place in the neighbourhood of Bethsaida. Luke is not inconsistent, as alleged by Wright (“Gospel of Luke,” p. 87). Some of those who suppose that there were two places with the same name distinguish this, in Galilee, from Bethsaida Julias in Gaulonitis (cf. note 40 on John). The reading of “D,” “village,” may indicate that this was the site of the Old Bethsaida (so Wellhausen).
224a “Spoke . . . cured.” The Lord had both taught (Mark) and healed (Matthew). “Luke, treating so markedly of grace, calls attention to the double manner of its manifestation that day” (Stuart, p. 18).
225 Luk 9:12 ff. – “The day began to decline”: cf. Luk 24:29 .
This is the only miracle recorded by all the Evangelists. It took place in the spring, just before the Passover (Joh 6:4 ).
“Victuals”: American Revv., “provisions.”
226 Luk 9:16 . – “Gave”: again an imperfect (kept giving).
227 Luk 9:17 . – Matthew Henry: “None are sent away empty from Christ, but those that come to Him full of themselves,” a reminiscence probably of Luk 1:53 ; cf. Rev 3:17 .
The translation in the “Exposition” of the close of the verse is that approved by De Wette, B. Weiss, and Plummer. Alford followed Meyer.
The (hand-basket) appears in all the accounts of the feeding of the five thousand; whilst (hamper) is used by Matthew and Mark in connection with the four thousand. Those laying stress on verbal analysis have to reckon with this when treating the later miracles as a “doublet.”
228 Luk 9:18 ff. – There is a rift in Luke’s record compared with Mark’s. Our Evangelist omits the story of the heathen woman, to the discomfiture of critics. J. Weiss: “We can only confess our ignorance.” It were well if such a confession came oftener. Even an Apostle could write,” We know in part.”
“Alone”: American Revv., “apart.”
“I” (verse 18), as Mar 8:27 . Matthew here has “Son of Man” (Mat 16:13 ). Cf. note on Luk 6:22 .
The verses down to 22, compared with the parallels in Matthew and Mark, tell us of the great crisis or turning-point in the Lord’s disclosures; verse 20 being the revelation that he was Messiah; verse 22, a contemporary announcement, for the first time, according to this Gospel, of the coming Passion, and coincident with the introduction of His self-designation as “Son of Man” (see “Exposition “). For the surprise such association of ideas must cause to the Jewish mind, see Luk 1:33 , and Joh 12:34 . As to the critics’ treatment of the Messianic claims, see note 82 f. on Mark.
Peter’s confession here precedes (in Matthew follows) the saying, “All things have been delivered,” etc. (Luk 10:22 ).
229 Luk 9:23 ff. (cf. Luk 14:29 f., etc.). – Around these words, found substantially in each of the Gospels (cf. Mat 16:25 ; Mar 8:35 ; Joh 12:25 ), gather all the thoughts of Thomas Kempis’ “Imitation of Christ.” Self-sacrifice, suffering, is seen, by men otherwise so widely differing in their views as Dr. Martineau and Bishop Gore, to be of the essence of Christianity, which so far has no meeting-point with Buddhistic “illusion of self,” at present so much in vogue; that idea and Christ’s “denial of self,” the suppression of sorrow and its transfiguring into joy, badly sort together.
As to difference between self-love and selfishness, see Murray (“Christian Ethics,” 116), and for the various “selves” represented in the individual man which are recognized by modern Psychology, James (“Text Book,” chapter 12).
Noticeable is the travesty of the Lord’s words here in R. T. Campbell’s “New Theology,” where salvation is said to lie “in ceasing to be selfish” (p. 210).
“Daily,” not once a week. Cf. verse 26. “It is not at all a question of professional ministry any more than of monasticism” (see Catholic Catechism, No. 342). Cf. 1Co 15:31 .
One modern writer tells us that JESUS “was not a Christian” (Wellhausen, Introduction, p. 113); another, that “there has been only one Christian, and he died on the Cross. There never have been Christians at all” (Nietzsche, “Antichrist,” 39). Is it not a truism, so far as regards this last pronouncement, that “there are none so blind as those who will not see”?
Some critics, enamoured of the idea of “accretion,” declare that these words could not have been spoken before the Crucifixion. One would be glad to learn from such writers how they conceive that the language could have originated after that event without misunderstanding. If “cross” and “lose his life” here are to be understood, the “daily” of Luk 14:27 , which is here represented by the present tense of the verbs, must be taken into account. The reader is urged to abide by Paul’s interpretation (1Co 15:31 ), realized in that Apostle’s experience, and by having his words in Rom 12:1 and Gal 2:20 burnt into the soul. Celsus said that, in his own day, Gal 6:14 was ever “in the mouth of every Christian of every sect.” We are reminded here of “form of godliness without the power” (2Ti 3:5 ), in days when anything like stern reality is decried as “enthusiasm,” so prone are “the many” to lukewarmness.
We have here constantly repeated assumption of successive forms of self-denial or self-stripping, be it hand or foot or eye (Mar 9:43-47 ), symbolic of the deeds of the body requiring mortification (Rom 13 ).
230 Luk 9:24 . – “Life,” i.e., soul: see note 35 and cf. Luk 12:19 .
231 Luk 9:26 . – Fear of society’s ridicule, not peculiar to one period of life, heads the list of hindrances to decided discipleship set forth in a “Bulletin de l’Union Chrtienne de Jeunes Gens” (Brussels, Feb., 1906).
232 “The Son of Man.” Wellhausen, in his Introduction, p. 79, remarks: “Jesus here distinguishes Himself from the Son of Man.” But cf. Mat 10:32 f. with verse 23 there, and see note 30 on Mark, ad fin.
“The holy angels”: cf. 2Th 1:7 .
233 Luk 9:27 . – For “taste of death” ( ), cf. the Talmudic ta’am mtha.
233a The “Kingdom of God” instead of the personal “Son of Man” in the other Synoptics. Schmiedel remarks: “There is no longer any mention of the coming” (“Jesus in Modern Criticism,” p. 33 f.), as to which observe that in each of these three Gospels the respective form of words is in the same context, that of the Transfiguration. We need not consult Jerome, Hilary, or Chrysostom to be assured that this vision was the one meant, and that it has no reference (as Sanday supposes) to Pentecost (Act 1:8 , Act 2:4 ). On critical principles one would have expected transposition; so Wellhausen has to suggest that the story originated in a vision of the risen Christ. Awkwardly for such writers, the Transfiguration was recorded by Mark likewise; so that it cannot be said of Peter, as far as the Gospels are concerned, that he seems not to have known of it. Mark tells us that it was at the bidding of JESUS the three disciples did not disclose it until after His resurrection; and Matthew’s like statement was doubtless derived from his fellow Apostle. The disciples would freely communicate to one another their several experiences, which thus became common property.”
Mark speaks of “power” (Mar 9:1 ). At 8: 38 of the record which, according to the critics is the first Synoptic, the same Evangelist has “with the holy angels,” which Matthew has reproduced (Mat 16:27 ). But it is not the mention of these which explains the “power” peculiar to the shortest Gospel, in which JESUS is characteristically the Isaianic “Servant of Jehovah,” who was “made a little lower than the angels” (Heb 2:9 ), to prove “much better” than they, as He “by inheritance obtained a more excellent name,” that of the SON (ibid. 1: 4; cf. “This is my beloved son” in all three Synoptic accounts). Thus, it was to be “crowned with glory and honour,” the passage first cited from Hebrews tells us, as by anticipation in this scene, cf. 2Pe 3:16 f. Hence “power” in the critics’ first Gospel exactly expresses the transformation which the disciples witnessed.
234 Luk 9:28 ff. – “Eight days.” A fragment of a day at each end was reckoned in addition to the “six days” of Matthew and Mark.
As to a week being passed over here without any record of the ministry, see Stuart, p. 116.
235 Luk 9:29 . – The word , for “white,” is used also in Rev 1:14 .
236 Luk 9:31 – Wright would have that “spoke” () means Moses and Elias informing the Lord of the details of His death (“Synopsis,” p. 85). Does such exposition court serious refutation?
A really illuminative remark is that of Bishop Hall, in his “Contemplations” (vii. 5), that the appearance of Moses’ body, hid in the valley of Moab, was for Christians to know that “their bodies are not lost but laid up, and shall as sure be raised up in glory as they are laid down in corruption.”
“Departure” (): cf. Act 13:34 , for Luke’s use of , “entry.” The word “exodus” is found again in 2Pe 1:15 . As to such being the theme of the conversation, Dr. Torrey, in one of his London addresses, well asked, “Could anything make more for the fundamental importance of His death?”
237 Luk 9:32 . – “Oppressed with sleep,” seemingly indicating that it was night; cf. verse 37.
238 “Having fully woke up.” So Revv. text, Wellhausen, etc. The R.V. margin, “having kept awake,” is in accordance with the usual sense of the word.
238a Luk 9:33 . – “Tabernacles.” This seems to have taken place about the time of the Feast so named, in the autumn of the year preceding the Passion.
239 Luk 9:34 . – The reading , as the pronoun in the second place, B. Weiss, in his critical dissertation, supposes was substituted for there in order to make the meaning clearer, that the disciples did not themselves enter the cloud. Blass puts a stop at “feared,” which enables him to connect “as they entered” with “a voice,” etc. If be read, all six persons would seem to have been in the cloud (so Godet), unless (with Weiss) we take this as referring back to the one in verse 33. “Out of the cloud,” in any case, makes for the disciples being outside of it.
240 Luk 9:35 . – “Beloved.” The word seems to have become Biblically equivalent to , “only begotten” (i.e., “Only Son,” Swete, “Studies,” p. 167), from the way in which these words alternate in the LXX. version of yachid. Cf. note 90 on Mark, and Sir R. Anderson, “The Lord from Heaven,” p. 30..
For the designation , “chosen” (R.V.), see Isa 42:1 , and cf. Luk 23:35 . Observe, however, that by the prophets it is used of the Lord as , not as .
As to the glory of Christ making that of Moses and the prophets disappear, cf. the argument of 2Co 3:7-11 .
240a Luk 9:36 . – The Transfiguration and the Lord’s words leading up to it have no more to do with the Roman destruction of Jerusalem than with His ascension. The scene is a type, a shadow of the Millennial Kingdom.
For such as Loisy (i. 93, ii. 40), Wellhausen ad loc., and in England, Carpenter (pp. 143-151), “told no man” does but mean that before the death of JESUS no one had ever heard of the Transfiguration! Historical criticism of this kind, will not stand the test supplied by sense of human character.
241 Luk 9:37 . – Cf. Exo 34:30 . The Syriac of Sinai shews the same reading followed as by the Curetonian – “that” instead of “following” day.
242 Luk 9:46 ff. – Self-assertion: cf. Luk 22:24 . In Mar 9:29 the inefficiency of the disciples is attributed to lack of prayer (if not fasting also); whilst in Mat 17:20 , faith in their very commission (verse 1 here), seems to have broken down.
“Should be”: American Revv., “was.”
“In My name” (verse 48). To the present day Arabic-speaking hospital patients in Palestine and Egypt use the name of JESUS in appealing for relief.
Jealousy comes out in verse 49 here; the more petty because of the man’s success in contrast with their culpable failure.
243 Luk 9:50 . – Cf. Mar 9:39 f. Here “you” replaces “us” of the earlier Gospel.
244 Luk 9:51 . – At this point we enter upon a record of the Lord’s ministry which, with the exception of Luk 11:14-44 , Luk 12:1-12 , Luk 12:35-40 , and Luk 17:1-4 , is peculiar to Luke (see note 4 F), ranging from about the Feast of Tabernacles (October) – cf. John 8 – to about Passover of the year following (the spring), and covering the chapters down to 18 (verse 14), where the link with Matthew and Mark reappears, down to 19: 29. Cf. also Joh 7:2 and Joh 10:22 , from the latter of which passages we learn that the Lord was at Jerusalem in the winter, and then retired “again beyond Jordan” (verse 40).
Wieseler, followed by Ellicott (“Historical Lectures,” p. 241), regarded this portion of the Gospel as spreading over two journeys of Christ before the final one: the second of these would begin with Luk 17:11 , and end at 19: 29 (but cf. next note). It supplies that ministry of our Lord, loosely called the “Perean.” Peraea was in the district of old called “Gilead.” From the assertion of the direction always taken (Luk 13:22 and Luk 17:11 , cf. Luk 18:35 ), critics (Keim and followers, as Wellhausen) have started the idea that the Evangelist was confused in his geography. As to this, Godet or Hahn may be consulted. A later writer, Spitta, has shown in his “Disputed Questions” that the criticism is baseless, for that the route from Galilee to Judea, (1) through Samaria, and (2) by way of Jericho, was customary.
“Receiving up,” , which supplied a technical word for the Ascension. It is used here only in the New Testament; but for the verb, see Act 1:2 , Act 11:22 , besides 1 Tim. 3-16.
See Maclaren’s sermon (Third Series), on “Christ Hastening to the Cross.”
“To go to Jerusalem.” Cf. Luk 13:22 , Luk 17:11 , Luk 18:31 , Luk 19:38 . There seems to be one journey in view throughout, of which there is a “threefold narrative”: see paper of Col. Mackinlay in Interpreter April, 1911. Three may be seen to play an important part in the Book of Acts, where Paul’s conversion is thrice described (Act 9:3 ff., Act 22:5 ff., Act 26:12 ff.), and Peter’s visit to Cornelius in the same way alluded to (Act 10:1 ff., Act 11:4 ff., Act 15:7 ff.), whilst that Apostle’s vision is said to have been threefold (Act 10:16 ). It is conceived that Luke had in his Gospel the same plan – to draw special attention to the particular incident in question.
245 Luk 9:53 . – For Jewish feeling toward Samaritans, see Ecclesiasticus, i. 25 f.
246 Luk 9:54 . – “James and John.” Briggs supposes that the sons of Zebedee were the only Apostles with the Lord at this time (“New Light,” chapter iv.). Carr notes that John was the first to give Apostolic blessing to the newly-founded Christian community of Samaria in Act 8:14 f. Bishop Jeremy Taylor preached from this verse.
246a Luk 9:55 . – The Lord wrought miracles in every element except fire, which is reserved for the consummation of the age (Bengel).
247 Luk 9:57 . – “One.” Mat 8:19 informs us that he was “a scribe.” Augustine has a sermon on this verse (op. cit., p. 397).
248 Luk 9:60 . – “Let the dead bury their dead” is a saying still current In the East.
249 Luk 9:61 f. – “Hand,” not hands (Schor, p. 19 f.): It is the same in India at the present day. The ploughman requires the other hand for holding the pole with which he pricks the oxen.
250 “Fit,” , as a question of conduct. Cf. use of the word in 14: 35, and of in respect of work in Tit 1:10 : “worthless as to every good work.” It is not a question of fitness for eternal life, which consists in acknowledgment before God of one’s absolute worthlessness and need. Cf. Act 13:4 in that connection with 2Ti 3:8 , worthless as regards the faith.”
With these two verses cf. Mat 6:33 , Mat 13:44-46 .
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk 9:1-6
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. 4Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city. 5And 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.” 6Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Luk 9:1 “He called the twelve together” Possibly all twelve were not with Jesus all the time. They had responsibilities at home with their families (cf. 1Ti 5:8) and it is quite possible that different groups of Apostles (four groups of three) went home at different times for short periods.
Here Luke seems to follow Mar 6:7 in calling the disciples “the Twelve” (ddeka, MSS P75, A, B, D, W), but some Greek manuscripts address them as
1. his disciples in several lectionaries
2. his twelve disciples (cf. Mar 10:1) MSS C3, E, F, H
3. twelve apostles MSS , C*, L
The UBS4 gives “the Twelve” a B rating (almost certain).
“gave them power and authority” Dunamis means the ability to overcome; exousia means legal right or authority. These two terms are used earlier in Luk 4:36, also in connection with Jesus’ exorcisms of demons. See Special Topic: Luke’s Use of Exousia at Luk 20:2.
“over all the demons and to heal diseases” Notice the distinction that is made between demon possession and physical illness. Demons often cause physical symptoms, but in exorcisms there is a clear distinction in the NT between demonic activity and physical diseases. See Special Topic: The Demonic at Luk 4:33.
Luk 9:2 “He sent them out” The term “sent” (apostell) is related to the term “apostle” (apostolos). The primary meaning in rabbinical circles was “to send someone” as an official representative with authority. They were to preach that the kingdom of God had come in Jesus of Nazareth and then confirm their message with signs.
Jesus’ power and authority can be delegated to His followers. Surely there is an intensity shared between the Twelve and Jesus that cannot be duplicated, but God’s power is available to His church. Where is the power in our day? It seems that these power signs are used to confirm the gospel message and give credence to the gospel preacher. This is still true today. However, in cultures where the gospel message has taken root, then believers must walk by faith, not by sight; trust in God, do not demand miracles (cf. Joh 4:48). Miracles are not the answer to faith problems! It is also very possible that the judgment of God on the modern western church is the perception of success, but the reality of ineffectiveness.
Signs and miracles, as well as demonic and angelic activity, increased in Jesus’ and the Apostles’ day. This spiritual activity is surely present in every age, but it intensified at Jesus’ first coming and will intensify again as His Second Coming draws near.
I rejoice in the manifestations of God’s love and power (i.e., the gifts are still active), but I trust in gospel truths, not the presence or absence of physical confirmations. Miracles and signs can be counterfeit (cf. Mat 24:24; 2Th 2:9; Rev 13:13; Rev 16:14; Rev 19:20). Believers must not demand confirmation! Childlike faith is spiritually superior to supernatural signs and wonders.
This is a good place to compare Luke’s account of the mission of the Twelve to Matthew’s account (cf. Mat 10:5), where Jesus specifically says not to go to the Gentiles or Samaritans, but only to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” The questions arises, what exactly did Jesus say? Does Luke edit Jesus’ words or does Matthew expand Jesus’ words? This is the kind of question that cannot be answered. Each evangelist (Gospel writer) had a particular audience in mind (Matthew Jews, Luke Gentiles). They select, arrange, and adapt Jesus’ words to fit this target audience (see Fee and Stuart, How To Read the Bible For All Its Worth, pp 127-148 ). This example of the sending of the Twelve illustrates the differences! This does not violate inspiration; it is part of it!
“the kingdom of God” This was the central thrust of Jesus’ teachings. It relates to the reign of God in human hearts now that will one day be consummated with God’s reign over all the earth (cf. Mat 6:10). This new day of God’s activity (the New Age of the Spirit) began in Jesus’ ministry. They did not yet know all the gospel details, but they did know the gospel personJesus. It is Him they preach. See Special Topic: The Kingdom of God at Luk 4:21.
SPECIAL TOPIC: THIS AGE AND THE AGE TO COME
Luk 9:3 “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff” There seems to be a contradiction between this verse and Mar 6:8. Some explain it by saying that there was a confusion in translating the two Aramaic terms. Others assert that “a staff” is mentioned because often it had a secret compartment for carrying money. Although I cannot explain the discrepancy, it is obvious the main thrust of this verse is that they were to depend on God’s provision, not their own. It is also obvious that this was not a universal principle to be followed in all ages (cf. Luk 22:35-36).
These comparisons are confusing and painful to our simplistic understanding of the nature of the inspiration of the Gospels, but we cannot get away from them. A good discussion of this and other “discrepancies” between Gospel accounts is found in Hard Sayings of the Bible, pp. 422-424.
Luk 9:4 “Whatever house you enter, stay there” The disciples were not to be moving from house to house seeking better food or accommodations, but were to stay where they were first invited. This showed the community that they were not self-seeking.
Luk 9:5 “shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them” This was a cultural sign of rejection. The rabbis did this whenever they had to travel through Gentile areas before reentering Jewish areas. It was also used in the book of Acts (cf. Act 13:51). This may have been a subtle way of treating Jewish unbelievers the way they treated Gentiles.
Luk 9:6 As Jesus passed through all the villages preaching and healing, so now the Apostolic group mimics the Master. See Robert Coleman’s The Master Plan of Discipleship.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
His twelve disciples. Most of the texts omit “His disciples”. Hence we must render. “the Twelve”. Compare Luk 9:10
power. Greek dunamis. App-172.
authority. Greek exousia. See App-172.
over. Greek. epi. App-104.
devils = the demons. cure. Greek. therapeuo. Same as “heal” Luk 9:61.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
1-5.] MISSION OF THE TWELVE. Mat 10:5-15. Mar 6:7-13. Marks account agrees nearly exactly with the text. The discourse is given at much greater length in Matt., where see notes.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Let’s turn in our Bibles to the gospel according to Luke, chapter 9.
Luke here records the sending of the twelve to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. This is not to be confused with the time that He sent out the seventy. We will get that in the beginning of chapter 10. But here He is sending out the twelve to go throughout the area of Galilee. In fact, to go as far as they can, they are to travel light. Which means that they will be traveling fast, and they will be getting out as far as they can in this period of time.
So he called his twelve disciples together, and he gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house you enter into, there abide, and from there depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where. 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 risen from the dead; And others said, that Elias had appeared; and still others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. And Herod said, John I have beheaded; but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him ( Luk 9:1-9 ).
A desire that was not fulfilled until Jesus was standing trial on the day of His crucifixion.
Now we noticed that when Jesus sent out His disciples, He told them that they were not to take a purse, nothing for their journey, neither script, nor bread, nor money, nor two coats. Wherever they would go, they were to abide with the people there, and eat what was given to them, and receive from the people, “For the labor,” He said, “is worthy of his hire.”
Traveling light they could travel fast, and they could travel far, which they were to do. Their mission was to preach the kingdom. Incidental to preaching the kingdom was the healing of the sick and the curing of deceases. But that was only incidental to the preaching of the kingdom. That was not their mission. Their mission was not to heal the sick or cure diseases. The mission was to preach the kingdom. And the healings were incidental to the mission. And so must it always be. The church should be involved with the total person. We should be interested in the needs of society, and we cannot ignore them. But we mustn’t make the mistake of making the social work the mission of the church. It is incidental to the mission of the church of preaching the kingdom of God. That’s the mission. We’re to declare to the world of a glorious kingdom that is coming. That kingdom of God, of which a person can now become a part, by submitting himself to God as King.
Now as we proclaim the kingdom of God, we cannot ignore the hunger of people, the needs of people. And those incidental to our mission is that social work of the church in the community, but it should never become the primary mission of the church. And unfortunately today in the modern church, they have exchanged the message, really, for the social work, and the social gospel, and they are not really doing a good job with either.
Now the disciples, in a sense, were poor, in that they were to take no money, nor two coats, but yet they were very rich by what He gave them. He gave them power and authority to use that power. The word power is dunamis, the energy, the dynamic. And then that authority to use that power. Now they were evidently effective in their ministry, because word got around that what was happening; it even came to Herod. And he heard the various things that were being done, and he desired to see Jesus.
And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went a side privately into a desert place belonging unto the city of Bethsaida ( Luk 9:10 ).
So they had come back now from their journey, they were suffering jet lag, and so He figured it’s a good time to just go over to the other side of the lake and just be alone with them for a little bit. To get their reports. And to see how things went, and to sort of put things together. And so across to the sort of deserted side of the lake, a deserted area, near the village of Bethsaida.
And the people, when they knew it, they followed him ( Luk 9:11 ):
So that when they arrived . . . actually leading from Capernaum, Bethsaida is just a short little ways, maybe five miles across the northern end of the Sea of Galilee there. And visibility is good, and you can watch the ship that is going. You can tell the course that they are taking. You know exactly where they are going to land on the other side. And as soon as the people saw the ship going over that direction towards Bethsaida, they said, “That’s where He is going, come on.” And they jogged around the upper end of the Sea of Galilee. And as they were jogging through the villages, people would say, “Hey, where are you going?” “Oh, Jesus is going to be over here.” So people joined them, so that by the time that Jesus arrived there was a huge crowd.
Trying to get away alone with your disciples, have a little quite time, and He is greeted by a tremendous throng of people. Some five thousand men, besides women and children. So you can create your own estimates on the crowd, perhaps 15,000 or so.
Now at this point it would be very easy to be irritated. As you are trying to get away for some quiet time. But Jesus, it said,
received them, and he spoke unto them of the kingdom of God ( Luk 9:11 ),
Last Sunday we dealt with the subject with the kingdom of God. If you weren’t here, I would suggest that you get the tape of last Sunday morning. This was the central message of Jesus. He was proclaiming to man that there is a kingdom where God wants men to live. A kingdom of light and life. A kingdom that is marked by righteousness, and joy, and peace, and love. And that kingdom comes to a man when he submits himself to God as the King of his life. And that’s what the kingdom of God is all about. When God reigns as King.
And so He preached to them of the kingdom of God, spoke to them of it.
and he healed those that were in need of healing. And when the day began to wear away, the twelve came to him, and said, Lord, you better send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and the country around here, and find a place to spend the night, and to get some food: for this is a deserted area ( Luk 9:11-12 ).
There is no McDonald’s around here.
And he said unto them, Go head and feed them. And they said, We don’t have anything but five loaves and two fish; unless we would go into town and buy food for all of these people. For there were about five thousand men. And he said unto his disciples, Make them sit down in company of fifty. And so they did that, and they made them all sit down. And he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and he broke them, and he gave the disciples to set before the multitude. And they did all eat, and they were glutted: and then they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full ( Luk 9:13-17 ).
We’ve commented on this when we were going through Matthew’s, and Mark’s gospel. And I don’t feel that it is in need of any further comments than that which has already have been made.
Now from Bethsaida, the Sea of Galilee, the northern end there, our next little scene takes place around forty miles away. Jesus has now moved with His disciples from the area near Bethsaida. We know that He returned across the lake to Capernaum. But now Luke’s next little scene that we have takes place up at Caesarea Philippi, which is the area that is today called Baneas. And it is right at the foot of the Mount Herman, where the Jordan River begins as a huge spring coming right out of the rocks. The water just begins to flow right there from the rocks. It’s an interesting thing to go to Baneas today and see the beginning of that Jordan River, right there at Baneas, right at the base of Mount Herman.
And so we are moving now from the Sea of Galilee. We are at the upper end. It’s like He is getting alone with His disciples, leaving the crowded areas around the Sea of Galilee, and coming up now to Caesarea Philippi.
And Luke again who is more careful to point out the prayer life of Jesus than the other gospels. For there are seven places in Luke’s gospel where he points out the fact that Jesus was praying when certain things took place that are not recorded in the other gospels. But Luke is careful to report them, because Luke’s emphasis is upon the humanity of Jesus. And because his emphasis is upon the humanity of Jesus, and one of the greatest needs that men has is contact with God through prayer. Something that Jesus felt important, and accentual, even in His God-man state. So Luke is careful to point out the prayer life of Jesus.
So it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him ( Luk 9:18 );
Now that’s an interesting statement, isn’t it? Sounds contradictory. As He was alone praying, His disciples were with Him. But such is the case when a man is in prayer.
Prayer is a very private thing. It is communion between you and the Father. And you know that communion can be a very private thing, even in the midst of a large company. And sometimes I have found it’s so strengthening and helpful in a crowd to get alone with God in prayer. Pressed by a situation, and so He was alone praying, His disciples were with Him.
and he asked them, Whom say the people that I am? ( Luk 9:18 )
What’s the popular opinion? What are the people saying?
And they answered and said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, that one of the old prophets is risen again ( Luk 9:19 ).
Now these are the stories that you remember Herod had heard. Herod had heard that John the Baptist was risen again, or that it was Elijah, or that it was one of the old prophets risen again.
And so he said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answering said, The Christ of God. And he immediately charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing ( Luk 9:20-21 );
Now you may wonder, “Why did Jesus tell them not to tell anybody?” I believe it is because at this point they had a totally false conception of the Messiah. “You are the Messiah of God,” Peter said. Jesus said, “Don’t tell anybody.” For the disciples themselves did not understand this at this point. Because the whole Jewish concept of the Messiah was the establishing of the kingdom and the overthrow of the kingdoms of the world. And they did not understand that He was to come into the kingdom by His death. So because they did not fully understand the complete implications of Him being the Messiah of God, He said, “Don’t tell anybody, you don’t know enough about it yourself yet. Don’t tell anybody about this.” Because He knew that His mission was to be accomplished, not by establishing His throne in Jerusalem, and overthrowing the Roman powers, and bringing the world in submission, but His kingdom was to be established by Him hanging on a cross. Something the disciples did not understand, could not understand, would not understand, until He rose again from the dead. So these are things that they did not comprehend, and would not comprehend until after the resurrection. “So don’t go out and publish this, because the crucifixion would then blast the hopes of all the people.” If they went out and said, “Oh, the Messiah is here.” The crucifixion would have destroyed everybody. It was premature until the resurrection of the dead, and then they could proclaim the fact that this was the Messiah. For they could now even point out the scriptures being fulfilled in His death. But they didn’t understand it, so He said, “Don’t tell anybody, it’s premature, you don’t understand this fully yourself.”
And then he said, The Son of man must suffer many things ( Luk 9:22 ),
Peter just said, “You’re the Messiah of God.” In their mind they thought, “Oh, oh, sitting on the throne, He is going to reign. Lord, can I sit at your right hand? I want to sit on your left hand.” And so now He is beginning to break to them the news. “You’re right, I am the Messiah of God, yet I am going to suffer many things.”
and I am going to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and I am going to be slain, but I will rise again on the third day ( Luk 9:22 ).
Now He is beginning to tell them, though they don’t understand, this is just going over their head. In fact, Matthew tells us that at this point Peter began to rebuke Him. Said, “Oh, Lord, be that far from thee. Don’t talk like that.” And Jesus said, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” So they don’t understand. “Don’t go out and publish this yet, you’re not ready, you don’t understand.”
And he said unto them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man’s advantage, if he gained the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? 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 ( Luk 9:23-26 ).
Now you see He is beginning to tell them now more about the truth about the Messiah. “Thou art the Messiah of God.” “Don’t tell anybody, because I am going to be despised, I am going to be rejected, I am going to be slained, but I am going to rise again the third day. And I am going to come again in the glory of the Father. That’s when the kingdom is going to be established, when I come again with the glory of the Father, and all the holy angels.”
“Now if you want to be a part of this kingdom, if you want to come after Me, you got to deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Me.” These are the requirements of discipleship. “If any man will come after Me.” And they remain today for the requirements for discipleship, there is a denying of self, for the kingdom of God is not selfishness. It is not self-centeredness. The kingdom of God is not man-centered; it is God-centered. And a man whose life is centered in God cannot be centered in himself. But because it is centered in God, it will have as that proof the desire to give, and to help fellow man, because that is God’s desire. And as I submit to God, God will lead me in giving myself, and of myself to others. So you must deny yourself and take up your cross daily. The taking up of the cross involves the total submission of your will to God.
Jesus in the garden prayed, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.” Referring to the cross. “Nevertheless,” He said, “not My will, Thy will be done.” And if I take up my cross, what I am doing is saying, “Father, not my will, Thy will be done in my life.” It is the submitting of myself totally to the will of the Father.
The third aspect is following Jesus Christ. Those are the requirements of discipleship. Now the rationale is next given by Jesus. These are the requirements, you want to be a disciple, but here is the rationale. “If you seek to save your life, you’re only going to lose it. If you try to set your own destiny, if you follow your own ambitions, if you live to fulfill your own desires, you’re just going to lose your life. If you try to save it, you’re going to lose it, but if you will lose your life for My sake, you’ll find what living is all about.” Real life is found when you lose your life for Christ’s sake. You lose your life in Him. When you submit yourself totally to Him. You really discover the real meaning and purpose of life itself. Why are you here? Why did God create you? Why did God place you here? In order that you might go out and fulfill all your desires, and follow after your ambitions? No way! In order that you might find all of the pleasure that you can, and live for pleasure? No way! If you live for pleasure, you’re dead while you still live. The man who seeks to find his own pleasure and his own way in life is only losing it. But the man who will seek to bring pleasure to God is the man who has discovered life and it’s meaning and it’s purpose. And when you start living to please God, you’ll find a very satisfying, fulfilling life.
Further rationale: what is a man’s advantage if he would gain the whole world? Now you say, “My ambition is to be wealthy; my ambition is to have goods.” Hey, wait a minute, what if you attain it, what if you achieve it, what if you gained the whole world? What advantage is it if you lose your own soul? Or you are cast out from the kingdom of God?
“Or whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and My words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angles.”
He is coming again, in His glory, the glory of the Father with the holy angels. That’s the kingdom of God.
“You say I am the Messiah of God, right, but you don’t understand it. Keep it under your hat for a while, until you come to a more complete understanding of what that means.” It doesn’t mean the immediate establishing of the kingdom and of the throne of God upon the earth. It means there is going to be some hard times. And there is going to be some suffering. There is going to be rejection. There is going to be the cross. There is going to be the resurrection. And then there is going to be the service, the work of bringing others into the kingdom, which will come to pass as men deny themselves, and take up their cross, and follow Him.
But there is a glorious reward. If you are faithful in serving Him, not ashamed of Him, then He will not be ashamed of you, but you will share in the glory, in that day when He comes in His glory, and that of the Father’s, to establish God’s kingdom.
But I tell you of a truth, there are some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God ( Luk 9:27 ).
Now they are up in Caesarea Philippi, and He is saying to them, “There is some of you right here, you’re not going to die until you see the kingdom of God.”
And so it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, that he took Peter and John and James, and he went up into a mountain to pray ( Luk 9:28 ).
The purpose of going up there in the mountain again, Luke points it out, was to pray. He gives us these beautiful little insights to the prayer life of Jesus.
And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering ( Luk 9:29 ).
That word glistering is an interesting old English word, and the word in Greek, is as lightning, as lightning flashing. His raiment became like lightning flashing. The glistering is flashes of light coming off of it. And here He is in prayer, and while in prayer, this, and the Greek word is metamorphosis. There was that change, the metamorphosis, the total change of body, so that they saw Him in the glory of the kingdom.
As He said, “There is some of you that are here, that you are not going to die until you see the kingdom of God.” And there they got an insight into the kingdom of God as they saw Him in the glory.
In the seventeenth chapter of John, Jesus prayed to the Father, “Father, glorify Thy Son with the glory that I had with Thee before the world ever was.” And the Father answered and said, “I have glorified Thee, and I will glorify Thee.”
In the first chapter in the book of Revelation, John gives us a very graphic and beautiful description of Jesus in His glory. And again John speaks of that His face shining like the sun with brightness. Here His clothes like flashes of lightning, glistering.
And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elijah: who appeared in glory, and they were talking to him of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem ( Luk 9:30-31 ).
Or the word deceased is departure, His departure from the earth and coming back into glory that would be accomplished there in Jerusalem.
Now how did they know it was Moses and Elijah? Did Jesus say, “Peter, I want you to meet Moses. This is Peter”? People oftentimes ask me, “Will we know our friends when we get to heaven? Will we know each other there?” Oh, God help us, I pray we are not going to be more stupid there than we are here. If we know each other here, surely we will know each other there. “Oh, but I want scripture.” Alright, “When that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be put away, then shall we see face to face, and then shall we know, even as we are known” ( 1Co 13:10-12 ). I’ll know you, just like I know me. I am not going to need introductions to anybody in heaven. The Lord will plant DNA, or whatever into my consciousness, so that I will immediately and automatically know everybody. I say, “Oh, there is David over there, I never have seen him before.” And you’ll immediately know.
They didn’t need introductions to Moses, and Elijah. They just knew that’s who it was. You just know intuitively, you have the oedis, the intuitive knowledge. Interesting that Moses and Elijah were alive. And interesting that they were talking with Jesus, as the disciples were privileged to see, this glitch into the spiritual world.
But Peter and those that were with him were sleeping heavily: and when they woke up, they saw the glory, and the two men that stood with him ( Luk 9:32 ).
Now Peter, it seemed, like to sleep when Jesus prayed. And he was in a heavy sleep. Can you imagine this? They are up on the mount of Herman, and it’s a steep mountain, good climb, so you are probably real tired. And Jesus is there praying, and the three disciples, Peter, John, and James, they were in a heavy sleep. And they probably heard voices, probably woke them up. “Who is He talking to?” And when they looked, they saw Jesus in the transformed glory. His clothes like lightning flashes, and there is Moses, the giver of the law, and Elijah. They are talking with Jesus. And Peter,
When it came to pass that Moses and Elias departed, Peter said to Jesus, Oh Master, it was good for us to be here ( Luk 9:33 ):
Now you remember just a few days earlier Jesus told them that He was going to die. “I am going to go to Jerusalem; I am going to be rejected by the scribes and the Pharisees. They are going to kill Me.” Peter said, “Lord, it’s good to be here. Let’s stay right here. Let’s built three tabernacles. Let’s not leave this place. Let’s not go back to Jerusalem. Let’s stay right here, Lord. Let’s built three tabernacles. It’s good for us to be here, not to be in Jerusalem. If that’s what’s going to happen there, let’s just stay right here, Lord. It’s good to be here.”
let’s built three tabernacles and stay here; one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah: not knowing what he said ( Luk 9:33 ).
Another gospel said, because he didn’t know what to say. If you don’t know what to say, it’s better you just shut up. You can get in a lot of trouble just saying something because if you think you ought to say something, but many times in that place it’s better to just keep silent.
I guess Peter’s idea began that, which to me has become a curse in the land of Israel, and that is building a tabernacle over the sight of some event. And to me one of the disappointing things of going to the holy land is all of the churches that have been built on supposed sights of scriptural events. And there is nothing to take away the awe, and the wonder of the birth of Christ than to go in to the church of Nativity. It will just spoil it every time. You go in and see all of the tinsel and the babels, and the priest with the hand out, and somehow it just doesn’t fit.
And Peter, I guess, was the one that started that whole custom. “Lord, let’s build a tabernacle right here to commemorate this glorious event. Three of them in fact: one for you, one for Moses, one for Elias. It’s good to be here.”
And while he was thus speaking, there came a cloud, and it overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him ( Luk 9:34-35 ).
Now there appeared who? Moses, who was the spokesman to the nation through the law. They saw Elijah, who was the spokesman to the nation through the prophets, and represented the prophets. And the Old Testament is made up of the law and the prophets. “You’ve heard the law and the prophets, but this is My beloved Son, hear Him.” “God, who at sundry times and in diverse ways spoke to our fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by His own dear Son” ( Heb 1:1 ). “This is my beloved Son, hear Him.” And so the words of Christ supersede the law and the prophets, which He summed up to be: love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, strength and mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.
And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. They kept it close, and they told no man in those days of those things which they had seen ( Luk 9:36 ).
When they came down from the mountain, they didn’t share it with the others.
And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, there where many people there to meet him [there in the area of Caesarea Philippi]. And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee [I beg you], look upon my son; he is my only child. And, lo, there is a spirit that takes him, and he suddenly cries out; and it tears him and he foams at the mouth, and it bruises him and it hardly ever leaves him. And I begged your disciples to cast them out; but they couldn’t. And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring your son to me. And as he was yet bringing his son, the devil threw him down, and tore him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again unto his father. And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all these things that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, Let these sayings sink down into your ears [now pay attention, and let it sink in]: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men ( Luk 9:37-44 ).
Let it sink in now. They still could not conceive this. They were still in their mind rejecting the idea of suffering. They were rejecting the idea of the cross.
“So let this sink in. I am going to be delivered into the hands of men.”
But they did not understand this saying, as it was hid from them, and they did not perceive it: and they were afraid to ask him what it meant. And there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be the greatest ( Luk 9:45-46 ).
You see this is again an indication that they didn’t understand. He is talking about His cross, His rejection, His suffering. And they are talking about themselves, and the greatness that they might enjoy in the kingdom.
And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and he sat him by him, and he said to them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receives me; and whosoever shall receive me, receives him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great ( Luk 9:47-48 ).
You want to be great in God’s kingdom, learn to be the servant.
And John answered saying, Master, we saw one who was casting out devils in your name; and we forbid him, because he did not follow with us ( Luk 9:49 ).
The beginning of sectarianism, denominationalism.
And Jesus said unto him, Don’t forbid him: for he that is not against us is for us ( Luk 9:50 ).
Ready to stop others who don’t follow along with us. The Lord says, “No, no, no, if they are not against us, they are for us.”
So it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem ( Luk 9:51 ),
So He has come back now from Caesarea Philippi, and He is back in the area of Capernaum, but now He is getting ready to go to Jerusalem for the last time. And they are in their journey southward. And they are coming now towards Jerusalem through Samaria.
Now Jesus often took the typical Jewish route, through the Jordan valley, so you wouldn’t have to go through the area of the Samaritans, but this time He is coming through the area of Samaria.
The time that He should be received up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.
And he sent messengers before him: and they entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him ( Luk 9:52 ).
Actually, they find a place for Him to lodge. There was a good company of people that traveled with Jesus, maybe forty or fifty people in their company that were traveling with them. And so it took preparations, it took arrangements. People had to go ahead, buy the food, get places for them to stay, and all, as Jesus would move with His company.
And so they went into this village of the Samaritans to make preparations. But they did not receive Him, because it was obvious that He was heading towards Jerusalem. And because the time of the feast of the Passover was approaching, they no doubt figured He was going to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of the Passover. Which the Samaritans felt should be celebrated on Mount Gerizim, there in Samaria.
And to the present day the Samaritans still celebrate the Passover on Mount Gerizim by offering a sacrificial lamb, even to the present day. There are only about two hundred Samaritans left in the world. Most of them have sort of traces of idiocy, because of the close inner marriages now that are taking place between the Samaritans. They are almost extinct. There is only about two hundred left today. But on the Passover they still offer a sacrificial lamb on the Mount Gerizim.
And so they felt that was the place where God was worshipped. That was where Abraham build his altar to sacrifice Isaac. And they held that as the sacred place to worship God. And so because of this animosity, antagonism, that existed between the Jew and the Samaritan, for they had no dealings with each other. When it appeared that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, they just wouldn’t allow Him in the village. They wouldn’t give them any hospitality at all.
And so when the disciples James and John ( Luk 9:54 )
And now we know why Jesus called them the sons of thunder,
when they saw this, they said, Lord, would you have as to command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, as Elijah did? ( Luk 9:54 )
Of course these guy’s had just been up on the mountain, they saw Elias, and so probably got inspired again by what this prophet did. And so, “Why don’t we wipe them out, Lord? Show them a thing or two. You teach them a lesson for snubbing You.”
But Jesus turned, and he rebuked them, and he said, You don’t know the manner of spirit that you are of. [You don’t know, because I didn’t come to destroy]. The Son of man has not come to destroy, but to save ( Luk 9:55-56 ).
And here again, Jesus annunciates Himself the purpose of His coming. And that is something that should concern us at the Christmas season. Why Jesus came, what is the purpose of His coming? Jesus in many places has declared the purpose of His coming. One of the purposes of His coming is that He might seek and save those that are lost. He didn’t come to condemn the . . . He didn’t come to destroy, He did come to save. But He came for other reasons too. And He tells us the reasons why He came. And for special credit, look them up and find out the purposes for His coming at this Christmas season.
So they went to another village. Now it came to pass as they went in the way, a certain man said to him, Lord, I will follow you wherever you’ll go ( Luk 9:56-57 ).
And Jesus basically says to him, “Fellow, count the cost.” There are a lot of people that are touched by emotion when they come to Jesus. “Oh Lord, I do anything for You.” Jesus said, “Wait a minute, count the cost.” “Lord, I go with You, wherever You go.” The Lord says, “Count the cost.”
Foxes have holes, the birds of the air of nests; but the Son of man doesn’t have anywhere to lay his head ( Luk 9:58 ).
“You say you’re going to follow Me wherever I go, hey, it’s going to cost you, man. Are you willing to pay that cost? Are you willing to pay the price?” And that’s what Jesus is just saying, “Weigh the price and determine, don’t just take off without first considering, weighing the price.”
Now there is another, and Jesus said unto him, Follow me ( Luk 9:59 ).
The first one volunteered, Jesus discouraged him. Or at least encouraged him to count the cost before he did. But to another He said, “Follow Me.”
And he said, Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father ( Luk 9:59 ).
Now right here in the words me first, you see the reason why he couldn’t follow Jesus. No man can follow Jesus who is a me first man. You see, to follow Jesus you’ve got to deny yourself. And the minute you say, “Me first,” you’re disqualifying yourself from following Jesus. And so he said, “Allow me first.” No, can’t allow that. If you let, and if you acknowledge Jesus as Lord, and you’re determined to follow Him, it’s Jesus first.
“Allow me first to go and bury my father.”
And Jesus said to him, Let the dead bury their dead: but you go and preach the kingdom of God ( Luk 9:60 ).
You say, “Wow, how cold and insensitive Jesus must have been. Wouldn’t even allow this fellow to go and attend his father’s funeral. Why anybody lets you off work to attend your dad’s funeral.” But that phrase, “Allow me first to bury my father,” is an interesting phrase of procrastination. It doesn’t mean that your father is dead. It is a phrase that they still use to the present day, that says, I want to stick around home for a while. I want to wait till my father dies, and then I’ll come. And it didn’t mean that his father was dead and was ready to be buried, because they always buried people within two hours after they were dead. So when he says, “Allow me first to bury my father,” he is saying, “Maybe down the road a ways, I’ve got a few things I want to do first, and down the road a ways maybe I’ll do it. Me first.”
And another said to Jesus, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first ( Luk 9:61 )
Oh, come on you guys, learn your lessons. It can’t be that way. It can’t be me first when I am following Jesus.
let me first go bid those farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said to him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God ( Luk 9:61-62 ).
It takes a commitment, a total commitment to Jesus Christ. It may cost family relationships. You can’t go forward looking backwards.
“
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Luk 9:1. [, having called together) Therefore it was no ordinary business.-V. g.]-, all) All of every kind, which might meet them.-, to cure) This depends on , He gave.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Luk 9:1-9
21. THE MISSION OF THE TWELVE
Luk 9:1-9
And he called the twelve together,-Parallel accounts of this incident are found in Mat 10:1-42 and Mar 6:6-13. Luke hastily passes over several months, touching only upon the leading points. It is thought that this took place while Jesus and his disciples were making their third general preaching tour throughout Galilee. It is not known at what place these events occurred. There is but little variation in the different accounts. The apostles had been called and appointed for their work; they had been with Jesus for some time and are now to be endowed with miraculous power. Jesus called “the twelve together,” and gave them power to perform miracles to confirm that which they preached. The number twelve is significant in the scriptures. Jacob had twelve sons; there were twelve tribes of Israel; twelve stones in the breastplate of the high priest (Exo 28:17-21); twelve loaves of showbread (Lev 24:5-8); the altar and the twelve pillars which Moses erected at Mount Sinai (Exo 24:4); the altar of twelve stones of Elijah (1Ki 18:31); the twelve spies who went to search the promised land (Num 13:1; Deu 1:23);twelve stones taken from the bed of the Jordan (Jos 4:3). The woman with a crown of twelve stars (Rev 12:1) and the new Jerusalem with twelve foundation stones (Rev 21:14) are mentioned.
2 And he sent them forth to preach-The purpose of their being endowed with “power and authority” was that they might preach “the kingdom of God” with the greatest effect. In doing this they would heal the sick and cast out demons. They had a double office of proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing the sick. Their first business was “to preach,” in the sense of proclaiming the kingdom of God; that is, proclaim that the kingdom was near. The healing was to attest the preaching.
3 And he said unto them,-Luke agrees with Matthew in telling what they were to take; there is a slight variation in the record given by Mark (Mar 6:8). Mark records that they could take a “staff,” but Matthew and Luke omit that. This discrepancy has given trouble to commentators; however, it may mean the second staff. The record as given by Matthew and Luke would forbid an extra staff, while the record given by Mark mentions only the common staff that everyone carried on his journey. They were to take nothing extra; no extra staff, no wallet, no bread, no money, no extra coat. They were to make no preparation for the journey, but go just as they were. The “wallet” was generally made of leather for carrying provisions. This has been called the “limited commission” of the twelve. The entire “outfit” of these twelve shows that they were plain fishermen, farmers, or shepherds.
4, 5 And into whatsoever house ye enter,-When they arrived at any town or village they were to go into the house as invited and welcome proclaimers of the coming kingdom; they were to make that house their temporary abode until they should depart; they were not to go from house to house, shifting their place of abode. They were to seek first a suitable place to lodge and there abide till the work in that city was accomplished. Mark tells us that they were sent “forth by two and two” (Mar 6:7); hence when they went into a house they were to remain there and preach the tidings of the kingdom in that town.
And as many as receive you not,-This tells how they should act toward the rejector of their message as well as themselves. If any person or persons, family or city, rejected them they should “shake off the dust” from their feet as a testimony of the condemnation. The Jews were accustomed to shake off the dust of the heathen when they returned from a foreign country to their own land. This meant that they renounced all fellowship with those who rejected them. Paul shook off the dust from his feet against his persecutors at Antioch in Pisidia (Act 13:51), and shook out his garments against the Jews at Corinth (Act 18:6).
6 And they departed,-After receiving their commission, they followed the instruction of Jesus and “went throughout the villages.” The names of the villages are not given. It seems that they went through the southern and southeastern portion of Galilee. Jesus cautioned them against entering a city of the Samaritans (Mat 10:5), which implies that they would at least come near the borders of Samaria. It also seems that Herod had his attention directed to Jesus by this mission of the twelve. (See verse 7.) It is probable that they visited Tiberias or its vicinity, the capital of Galilee, where Herod resided most of the time. As they went they preached “the gospel.” They announced the glad tidings to the people, individually and collectively, as they had opportunity. Mark records that they preached that men should repent. (Mar 6:12.) They healed the sick in all of the villages. Luke is brief, but comprehensive. Mar 6:13 says “they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.”
7-9 Now Herod the tetrarch-Herod’s opinion of Jesus may be found also in Mat 14:1-12 and Mar 6:14-29. Mark’s record is the fullest; Luke comes next in detail; but Matthew as well as Mark relates the recent beheading of John the Baptist, which Luke omits. “Tetrarch” is a Greek word meaning “a ruler of the fourth part,” which became a common title for those who governed any part of a province, subject only to the Roman emperor. In popular language, and from courtesy, he is styled “king.” (Mat 14:9; Mar 6:14.) This was Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. He ruled over Galilee, Samaria, and Perea. He first married a daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia, but afterwards took Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. Aretas, indignant at the insult offered his daughter, waged war against Herod and defeated him. When Herod heard of Jesus he was at a loss to know what to think of it; he was in a state of painful uncertainty.
by some, that Elijah had appeared;-They were willing to assign Jesus any place but his rightful place. Some thought that Elijah had been brought back to earth according to a misinterpretation of Mal 4:5. Still others thought that he was “one of the old prophets” who had been raised from the dead. There were those who were not ready to regard him as John the Baptist, neither would they regard him as Elijah, but they thought that he was some prophet who had come from among the old prophets. The people, however, accorded to Jesus a higher mission; some higher than others, but none so high as that of the Messiah. His Messiahship was perceived by faith. (Mat 16:16-17.)
And Herod said, John I beheaded:-Herod reluctantly beheaded John the Baptist. This is the only reference by Luke to the death of John, which at first seems remarkable, since he gives so particular account of his birth. However, Luke gives John’s history only as he was connected with Jesus as his forerunner. John’s death occurred about seventeen months after his imprisonment. Herod in his perplexity now inquires: “Who is this, about whom I hear such things?” Matthew (Mat 14:2) and Mark (Mar 6:14) do not record the doubt in Herod’s mind as the feelings and convictions of a guilty conscience.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
As He sent His apostles out, He gave them power and authority. They went forth without any provision for the journey other than the things of spiritual equipment. Rumors of the ministry and power they exercised reached Herod, and he was filled with fear. The apostles returned from their fist mission, and our Lord took them to Bethsaida, where He performed the wonder of feeding the crowd. In a remarkable way, that feeding is a parabolic illustration of the method by which those who serve Him are to reach the needs of humanity. Their duty is to yield all they have to Him, and then to obey Him, no matter how mere prudence and worldly wisdom may question the method.
At this point our Lord began the second stage in the disciples’ training. In answer to His inquiry, one of their number confessed in full the glory of His Messiahship. He then began to show them the necessity for the Cross. They failed to grasp the significance of the revelation.
The next scene we have is of three of them being taken to the mount, and beholding Him in His transfigured glory, and finding that there, in converse with Moses and Elijah, He was speaking of that self-same Cross.
Descending to the valley, we see first the disciples beaten by demon possession, and then the Lord exercising His authority and power in freeing the child from that possession.
The chapter closes with illustrations showing that in following Jesus there must be no compromise and no delay.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
9:1-50. To the Departure for Jerusalem
This is the last of the four sections into which the Ministry in Galilee (4:14-9:50) was divided. It contains the Mission of the Twelve (1-9), the Feeding of the Five Thousand (10-17), the ransfiguration (28-36), the Healing of the Demoniac Boy (37-43), and two Predictions of the Passion (18-27, 43-50).
1-9. The Mission of the Twelve and the Fears of Herod. Mat 10:1-15; Mar 6:7-11. Mt. is the most full. Lk. gives no note of time or of connexion, and we may suppose that his sources gave him no information. See Weiss, L. J. ii. p. 119, Eng. tr. 2. p. 306. For mention of the Twelve see 6:13, 8:1, 9:12, 18:31, 22:3, 47. All three mention this summons or invitation on the part of Jesus. Mt. and Mk. describe it by their usual , for which Lk. has , which he more commonly uses in his Gospel (9:1, 15:6, 9, 23:13), while in the Acts he generally uses (2:39, 5:40, 6:2, 13:2, etc.).
1. . Mt. and Mk. have only (see on 4:36): is the power, the authority to use it. The Jewish exorcists had neither nor , and made elaborate and painful efforts, which commonly failed. Elsewhere, when the two are combined, precedes (4:36; 1Co 15:24; Eph 1:21; 1Pe 3:22). The with is peculiar to Lk. It covers all that would come under the head of possession.
The constr. is not really doubtful: depends on , and is co-ordinate with . Others make . . depend on and be co-ordinate with . . . The least satisfactory way is to couple with , and make refer to both: authority over all diseases and demons, to heal them. For this meaning Lk. would almost certainly have written . He as usual mentions the curing of demoniacs separately from other healings (4:40, 41, 6:17, 18, 7:21, 8:2, 13:32).
2. After . C etc. ins. from Mt.; A D L Z ins. : om. B, Syr-Cur. Syr-Sin.
2. . These two verbs sum up the ministration to mens souls and bodies. See on 5:17. Mt. adds that they were to raise the dead (10:8). Mk. tells us that they were sent out , . For see on 4:18, p. 121.
3. . Mk. has (6:8); and the attempts to explain away this discrepancy in a small matter of detail are not very happy. As between Mt. and Mk. it is possible to explain that both mean Do not procure () a staff for the journey, but take () the one which you have. But both Mk. and Lk. use , and the one has Take nothing except a staff, while the other has Take nothing, neither a staff, etc. Yet in all three the meaning is substantially the same: Make no special preparations; go as you are. From 22:35 we learn that the directions were obeyed, and with good results. Lk. says nothing about sandals, respecting which there is another discrepancy between Mt. and Mk., unless we are to suppose that are different from . D. C. G. art. Staff.
. Mk. has and Mt. has both, . Thus Lk. is Greek, and Mk. is Roman, in choice of words. In LXX is very common, comparatively rare, while is common as a metal, but not in the sense of money.
. As no was allowed, the second tunic, if taken, would have to be worn. Hence the form in Mk., Put not on two tunics. Comp. Jos. Ant. xvii. 5. 7.
In we have an anacoluthon; change from direct to oblique oration. For it is scarcely admissible to take as infin. for imperat. The actmal imperat. both precedes () and follows (). Win. 43:5. d, p. 397. Mk. here is strangely abrupt in his mixture of constructions.
4. . Vulg. has et inde ne exeatis. But only, one cursive has (38). Cod. Brix. has donec exeatis fr. Mt. The meaning is Go not from house to house, as He charges the Seventy in 10:7, a passage which should be compared with this. The mission both of the Twelve and of the Seventy was to be simple and quiet, working from fixed centres in each place. This is the germ of what we find in the apostolic age,-the church that is in their house (Rom 16:5; 1Co 16:19; Col 4:15; Phm 1:2).
5. For see on 8:13, and for see on 4:35. In Act 13:51 we find Paul and Barnabas performing this symbolical action of shaking off the dust. It signified that henceforth they had not the smallest thing in common with the place. It is said that Pharisees performed this action when re-entering Juda from heathen lands. There and in Act 18:6 Lk. uses ., which Mt. and Mk. have here. For . comp. Act 28:5. The means lit. upon them, and so against them. Comp. 2Co 1:23 and Act 13:51, and contrast 2Th 1:10. Mk. here has .
6. . Comp, ver. 2. Union of care for mens bodies with care for their souls is characteristic of Christ and of Christian missions. The miraculous cures of the apostolic age have given place to the propagation of medical and sanitary knowledge, which is pursued most earnestly under Christian influences. For see on 2:15, and for see on 2:10. Excepting Mar 1:28, Mar 1:16:20, 1Co 4:17 occurs only here and three or four times in Acts: here it goes with both participles.
7-9. The Fears of Herod. Mt. places this section much later (14:1-13); but Mk. (6:14-16) agrees with Lk. in connecting it with the mission of the Twelve. It was their going in all directions up and down the villages ( ) that caused the fame of Christs work to reach Herod (Mar 6:14), or, at anyrate, excite his fears.
7. . So also Mt. But Mk. gives him his courtesy title of . See on 3:1, p. 83. The means all that was being done by Jesus and His disciples. There is no in Mt. or Mk., either here or in the parallels to ver. 1. See on 8:45. The thoroughly classical word does not occur in LXX, nor in N.T. excepting in Lk. (Act 2:12, Act 5:24, Act 10:17). Antipas was utterly at a loss as to what he was to think of Jesus. Note the change of tense: he heard once for all; he remained utterly at a loss. He had no doubt heard of Christ before. It was the startling theories about Him which perplexed Herod. D. C. G. i. p. 721; ii. p. 717.
. This is strong evidence of the effect of Johns teaching. During his life he did no sign, and yet they think it possible that so great a Prophet has risen from the dead and is working miracles. Comp. Mat 16:14; Mar 8:28. For comp. 20:35. For ( B C L 169) most MSS. have , which is not to be accepted because is found in Mt.
8. . The verb is changed from , because Elijah had not died. Mt. represents Antipas as saying that Jesus is the risen Baptist, and omits the suggestions about Elijah and other Prophets. The account of Lk, is intrinsically more exact. He would obtain good information at Csarea from Herods steward (8:3), and at Antioch from Herods foster-brother (Act 13:1).
. We know from Joh 7:40, Joh 7:41 that some Jews distinguished the great Prophet of Deu 18:15 from the Messiah. Comp. Joh 1:21. And Mat 16:14 seems to show that there was an expectation that Jeremiah or other Prophets would return at some future crisis. The is peculiar to Lk. (comp. ver. 19). It may be opposed either to it new Prophet (7:16), or to the later Prophets as compared with Moses and Samuel. The former is more probable.
9. . As for John, I beheaded him. Mt. and Mark represent Herod as saying of Christ, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead: and some interpret this remark as meaning much the same: Seeing that I put him to death, he may have risen again. But this is very unnatural. Rather, I thought that I had got rid of this kind of trouble when I beheaded John; and here I am having it all over again. Perhaps, as Bede suggests, Antipas afterwards came to the conclusion that the Baptist had risen from the dead, a view which to his guilty conscience was specially unwelcome. Lk. mentions the imprisonment of the Baptist by anticipation (3:20); but, excepting in this remark of Antipas, he does not record his death.
. This may refer either to the works of Christ or to the speculations of the multitude respecting Him. Although John had wrought no miracles during his ministry (Joh 10:41), yet, if he had risen from the dead, such things might be expected of him (Mat 14:2).
The of TR. before is of very doubtful authority (A D C etc.): Treg. brackets, Tisch. WH. RV. omit. It would have no point.
. Not merely he desired (AV.), but he continued seeking to see Him. He made various attempts to apply a test which would have settled the question. Herod knew the Baptist; and he could soon determine whether this was John or not, if only he could see Him. Comp. 23:8, where the gratification of this desire is recorded. No doubt it was not merely the wish to settle the question of identity which led Antipas to try to see Jesus. That he was a Sadducee is a guess of Scholten.
10-17. The Feeding of the Five Thousand. This is the one miracle which is recorded by all four Evangelists (Mat 14:13; Mar 6:30; Joh 6:1). In all four it is the climax of the ministry. Henceforward attention is directed more and more to the death which will bring Christs work to a close. From S. John we learn that it took place shortly before the Passover. All four accounts should be compared. Each contributes some special features, and each appears to be to a large extent independent. The marks of Lk.s style are abundant in his narrative.
10. . See small print on 1:56. Lk. connects the miracle with the return of the Twelve; but he gives no hint as to the time of their absence. We may perhaps allow a few weeks. He does not often call the Twelve (6:13, 17:5, 22:14, 24:10).
. What this was has already been recorded in brief (ver. 6). It is strange that anyone should infer from Lk.s not expressly mentioning, as Mk. does (6:12, 13), the casting out of demons, that Lk. wishes us to believe that they had failed in this respect, and had evidently been able to out only a part of their commission. Lk. records the success of the Seventy in exorcizing demons (10:17): why should he wish to insinuate that the Twelve had failed? Excepting Mar 5:16, Mar 5:9:9; Heb 11:32, occurs only in Lk. (8:39; Act 8:33, Act 9:27, Act 12:17). Comp. ver. 49. Lk. perhaps wishes us to understand that it was the report which the Apostles brought of their doings that led to Christs taking them apart, as Mk. says, for rest. Mt states that it was the news of the Baptists death which led to the withdrawal. Jn. has only a vague . All may be correct; but there can have been no borrowing.
. Comp. ver. 28, 18:31.
. The verb occurs only here and 5:16 In NT. Comp. Ecclus. 13:9 (12). Lk. does not seem to be aware that Christ and His disciples went by boat across the lake (Mt. Mk. Jn.), while the multitude went round by land. Hence it is possible that he supposed that the miracle took place near Bethsaida on the west shore, and not at Bethsaida Julias on the near the north-east end of the lake. See D. B.2 art Bethsaida. Mt. Mk. and Lk. all have .
The common reading, (A D A G H K M S U V etc., Aeth. Arm. Goth.), seems to be an ingenious conflation of the original text, (B L X 33, Boh. Sah.),-which is supported by D [only for ],-with a correction of it, (*), or (b c ff2 l g Vulg. Syr.), or (a e f). These corrections would be suggested by ver. 12 and Mt. and Mk. and the difficulty of associating the miracle with a . See WH. ii. Intr. p. 102, and also Wordsw. Vulg. in loco. For ther apparent instances of conflation see 11:54, 12:18, 24:53. Note Lk.s favourite .
11. . The Baptist was dead and the Twelve had returned to Jesus, so that there was no longer any counter-attraction. No Evangelist tells us how long Jesus and the disciples enjoyed their privacy before the multitudes arrived.
. He gave them a welcome, as they had Him (see on 8:40), although their arrival destroyed the retirement which He had sought. As Jn. states, it was His miracles of healing which attracted them rather than His teaching. For ( B D L X 1 33 69) A C etc. have : the compound is peculiar to Lk. It corresponds to in Mt. and Mk.
. . ., …. He continued speaking to them about the kingdom of God; and those who had need of cure He healed. See on 5:17 and 9:6. Neither Mt. nor Jn. say anything about His teaching the multitudes, or about His healing any of them.
12. . Comp. Jer 6:4 ; Jdg 19:11, Jdg 19:9:3; 1Sa 4:2. In N.T. Lk. alone uses intransitively (24:29). Comp. (Rom 16:17). In Att. Grk. is generally trans., intrans. Win. 38:1, p. 315.
. In the three it is the Twelve who take the initiative; in Jn. it is the Lord who does so.
. Being similar in meaning, the nouns have only one article, although they differ in gender: comp. 1:6 and 14:23, and contrast 10:21 and 14:26. See on 1:6.
. Here only in N. T., but quite class. It is specially used of provisions for a journey: Gen 42:25, 45:21; Jos 9:5, Jos 9:11; Judith 2:18, 4:5; Xen. Anab. i. 5, 9, vii. 1, 9.
13. Both and are in Lk.s style, and neither occurs in the parallels. The same is true of , and in ver. 14 of and the second . Note the emphatic . Ye are to find food for them, not they. There is no need to supply anything after . We have no more five loaves, leads quite naturally to unless we are to go and buy, etc.; and then the sentence is complete. The statement expresses perplexity (Weiss), not sarcasm (Schanz).
. The is virtually plur. and has plur. verb. For the subjunct, after comp. 1Co 14:5, and see Win. xli. 2. b, p. 368, and Burton., 252, 253. The subjunct. after is not rare in late Grk. But this is rather a delib. subjunct.
Jn. tells us that it was Andrew who pointed out the lad with the loaves, and that they were of barley-bread. On the whole, narrative is the most precise. The , like the preceding , is emphatic.
14. . They were roughly counted as about a hundred companies with about fifty men in each. Note the : not . The women and children, as Mt. tells us, were not included in the reckoning. They would be much less numerous than the men. Lk. says nothing about the grass, which all the others mention, and which made the companies in their Oriental costumes look like flower-beds (), as Mk. indicates.
. The verb is peculiar to Lk. in N.T. (7:36, 14:8, 24:30); in LXX Num 24:9; Exo 21:18; Jdg 5:27; Judith 12:15. The is cogn. acc. It occurs 3 Mac. 6:31 and here only in bibl. Grk. Comp. Jos. Ant. xii. 2, 11; Plut. Sertor. xxvi.
. In the spaces between the groups the Apostles would be able to move freely and distribute the food. That the arrangement (50, 5000) has any relation to the five loaves is not likely. The is distributive: comp. 10:1 ; Mat 20:9; Joh 2:6; Rev 4:8.
16. Here Mt. Mk. and Lk. are almost verbatim the same. All three mention the taking the loaves and fishes, the looking up to heaven, the blessing, and the breaking, and the giving to the disciples. For Jn. has . This blessing or thanksgiving is the usual grace before meat said by the host or the head of the house. The Talmud says that he who enjoys aught without thanksgiving is as though he robbed God. We are probably to understand that this blessing is the means of the miracle. Comp. Joh 6:23; and of feeding the four thousand (Mat 15:36; Mar 8:6); and of the eucharist (Mat 26:26; Mar 14:22; Luk 22:17, Luk 22:19; 1Co 11:24). The manner of the miracle cannot be discerned: it is a literal fulfilment of Mat 6:33. Lk. alone mentions that Jesus blessed the loaves, . The preceding articles, , mean those which had been mentioned before in ver. 13, where the words have no article.
. Continued giving them to the disciples. The imperf. in the midst of aorists is graphic. Comp. 24:30; Mar 8:6, and contrast 22:19; Mar 14:22.
17. The verbal resemblance between the three accounts continues. For see on 6:21, and take after (De W. Hahn). All four mention the twelve , as also does Mt. in referring to this miracle (16:9); whereas at the feeding of the four thousand (Mat 15:37; Mar 8:8), and in referring to it (Mat 16:10), the word used for basket is . It is the more remarkable that Lk. and Jn. both have because they do not mention the other miracle. The was large, capable of holding a man (Act 9:25). The was the wallet carried by every travelling Jew, to avoid buying food from Gentiles: Judis quorum cophinus fnumque supellex (Juv. Sat. iii. 14). Comp. nupsisti, Gellia, cistifero, thou hast married a Jew (Mart. Epig. v. 17, 4). These exact details would scarcely have been maintained so consistently in a deliberate fiction or in a myth. Still less would either fiction or myth have represented one who could multiply food at will as giving directions that the fragments should not be wasted (Joh 6:12). The possessor of an inexhaustible purse is never represented as being watchful against extravagance.
Note the climax in ver. 17. They not only ate, but were satisfied,-all of them; and not only so, but there was something over,-far more than the original supply.
Weiss well remarks that the criticism which is afraid of miracles finds itself in no small difficulty in the presence of this narrative. It is guaranteed by all our sources which rest upon eye-witness; and these show the independence of their tradition by their deviations, which do not affect the kernel of the matter, and cannot be explained by any tendencies whatever. In the presence of this fact the possibility of myth or invention is utterly inadmissible. Only this remains absolutely incontrovertible, that it is the intention of all our reports to narrate a miracle; and by this we must abide, if the origin of the tradition is not to abide an entirely inexplicable riddle (L. J. 2. pp. 196-200, Eng. tr. 2. pp. 381-385). The explanation that Christs generosity in giving away the food of His party induced others who had food to give it away, and that thus there was enough for all, is plainly not what the Evangelists mean, and it does not explain their statements. Would such generosity suggest that He was the Messiah, or induce them to try to make Him king? Still more inadequate is the suggestion of Renan: Grace une extrme frugalit, la troupe sainte y vcut; on crut naturellement voir en cela un miracle (V. de. J. p. 198, ed. 1863).
18-22. The Confession of Peter and First Announcement of the Passion. Mat 16:13-21; Mar 8:27-31. No connexion with the miracle just related is either stated or implied. Lk. omits the sequel of the miracle, the peremptory dismissal of the disciples and gradual dismissal of the people, the storm, the walking on the sea, the discourse on the Bread of Life, the Syrophenician woman, the Ephphatha miracle, the feeding of the four thousand, the forgetting to take bread, and the healing of a blind man at Bethsaida Julias (Mat 14:22-12; Mar 6:45-26; Joh 6:14-71). Can he then have seen either Mt. or Mk.? So also here: both the others mention that the incident took place near Csarea Philippi, on the confines of heathenism. Lk. mentions no place. It is a desperate expedient to suppose with Reuss, that the copy of Mk. which Lk. knew chanced to omit these sections. From ver. 18 to ver. 50 Lk. is once more parallel in the main to be other two.
18. . See note at end of ch. 1. and on 3:21. For the periphrastic infinitive comp. 11:1, and Burton., 97. Jesus Patrem rogarat, ut discipulis se revelaret. Nam argumentum precum Jesu colligi potest ex seramous actionibusque insecutis; 6:12, 13 (Beng.).
. Perhaps was originally understood. But the expression is used as a simple adv. and is sometimes written as one word, . In N.T. only here and Mar 4:10. In LXX Ps. 4:9, 32:15; Jer 15:17; Lam 3:28.
. This almost amounts to a contradiction of what precedes. When He was alone praying, His disciples were with Him. Alone no doubt means in private, or in a solitary spot, and may be taken with : so that the contradiction is only on the surface. Moreover we are perhaps to understand that His prayer was solitary: His disciples did not join in it. In either case is quite intelligible, although the disciples may have been close to Him. But it is possible that the true reading is , meaning, His disciples met Him, fell in with Him, as He was engaged in prayer. This is the reading of B*, which a later scribe has corrected to . And B* is here supported by the Old Latin f (occurrerunt) and one excellent cursive (157), besides two less important authorities. Nevertheless, it is on the whole more probable that is an early attempt to get rid of the apparent contradiction involved in . See Expositor, 3rd series, iv. p. 159. Elsewhere in N.T. occurs only Act 22:11.
20. . With great emphasis: But ye-who do ye say that I am? The impulsiveness of Peter, and his position as spokesman for the Twelve, are here conspicuous. He is : 8:45, 12:41, 18:28. Licet cteri apostoli sciant, Petrus tamen respondit pr cteris (Bede).
. Whom God bath anointed and sent: sent on 2:26. Here Mk. has simply , and Mt. . See Kelm on this confession, as a solemn event of the very highest character (Jes. of Nas. iv. p. 263). Lk. and Mk. omit the praise bestowed on Peter for this confession, and the much discussed promise made to him (Mat 16:17-19).
21. . Because of the grossly erroneous views about the Messiah which prevailed among the people. Shortly before this they had wished to take Him by force and make Him king (Joh 6:15). Hence Jesus never proclaimed Himself openly to the multitude as the Messiah; and here, when He does to the Twelve, He explains the nature of His Kingdom, and strictly forbids them to make His Messiahship known. The nearest approach to exceptions to this practice are the Samaritan woman (Joh 4:26), and the outcast from the synagogue (Joh 9:37).
Others explain the command to keep silence as prompted by the fear lest the guilt of those who were about to put Jesus to death should be increased by the disciples proclaiming Him as the Messiah. Others again suggest the fear lest the people, if they knew that He was the Messiah, should attempt to rescue Him from the death which it was necessary that He should undergo. Neither of these appears to be satisfactory. In any case the is adversative. What Peter said was quite true: but He charged them, and commanded.
22. Lk. does not tell us, as Mk. does, and still more plainly Mt., that this was the beginning of Christs predictions respecting His Passion: , … (Mar 8:31); , … (Mat 16:21). The first announcement of such things must have seemed overwhelming. Peters protest perhaps expressed the feeling of most of them.
. The is recitative, not argumentative. The is here in all three; but elsewhere Lk. uses it much more often than any other Evangelist. It expresses logical necessity rather than moral obligation (, Heb 2:17) or natural fitness (, Heb 2:10). It is a Divine decree, a law of the Divine nature, that the Son of Man must suffer. Prophecy had repeatedly intimated this decree. Comp. 13:33, 17:25, 22:37, 24:7, 26, 44; Joh 3:14, etc. For , the title which suggested, while it veiled, His Messiahship, see on 5:24.
, … Be rejected after investigation at the hands of the, etc. The was the scrutiny which an elected magistrate had to undergo at Athens, to see whether he was legally qualified to hold office. The hierarchy held such a scrutiny respecting the claims of Jesus to be the Christ, and rejected Him: 17:25, 20:17; 1Pe 2:4, 1Pe 2:7. For the , at the hands of, comp. Ecclus. 20:20; Luk 7:35; Act 2:22; Jam 1:13; Rev 12:6.
. The three nouns, as forming one body, have one article. So also in 16:21. In Mar 14:43, Mar 14:53, where the Sanhedrin is spoken of with similar fulness, all three nouns have the article. The are rarely placed second: comp. 20:19; Mat 16:21; Mar 8:31. The common formul are ., ., . or ., ., . and . . or ., .
. The pass. of is late Grk. Classical writers use or . For Mk. has the less accurate . He also has , while Mt. has , which is probably right here; but (A C D, Just. Orig.) is well supported.
Lk. omits Peters protest against the declaration that Christ must suffer, and the severe rebuke which he received. His omission of Get thee behind Me, Satan, is sufficient answer to those who assert that it is out of ill-will to Peter that Lk. omits Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah. See on 5:10 and 22:54-62.
23-27. The Self-Renouncement required in Christs Followers. Mat 16:24-28; Mar 8:34-1. Although the manner of introducing the words is different in all three, the similarity between the reports of the words is very close throughout, especially in the words quoted vv. 23, 24. Throughout the Gospels it is in the records of Christs sayings that the closest resemblances are found. Comp. 18:16, 17, 25, 27.
23. . Both words are characteristic: see on ver. 43 and 1:13. The represents Mk.s . The necessity of self-denial and self-sacrifice was made known to all, although for the present the supreme example of the necessity was a mystery revealed gradually to a very few.
. This is the first mention of the cross in Lk. and Mk. Its associations were such that this declaration must have been startling. The Jews, especially in Galilee, knew well what the cross meant. Hundreds of the followers of Judas and Simon had been crucified (Jos. Ant. xvii. 10. 10). It represents, therefore, not so much a burden as an instrument of death, and it was mentioned because of its familiar associations. Comp. 14:27; Mat 10:38. The here is peculiar to Lk.: comp. 1Co 15:31. We must distinguish between , follow Me loyally, and , become My disciple. There are three conditions of discipleship: self-denial, bearing ones cross, and obedience.
24. . Here, as in ver. 23, will (AV.) is too weak as a translation of , being too like the simple future. desireth or willeth is better: si quis vult, qui enim voluerit. Such inadequate renderings of are common in AV., (19:14; Joh 6:67, Joh 7:17, Joh 8:44), See small print on 10:22. Comp. 17:33.
25. . The same verb is used by all three; but AV. obliterates this by rendering profit in Mt. and Mk., and advantage in Lk. Again, is common to all three: yet AV. has lose in Mt. and Mk., and cast away in Lk. The opposition between and is common in Grk. See Lft. on Php 3:7. In N.T. the act. does not occur, but only the pass. with either acc. of the thing confiscated (Php 3:8), or dat. with (2Co 7:9), or absol. (1Co 3:15). The is equivalent to in ver. 24 and in Mt. and Mk. To be excluded from eternal life is death. Lk. omits What should a man give in exchange for his life? We must keep life for throughout the passage: the context shows when it means life as men desire it on earth, and when life as the blessed enjoy it in the Kingdom. The Gospel has raised the meaning of , as of , to a higher power. Comp. Rev 12:11. Frumentum; si servas perdis, si seminas renovas (Bede)
For the combination of aor. part. with fut. indic. comp. 3Jn 1:6, and Burton., 141.
26. . Mt. omits. The in comp. means on account of: this is the ground of his shame: comp. 13:26, 27. For the constr. comp. Rom 1:16; 2Ti 1:8, 2Ti 1:16; Heb 11:16. The refers to the , not to the Resurrection (12:36, 17:24, 18:8, 19:15, 21:27), and is the first mention by Lk. of Christs promising to return in glory. Lk. omits in this adulterous generation (Mk.).
27. . With , not with what follows. Mt. and Mk. have , which Lk. uses much less frequently than the others. In 12:44 and 21:3 Lk. has , others have . For , here, comp. Act 18:19; Mat 25:36. Mt. and Mk. have .
. The expression is found in the Talmud, but not in O.T. Comp. Mat 16:28; Joh 8:52; Heb 2:9. It implies experience of the bitterness of death. Comp. (2:26) and (Joh 8:51). For in the sense of experience comp. Heb 6:4, Heb 6:5; Psa 34:9.
. Mk. adds , and Mt. substitutes . . . The meaning is much disputed. The principal interpretations are:-1. The Transfiguration, which all three amounts closely connect with this prediction (most of the Fathers, Euthym. Theophyl. Maldon); 2. The Resurrection and Ascension (Cajetan, Calvin, Beza); 3. Pentecost and the great signs which followed it (Godet, Hahn); 4. The spread of Christianity (Nsgen); 5. The internal development of the Gospel (Erasmus, Klostermann); 6. The destruction of Jerusalem (Wetstein, Alford, Morison, Plumptre, Mansel); 7. The Second Advent (Meyer, Weiss, Holtzmann). No interpretation can be correct that does not explain , which implies the exceptional privilege of some, as distinct from the common experience of all. This test seems to exclude all but the first and the sixth of these interpretations; and, if we must choose between these two, the sixth must be right. Shall not taste of death until cannot refer exclusively to an event to take place the next week.But both may be right. The Transfiguration, witnessed by only three of those present, was a foretaste of Christs glory both on earth and in heaven. The destruction of Jerusalem, witnessed by S. John and perhaps a few others of those present, swept away the remains of the Old Dispensation and left the Gospel in possession of the field. Only so far as the destruction of Jerusalem was a type of the end of the world is there reference to the (see on 21:32). A direct reference to the is excluded by the fact that none of those present lived to witness it, except in the sense that all men will witness it. Jesus has told us that during His life on earth He was ignorant of the date of the day of judgment (Mar 13:32): and we cannot suppose that in spite of that ignorance He predicted that it was near; still less that He uttered a prediction which has not been fulfilled. Moreover, the implies that the will experience death after seeing the .., which would not be true of those who live to see the (1Co 15:51).
28-36. The Transfiguration. Mat 17:1-13; Mar 9:2-13. Both Lk (vv. 31, 32) and Mt. (17:6, 7) give details which Mk. omits; but Mk. has very little (part of 9:3) which is not in either of the others.
Here again (see on 8:35-39, 40-48) the marks of Lk.s diction are numerous: , (ver. 28); , with infin. (29); (30); , (32); , , , (33); (34); (35); , , , , (36).
For comment see Tert. Adv. Marcion. iv. 2; Trench, Studies in the Gospels, pp. 184-214; Herzog, Pro_1 art. Verk1rung, omitted in 2nd ed.; Schaffs Herzog, art. Transfiguration.
28. . A nom. without construction of any kind. Comp. Act 5:7; Mat 15:32; Mar 8:2, and in ver. 13. Win. lviii. 4, p. 648. The other two have after six days which agrees with about eight days. We can hardly Lay that Lk. is improving their chronology. It looks as if he had not seen their expression. For comp. ver. 10; and for the order of the names see on 8:51. Note that Lk. changes the order of the names. He places John before James (8:51), which may be because he wrote after John had become the better known
. The others have . Both expressions would fit Hermon, which is about 9200 feet high, and would easily be reached in a week from Csarea Philippi. It is still called Jebel esh Sheikh, the chief mountain. It is higher than Lebanon (8500) or Anti-Lebanon (8700), and its isolated white summit is visible from many eminences throughout Palestine (Conder, Handbook of the Bible, p. 205; D.B.2 1. p. 1339; Tristram, Bible Places, p. 280). A tradition, which is first mentioned by Cyril of Jerusalem (Catech. xii. 16), places the scene of the Transfiguration on Tabor,1 which at this time seems to have had a village or town on the top, which Josephus fortified against Vespasian (B. J. iv. 1, 8). In that case the solitude ( ) which is required for the Transfiguration would be impossible. The is peculiar to this account: see on 3:21, a similar occasion.
29. .The Gentile Lk. writing for Gentiles avoids the word (Mat 17:2; Mar 9:2), which might be understood of the metamorphosis of heathen deities. Comp ([Mk.] 16:12). The need not be made adverbial. The asyndeton is not violent, if it be made co-ordinate with , a word which occurs Eze 1:4, Eze 1:7; Nah 3:3.
30. Both and are peculiar to Lk. here: see 2:4. The three Apostles saw the forms of two men who were such as to be recognized as Moses and Elijah,-the representatives of the Law and the Prophets. The power to recognize them was granted with the power to see them; otherwise the sight would have been meaningless. In the same way S. Paul recognized Ananias in a vision, although he had not previously known him (Act 9:12). We might render the who were no others than. That Moses was to reappear as well as Elijah at the beginning of the Messianic Kingdom, was a later dream of the Rabbis. See Lightfoot, Hor. Heb. ad loc. See small print on 2:22 for the form .
31, 32. Peculiar to Lk. See on 22:43.
. His departure from this world by means of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension. Comp. the use of in Act 13:24. For in the sense of death see 2Pe 1:15; Wisd. 3:2, 7:6. That the Apostles heard this subject being discussed explains part of the meaning of the Transfiguration. It was to calm their minds, which had recently been disturbed by the prediction of Christs sufferings and deaths.2 The corresponds to in ver. 22. It is all ordained by God, and is sure to take place; and when it takes place it may be regarded as a fulfilment (), and also as a filling, full. There were types and prophecies shadowing forth the Divne purpose, every detail of which must be gone through.
It is perhaps to be regretted that RV., retains accomplish, which is its freq. rendering of (Joh 4:34, Joh 4:5:36; Act 20:24; Joh 17:4, etc.), instead of substituting fulfil, which is its freq. rendering of (21:24, 22:16, 24:44; Act 1:16, etc.). And why not exodus here, and Heb 11:22, and 2Pe 1:15, for ?
. In N.T. only the pass. of this verb is found, and the best writers do not use the pres. of either voice. In Mat 26:43 it is used of the eyes of these same three being heavy with sleep. comp. Luk 21:34; 2Co 1:8, 2Co 1:5:4; 1Ti 5:16.
. But having remained awake in spite of this sleepiness would be the common meaning of the word;1 but perhaps here it means having become thoroughly awake. Syr-Sin. has when they awoke. It is a late word, and occurs nowhere else in N.T. or LXX. Lk. is fond of compounds with :-, , , , , , , , , etc.
As the invention of a later hand these two verses (31, 32) do not explain themselves. What is the motive for the invention? As a narrative of facts they throw much light on the whole situation.
33. . As they were pasting from Him. This again is in Lk. only, and it explains Peters remark. His first impulse is to prevent Moses and Elijah from going away. He wishes to make present glory and rapture permanent.
. Mt. and Mk. add . It is his response to what he saw. For see on 5:5. He says that it is good for us to be here, not it is better. There is no comparison with any other condition. The probably means the Apostles, not all six persons. The Apostles are ready to help in erecting the . If they were to remain there, they must have shelter.
. We need not follow Tertullian in interpreting this of a state of ecstasy (amentia), as of one rapt into another world. Mk. tells us plainly why Peter wist not what to answer, : and this he would have from Peter himself. In any case, neither Peters strange proposal nor the comment upon it looks like invention.
34. . Mt. calls it , a luminous cloud. Here there is perhaps an association of ideas, suggested by similarity of sound, between and the Shechinah or mentioned in ver. 31. Comp. (Exo 40:29). Strictly speaking a luminous cloud cannot overshadow; but it may veil. Light may be as blinding as darkness. We cannot be sure whether the includes the three Apostles or not. It does not include them in ver. 33, and probably does not include them here. The reading (A D P R) is meant to exclude the Apostles; but ( B C L) is right. See D. B.2 art. Cloud.
35. For see on 3:22, and comp. Exo 33:9. The reading (A C D P R) for ( B L X) comes from Mt. and Mk. The Versions are divided, and in many copies of the Aeth, the two readings are combined. Syr-Sin. has the chosen.
36. . After the voice had come, i.e. when it had ceased: see on 3:21. Syr-Sin. has when there was the voice. Peter had wished to make three tabernacles, as if Moses and Elijah were to be as abiding as Christ; but now the Law and the Prophets pass away, ita dimissis, quasi jam et officio et honore dispunctis (Tertul. Adv. Marcion. iv. 22), and .
. See on 5:14, on 8:20, and on 1:39. Lk. tells us that they kept silent; Mt. tells us that Jesus charged them to tell no one until the Son of Man was risen from the dead. Mk. relates both the command and their observance of it. The prohibition to speak of what they had seen is a strong confirmation of the incident as an historical fact. If the vision is an invention, how can we explain the invention of such a prohibition? The statement of all three, that the Transfiguration took place a week after the preceding incident, the characteristic impulsiveness of Peter, and the healing of the demoniac boy immediately afterwards, are marks of historical reality. D. C. G. art. Transfiguration.
But as in the case of other miracles, while we admit the fact, we must remain in ignorance as to the manner. Were Moses and Elijah, who were mysteriously removed from the earth, here present in the body? Or were their disembodied spirits made visible? Or was it a mere vision, in which they only seemed to be present? We cannot say; the third alternative is not excluded by the fact that all three saw it, whereas a mere vision is perceived by only one. As Weiss well remarks, We are not here concerned with a vision produced by natural causes, but with one sent directly by God; and he adds, Our narrative presents no stumbling-block for those who believe in divine revelation (L.J. ii. pp. 319, 320, Eng. tr. 3. p. 103). The silence of S. John respecting he whole incident is thoroughly intelligible. (1) It had already been recorded three times; (2) the glorification of Jesus as the Son of God, which is here set forth in a special incident, is set forth by him throughout his whole Gospel.
. With this form of the 3rd pers. plur. perf. comp. and (Joh 6:7), (Rev 19:3), (Rev 21:6), (Jam 5:4); also Rom 16:7; Col 2:1; Rev 18:3. Such forms are common in inscriptions and in the Byzantine writers. Win. xiii. 2. c, p. 90; Gregory, Prolegom. p. 124. In meaning the perfect seems here to be passing into the aorist; Burton., 88, but see 78.
37-43. The Healing of the Demoniac Boy. Mat 17:14-18; Mar 9:14-29. In all three this incident is closely connected with the Transfiguration. The moral contrast between the peace and glory on the mount and the struggle and failure down below is intense, and is magnificently brought out by Raffaelle in the great picture of the Transfiguration, which was his last work. The combination of the two scenes is fatal to the unity of the subject, which is really two pictures in one frame; but it heightens the moral and dramatic effect. It is perhaps even more instructive to regard it as three pictures. Christ and the saints in glory; the chosen three blinded by the light; the remaining nine baffled by the powers of darkness.
The marks of Lk.s style continue with considerable frequency: , (ver. 37); , , , (38); (39); (40); (42); (43). None of these are in the parallel passages. See small print on 8:35-39, 40-48.
37. . See on 7:11. The Transfiguration probably took place at night. Lk. alone tells us that the descent from the mountain did not take place until next day. Thus the three Apostles had time to think over what they had seen and heard, before receiving fresh experiences. Lk. omits the conversation about Elijah. Mk., who is here much more full than either Lk. or Mt., tells us that this was gathered round the other disciples, with whom scribes were disputing. The opportune arrival of Christ caused great amazement.
38. For comp. 3:4, 18:7, 38, and for see on 5:12.
. 1 aor. inf. Act.; not , 1 aor. imper. mid., a tense which perhaps does not occur. It means to regard with pity; 1:48; 1Sa 1:11, 1Sa 1:9:16; Ps. 24:16; Tobit 3:3, 15; Judith 13:4.-For the third time Lk. is alone in mentioning that a child is : 7:12, 8:42. Comp. Heb 11:17; Tobit 3:15, 8:17; Jdg 11:34.
39. The three accounts differ in describing the symptoms. Mt. has . Mk. has . In Lk.s description Hobart (pp. 17-20) claims , , and as medical expressions, together with the preceding .1 The occurs here only in N.T. Comp. 3 Mac. 7:6. But , which is found Act 14:18, Act 14:27:7, Act 14:8, Act 14:16; Rom 5:7; 1Pe 4:18, may be the right reading here also (B R etc.). Both and mean toil. The means cessation of convulsions.
40. See on 4:3 and on 10:2. The disciples who failed here need not be the Apostles, who were charged to cast out demons (ver. 1). If they were, this one failure was exceptional (Mar 6:12, Mar 6:13).
41. . This probably is neither addressed to the disciples, who had failed to cure the lad, nor includes them. It is addressed to the father, and includes the multitude. Per unum hominem Judos arguit infidefilitatis (Bede). As in the case of the peralytic (5:20), the faith of those who had charge of the afflicted person is taken into account. This is more clearly brought out in Mk. It was a wish to see what the disciples could do, rather than faith in Divine power and goodness, which prompted the bringing of the boy to them. Possibly it was a wish to see what the disciples could not do that inspired some of them. The hierarchy sometimes attacked Jesus through His disciples (Mar 2:16, Mar 2:18, Mar 2:24, Mar 2:7:5; comp. Luk 13:14). In 12:46 means unfaithful, and in Act 26:8 incredible.
. Not in Mk. It is a strong expression: distorted, wrong-headed (Act 20:30; Php 2:15; Deu 32:5). Comp. (Arist. Pol. iii. 16, 5); [a.l. ] (8:7, 7).
; The notion is that of being turned towards a person for the sake of intercourse; and the question implies that Jesus is not of that generation, or that it is alienated from Him. Comp. Isa 55:2. For comp. Joh 10:24; and for , apud vos, comp. Mat 13:56; Mar 6:3, Mar 6:14:49; Joh 1:1, etc. Mt. has . Vita Jesu perpetua tolerantia (Beng.).
In N.T. and LXX has the gen. But in class. Grk., as sometimes in LXX, we have the acc. after (Amo 4:7; Amo_4 Mac. 13:27).
42. . This is to be understood of the lads approach to Jesus, not of His approach to the lad. Jesus had just said, Bring thy son hither.
. The demon dashed him down. The word is used of boxers knocking down, and of wrestlers throwing, an opponent: and some distinguish in this sense from . Comp. Wisd. 4:19; Herm. Mand. xi .3; Apost. Const. vi. 1. There is also , like , in the sense of dashing to the ground (Isa 9:10). The expulsion of the demon left the boy in a condition which still required healing. Lk. gives each act separately. Comp. Mar 9:27. For see small print on 5:17; and with , which Lk. alone mentions, comp. 7:15 and 8:55.
43. This also is peculiar to Lk., who omits the rebuke to the disciples, thus again sparing them. The division of the verses is unfortunate, half of ver. 43 belonging to one section and half to another. For comp. Act 19:27; 2Pe 1:16: Latin texts have magnitudo (Vulg.), magnificentia (e), magnalia (d). The in the first half of the verse, and the in the second half, strongly illustrate Lk.s fondness for : see on 7:35 and 11:4; and comp. Act 4:10, Act 17:30, Act 21:28, Act 24:3.
43-45. The Second Announcement of the Passion. Mat 17:23; Mar 9:31, Mar 9:32.
Besides the and , we have as marks of Lk.s style, , the attraction in , after (ver. 43), and the analytical (ver. 45). See on 2:33 and 3:19.
43. . See small print on 2:33 and 3:19. The imperfects include more than the preceding incident. It was because, the people were so constantly in an attitude of empty admiration and wonder at His miracles, that Jesus tells the disciples of the real nature of His Messiahship. He is not going to reign as an earthly king, but to suffer as a criminal.
Here d has one of several attempts to reproduce the gen. abs. in Latin: omnium autem mirantium. Comp.et cogitantium omnium (3:15); audientium autem eorum (19:11); quorundam dicentium (21:5); accipientium autem eorum (24:31); hc autem eorum loquentium (24:36).
44. . Do ye lay up in your ears, in contrast to the gaping crowd. It perhaps means Store My words in your memories, even if you do not understand them. Or again, Do not let mens admiration of My miracles make you forget or doubt My declarations. It is into mens hands that I must be delivered. Comp. (Exo 17:14). Cod. Am. and other MSS. of Vulg. here have in cordibus vestris. All Grk. MSS. have . This is one of several places in which Jerome seems to have had a Grk. text which is no longer extant. Comp. erat Petrus (22:55), hic nos esse (Mar 9:5), Moses in quo vos speratis (Joh 5:45); also Joh 6:12, Joh 7:25, Joh 9:38, Joh 10:16. The last (ovile, ovile for , ) is crucial.
. The is almost namely: For what you may believe without doubting is this, that the Son of Man, etc. The perhaps does not refer to the act of Judas, but to the Divine will. When His hour was come, the plots against Him were allowed to succeed.
45. . A Hebraism, occurring here only in N.T. Comp. Eze 22:26, and the subst. Wisd. 17:3. More often we have : 10:21; Jer 32:17; or : Mat 11:25; Psa 37:10. Lk. alone states that this ignorance of the disciples was specially ordered for them. The here has its full telic force. They were not allowed to understand the saying then, in order that they might remember it afterwards, and see that Jesus had met His sufferings with full knowledge and free will. Comp. 18:34, 24:16.
It is strange that this mention of their want of understanding should be attributed to a wish to abase the Twelve in the interests of S. Paul: for (1) it is plainly stated that they were prevented by God from understanding; and (2) Mk. mentions their ignorance no less than Lk. We saw above that Lk. omits the rebuke for want of faith addressed to the disciples who failed to heal the demoniac boy. See on ver. 43 and 8:24.
46-50. The Close of the Galilean Ministry. Two Lessons in Humility. Mat 18:1-7; Mar 9:33-39. We learn from the other two that this took place after the return from the neighbourhood of Csarea Philippi to Capernaum (Mat 17:24; Mar 9:33). The dispute took place during the journey, the comment on it at Capernaum. See notes on 22:24-30.
46. . See small print on 1:17 and 7:17. It is not necessary to confine the to their thoughts (see on 5:22), and thus make a difference between Mk. and Lk. But the desire of each to be pronounced the superior was probably not expressed in the discussion; and this thought Jesus read and rebuked. Bede explains the occasion of the dispute to be quia viderant Petrum, Jacobum, et Joannem seorsum ductos in montem, secretumque eis ibi aliquod esse creditum. The , among them, rather implies that the reasoning did not remain unexpressed.
. The question, who perchance might be, wer wohl wre: see on 3:15 and 6:11; also Burton., 179. For this use of see on 1:62, and comp. 19:48, 22:2, 4, 23.
. Although does not here immediately follow as it does 22:24 (see notes), yet doubtless is the gen. after and not after . Whether anyone outside their company was greater than they were, was not a question which interested them. The point in dispute was, who among themselves was greater than the rest of them; who stood nearest to the Christ, and had the highest place in the Kingdom (Mt.). The question illustrates the want of perception just mentioned (ver. 45).
47. . The discussion in words was, Who is the greatest? The thought in their hearts was, Am not I the eatest? Will the Master decide? Comp. 5:22, 6:8.
. The action indicates that the child belongs to Him, is one of His: it represents the humblest among His followers. For other instances of Christs attitude towards children comp. 10:21, 17:2, 18:16; Mar 10:15, etc.
In N.T. and LXX the mid. only of is used, sometimes with the acc. (Act 9:27, Act 16:19, Act 18:17), sometimes with the gen. (Act 17:19, Act 17:21:30, Act 17:33; with gen. always in LXX). Here and 23:26 the acc. is probably right (B C D, Orig.), but the reading is uncertain.
. The place of honour. As Jesus was sitting with is disciples round Him (Mar 9:35), would be the same as (Mt. and Mk.). Syr-Sin. has beside them
The late tradition, that Igantius was the child who was thus taken up by our Lord, probably arose from a misunderstanding of the name , which means bearing God in himself, and not borne by God (). Even if be the right accentuation, we must interpret borne along and inspired by God rather than carried in the Divine arms. The identification was unknown to Eusebius, who does not mention it, and to Chrysostom, who states that Ignatius had not even seen Christ (Hom. in Ign. Mart. iv.). It cannot be found earlier than the ninth century (Anastasius Bibliothecarius, Migne, cxxix. 42; Nicephorus Callistus, H. E. ii. 35, Migne, clxiii. 848). See Lft. Ignatius, i. p. 27, ii. p. 22.
48. In this saying of Christ there is again (comp. vv. 23, 24) almost exact verbal agreement in the three reports.
. Or any similar little one, . (Mt.), . (Mk.). The child is not the type of the honoured disciple; but the honoured disciple is he who welcomes little children, not because he is fond of children, but because they belong to Christ.
. On the basis of My Name. He knows that he is dealing with something which concerns Christ and belongs to Him, and he welcomes it for Christs sake. The phrase is specially common in Lk. (ver. 49, 21:8, 24:47; Act 4:17, Act 4:18, Act 4:5:28, 40, Act 4:15:14; comp. Luk 1:59); not in Jn. or Paul.
. The pronoun is emphatic.
, … Not in Mk. or Mt. It explains how it is that to welcome a child for Christs sake is to welcome the Father, for promotion in the Kingdom depends upon self-abasement. Both and are objective; really in a lowly position, really exalted. He who does the humble work of serving the insignificant is promoted by God. It is the chief proof of the Messiahs presence that the poor have the Gospel preached to them (7:22).
. Among you all. The circle of the disciples is the sphere in which this holds good. For see on 8:41 and 23:50.
. Already ipso facto is great; not merely (A D). Jesus does not say is the greatest; and He thus gives no encouragement to the desire to be above others. It is possible for all in the Kingdom to have this greatness, and there is no need for anyone to measure himself against others. The standard is Christ
Syr-Sin. reads, He that is small and is a child to you, that one is great.
49, 50. A Second Lesson in Humility, the Humility of Toleration. Mar 9:38-40. The in ver. 49 shows, that there is connexion with what precedes, but the precise link is not certain. The common explanation, that Christs suggests to Johns mind the case of the stranger who cast out demons , is possible. But it is perhaps more likely that Christs declaration about the blessedness of giving a welcome to the humblest of His followers has aroused misgivings in Johns mind. His words are those of one who defends his conduct, or at least excuses it, and might be paraphrased, But the principle just laid down must have limits, and would not apply to the case which I mention; or, But one who remains outside our body is not really a follower of Thee, and therefore ought not to receive a welcome. John does not mean that the man was not an Apostle, but that he was not a professed disciple. Jealousy for the credit of their Master, not jealousy for their own prerogatives, prompted the Apostles1 to forbid this man from making use of the Name.
The reading ( B L X D 1 33 69) is to be preferred to . . (A C D), and is not to be discarded because it is also found in Mar 9:38. On the expression see Deissmann, Bible Studies, p. 147.
49. , . See on 5:5 and 26. Mk. has . The exorcist was not pretending to be a disciple of Jesus when he was not one. But, in however faulty a way, he believed in the power of the name of Jesus, and tried to make use of it for good (Act 3:6, Act 16:18). Contrast the mere jugglery of the Jewish exorcists who tried to use the formula as a charm (Act 19:13-16). Here the context shows that the exorcist was successful, and therefore sincere. The may mean either we tried to forbid or we repeatedly forbade. The pres. implies persistence in such conduct. For comp. Rev 6:8, Rev 14:13: the constr. is classical.
50. . Cease to forbid, not only the person in question, but any such. Comp. 7:13 and the reply of Moses to the demand of Joshua, , (Num 11:29).
. The reading for in one or both of these places comes from Mk. The saying, He that is not with Me is against Me (11:23, where see note; Mat 12:30) should be compared with this. There Christ gives a test by which His disciple is to try himself: if he cannot see that he is on Christs side, he is against Him. Here He gives a test by which His disciple is to try others: if he cannot see that they are against Christs cause, he is to consider them as for it. Renan hastily pronounces the two sayings to be tout fait opposes (V. de J. p. 229, ed. 1863).
Here the fourth and last division (9:1-50) of the section which treats of the Ministry in Galilee (4:14-9:50) comes to an end, and with it the first main portion of the Third Gospel. The solemn maxim stated in ver. 50 makes a good conclusion to the Galilean ministry, and the narrative manifestly makes a new beginning in ver. 51.
9:51-19:28. THE JOURNEYINGS TOWARDS JERUSALEM
We may regard this as a narrative of the second main period of Christs ministry. Galilee, with Capernaum as a centre, ceases the almost exclusive sphere of His teaching, and we may say that henceforward He has no centre. Although this period is only one-third as long as the preceding one, it is described with much greater minuteness, and the narrative of it is nearly one third longer. It is manifest that Lk. is here employing material which was not used by Mk. or Mt., and we know neither its source or its character. A great deal of it must have been either in writing or stereotyped in an oral form; and a great deal of it would seem to have had an Aramaic original, the translation of which abounds in marks of Lk.s own style. From 9:51 to 18:14 he is almost alone, and he gives us information which we obtain from no other source. Hence this large tract is sometimes called the great interpolation or intercalation. It is also the Peran section or Samaritan section (comp. 9:51-56, 10:30-37, 17:11-19). An analysis, showing the parallels in Mt., is given in Birks, Hor Evang pp. 132 ff. Jn. gives us several important incidents belonging to the same period, viz. that which lies between the end of the Galilean ministry and the Passion; but we cannot be certain as to the way in which his narrative is to be fitted into that of Lk. See Hastings, D.B. i. p. 406.
If we had only Mt. and Mk., we might suppose that the journey from Capernaum to Jerusalem for the last Passover occupied at most one or two weeks. Few incidents are mentioned; and, where distances are indicated, not much time is required for traversing them. Lk. lets us see that the time occupied must have been several months. We are constantly reminded that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem (9:51, 53, 13:22, 33, 17:11, 18:31, 19:11, 28) but the progress is slow, because Jesus frequently stops to preach in different places. The direction of the journeying is only indirectly intimated, first eastwards along the southern part of Galilee, and then southwards through Pera; but, however long the time, and however circuitous the route, it is a journey from Capernaum to Jerusalem. Jesus seems never to have returned to the neighbourhood of the lake until after His death. Jn. lets us know that during this interval Jesus was twice in Jerusalem; once at the latter part of the Feast of Tabernacles, after which He healed the man born blind; and again at the Feast of the Dedication; besides which there is the visit to Bethany for the raising of Lazarus; but, although there is room in Lk.s narrative for what Jn. tells, we do not know where to place it. We cannot with any certainty show the correspondence between the two Gospels until Jerusalem is entered for the last Passover. It seems best, therefore, not to follow Wieseler (Chron. Syn. 4., Eng. tr. pp. 289-303), Ellicott (Hulsean Lectures for 1859, pp. 242-343), and in the main Caspari (Chron. Einl. 126-143, Eng. tr. pp. 167-189), in making Lk. narrate three distinct journeys to Jerusalem, beginning respectively at 9:51, 13:22, and 17:11, but to take his narrative with the indistinctness which he has left. That the journeyings which Jn. has so clearly given really took place, we need not doubt; and nothing in Lk. contradicts Jn.s narrative; but all interweaving of the two Gospels must be taken as merely tentative arrangement. The thoroughness of Lk. s investigation is once more shown by his giving us eight or nine long chapters of material which is given by no one else; while his honesty is conspicuous in the fact of his not attempting a precision which he did not find in his sources. The whole is largely didactic.
The proposal of Halcombe, to transfer the whole of Luk 11:14, Luk 11:21 from the place which it occupies in all MSS. and Versions to the break between 8:21 and 22, is too violent a method of arriving at harmony (Gospel Difficulties, or the Displaced Section of S. Luke, Camb. 1886). The amount of harmony obtained in this way is trifling (Luk 9:14-26 with Mat 12:22-30 and Mar 3:22-30, and perhaps Luk 13:18, Luk 13:19 with Mat 13:31, Mat 13:32 and Mar 4:30-32), and it is simpler to suppose that Luk 11:14-26 and 13:18, 19 are given out of their chronological order, or that the sayings of Christ there recorded were uttered more than once. Mackinlays theory is no help.
The historical truth of this independent portion of Lks Gospel is guaranteed (1) by the absence of discrepancy with the other Gospels, but chiefly (2) by the fact that it consists almost entirely of discourses which it would have been altogether beyond Lk.s powers to invent. For convenience we may divide this long section into three parts: 9:51-13, 35, 14:1-17:10, 17:11-19:28. See Herzog, Pro_2 art. Jesus Christ, p. 659.
9:51-13:35. The Departure from Galilee and First Period of the Journey
This section begins, as the previous one ends, with a lesson of toleration. In the one case the Apostles were taught that they were not to take upon themselves to hinder the work of an apparent outsider who seemed to be friendly. Here they are taught not to take upon themselves to punish professed outsiders who are manifestly unfriendly. Moreover, as the ministry in Galilee is made to begin with a typical rejection of Christ at Nazareth; (4:16-30), so this ministry outside Galilee begins with a rejection of Him by Samaritans.
The thoroughly Hebrew cast of the opening sentence seems to show that the source here used was either an Aramaic original which Lk. translated, or a translation from the Aramaic which he modified.
As marks of his style note , c. infin., , , , , c. infin. (ver. 51); , (ver. 53).
51-56. Rejection by the Samaritans and Rebuke to the Disciples. Here we have what was perhaps a new departure in our Lords method, viz. the sending messengers in advance to prepare for His arrival. The Baptist had prepared the way for Christs work as a whole, but he had not gone beforehand to the places which Christ proposed to visit. The shortness of the time which still remained may have made a system of preparatory messengers necessary; and this is perhaps the meaning of the opening words.
51. . When the days were being fulfilled i.e. when the number of days allotted to the interval was drawing to a close. The verb occurs in N.T. only 8:23 and (exactly as here) Act 2:1, but with . for . See Gregory, Prolegom. p. 74. Comp. , 2Ch 36:21; Dan 9:2 (Theod.). For the constr. see on 3:21; and for the days of see on 1:39. See also on 1:57.
. Of His assumption, i.e. the Ascension.
The substantive does not occur elsewhere in N.T. or LXX. But in Test. XII. Patr. Lev_18, it is found, and in this sense, of the new Priest who is to be magnified in the world . In Ps. Sol. 4:20 it is used in a neutral sense of mere removal from the world. The wicked Man is to have his old age in the solitude of childlessness until he be taken away ( ); which is perhaps the first appearance of the word in extant Greek literature. See Ryle and James, ad loc. They show that this neutral sense is exceptional, and that about the time when S. Luke wrote the word was probably becoming a sort of technical term for the Assumption of the Blessed. Erunt enim a morte et receptione mea usque ad adventum illius tempora c c l qu fiunt (Assump. Mosis, x. 12). Comp. Et videbunt qui recepti sunt homines, qui mortem non gustaverunt a nativitate sua (4 Esr. 6:26); Initium verborum Esdr priusquam assumeretur (Inscription at 4 Esr. 8:20); Et in eis raptus est Esras et assumptus est in locum similium ejus (4 Esr. 14:49). See also the passage in which Enoch describes his own translation (70:1, 2). The verb is freq. in N.T., and may be called the usual biblical expression for ascending to heaven: Mar 16:19; Act 1:2, Act 1:11, Act 1:22, Act 1:10:16; 1Ti 3:16; comp. 1 Mac. 2:58; Ecclus. 48:9, 49:14; 2Ki 2:11.
The proposal of Wieseler and Lange to make mean His acceptance among men (whether among the Galileans in particular or among Israel in general) is not worthy of much consideration. See Trench, Studies in the Gospels, p. 215; Suicer, Thesaurus, s.v.; Oosterzee, ad loc.
. A Hebraism: Comp. Jer 21:10; Eze 6:2, Eze 13:17, Eze 15:7, Eze 20:46, Eze 21:2, Eze 25:2, etc. See Gesenius, Thes. p. 1109, on the same form of expression in Syriac, Arabic, Turkish, and Persian. It implies fixedness of purpose, especially in the prospect of difficulty or danger: comp. Isa 50:7. The for is late; for reff. see Veitch, s.v. For see on 2:24.
52. . It is vain to speculate who these were. Probably it was a new measure; but perhaps was no more than a temporary precaution, owing to the probability of unfriendly treatment in Samaritan territory. See on 6:18.
. Another Hebraism: comp. 7:27, 10:1; Exo 32:34, Exo 32:33:2, Exo 32:34:6; Lev 18:24; Num 33:52; Deu 1:21, etc.
. Jesus is taking the direct route from Galilee to Juda. This is the first mention of the Samaritans by Lk. Comp. 10:33, 17:16; Mat 10:5; Joh 4:9, Joh 4:39, Joh 4:8:48; Act 8:25. Mk. does not mention them. For the more important treatises in the copious literature on the subject see Schrer, Jewish People, ii. 1, p. 5; Herzog, Pro 2:13: pp. 351-355; Schaffs Herzog, 3 4. p. 2104; Hausrath, N.T. Times, 1. pp. 14-27; Edersh. L.& T. 1. pp. 394-403, Hist. of J. N. p. 249.
. This ( B), and not , seems to be the true reading. Comp. Act 20:24, if is right there: also 3 Mal 1:2; Mal_4 Mac. 14:1. Purpose is implied. No case of c. infin. denoting result is found in N.T. Burton., 372.
53. , . The feeling was reciprocal. Some Jews taught that a Samaritans bread was as defiling swines flesh: comp. Joh 4:9, Joh 4:20. The fact that He was on His way to keep a feast at Jerusalem, thus repudiating the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim, increased the animosity of the Samaritans. Jos. Ant. xx. 6, 1; B. J. ii. 12. 3-7; Vita, 52; Wetst; on Joh 4:20.
. Another Hebraism: comp. 2Sa 17:11. Galileans in journeying to Jerusalem often went round by Pera, in order to avoid the churlishness of the Samaritans: and this our Lord may possibly have done after this attempt to bring Jews and Samaritans together as guests and hosts had failed. The hospitality which He had received at Sychar many months before this (Joh 4:40) would not abolish the prejudices of all Samaritan towns and villages for ever.
54. . They saw the messengers returning from their fruitless errand. Their recent vision of Elijah on the mount may have suggested to them the calling down fire from heaven. The two brothers here, and perhaps also in ver. 49, show their fiery temper as sons of thunder. Yet Lk., who alone gives this illustration of the title, does not give the title itself (Mar 3:17). Quid mirum filios tonitrui fulgurare voluisse? (Ambrose).
. For the constr. comp. 18:41, 22:9; Mat 20:32; Mar 10:51: Soph. O. T. 650. In class. Grk. this constr. is more common with ; but in N.T. is about five times as frequent as , which in mod. Grk. has almost gone out of use. Note that , which sometimes follows , is not inserted when the first verb is in the second person and the second verb in the first person. Win., xli. 4. b, p. 356; Burton., 171. Syr-Sin.has Our Lord for .
The words (A C D X etc.) are probably a gloss. That they were omitted (; B L ) because some Gnostics used them to disparage the O.T., or because they seem to make Christs rebuke to the disciples a condemnation of Elijah, is not probable. Rendel Harris thinks that the insertion is due to Marcionite influence both in this case and the next (Study of Codex Bes p. 233, in Texts and Studies, ii. 1). There is less doubt about (D F K M etc); and least of all about ( etc.). These two may safely be omitted as later additions to the text. In the last of them there are several variations in the witnesses which insert the words. Some omit , some omit , and some have for . WH. ii. App. pp. 59, 60; Sanday, App. ad N.T. pp. 118, 119.
It is quite possible that is a genuine saying of Christ, although no part of this Gospel. The remainder, , …, may be an adaptation of Mat 5:17 and [18:11] (comp. Luk 19:10), and could more easily have been constructed out of familiar materials.
For other instances of what may be Marcionite influence upon the text see 4:16 and 23:2.
55. . But (instead of assenting to their proposal) He turned. He was in front, and the disciples were following Him. Syr-Sin.omits as well as the three clauses.
56. . Although might very well mean a village of another kind, yet the probability is that it does not mean a non-Samaritan village. The difference lay in its being friendly and hospitable. There is no intimation that Jesus abandoned His plan of passing through Samaria and turned back to go round by Pera. Moreover, to have gone away from all the Samaritans, because one Samaritan village had proved inhospitable, might have encouraged the intolerant spirit which He had just rebuked. With Hahn, Baur, Schenkel, and Wieseler we may assume that this other village was Samaritan also, although there is a strong consensus of opinion the other way.
57-62. Three Aspirants to Discipleship warned to count the cost. In part also in Mat 8:19-22. The section is well summarized in the chapter-heading in AV. Divers would follow Him, but upon conditions. The first two instances are common to Lk. and Mt.; the third is given by Lk. alone. But Mt. has the first two in quite a different place, in connexion with the crossing to the country of the Gadarenes (8:19-22). Lk. connects the three instances with the final departure from Galilee and with the mission of the Seventy. That he understands these aspirants to be three of the Twelve is manifestly incorrect (6:13); and it is uncertain whether he regards all three incidents as having taken place at one and the same time. It is probable that they were grouped together because of their similarity, and that two were already so grouped in the source which both Mt. and Lk. seem to have used.
57. . The most natural, though not certain, reference is to the preceding . But it may almost equally well refer to (ver. 51), and quite possibly to some journey otherwise unmentioned.
For the simple ( B C L X ) A G D L P etc. have , and f Vulg. factum est autem; while D has , and a c d e et factum est.
. Like (ver. 17) and (ver. 18), these words can be taken either with what precedes or what follows. The Vulgate is as ambiguous as the Greek: ambulantibus illis in via dixit quidam ad illum. Beza has quidam in via dixerit; but Luther and all English Versions take the words with what precedes. Comp. 4:1, 5:24, 6:18, 8:15, 39, 10:18, 11:39, etc.
. Mt. has . The man had been a hearer, and now proposes to become a permanent disciple, no matter whither Jesus may lead him. To restrict the to the journey then in progress, or to the different routes to Jerusalem (Schleierm.), is very inadequate. On the other hand, there is no sign that the man thinks that he is making a very magnificent offer. His peril lies in relying on his feelings at a moment of enthusiasm.
Here, as in Joh 8:21, Joh 8:22, Joh 8:13:33, Joh 8:36, Joh 8:18:20, Joh 8:21:18, we have for , a word which does not occur in bibl. Grk.
WH. have (A B C K L U 33 69) in their small ed., with Lach. Treg. In the large ed. they have ( D), with Tisch. RV. Predominantly is found after consonants, and after vowels; but there are many exceptions (ii. App. p. 173).
The after (A C G D L R, f q Syr. Goth.) may safely be omitted ( B D L , a c Vulg. Syr-Sin. Boh. Arm.).
58. . Jesus knows the measure of the scribes enthusiasm. He also knows whither He Himself is going, viz. to suffering and to death. He warns him of privations which must be endured at once. The scribe was accustomed to a comfortable home; and that must be sacrificed: comp. 18:22; Mat 20:22. For other cases in which Jesus checked emotional impulsiveness see 11:27 and 22:33. Foxes and birds are mentioned, not as representatives of the whole animal world, but as creatures which lead a vagabond life. Comp. Plut. Tib. Grac. ix.
Jdg 15:4 the form is well attested: occurs nowhere else in bibl. Grk, excepting Mat 8:20, where see Wetst. for illustrations of the use of the word for lairs of animals. Syr-Sin. inserts Verily here.
. Lit. encampings, and so encampments, abodes. Therefore roosts would be better than nests. Only for a short time in each year does a bird have a nest. Here Vul, has nidos, in Mt. tabernacula with nidos in many MSS. Here d has habitacula. In both places many texts add to nidos the gloss ubi requiescant. In Eze 37:27 and Wisd. 9:8 (tabernaculum) is used of Jehovah encamping among His people: comp. Tob. 1:4 and Ps. Son 7:5.
. Not because of His poverty, but because of the wandering life which His work involved, a life which was now more unsettled than ever. Nazareth had cast Him out; of His own choice He had left Caperaum; Samaritans had refused to receive Him: in the intervals of necessary rest He had no home.1 For the constr. see 12:17.
59. . Mt. tells us that this man was , i.e. one of the casual disciples, who is now invited to become a permanent follower.
Quite without reason Clem. Alex identifies him with Philip, pobably meaning the Evangelist (Strom. iii. 4, 522, ed. Potter). So also Hilgenfeld, who identifies the scribe of ver. 57 with Bartholomew. Lange would make this second case to be the desponding Thomas, and the scribe to be Judas Iscariot (L.J. ii. p. 144, Eng. tr.). Keim more reasonably remarks that it is futile to attempt to discover the names by mere sagacity (Jes. of Nas. iii. p. 270).
. The most obvious meaning is the best. His father is in extremis or has just died, and the funeral will take place almost immediately (Act 5:6, Act 5:10). Perhaps Jesus can wait; or he may be allowed to follow later, after he has performed the sacred duty of burial (Gen 25:9; Tobit 4:3). I must first bury my father is an almost brutal way of saying, I cannot come so long as my father is alive: and to have put off following Jesus for so indefinite a period would have seemed like unworthy trifling. Yet Grotius and Hase (Gesch. Jesu, 41), adopt this.
The before is of doubtful authority, and may come from Mat 8:21: om. B* D V, Syr-Sin. For the attraction in see on 3:19. Mt. has .In vv. 59 and 60 Lk., has his favourite , which Mt. has in neither place.
60. . Comp. 8:51. The apparent harshness and obscurity of the saying is a guarantee for its authenticity. Leave the spiritually dead to bury their own dead. There will always be plenty of people who have never received or have refused the call to a higher life; and these can perform the ordinary duties of the family and of society. These lower duties are suitable to them,- . For a similar change of meaning from the figurative to the literal comp. Joh 5:21-29, where vv. 21-27 refer to spiritual resurrection from sin, vv. 28, 29 to actual resurrection from the grave; also Joh 11:25, Joh 11:26, where die is used in a double manner. To take in both places as figurative, implies that the father is spiritually dead. To take in both places as literal, gives the harsh meaning, Leave the dead to take care of themselves.
This disciple needs to be told, not of the privations of the calling, but of its lofty and imperative character. The opportunity must be embraced directly it comes, or it may be lost; and therefore even sacred duties must give way to it. Moreover, like the high priest (Lev 21:11) and the Nazirite (Num 6:6, Num 6:7), his will be a consecrated one, and he must not make himself unclean for his father or for his mother. Comp. Mat 10:37; Eze 24:16. By the time that the funeral rites were over, and the cleansed from pollution, Jesus would be far away, and he might, have become unwilling to follow Him.
. . . . Mt. omits this charge. Clem. Alex., quoting from memory, substitutes for it the preceding charge, (loc. cit.). Word by word, it forms a contrast to the mans request; to , to , to , to . Depart, not home, but away from it; not to bury, but to spread abroad; not a father, but the Kingdom; not thine own, but Gods. The is emphatic: But thou, who art not a . Jesus recognizes in him a true disciple, in spite of his hesitation; and the seeming sternness of the refusal is explained. For , publish everywhere, comp. Act 21:26; Rom 9:17; Psa 2:7, 58:13; Psa_2 Mac. 3:34. Vulg. has adnuntia; d, prdica: divulga would be better than either.
61. . This third case is not given by Mt., and it probably comes from a different source. On account of its similarity it is grouped with the other two.
Godet regards it as combining the characteristics of the other two. Ces homme soffre de lui-mme, comme le premier; mais il temporise, comme le second. Lange takes the three as illustrations of the melancholy, and phlegmatic temperaments, and thinks that this third may be Matthew.
. To set myself apart from bid farewell to, them that are at my house. The case of Elisha (1Ki 19:20) may have been in the mans mind. His heart is still with the past. He must enjoy it just once more before he gives it up. Levi had done what this man wished to do, but in a different spirit. He gave a farewell entertainment for his old associates, but in order to introduce them to Christ. The banquet was given to Him (5:29). This man wants to leave Christ in order to take leave of his friends.
In N.T. occurs only in the middle: 14:33; Act 18:18, Act 18:21; Mar 6:46; 2Co 2:13: abrenunciare (d), renunciare (Vulg.). Comp. (Ign. Philad. 11.); (Act. Paul. et Thec. v.). The more classical expression would be (Eur. Tro. 1276; Xen. Cyr. i. 3, 2). Comp. also the use of renunciare with a dative: omnibus advocationibus renunciavi (Plin. Ep. ii. 1, 8); non multum abfuit quin vit renunciaret (Suet. Galb. 11.) In eccles. Grk. , , are used of renunciation of the world. See Suicer, .
. The is masc. with as a pregn. constr.: to go to my house and bid farewell to those in it. Comp. Act 8:40; Est 1:5; and see Win. l. 4. b, p. 516. Many texts of Vulg. make neut.; renunciare his qu domi sunt; but Cod. Am. and Cod. Brix. have qui. He would have no need to go home to take leave of his possessions. But even if be taken as neut. it is very doubtful whether , …, can mean to set in order the things, etc., as the Berlenburger Bible takes it. Tertullian has tertium illum prius suis valedicere parentem prohibet retro respectare (Adv. Marcion. iv. 23). Comp. Clem. Hom. xi. 36, xii. 23.
62. . A proverb: , (Hes. Opp. 443). Pliny says that a ploughman who does not bend attentively over his work goes crooked: nisi incurvus prvaricatur; inde translatum hoc crimen in forum (N. H. xviii. 19, 49). With comp. 17:31; Joh 6:66, Joh 6:18:6; Php 3:13; also and (Gen 19:17, Gen 19:26).
D and some Lat. texts have . For a similar inversion see 22:42.
. Literally, is well-placed, and so, useful, fit, for the Kingdom of God; fit to work in it as a disciple of Christ, rather than fit to enter it and enjoy it. When used of time means seasonable (Psa 31:6; Susan. 15). It was a Pythagorean precept, , which Simplicius in his commentary on Epictetus explains as meaning that a man who aspires to God ought not to be of two minds, nor to cling to human interests. Jesus says to this man neither Follow Me (5:27) nor Return to thy house (8:39), but I accept no lukewarm service (Rev 3:16). For the constr. comp. Heb 6:7, and contrast 14:35.
Hahn thinks that this third follower, of whom Lk. alone tells us, may possibly be the Evangelist himself, and that this would account for his henceforward telling us so much which no one else records. He combines this conjecture with the hypothesis that Lk. was one of the Seventy, the difficulties of which have been discussed in the Introduction, 2.
L. J. Leben Jesu
C
C. Cod. Ephraemi Rescriptus, sc. 5. In the National Library at Paris. Contains the following portions of the Gospel: 1:2-2:5, 2:42-3:21, 4:25-6:4, 6:37-7:16, or 17, 8:28-12:3, 19:42-20:27, 21:21-22:19, 23:25-24:7, 24:46-53.
These four MSS. are parts of what were once complete Bibles, and are designated by the same letter throughout the LXX and N.T.
ins. insert.
A A. Cod. Alexandrinus, sc. v. Once in the Patriarchal Library at Alexandria; sent by Cyril Lucar as a present to Charles 1. in 1628, and now in the British Museum. Complete.
D D. Cod. Bezae, sc. vi. Given by Beza to the University Library at Cambridge 1581. Greek and Latin. Contains the whole Gospel.
L L. Cod. Regius Parisiensis, sc. viii. National Library at Paris. Contains the whole Gospel.
om. omit.
Syr Syriac.
Cur. Curetonian.
Sin. Sinaitic.
Jos. Josephus.
Win. Winer, Grammar of N.T. Greek (the page refers to Moultons edition).
Vulg. Vulgate.
Cod. Sinaiticus, sc. iv. Brought by Tischendorf from the Convent of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai; now at St. Petersburg. Contains the whole Gospel complete.
B B. Cod. Vaticanus, sc. 4. In the Vatican Library certainly since 15331 (Batiffol, La Vaticane de Paul 3, etc., p. 86).
. Cod. Zacynthius Rescriptus, sc. viii. In the Library of the Brit. and For. Bible Soc. in London. Contains 1:1-9, 19-23, 27, 28, 30-32, 36-66, 1:77-2:19, 21, 22, 33-39, 3:5-8, 11-20, 4:1, 2, 6-20, 32-43, 5:17-36, 6:21-7:6, 11-37, 39-47, 8:4-21, 25-35, 43-50, 9:1-28, 32, 33, 35, 9:41-10:18, 21-40, 11:1, 2, 3, 4, 24-30, 31, 32, 33.
TR. Textus Receptus.
Treg. Tregelles.
Tisch. Tischendorf.
WH. Westcott and Hort.
RV. Revised Version.
AV. Authorized Version.
D. B. Smiths Dictionary of the Bible, 2nd edition.
G G. Cod. Harleianus, sc. ix. In the British Museum. Contains considerable portions.
K K. Cod. Cyprius, sc. ix. In the National Library at Paris. Contains the whole Gospel.
M M. Cod. Campianus, sc. ix. In the National Library at Paris. Contains the whole Gospel.
S S. Cod. Vaticanus, sc. x. In the Vatican. The earliest dated MS. of the Greek Testament. Contains the whole Gospel.
U U. Cod. Nanianus, sc. x. In the Library of St. Marks, Venice. Contains the whole Gospel.
Aeth. Ethiopic.
Arm. Armenian.
Goth. Gothic.
X X. Cod. Monacensis, sc. ix. In the University Library at Munich. Contains 1:1-37, 2:19-3:38, 4:21-10:37, 11:1-18:43, 20:46-24:53.
Boh. Bohairic.
Sah. Sahidic.
Wordsw. Wordsworth (Chr.)
Burton. Burton, N.T. Moods and Tenses.
De W. De Wette.
Beng. Bengel.
Orig. Origen.
Euthym. Euthymius Zigabenus.
Tert. Tertullian.
1 In the Greek Church the Feast of the Transfiguration, Aug. 6th, is called . The combination in Psa 89:12. may be noted.
2 In transfiguratione illud principaliter agebatur, ut de cordibus discipulos um scandalumcrucis tolleretur (Leo the Great, Serm. xliv., Migne, liv. 310).
1 Comp. (Herodian, iii. 4, 8).
R R. Cod. Nitriensis Rescriptus, sc. 8. Brought from a convent in the Nitrian desert about 1847, and now in the British Museum. Contains 1:1-13, 1:69-2:4, 16-27, 4:38-5:5, 5:25-6:8, 18-36, 39, 6:49-7:22, 44, 46, 47, 8:5-15, 8:25-9:1, 12-43, 10:3-16, 11:5-27, 12:4-15, 40-52, 13:26-14:1, 14:12-15:1, 15:13-16:16, 17:21-18:10, 18:22-20:20, 20:33-47, 21:12-22:15, 42-56, 22:71-23:11, 38-51. By a second hand 15:19-21.
1 Hobart adds, It is worthy of note that Aretus, a physician of about St Lukes time, in treating of Epilepsy, admits the possibility of this disease being produced by diabolical agency (Sign. Morb. Diuturn. 27).
Herm. Hermas.
Cod. Am. Codex Amiatimus.
Ign. Ignatius.
1 It is possible that only John and one other were concerned in . The incident may have taken place while the Twelve were working two and two. Johns companion was probably James, and this may be another illustration of the brothers fiery temper (ver. 54).
V. de J. Vie de Jsus.
Herzog, Herzogs Protestantische Real-Encyklopdie, 2nd edition.
Found in Luke alone.
Hist. of J. N. History of the Jewish Nation.
F F. Cod. Boreeli, sc. ix. In the Public Library at Utrecht. Contains considerable portions of the Gospel.
Wetst. Wetstein.
1 Plutarch represents Tiberius Gracchus as saying: , , , .
Clem. Alex. Clement of Alexandria.
Clem. Hom. Clementine Homilies.
Fuente: International Critical Commentary New Testament
Working through His Followers
Luk 9:1-10
The Galilean ministry was coming to a close. The light that had shone there was to move southward and set behind the Cross. Before finally leaving the district our Lord made one last effort on its behalf. Calling together the Apostles He laid His plans before them, divided the district into sections and sent them out in pairs. He gave them no outward investiture, but the inward power of casting out evil spirits. Nothing was to distract them from the great object of heralding the kingdom of God.
Here we seem to encounter the origin of medical missions: their object in healing body and mind; their authority in the command of our Savior; their claims for support. George Eliot once said wisely: The tale of divine pity was never yet believed from lips that had not first been moved by human pity.
Notice how Herods conscience tormented him! He had begun to feel that scourge, which has never failed to find and follow out the murderer, from Cain onward.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
The Mission Of The Twelve — Luk 9:1-17
Then He called His twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And He said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere. 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 risen from the dead; and of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see Him. 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. And the people, when they knew it, followed Him: and He received them, and spake unto them of the Kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing. And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto Him, Send the multitude away, that may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, get victuals: for we are here in a desert place. But He said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people. For they were about five thousand men. And He said to His disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company. And they did so, and made them all sit down. Then He took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets- Luk 9:1-17.
We have four sections to consider in these seventeen verses: First, the mission of the twelve; secondly, Herods reaction to the ministry of our Lord Jesus; thirdly, the return of the twelve; and lastly, the feeding of the multitude. All are so closely linked that we will consider them together.
It is important to notice the difference in the commissions which the Lord gave while He was still here on earth, and that which He gave after He had been raised from the dead. He came as the promised King of Israel, the Anointed One of Jehovah. He presented Himself to the people of Israel in that way: Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He was there ready to set up the kingdom if they were ready for it. But the people who had waited for the Messiah for so long were not prepared to receive Him. They rejected Him, but He did not reject them. He called seventy disciples to Him and sent them out. Later He called the twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure all diseases. They had no such power in themselves, He gave it to them-the power that belonged to Him. The disciples were to announce that God was calling on all men to recognize the rightful King, and they were to authenticate their message by healing the sick. Notice now the instruction Jesus gave to them: Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. 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. You see there was a special reason why He instructed His disciples in this way: They were going to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He had come as the Shepherd of Israel. They were to announce His coming and to call on all to open their hearts to Him. It was seemly that they should be cared for and fed by those to whom they went. We who preach the gospel today would be on very wrong ground indeed if we went forth without money to pay our expenses or without an extra suit of clothes, counting on gifts from our hearers, because we have no right to expect the world to support us and minister to us. In Third John we read of the disciples who went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles. Paul refused to take anything from the Gentile world, and turned aside and went to tent-making, when necessary, to supply his needs. He would not be a debtor to the world. You see, it was not to the world, in the sense that we use the word today, that the twelve were sent on this occasion. They went out to the nation of Israel-those who were expectantly looking for the Messiah. The disciples would be received if the hearts of these people were right with God, and they would provide for the disciples. So the Lord commanded the twelve not to take extra clothing, but to go and proclaim the kingdom of heaven at hand. So they went forth. Where they were received, one can imagine the blessed fellowship that they had when they told about Jesus and His birth of a virgin mother, and how He was ready now to establish the kingdom if the nation was prepared to receive Him. On the other hand, if the disciples were not welcomed but told to leave, then they were to shake off the very dust from their feet for a testimony against them. They were to depart and go on to other towns and preach the kingdom. Everywhere they went they authenticated their message by healing the sick. This is very different to the testimony of servants of God today, who act more on the great commission which is given at the end of each of the Synoptic Gospels.
In the second section of our chapter we have Herods reaction to the word that came to his ears. He had rejected and beheaded John the Baptist. Here we have him disturbed. 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 risen from the dead; and of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. But while our Lord Himself identified John the Baptist with Elias, yet Herod was terrified as he thought of that mighty prophet who had wrought such signs and wonders in the day of Ahab, and wondered if he had come back to earth. And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see Him. He did not send for Him nor invite Him to come. He had sent for John the Baptist again and again, and as long as John dealt with kingdom subjects, all was well, but when he pointed directly to Herods consort, Herodias, whom he had stolen from his brother, Herod became indignant and put John in prison, and Herodias herself had him put to death. Herod never sent for Jesus nor saw Him until our Lord was about to be crucified: Pilate sent Him to Herod. Though Herod had the opportunity to listen to one greater than all the prophets in the past, as our Lord designated John the Baptist, he went out directly into a lost eternity to face forever his sin. What a warning this is to those who persist in sin and turn from Jesus!
We read in Luk 9:10, And the apostles, when they were returned, told Him all that they had done. They came back happy and told Him what had resulted from their mission. In many places they had evidently been treated wonderfully. Given authority over all diseases, they had delivered many from sickness and demon power. And so they came back triumphantly. And He took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. In the Gospel of Mark, we have something added which is most interesting: He turned to them and said, Come ye yourselves apart, and rest awhile. The Lord Jesus saw that His servants were somewhat overwrought and needed quiet rest. It would be well, I think, if we today would heed His word and come apart and rest for a while. I fancy that there are many of His servants who are working far beyond their strength and take little time to rest at the feet of Jesus. That is why so many are losing their health, having nervous breakdowns, and other frailties. If we would listen to Him and spend more time in His presence, it would be much better for us. It is sometimes said that it is better to burn out than to rust out. That is true, but it is still better to work and then rest, as He commanded. David the Psalmist said, He maketh me to lie down. The Lords sheep do not seem to have that much sense! They need to come apart and rest a while. Sheep will do that very thing.
The place where this incident occurred was not the Bethsaida on the west shore of the lake; this was Bethsaida on the eastern side, and this is where they went to enjoy a little time of rest.
In the last section we read, The people, when they knew it, followed Him: and He received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing. In another Gospel we are told that He could not be hid, for word got out that Jesus was there, and when the people heard it, though the Saviour had taken the twelve away for a little rest, they followed Him, eager to see the works that He performed and to listen to the message that He had to bring. And He received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.
He spoke unto them of the kingdom of God! Of course it involved the evident setting up of a literal kingdom here on the earth, but in order to be fit for that kingdom there must be regeneration. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. We may be sure that He not only spoke of this to Nicodemus, that He also stressed that very thing to all. So He proclaimed the message of the kingdom of God, and He healed them that had need of healing. 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. Evidently the people had been so stirred that they had not thought about their own need; neither had they made provision for food, nor lodgment for the night. Many of them were far from home and night was coming on. This is like many people today-far from home, and hungry. I wonder if I am addressing any like that today, far from home and away from God, and hungry, and the night is coming on. Thank God, the blessed Lord Himself makes provision for you. The disciples did not understand, for they said to 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. But He said unto them, Give ye them to eat. His command, Give ye them to eat, is a word for everyone who has partaken of the Bread of Life. We are responsible to pass it on to others. That is the reason we are preaching the gospel and calling men and women to listen to the Word of God. We realize that men are dying in their sins and that they are hungry. Our blessed Lord has provided for daily need, and He has sent us out to tell the multitude. Give ye them to eat, is what Jesus said to them. And they said, We have no more but five loves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people. We are told in another Gospel that the disciples had figured it all out and told the Master that it would take a whole years wages to provide for all these people. The word translated penny is denarius: a days wages for a working-man. The disciples said, Why, Master, it would take two hundred denarii in order to provide food for all this multitude, and there is nothing here but five loaves and two fishes. Where did they get the loaves and fishes? Andrew had been scouting around and found a boy with five loaves and two fishes. No doubt it was the lads own lunch. Possibly his mother had packed it for him when he left to go after Jesus. He had been so absorbed that he had not thought of his lunch and so he gave it to Andrew. It was a small offering, but in the hands of the Saviour it could meet the needs of all those people. What do you have in your hand that you might give to the Lord which He might bless for others? I read of a missionary offering, and the money was coming in so slowly that a dear little crippled girl gave all that she had to give: she handed her little crutch to the usher to give to the pastor for Jesus, and said, Sell it, and use the money for missions. The speaker held it up and told the story, and asked, Who will buy little Marys crutch? Hundreds of dollars came in, and then they gave the crutch back to the little girl. So often a little gift may be multiplied when it is given to the Lord. They were about five thousand men. And He said to the disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company. One hundred companies of fifty each! There they were gathered all about, and the Lord took the five loaves and two fishes and blessed them and began to break, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. I can imagine the first folks eagerly reaching for the food, and the people behind saying, Oh my! there will not be enough for us. But when Jesus sets the table, there is always plenty. And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets. How many basketfuls were there? Twelve! And I can imagine each of the twelve disciples carrying a basket away. You never give anything to the Lord but that He gives more to you.
Now our Lord took all this and gave it a spiritual application. He explained that the real Bread that satisfies the soul is not natural bread, for man does not live by bread alone. The Bread of God is He who came down from heaven to give life to the world. He is calling men and women today to receive Him who gave Himself for them. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Luk 9:13
This narrative suggests and illustrates the following important principle: that men are often, and properly, put under obligation to do that for which they have, in themselves, no present ability.
I. To begin at the very lowest point of the subject: it is the nature of human strength and bodily fortitude to have an elastic measure, and to be so let forth or extended as to meet the exigencies that arise. Within certain limits, for man is limited in everything, the body gets the strength it wants in the exercise for which it is wanted. God may fitly call a given man to a course of life that requires much robustness and a high power of physical endurance, on the ground that when he is fully embarked on his calling the robustness will come, or will be developed in it and by means of it, though previously it seemed not to exist.
II. Intellectual force, too, has the same elastic quality, and measures itself in the same way, by the exigencies we are called to meet. Task it, and for that very reason, it grows efficient. Plunge it into darkness, and it makes a sphere of light. It discovers its own force by the exertion of force, measures its capacity by the difficulties it has endured, its appetite for labour by the labour it has endured. All great commanders, statesmen, lawgivers, scholars, preachers, have found the powers unfolded in their calling, and by it, which were necessary for it.
III. The same also is true, quite as remarkably, of what we sometimes call moral power. By this we mean the power of a life and a character, the power of good and great purposes, that power which comes at length to reside in a man distinguished in some course of estimable or great conduct. No other power of man compares with this, and there is no individual who may not be measurably invested with it. Integrity, purity, goodness, success of any kind, in the humblest persons or in the lowest walks of duty, begin to invest them finally with a character, and create a certain sense of momentum in them. Other men expect them to get on because they are getting on, and bring them a repute that sets them forward, give them a salute that means-success. This kind of power is neither a natural gift nor, properly, an acquisition; but it comes in upon one and settles on him like a crown of glory, while discharging with fidelity his duties to God and man. And here again, also, it is to be noted that the power in question, this moral power, is often suddenly enlarged by the very occasions that call for it. Not seldom is it a fact that the very difficulty and grandeur of a design, which some heroic soul has undertaken to execute, exalts him at once to such a pre-eminence of moral power that mankind are exalted with him, and inspired with energy and confidence by the contemplation of his magnificent spirit. How often, indeed, is a man able to carry a project simply because he has made it so grand a project. He strikes, inspires, calls to his aid, by virtue of his great idea, his faith, his sublime confidence in truth or justice or duty. All the simplest, most loving, and most genuine Christians of our own time are such as rest their souls, day by day, on the confidence and promise of accruing power, and make themselves responsible-not for what they have in some inherent ability, but for what they can have in their times of stress and peril, and in the continual raising of their own personal quantity and power. They throw themselves on works wholly above their ability, and get accruing power in their works for others still greater and higher. And so they grow in courage, confidence, personal volume, efficiency of every kind, and instead of slinking into their graves out of impotent lives, they lie down in the honours of heroes.
H. Bushnell, The New Life, p. 239.
References: Luk 9:18-22.-A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, p. 164. Luk 9:20-24.-Christian World Pulpit, vol. v., p. 102. Luk 9:21. -J. Keble, Sermons from Lent to Passiontide, p. 193; Homilist, vol. vi., p. 104.
Luk 9:23
It is not more certain that without holiness no man can serve God than that without self-denial no man can be holy. And so it must be, from the nature of mankind and the nature of Christ’s service; for what is man’s nature but sinful flesh, and what his service but a sharp corrective? No two powers can be more antagonistic than man’s nature and Christ’s service, and the struggle issues, as either power prevails, in apostasy or in self-denial.
I. In the first place, without crossing and denying of self there can be no purifying of the moral habits. Without a true compunction and a tender conscience, purity of heart, and the energy of a devout mind set free from the thraldom of evil, no man can have fellowship with Christ, and no man can have these without self-denial.
II. And so, again, even with those who have for a while followed Christ’s call, how often do we see the fairest promise of a high and elevated life marred for want of constancy. They had no endurance, for they had no self-denial. A self-sparing temper will make a man not only an utter contradiction to his Lord, but even to himself.
III. Without self-denial there can be no real cleaving of the moral nature to the will of God. I say that, to distinguish between the passive and seeming attachment of most baptized men, and the conscious energetic grasp of will by which Christ’s true disciples cleave to their Master’s service.
IV. We have need to ask ourselves: (1) In what do we deny ourselves? It would be very hard for most men to find out what one thing, in all the manifold actings of their daily life, they either do or leave undone simply for Christ’s sake. (2) And if we cannot find anything in which we deny ourselves already, we must needs resolve on something in which we may deny ourselves henceforward. In things lawful and innocent, and, it may be, gainful and honourable and in keeping with our lot in life; and such things as the world, by its own measure, esteems to be necessary things; we may really try ourselves: we may find matter for self-denial, and that in many ways.
H. E. Manning, Sermons, vol. i., p. 89.
Wherein consists the self-denial of which the text speaks? We must bound it by the prescribed path of each man’s Christian duties and trials, but within that path, what is it, that we may know and practise it?
I. First of all, it must find its field and exercise in the thoughts. There let us plant it and thence trace its work on the words and actions. Whosoever will be Christ’s disciple, must deny himself in his thoughts. It is a temptation to all men, to think highly of themselves; a temptation so subtle that, even with the utmost care to prohibit and cut off its occasion, it most usually finds its seal somewhere in a man’s character. What we should aim at is, that quiet reasonable abnegation of self-will and self-regard, which lays us, for all our more solemn interests and eternal prospects, passive in the hands of our Heavenly Father-as His children, cared for by Him, as much bound to believe and trust Him as to obey and serve Him; that truest humility which is content to take Him at His word and appropriate His promises; that genuine self-denial, which links our will in His, and pours life and energy and a warm loving heart, with all its fulness of conviction and affection, into the unreserved and unconditional furtherance of His work in the world and His glory in ourselves.
II. Self-denial is a wide subject indeed; one deserving every Christian’s earnest and active endeavour therein to follow the example of his Saviour. The Christian’s light is to strive-not that men may follow him, but that he may lead them out to meet the Bridegroom; and the voice of Him for whom we wait may be heard in the simplest remark of a child, as well as in the deepest conclusion of a philosopher.
III. Self-denial in thought and word would ill deserve the name, if they did not lead on to self-denial in deed. If any man will come after Christ, in his outward life and acts, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily.
H. Alford, Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. iii., p. 32.
The Saviour hardly ever said words whose bearing is more direct upon the practical work of our daily living; and though it is a bold thing to make the assertion, we do not hesitate to assert that no words ever uttered by Christ were ever so misunderstood and misinterpreted by very many men, in many places and in many ages. Christ’s teaching was, that the earnest believer must be ready to give up anything, though it should be a right hand or eye, that tended to obstruct him in his Christian course; and that he must be ready to fulfil every Christian duty, however painful, and to bear every burden laid upon him by the hand of God, though it should press upon him heavily and sorely, as the weighty cross upon the poor criminal who bore it to the place of doom.
I. The doctrine of self-sacrifice has proved sufficient to produce many instances of the purest heroism that this world has ever witnessed. Many a time it has gained victories, silently won, in struggling hearts, to which earthly battle-fields are nothing. The self-denial required by Jesus does not lie in seeking needless suffering for ourselves, but in bearing humbly and submissively what should come in the discharge of Christian duty. Let a man, says Jesus, deny himself, and take up his cross-the cross God is pleased to send him and no other. Let him bear the sorrow allotted to him in love and wisdom by the Almighty, let him not tempt the Lord by trying to take the reins of providence into his own puny hands. If we take the trials God sends us, and strive faithfully against the temptations from within and without that God permits to assail us, we shall find that we need not go out of the way to create trials for ourselves. The world, the flesh, and the great adversary are hourly seeking to mislead us, and if any man will come after Christ, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily.
A. K. H. B., Graver Thoughts of a Country Parson, p. 268.
References: Luk 9:23.-Homiletic Magazine, vol. xi., p. 10; J. H. Thom, Laws of Life, p. 251; Christian World Pulpit, vol. ii., p. 311; W. Landels, Ibid., vol. viii., p. 8; G. S. Barrett, Ibid., vol. xxx., p. 381; W. P. Roberts, Ibid., vol. xxxi., p. 235; R. Tuck, Ibid., vol. xxvi., p. 102; E. H. Higgins, Ibid., p. 316. Luk 9:24-27.-A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve, p. 173. Luk 9:25.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. v., p. 314.
Luk 9:26
False Shame.
Consider:-
I. What is there in Christ and His words of which men are ashamed? (1) Their reason is perplexed by the mystery of His Person; (2) their pride is humbled by the nature of His work.
II. How men may show that they are ashamed of Christ. (1) The shame of some is seen in their shrinking from the profession of His Name; (2) we can show our shame of Christ by silence and by compliance.
E. Mellor, In the Footsteps of Heroes, p. 50.
If we consider our Lord’s saying on the subject of the last judgment, we shall find that there are three main failures, so to call them, for which Christians will be condemned at the day of account.
I. The first is disobedience-conscious, wilful disobedience to the Gospel law.
II. The second is that of false and outward profession.
III. The third is the failure to profess the truth of which they are secretly convinced.
H. P. Liddon, Penny Pulpit, No. 1,151; see also Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxvi., p. 369.
Reference: Luk 9:26.-S. A. Tipple, Echoes of Spoken Words, p. 31.
Luk 9:28-31
I. The Transfiguration throws light on the meaning of Christ’s Passion. It shows that glory was His natural state, according to His own thought: “Now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own Self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.”
II. Evidently, one object of this scene was to confirm the faith of the disciples in the Divine Nature of a suffering Redeemer.
III. This scene bears close relation to the Resurrection. On the former occasion Christ distinctly foretells His death, in the evening retires, and at night is transfigured. Again, at the Transfiguration He had two witnesses from the world of spirits, besides His three disciples; and in His Passion an angel from the unseen world is present, and the same three disciples; while, again, at the tomb, out of the same three Apostles two are found, as well as two witnesses from the unseen world.
C. W. Furse, Sermons at Richmond, p. 177.
References: Luk 9:28, Luk 9:29.-Homiletic Magazine, vol. vi., p. 24; W. Wilson, Christ setting His Face to go to Jerusalem, p. 185. Luk 9:28-32.-H. N. Grimley, Tremadoc Sermons, p. 10. Luk 9:28-36.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 476; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iii., p. 239; S. D. Thomas, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxv., p. 54; G. Macdonald, Miracles of Our Lord, p. 272.
Luk 9:29-30
The Re-appearance of the Departed.
I. The Church, perfected and triumphant; the Church, expectant still, in their quiet resting-places; and the Church travailing, conflicting here, in the battlefield of this lower world-were all one upon that holy mount. And they all gathered round the same Christ-the Friend of all, the Saviour of all, the Lord of all. He was the Spring from which all came. He was the End to which all tended. They all combined to make His kingdom.
II. If we pass from the persons to their appearance, we are immediately baffled by the unearthliness of the scene to which we are admitted. Only three things occur to notice. (1) The Transfiguration left everything the same. It was Christ’s own form; it was Christ’s own face; the very garments appear to have been the same; only all-the figure, the countenance, the dress-became lovely and lustrous. And so with the two sainted ones from the other worlds-they were recognisable in a moment; and all we read of their appearance is, that they “appeared in a glory,” which probably means that they were like their Lord-exceeding white and brilliant. (2) What was the character of the heavenly appearance? Twofold-partly physical, partly spiritual. Some from within, some from without. Who can doubt that that sun-like brightness was the beaming of the moral effulgence of the Divine nature, the holiness, the wisdom, the love, the power of God, all radiating there, and making that flood of glory so intense, that flesh and blood could not look upon it. (3) It is interesting to inquire, What was the subject which occupied the thoughts of that heavenly assembly, when they met in that sweet society? St. Luke only answers the question. They talked of Christ’s exodus which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. Notice the place which the sufferings, and Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus-making His exodus-held in the minds of the saints. It was their only topic. No wonder! it is the central truth of the whole system-that truth of truths, without which nothing else in the world is true indeed.
J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 4th series, p. 218.
References: Luk 9:29.-H. Wonnacott, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 115; E. D. Solomon, Ibid., vol. xxviii., p. 133. Luk 9:29-31.-Church of England Pulpit, vol. x., p. 505; T. M. Herbert, Sketches of Sermons, p. 113. Luk 9:29-37.-H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxv., p. 388. Luk 9:30, Luk 9:31.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. vii., p. 193; Homilist, new series, vol. i., p. 251; W. M. Taylor, Elijah the Prophet, p. 222. Luk 9:32.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 236. Luk 9:34.-J. Keble, Sermons from Lent to Passiontide, p. 1; Parker, Hidden Springs, p. 359; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iv., p. 273. Luk 9:34, Luk 9:35.-W. T. Bull, Christian World Pulpit, vol. i., p. 523. Luk 9:35.-A. Barry, Cheltenham College Sermons, p. 256. Luk 9:36.-Homiletic Magazine, vol. vii., p. 80. Luk 9:37-42.-Ibid., vol. xiii., p. 19. Luk 9:37-45.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. in., p. 344. Luk 9:38-42.-G. Macdonald, The Miracles of Our Lord, p. 173. Luk 9:42.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. ii., No. 100; vol. xxix., No. 1746. Luk 9:45.-R. Duckworth, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxx., p. 232. Luk 9:49, Luk 9:50.-Phillips Brooks, Ibid., vol. xxxi., p. 277. Luk 9:49-62.-F. D. Maurice, The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, p. 160. Luk 9:53-62.-G. Dawson, The Authentic Gospel, p. 131. Luk 9:54-56.-Homilist, new series, vol. vi., p. 416.
Luk 9:55-56
The Spirit of Christ and of Elijah.
No one can have failed to notice the marked difference between the stern spirit of Elijah and the gentle spirit of Christ. Of all the prophets of the Old Dispensation Elijah is the grandest and least civilised. Rnan tells us that in the pictures of the Greek Church Elijah is usually represented as surrounded by the decapitated heads of the Church’s enemies. And Prescott tells us that in the sixteenth century the brutal inquisitors of Spain tried to justify their fiendish deeds by appealing to Elijah’s act in calling down fire from heaven, and saying, “Lo, fire is the natural punishment of heretics.” They did not understand-or else they would not-that that act of Elijah’s was for ever condemned by One who was at once Elijah’s Master and Elijah’s God.
I. Elijah and the old heroes, doubtless, had not learnt to distinguish between the sinners and the sin. Doubtless they had not learnt to love the sinner, while they hated the sin. It was reserved for after-times to teach men that. It required a higher teaching than had yet been granted to mankind. It required the teaching of the Son of God Himself. The spirit of Elijah was a spirit of justice, a spirit of righteous retribution, a spirit of terrible vengeance: the spirit of Christ was a spirit of tenderness, a spirit of compassion, a spirit of love.
II. But because the religion of Christ is a religion of love, because it bids us be kind, patient, longsuffering, forgiving, do not fancy that therefore it is a religion of sentimentalism, fit only for weak women and effeminate men. It is nothing of the kind. It is a religion of mercy, but it is a religion of justice. It is a religion of charity and of intolerance of sin. It is a religion of love, but of hatred of oppression. If any man can see injustice and wrong done to those who cannot help themselves-and see it done, too, with callousness and indifference-then that man may be very wise and prudent in the eyes of a hollow society, but he has lost the spirit of justice, which is the spirit of Christ.
J. Vaughan, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xviii., p. 147.
References: Luk 9:56.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 132; H. Jones, Ibid., vol. xxx., p. 101; W. Walters, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xii., p. 318. Luk 9:57.-Ibid., vol. v., p. 458. Luk 9:57, Luk 9:58.-H. M. Butler, Harrow Sermons, p. 244. Luk 9:57-62.-H. W. Beecher, Ibid., vol xvi., p. 404.
Luk 9:59-60
Our Lord’s words in the text seem at first sight harsh and severe. They are regarded by many as breathing the very spirit of those religious movements and institutions which dissolve the nearest and most sacred ties of natural kinship and affection for the interests of the Church and for the promotion of the individual religious life.
I. But what is it that our Lord said, and under what circumstances did He say it? It is probable that the young man heard of his father’s death while he was with Christ, for, if he had been in his father’s house when he died the Jewish law would have pronounced him ceremonially unclean, and kept him from intercourse with others for some time. He heard of his father’s death while he was with Christ, and he wanted to return to the funeral. The father was dead, and beyond the reach of his affection. The son could really do nothing for him. If he had been a good son he had already done everything for his father that it was in his power to do; if he had been a bad son it was too late now to make up for past neglect. There are scores of cases in which a clear imperative duty would require a man to be absent even from his father’s funeral. If the Duke of Wellington, on the morning of the battle of Waterloo, had heard that his father was dead, and had left the army to come home to bury him, I do not know what military law would have inflicted on him, but he would have committed a great crime. There are duties which refuse to suffer a man even to go and bury his father. To such a duty this man had been called. He appears to have been selected as one of the seventy; for our Lord told him that he was to preach the kingdom of God. He might have had his purpose weakened as well as have been kept away from a great and solemn work, the opportunity for which would not occur again. His father could not suffer by his absence, and our Lord lays His hand upon him, and commands him to discharge, even in the hour of his grief, this great service. “Let the dead bury their dead.”
II. Is there not something hard in the way in which our Lord remits the burial to those who had no spiritual life? Does not this look like the contempt with which many persons, claiming to be spiritual, speak of those who have no religious faith? But, certainly, that was not Christ’s habit, and it was to minister to the spiritually dead that this man was called. Our Lord never spoke with contemptuous indifference of those who were dead in trespasses and sins; and it was the very eagerness of our Lord that they might rise from that spiritual death to a new and better life, that led Him to call this man away from what he was going about, and to send him to preach the Gospel. This whole narrative suggests that critical moments in a man’s life bring critical duties.
R. W. Dale, Penny Pulpit, new series, No. 744.
References: Luk 9:59.-Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 554. Luk 9:59, Luk 9:60.-H. M. Butler, Harrow Sermons, p. 255; W. Wilson, Christ setting His Face to go to Jerusalem, p. 42. Luk 9:59-62.-Homiletic Magazine, vol. xii., p. 204. Luk 9:60.-T. Cuyler, Christian World Pulpit, vol. vi., p. 65. Luk 9:61.-H. Wonnacott, Ibid., vol. xvii., p. 84; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. vii., No. 403. Luk 9:61, Luk 9:62.-W. Wilson, Christ setting His Face to go to Jerusalem, p. 56; H. M. Butler, Harrow Sermons, p. 266. Luk 9:62.-A. Barry, Cheltenham College Sermons, p. 164; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 61. Luke 9-Expositor, 1st series, p. 148; Parker, Christian Commonwealth, vol. vi., p. 515. Luk 10:1.-Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ix., p. 98. Luk 10:1-7.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. iii., p. 160. Luk 10:1-38.-F. D. Maurice, The Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, p. 160. Luk 10:2.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. v., p. 32; W. Baird, The Hallowing of Our Common Life, p. 39. Luk 10:3-7.-W. Wilson, Christ setting His Face to go to Jerusalem, p. 85. Luk 10:3-9.-J. Clifford, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxvii., p. 264. Luk 10:5, Luk 10:6.-Phillips Brooks, Ibid., vol. xxxi., p. 322.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 9:1-50
1. Christ Sends Forth the Twelve Apostles. (Luk 9:1-6)
2. Herod Perplexed. (Luk 9:7-9)
3. The Return of the Apostles. (Luk 9:10)
4. The Feeding of the Five Thousand. (Luk 9:11-17)
5. Peters Confession of Christ. (Luk 9:18-21)
6. The Son of Man Announces His Death and Resurrection. (Luk 9:22)
7. Necessity of Self-Denial. (Luk 9:23-26)
8. The Transfiguration. (Luk 9:27-36)
9. The Demon Cast Out. (Luk 9:37-43)
10. The Second Prediction of His Rejection. (Luk 9:44-45)
11. Disciples Rebuked. (Luk 9:46-50.)
Luk 9:1-9
The sending out of the twelve is briefly given by Luke. The full account is in Matthew. All this shows the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Matthew writing concerning the King must needs give all the details of the sending out of the Kingdom messengers. In the foreground is put here the power and authority which the Lord gave to the Apostles over all demons and to cure all diseases. Did Judas also have this power? Assuredly, for he was an Apostle. The authority and power was conferred upon them and not for any faith, virtue or merit on the Apostles side. They went forth preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. They are the messengers of the compassionate friend of sinners. Herod here fears Him and desires to see Him, who was greater than John, whom he had beheaded. Herod saw Him later. He had desired to see Him for a long time. At last He stood before Him bound, the willing sacrifice to be led away to the cross. Herod never heard a single word from His lips. Then the wicked King mocked. (Chapter 23:8).
Luk 9:10-26
The compassion and tenderness of the Lord is blessedly revealed throughout these verses. The Apostles returned and He took them away for rest. The multitude followed Him and He received them, and spake unto them of the Kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing. The miracle of the feeding of the five thousand is reported in all the Gospels including John. He graciously supplied their need. Peters confession is preceded by prayer. In Matthew we read the fuller confession, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. There also the Lord saith that it was revealed unto Peter by His Father. Luke alone tells us He prayed before. May we then not look upon the confession as an answer to the Lords prayer?
Luk 9:27-50
In the transfiguration scene we see Him again in prayer. And as He prayed the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistening. Luke tells us of the subject of the conversation between the Lord, Moses, and Elijah. They spoke of His decease, which He should accomplish in Jerusalem. He had announced for the first time His coming suffering and death (Luk 9:22) and that death demanded by the Law (Moses) and predicted by the prophets (Elijah), which must needs be and precede His, glory, is the great theme. Another statement is found in Luke, which is absent in Matthew and Mark. Moses and Elijah appeared in glory; not their own glory, but His glory. Luke also informs us that when they entered the overshadowing cloud, they feared. The Transfiguration is prophetic. Some day the Second Man, the last Adam, the head of the new creation, will appear in His Glory, and all His Saints will share that coming Glory.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
Chapter 52
Are There Any Like These?
Here in Luk 9:1-6 the Lord Jesus Christ sent out his twelve disciples, the twelve apostles, as Gods messengers to eternity bound men and women, to do the work of prophets. He sent them forth to preach the gospel. These twelve men were the first men to be sent forth in this gospel age as Gods messengers to men. The instructions our Lord gave to these men tell us plainly what the work of the ministry is and what is expected of any man God puts into the work. In these six verses the Son of God tells those men he sends forth what men who speak to men in Gods stead must be and do.
Divine Authority
Men who are sent of God to preach the gospel are men who possess a God given authority to do their work. Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases (Luk 9:1). The power and authority with which Gods messengers are endued is not trumped up authority and power, demagoguery or religious showmanship. Our Lord gives his messengers power and authority, power and authority by which they prevail over Satan, the influence of hell and the havoc of sin in the lives of men. What is this power and authority? The Word of God gives us, very clear answers to that question.
The power and authority Christ gives his servants is the power and authority of the gospel we preach (1Th 1:2-5; Rom 1:15-16; Heb 4:12; Joh 12:32).
It is the power and authority of the anointing and unction of God the Holy Spirit upon the man by whom he speaks (1Co 2:1-5).
The power and authority by which Gods servants preach is the power and authority that arises from confident faith (Gal 1:11-12; 2Ti 1:9-12).
This power and authority, which only God himself can give to a man, is the power and authority of true meekness (2Ti 2:25).
The meekness which gives Gods servants the power and authority to do the work to which they are called is not the pretence of meekness that men display and pretend to admire, but the meekness of Noah in his generation, the meekness of Moses before Pharaoh, the meekness of Elijah on Mount Carmel, the meekness of John the Baptist before Herod, the meekness of Peter before the Sanhedrim, and the meekness of Paul at Jerusalem. Meekness is not an outward show of weakness and humility, but a humbling awareness that we are Gods, that we belong to and serve the living God, a humbling awareness that we have a mandate from God himself. That gives a man power and authority. It is something only God can give.
Ministers Work
Gods ministers are men who know their work and stick to it. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick (Luk 9:2). I am a preacher, nothing else, just a preacher. I do not pretend to know anything at all about any other mans work. I do not make any claim or pretence of being a man of learning, a theologian or historian. But I do know exactly what God has called me to do. I know exactly what my work and responsibilities are as a pastor and preacher. The glorious gospel of the blessed God has been committed to my trust (1Ti 1:11). It is a trust for which I am responsible. Therefore, I am determined, for the glory of God and the sake of the gospel, to let nothing and no one turn me aside from this great work. It is all-consuming. Basically, it is a work that demands three things.
Study. Incessant study! A man cannot preach who does not study. Let every man who calls himself a preacher addict himself to the study of holy scripture, ever seeking the message of God for his people.
Prayer. Fervent prayer! Preachers, true preachers, are men of prayer. They do not talk much about prayer, because they are ashamed of themselves in this area. While others talk piously about their prayer lives, men of prayer ever beg the Lord to teach them to pray. Yet, they live in unceasing awareness of their utter dependence upon God, seeking grace to honour him, honour his Word and serve his people.
Preaching. Gospel preaching! Preachers preach. I know this will offend, but it must be said: God called men are preachers, not social workers, not counsellors, not promoters, not entertainers, but preachers! Sadly, many who pretend to be preachers really want to be priests. So they spend the bulk of their time visiting and counselling. Their offices are large confession booths in which they hear confessions of sin and prescribe deeds of penance. That is what people call pastoral work. Not so! Pastoral work is study, prayer and preaching. The very reason the Lord gave his church deacons (Acts 16) to take care of routine affairs was that the preachers might give themselves relentlessly to study, prayer and preaching.
Pastoral Care
Those men who are called and sent of God to the great work of preaching the gospel are men who care for men. These twelve men went about serving and ministering to both the bodies and the souls of men, preaching the gospel to them and healing them. They made the needs of others their own. They hurt for those who hurt. They wept for those who wept. They carried in their hearts the burdens of those to whom they preached. If I am Gods servant, if I am Gods messenger to the souls of men, I do and I will care for them, their families and their needs, both spiritual needs and carnal needs (Rom 9:1-3; Rom 10:1; Rom 16:1-27).
Live By The Gospel
Men who are called, gifted, and sent of God to preach the gospel must live for the gospel and live by the gospel. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece (Luk 9:3). Our Lord here specifically forbids his servants to provide a living for themselves (1Co 9:7-14). There is no scarcity of material in the Book of God regarding the financial support of the gospel ministry. It is a subject which appears again and again throughout the Bible. This is the universal doctrine of Scripture.
Under the Mosaic economy of the Old Testament those who ministered about the holy things of divine service lived upon the things of the temple. Those who served the altar were partakers of the altar (1Co 9:13). God prescribed by law that the priesthood, the children of Levi, should receive a tenth of all the possessions of the children of Israel, a tenth of their money, property, crops and herds, for their service in the tabernacle of the congregation. The Jews were required to pay a tithe to be used exclusively for the financial support of the ministry of the Levitical priesthood (Num 18:21). Failure to do so, for any reason, was regarded as robbing God himself (Mal 3:8-9).
However, we are not under the law today. Gods people are no more required to pay a tithe in this gospel age than we are required to keep the sabbath day or observe the Passover (Col 2:16-23). We are free from the law. A. D. Muse, the late pastor of Hearts Harbor Tabernacle in Louisville, Kentucky, used to say, If you tithe, youre under the law; and if you dont tithe youre an outlaw. In other words, the person who just pays his tithe is a mere legalist; and anyone who does not do that much is an antinomian. Anyone who uses his freedom from the law as an excuse for being a niggardly miser and selfishly refuses to give of his means for the support of the gospel of Christ is, I fear, without grace. Gods people give. They give generously; and they give cheerfully.
The instructions given in the New Testament regarding the financial support of the gospel ministry are unmistakably clear. Those men and women who believe the gospel of the grace of God are expected to support generously those who preach it. Not only is this expected, among Gods saints it is practised. Gods children are not miserly, self-centred worldlings. They are stewards who use what God has put in their hands for the cause of Christ. They need only to be instructed from the Word of God, and they gladly submit to it.
Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us plainly and repeatedly that those who preach the gospel are to live by the gospel (Mat 10:9-10; Luk 10:4-7; 1Ti 5:17-18). Those men who faithfully preach the gospel of Gods free and sovereign grace in Christ are to be supported and maintained by the people to whom and for whom they labour in the Word. Faithful missionaries should be as fully and generously supported by the churches that send them out as the pastors of those local churches.
There were times when Paul and his companions were required to make tents to support themselves in the work of the gospel. It was an honourable thing for them to do so. Paul tells us that his goal was not to enrich himself, but to avoid being a burden to young churches (1Th 2:9), and to avoid causing an offence to young, weak believers (1Co 9:15-19). But the fact that Gods messenger had to spend his time and efforts making tents was a shameful reproach upon the churches. Those churches that were established in the gospel should have assumed the responsibility of supplying Pauls needs and the needs of his companions, as they travelled from place to place preaching the gospel. The New Testament clearly makes it the responsibility of every local church to provide for the financial, material support of those who preach the gospel of Christ.
Separated To God
Gods messengers are men who care not for the world. They are separated unto God and separated unto the gospel. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart (Luk 9:4). They are separated unto the gospel. They seek nothing for themselves: They seek neither their place of service, nor personal property, nor positions of prominence, nor recognition and fame. Gods servants seek neither the approval of the world, nor the riches of the world. A minister of the gospel is content to serve God wherever God sends him. He is content to live and labour without recognition. A preacher is content to live in this world as a stranger and pilgrim, passing through for only a brief time (Php 4:12-13).
Undaunted Men
Gods sent men are men undaunted by men. 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 (Luk 9:5). They seek to please God, not men. If their work appears to be in vain, they go on, knowing that their labour is not in vain in the Lord (1Co 15:58). They go on sowing the good seed, planting and watering as God enables them, knowing that it is God alone who gives the increase. They cast their bread upon the waters, knowing that it will return in due season. They preach the gospel faithfully, knowing that Gods Word will not return to him void (Isa 55:11).
Used Of God
There are really only two kinds of preachers: those who use and those who are used. False prophets are preachers who use men for their own advantage. True prophets are preachers who are used of God for the benefit of his elect. And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where (Luk 9:6). The Lord Jesus sent these men to preach the gospel; and they preached it everywhere. The Master sent them out to heal the sick; and they healed them. The Son of God sent these twelve men out to be a blessing to the world; and what a blessing they have been! May the Lord God give such men to his church again, for Christs sake (2Co 4:1-7).
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
he: Luk 6:13-16, Mat 10:2-5, Mar 3:13-19, Mar 6:7-13
gave: Luk 10:19, Mat 10:1, Mat 16:19, Mar 6:7, Mar 16:17, Mar 16:18, Joh 14:12, Act 1:8, Act 3:16, Act 4:30, Act 9:34
Reciprocal: Num 27:19 – give him Mat 22:3 – sent Mar 1:27 – for Mar 3:14 – and Luk 9:6 – General Luk 9:40 – and they Luk 10:2 – the Lord Luk 10:17 – General Luk 14:17 – his Act 16:18 – I command Act 28:8 – and healed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE DISCIPLES HAD now had full opportunity of learning their Masters spirit and methods and power; so they were sent forth, and verses Luk 9:1-6 tell us how they were commissioned. Then He called… and gave… He sent… He said… The order of the four verbs is very instructive. His is the choice and not ours. But then He not only calls but also gives the authority and power adequate for the service to which He calls. Not until that power is given does He send. And then in sending He gives the specific instructions that are to control and guide them in their service. The instructions He gave them were exactly suited to men who were sent to support the testimony rendered by the Messiah, the Son of Man, present personally on the earth.
The testimony we are called upon to render today is not that, but rather to the Christ who is risen and glorified on high; still any service we can render is subject to just the same conditions. He must call and send. If He calls any of us He will give the power and grace that is needed for the work; and when sent we too must be careful to observe the instructions that He has left us.
The disciples went forth with the power of their Lord behind them, and the testimony thus being multiplied the attention of even an ungodly monarch like Herod was drawn to the Lord. The great question was, Who is this? The people asked it and indulged in speculations. Herod asked it with an uneasy mind, for he had already beheaded John. His wish to see Jesus was fulfilled, but hardly in the way he had anticipated-see Luk 23:8-11.
All details of the disciples mission are passed over in silence. In verse Luk 9:10 it is recorded that they returned and told their Master all that they had done, and He took them aside in private. Thus it will be for all of us when we reach Him at His coming. That will mean being manifested before His judgment seat; and it will be in the privacy and rest of His presence.
On this occasion there was very little rest for Him. Desert place though it was, the people flocked after Him, and He turned no one away. He received, He spoke of the kingdom of God, He healed and, when the evening drew on and they were hungry, He fed them.
The disciples were like ourselves: they had much to learn. In spite of having been sent forth as His messengers they had no adequate sense of His power and sufficiency, and hence they judged as to the difficult situation in the light of their own powers and resources instead of judging everything by Him. When He said to them, Give ye them to eat, they thought of their loaves and fishes-pitifully few and small. They might have said, Lord, it is to Thee we look: we will gladly give them all that Thou cost give to us.
How easily we can see what they might have said, and yet fail in just the same way as they did! We have to learn that if He commands, He enables.
He did enable on this occasion, and the disciples were employed in dispensing His bounty. Thus they were instructed as to the fulness of supply that was in Him.
Before multiplying the loaves and fishes Jesus looked up to heaven, thus publicly connecting His action with God. In verse Luk 9:18 we again find Him in private prayer, thus expressing the dependent place which He had taken in Manhood. The grace was the grace of God, though flowing to men in Him.
Having given His disciples this glimpse of His fulness, He warned them of His approaching rejection, and of its results as far as they were concerned. The people were still completely in the dark as to who He was, but Peter-and doubtless the other disciples too-knew that He was Gods Christ, or Messiah. This confession of Peters was met by the Lords command to tell no man that thing. This injunction must have been a great surprise to them, as up to this point the joyful tidings that they had found the Messiah must have been the chief item of their testimony. Now however the moment had arrived for them to know that what lay before Him was not the earthly glory of the Messiah but death and resurrection. In breaking the news of this the Lord spoke of Himself as the Son of Man-a title with wider implications. The Messiah is to rule over Israel and the nations, according to Psa 2:1-12 : the Son of Man is to have all things under His feet, according to Psa 8:1-9.
In speaking of Himself in this way, the Lord was beginning to lead their thoughts toward the new developments that were impending, though not as yet unfolding what the developments were. Still He did intimate very plainly to them that if death lay before Him, it would also lie before them. This surely is the significance of the words, deny himself, and take up his cross daily. To deny oneself is to accept death inwardly-death lying upon the motions of ones own will. To take up ones cross daily is to accept death outwardly, for if the world saw a man carrying his cross it knew him to be under its sentence of death.
Verses Luk 9:24-26 amplify this thought. There is life according to the reckoning of this world, made up of all the things that appeal to mans natural tastes. If we seek to save that life we only lose it. The path for the disciple is to lose that life for Christs sake, and then we save life in the proper sense, that which is life indeed. The man of the world grasps at the life of this world and ends by losing himself; and that is loss of an irreparable and eternal kind. The disciple who loses the life of this world is no loser in the end. Verse Luk 9:26 only speaks of the one who is ashamed. The converse however is true: the one who is not ashamed will be acknowledged by the Son of Man in the day of His glory.
The Lord knew that these words of His would fall as a blow upon the minds of the disciples, and therefore He at once ministered to them great encouragement, not by words so much as by giving them a sight of His glory. This was granted not to all but to the chosen three, and they could communicate it to the rest. In the transfiguration they saw the kingdom of God, since for that brief moment they were eyewitnesses of His majesty (2Pe 1:16). The expression the Lord used- taste of death-is worthy of note. It would cover not only actual dying but also the spiritual experience which He had indicated in verse Luk 9:23. The same thing stands true for us in principle. It is only as we see the kingdom by faith that we are prepared to taste of death in that experimental way.
Once more we find Him praying, and it is only Luke who puts on record that the transfiguration took place as He prayed. It is a striking fact that it was the praying, dependent Man who shone forth in glory as the King. Long before this David had said, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in fear of God (2Sa 23:3). Here we see the One who will take up the kingdom and hold it for God, ruling as the dependent Man. All the elements of the coming kingdom were there in sample form. The King Himself was manifested as the central Object. Moses and Elijah appeared from the unseen, heavenly world, representing heavenly saints who will appear with the King when He is manifested: Moses representing saints who have been raised from the dead, and Elijah those raptured to heaven without dying. Then Peter, James and John represented the saints who will be on earth, blessed in the light of His glory.
While the disciples were heavy with sleep the heavenly saints were conversing with their Lord concerning His approaching death, which is to provide the basis on which the glory must rest. Luke speaks of it as His departure or exodus, for it meant His going out from the earthly order into which He had entered, and His entrance into their world by resurrection from among the dead. When the disciples did awake Peters only thought was to perpetuate the earthly order, and keep his Master in it. He would have detained Moses and Elijah in it also, had he been permitted to make his three tabernacles. As yet he did not grasp the reality of the heavenly order of things just displayed before his eyes, and he had as yet no proper apprehension of the supreme glory of Jesus.
Hence at that moment there came the cloud-evidently the well-known cloud of the Divine presence-which overshadowed them with its brightness, and silenced them with fear. Then the Fathers voice proclaimed the supreme glory of Jesus and marked Him out as the one and only Speaker to whom all are to listen. No Moses, no Elijah is for one moment to be coupled with Him. Jesus is indeed to be found alone. Though Peter did not at that moment understand the full significance of all this, and therefore told no man in those days, he did afterwards, as his allusion to it in his second Epistle so plainly shows. It confirmed for him, and for us, the prophetic word, giving the assurance that in anticipating the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ we are not following cunningly devised fables but resting in solid truth.
How great the contrast when the next day they came down from the hill! Above, all had been glory, the power and glory of Christ, with its accompanying order and peace. Below, all was under the power of Satan, with disorder and distraction. The nine disciples left at the foot of the hill had been tested by the child possessed by a particularly virulent demon, and had failed. The distracted father appealed to the Lord, though evidently with but little expectation that He could do anything. Jesus instantly acted for the childs deliverance, and they were all amazed at the mighty power [majesty] of God. The majestic power He displayed amid the disorders at the foot of the hill was equal to the glory that had been displayed on its crest the day before.
Then once more, just when He had thus manifested His power, He spoke of His death. Said He, Let these sayings sink down into your ears. What sayings? we may ask, for Luke has not recorded any particular sayings in connection with the casting out of the unclean spirit. The words refer perhaps to the saying on the holy mount, where His decease had been the theme. But that was the trouble with the disciples at that moment: they could not tear away their minds from expectations of an immediate kingdom on earth, so as to realize that He was about to die. The sad consequence of this is seen in verse 46.
By nature we are self-important creatures, loving prominence and greatness above all else; and the flesh in a disciple is no different from that in an unbeliever. Jesus countered the thought of their heart by the object lesson of the little child, and by words that indicated that true greatness is found where the littleness of a child is manifested, and where that least disciple is truly a representative of his Master. To receive an insignificant child is to receive the Divine Master, if the child comes in My Name. The significance is in the Name, not in the child.
This episode evidently stirred Johns conscience so that he mentioned a case that had occurred some time before. They had forbidden some zealous worker because he followeth not with us. They had attached far too much importance to the us which, after all, is but a group of individuals each of which is of no importance in himself. All the importance, as the Lord has just shown them, lay in the Name. Now the one who had cast out the demons-the very thing they had just failed to do-had done so in Thy Name. So he had the power of the Name and they had the imagined importance of the us. The Lord dealt gently with John yet firmly. The man was not to be forbidden. He was for the Lord and not against Him.
Luke now groups together four further incidents in the close of the chapter. It seems that the Lord having displayed to the disciples the power of His grace and of Gods kingdom, is now instructing them as to the spirit that befits them as those brought under both; and He also warns them of things which would be hindrances thereto.
The first hindrance is obviously selfishness. This may take an intensely personal form, as in verse 46. Or it may be collective, as in verse 49. Yet once more it may be under cover of zeal for the Masters reputation, and this is the most subtle form of all. The Samaritans were wholly wrong in their attitude. But He was going up to Jerusalem to die, while James and John wished to vindicate His importance-and incidentally their own-by bringing death upon others. Elijah had indeed acted thus when confronted by the violence of an apostate king, but the Son of Man is of another spirit. That was the trouble with the disciples; they did not as yet enter into the spirit of grace-the grace that characterized their Master.
The three incidents which briefly close the chapter show us that if we would be disciples indeed, and fit for the kingdom, we must beware of mere natural energy. An energy which is more than natural is needed if we would follow a rejected Christ. Also there must be no half-heartedness and no indecision. The claims of the kingdom must take precedence over all else.
Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary
1
Power means the ability to control the devils, and authority means the right to do so. The twelve were the apostles, given ability also to cure diseases.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
THESE verses contain our Lord’s instructions to His twelve apostles, when He sent them forth the first time to preach the Gospel. The passage is one which throws much light on the work of Christian ministers in every age. No doubt the miraculous power which the apostles possessed, made their position very unlike that of any other body of men in the Church. No doubt, in many respects, they stood alone, and had no successors. Yet the words of our Lord in this place must not be confined entirely to the apostles. They contain deep wisdom for Christian teachers and preachers, for all time.
Let us observe, that the commission to the apostles contained special reference to the devil and bodily sickness. We read that Jesus gave them “authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.”
We see here, as in a glass, two of the principal parts of the Christian minister’s business. We must not expect him to cast out evil spirits, but we may fairly expect him to “resist the devil and all his works,” and to keep up a constant warfare against the prince of this world.-We must not expect him to work miraculous cures, but we may expect him to take a special interest in all sick people, to visit them, sympathize with them, and help them, if needful, as far as he can.-The minister who neglects the sick members of his flock is no true pastor. He must not be surprised if people say that he cares for the fleece of his sheep more than for their health. The minister who allows drunkenness, blasphemy, uncleanness, fighting, reveling, and the like, to go on among his congregation unreproved, is omitting a plain duty of his office. He is not warring against the devil. He is no true successor of the apostles.
Let us observe, secondly, that one of the principal works which the apostles were commissioned to take up was preaching. We read that our Lord “sent them to preach the kingdom of God,” and that “they went through the towns preaching the Gospel.”
The importance of preaching, as a means of grace, might easily be gathered from this passage, even if it stood alone. But it is but one instance, among many, of the high value which the Bible everywhere sets upon preaching. It is, in fact, God’s chosen instrument for doing good to souls. By it sinners are converted, inquirers led on, and saints built up. A preaching ministry is absolutely essential to the health and prosperity of a visible church. The pulpit is the place where the chief victories of the Gospel have always been won, and no Church has ever done much for the advancement of true religion in which the pulpit has been neglected. Would we know whether a minister is a truly apostolical man? If he is, he will give the best of his attention to his sermons. He will labor and pray to make his preaching effective, and he will tell his congregation that he looks to preaching for the chief results on souls. The minister who exalts the sacraments, or forms of the Church, above preaching, may be a zealous, earnest, conscientious, and respectable minister; but his zeal is not according to knowledge. He is not a follower of the apostles.
Let us observe, thirdly, that our Lord charges His apostles, when He sends them forth, to study simplicity of habits, and contentment with such things as they have. He bids them “take nothing for their journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread nor money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.” In part, these instructions apply only to a peculiar period. There came a day when our Lord Himself bade every one who had “no sword, to sell his garment and buy one.” (Luk 22:36.) But, in part, these instructions contain a lesson for all time. The spirit of these verses is meant to be remembered by all ministers of the Gospel.
The leading idea which the words convey is, a warning against worldliness and luxurious habits. Well would it be for the world and the Church if the warning had been more carefully heeded! From no quarter has Christianity received such damage as it has from the hands of its own teachers. On no point have its teachers erred so much, and so often, as in the matter of personal worldliness and luxury of life. They have often destroyed, by their daily lives, the whole work of their lips. They have given occasion to the enemies of religion to say, that they love ease, and money, and good things, far more than souls. From such ministers may we pray daily that the Church may be delivered! They are a living stumbling-block in the way to heaven. They are helpers to the cause of the devil, and not of God. The preacher whose affections are set on money, and dress and feasting, and pleasure-seeking, has clearly mistaken his vocation. He has forgotten his Master’s instructions. He is not an apostolic man.
Let us observe, lastly, that our Lord prepares His disciples to meet with unbelief and impenitence in those to whom they preached. He speaks of those “who will not receive them” as a class which they must expect to see. He tells them how to behave, when not received, as if it was a state of things to which they must make up their mind.
All ministers of the Gospel would do well to read carefully this portion of our Lord’s instructions. All missionaries, and district visitors, and Sunday-school teachers, would do well to lay it to heart. Let them not be cast down if their work seems in vain, and their labor without profit. Let them remember that the very first preachers and teachers whom Jesus employed were sent forth with a distinct warning that not all would believe. Let them work on patiently, and sow the good seed without fainting. Duties are theirs. Events are God’s. Apostles may plant and water. The Holy Ghost alone can give spiritual life. The Lord Jesus knows what is in the heart of man. He does not despise his laborers because little of the seed they sow bears fruit. The harvest may be small. But every laborer shall be rewarded according to his work.
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Notes-
v1.-[His twelve disciples.] Let it be noted, that Judas Iscariot, the false apostle and traitor, was one of those twelve whom our Lord sent forth to preach and heal the sick. It must not surprise us, if we see unconverted men preachers and ministers of the Gospel. Our Lord permitted one to be in the number of His apostles, in order to show that we must expect to see the evil mingled with the good in this world. The highest ecclesiastical office and dignity afford no proof that a man has the grace of God.
[Gave them power.] Theophylact remarks, what an evidence we have here of our Lord’s divine power. He could not only work miracles Himself, but could give power to others to work them.
v2.-[He sent them to preach.] Let it be carefully noted, that, speaking literally and accurately, there is no such thing as apostolical succession. The office of the apostles was isolated, peculiar and distinct, and ceased with themselves. Ministers of the churches of Christ are successors of Timothy and Titus, but not of the apostles.
v3.-[Take nothing for your journey, &c.] The words of Quesnel on this verse are worth reading. “Men will never be able to establish the kingdom of God in the hearts of people, so long as they do not appear fully persuaded themselves of those truths which they preach. And how can they appear so, if they plainly contradict them in their practice and behavior? In order to persuade others to be unconcerned for superfluities, a man must not himself appear too much concerned, even about necessaries.”
[Scrip.] The word so translated, means, a little bag to carry provisions in.
v4.-[There abide, and thence depart.] The object of this injunction is evident. The apostles were to beware of appearing changeable, fickle, luxurious, and hard to please. Like men who regard all the world as an inn, and heaven as their home, they were to be content with any lodging, and any kind of entertainment.
v6.-[Preaching the Gospel.] It is a very awful thought, that one of those who did this, was Judas Iscariot. There seems no reason to suppose that he preached less faithfully or powerfully than the other apostles. Yet his heart was all the time wrong in the sight of God. It is no proof that a man is a converted man, because he preaches the Gospel! See Php 1:15. A man may preach Christ from false motives.
Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels
CHRONOLOGY. From Matthew we learn that the miracle narrated in the last section was followed immediately by others (Mat 9:27-34). From Mark (Mar 6:1-6) we infer that our Lord then visited Nazareth and was again rejected (Matthew places this out of its order; Mat 13:54-58). Then began the third circuit through Galilee (Mat 9:35; Mar 6:6), during which the Twelve were sent forth. The events in this section are in their chronological order. Luke is very brief, presenting no new details.
Luk 9:1-6. THE SENDING OUT OF THE TWELVE. See on Mat 10:5-15; Mar 6:7-13. The latter passage agrees almost exactly with Lukes account; Matthew (Mat 10:16-42) adds a part of the discourse not given by the other two.
The twelve (Luk 9:1). This brief form agrees with Lukes usage.
To heal the sick (Luk 9:2). Some good authorities omit the sick, which Luke, as a physician, might deem unnecessary.
Against them (Luk 9:5). More definite than to them, which is found in Matthew and Mark.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
THE TWELVE AND THE SEVENTY
The events of chapter 9 with a single exception, were dealt with in either Matthew or Mark. Luke, however, adds items of flesh interest to some of them which the student can easily discover by comparison.
Chapter 10 has three subjects original with Luke: (1) the sending forth of the seventy (Luk 10:1-24); (2) the lawyers question and its answer (Luk 10:25-37); and (3) the story of Martha and Mary (Luk 10:38-42).
The sending forth of the seventy fits into the purpose of his gospel to reach the Gentiles. The twelve apostles were sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but these went into every city and place whither He himself would come. In most other respects the charge to the seventy was like that to the twelve. When they returned and reported the subjection of demons unto them (Luk 10:17) our Lords reply was an earnest of complete victory over all the power of the enemy. They had spoken of demons but He speaks of Satan (Luk 10:18), and the downfall of the one presaged that of the other. It is instructive that our Lord defines demons as being in nature spirits (Luk 10:20). Nor let the story pass without noting His prayer in Luk 10:21, which occurs in Matthew in another place (Mat 11:25-27). Stuart believes Luke has correctly located it because of the words In that hour, for otherwise we would not have understood the full significance of the passage.
The lawyers question (Luk 10:25-37) suggests Mat 22:34-40 and Mar 12:28-34, and yet it is a different occasion. Certainly our Lords reply including the story of the good Samaritan is original with Luke and peculiarly suited to the Gentiles for whom he wrote. The Jewish priest and levite passed by the wounded man, but the Gentile Samaritan befriended him. The lesson taught is that anyone in need is our neighbor, without reference to his nationality, religion or character.
We linger a moment at the story of Martha and Mary (Luk 10:38-42), to speak of a unique reason for its position here, suggested by Stuart. The lawyer in the preceding incident had not gotten eternal life, and the question is how could any man obtain it? The answer is given in the attitude and occupation of Mary as distinguished from Martha. To sit at Jesus feet, and hear His word is the way of blessing.
QUESTIONS
1. What is the title of this lesson, and why?
2. What three utterances about the transfiguration are original with Luke?
3. Name the three events of chapter 10.
4. How does the record of sending forth the seventy fit into the purpose of this Gospel?
5. What are demons?
6. Have you compared Mat 11:25-27?
7. How is the story of the good Samaritan fitted to this Gospel?
8. What is the great lesson of that story?
9. What is the way to find eternal life?
Fuente: James Gray’s Concise Bible Commentary
We heard before, Luk 6:13 of our Saviour’s choosing his twelve apostles, and their several names; they were first chosen disciples to be with Christ, to learn of him, and be instructed by him, and to be witnesses of what he said and did. Now after some time thus spent in preparing and fitting them for public service, our Saviour sends them forth to preach the gospel, and gives them a power to confirm their doctrine by miracles.
Observe here, 1. The person that sends the apostles forth to preach the gospel: it is Christ himself.
Learn thence, that none ought to take upon them the office of preaching, or any other ministerial function of the church, till thereunto called by Christ himself. The apostles were called by Christ, and immediately sent forth by himself. The ministers of the gospel are now called mediately, and receive authority from Christ by the hand of the governors of the church.
Observe, 2. The power given to the apostles by our Saviour to work miracles, for confirming that doctrine which they preached: He gave them power over unclean spirits, etc. Now this miraculous power given to the apostles was necessary, partly to procure reverence to their persons, being poor and unlearned men; but principally to gain credit and authority to their doctrine; for the doctrine of faith in the Messiah as now come, and exhibited in the flesh, being a strange and new doctrine to the Jews, the truth and certainty of it was to be extraordinarily ratified by miracles, which are the broad seal of heaven, to testify that such doctrine comes from God.
Observe,3. The charge here given by Christ to his apostles at the time of their sending forth; and this is three-fold.
First, touching their preparation for the journey: he forbids them to take much care, or to spend much time, in furnishing themselves with victuals, money, or clothes; because they were to finish their journey speedily, and to return again to Christ their Master. This command of our Saviour to his apostles not to encumber themselves, when going forth to preach the gospel, teaches his ministers their duty, to free themselves as much as possibly they can from worldy incumbrances, which may hinder them in their ministerial services. No man that warreth, entangleth himself with the affairs of this life. 2Ti 2:4
Secondly, touching their lodging in their journey: Christ advises them not to change it, during their stay in one place; but into whatsoever house they entered, they should there continue till they departed out of the place, that so they might avoid all show of lightness and inconstancy, and testify all gravity and stayedness in their behavior; this being a special mean to gain reverence to their persons, and authority to their doctrine.
Thirdly, Christ gives a special charge to his apostles concerning their carriage toward such as should refuse to give entertainment to them and their doctrine: they were to denounce the judgments of God against such contemners, by shaking off the dust off their feet for a testimony against them. This action was emblematical, signifying that Almighty God would in like manner shake them off, as the vilest dust; for wherever the word is preached, it is for a testimony, either a testimony for, or against, a people; for if the dust of a minister’s feet while alive, and the ashes of his grave when dead, do bear witness against the despisers of his gospel, their sermons much more.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Luk 9:1-6. Then he called his twelve disciples See notes on Mat 10:1; and Mar 6:7-12. There abide and thence depart That is, Stay in that house till ye leave the city. See note on Mat 10:11.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fourth Cycle: From the Mission of the Twelve to the Departure from Galilee, Luk 9:1-50.
This cycle describes the close of the Galilean ministry. It embraces six narrations: 1 st. The mission of the Twelve, and the impression made on Herod by the public activity of Jesus (Luk 9:1-9). 2 d. The multiplication of the loaves (Luk 9:10-17). 3 d. The first communication made by Jesus to His apostles respecting His approaching sufferings (Luk 9:18-27). 4 th. The transfiguration (Luk 9:28-36). 5 th. The cure of the lunatic child (Luk 9:37-43 a). 6 th. Some circumstances which preceded the departure from Galilee (Luk 9:43 b to 50).
1. The Mission of the Twelve, and the Fears of Herod: Luk 9:1-9.
The mission with which the Twelve were entrusted marks a twofold advance in the work of Jesus. From the first Jesus had attached to Himself a great number of pious Jews as disciples (a first example occurs,Luk 5:1-11; a second, Luk 9:27); from these He had chosen twelve to form a permanent college of apostles (Luk 6:13 et seq.). And now this last title is to become a more complete reality than it had hitherto been. Jesus sends them forth to the people of Galilee, and puts them through their first apprenticeship to their future mission, as it were, under His own eyes. With this advance in their position corresponds another belonging to the work itself. For six months Jesus devoted Himself almost exclusively to Galilee. The shores of the lake of Gennesaret, the western plateau, Decapolis itself on the eastern side, had all been visited by Him in turn. Before this season of grace for Galilee comes to an end, He desires to address one last solemn appeal to the conscience of this people on whom such lengthened evangelistic labours have been spent; and He does it by this mission, which He confides to the Twelve, and which is, as it were, the close of His own ministry. Mark also connects this portion with the preceding cycle by introducing between the two the visit to Nazareth (Luk 6:1-6), which, as a last appeal of the Saviour to this place, so dear to his heart, perfectly agrees with the position of affairs at this time.
Matthew 10, also mentions this mission of the Twelve, connecting with it the catalogue of apostles and a long discourse on the apostolate, but he appears to place this fact earlier than Luke. Keim (ii. p. 308) thinks that Luke assigns it a place in nearer connection with the mission of the seventy disciples, in order that this second incident (a pure invention of Luke’s) may be more certain to eclipse the former. In imputing to Luke this Machiavellian design against the Twelve, Keim forgets two things: 1. That, according to him, Luke invented the scene of the election of the Twelve (vi.) with the view of conferring on their ministry a double and triple con secration. After having had recourse to invention to exalt them, we are to suppose that he now invents to degrade them! 2. That the three Syn. are agreed in placing this mission of the Twelve just after the preceding cycle (the tempest, Gadara, Jairus), and that as Matthew places this cycle, as well as the Sermon on the Mount, which it closely follows, earlier than Luke, the different position which the mission of the Twelve occupies in the one from that which it holds in the other, results very naturally from this fact. It is to be observed that Mark, whose account of the sending forth of the Twelve fully confirms that of Luke, is quite independent of it, as is proved by a number of details which are peculiar to him (Luk 6:7, two and two; Luk 9:8, save one staff only; ibid., put on two coats; Luk 9:13, they anointed with oil).
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
LXI.
THIRD CIRCUIT OF GALILEE. THE TWELVE
INSTRUCTED AND SENT FORTH.
aMATT. IX. 35-38; X. 1, 5-42; XI. 1; bMARK VI. 6-13; cLUKE IX. 1-6.
b6 And he aJesus bwent about aall the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner sickness and all manner of sickness. [In the first circuit of Galilee some of the twelve accompanied Jesus as disciples (see Mar 16:15). As Jesus himself was sent only to the Jews, so during his days on earth he sent his disciples only to them.] 7 As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. [It was set up about a year later, on the day of Pentecost, under the direction of the Holy Spirit– Act 2:1-4.] 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons: freely ye received, freely give. [Here is the true rule of giving. Paul repeats it at 1Co 16:2. If we would obey this rule, we would make this a happy world.] c3 And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, a9 Get you no gold, nor silver, cnor money; anor brass in your purses; cneither staff, nor wallet, afor your journey, cnor bread, neither have two coats. anor shoes, nor staff: for the workman is worthy of his food. [The prohibition is against securing these things before starting, and at their own expense. It is not that they would have no need for the articles mentioned, but that “the laborer is worthy of his food,” and they were to depend on the people for whose benefit they labored, to furnish what they might need. This passage is alluded to by Paul ( 1Co 9:14). To rightly understand this prohibition we must remember that the apostles were to make but a brief tour of a few weeks, and that it was among their own countrymen, among a people habitually given to hospitality; moreover, that the apostles were imbued with powers which would win for them the respect of the religious and the gratitude of the well-to-do. The special and temporary commission was, therefore, never intended as a rule under which we are to act in preaching the gospel in other ages and in other lands.] b10 And he said unto them a11 And into whatsoever city or village ye shall enter, search out who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go forth. [The customs of the East gave rise to this rule. The ceremonies and forms with which a guest was received were tedious and time-consuming vanities, while the mission of the apostles required haste.] 12 And as ye enter [364] come into an house, salute it. 13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. [The form of salutation on entering a house was, “Peace to this house.” The apostles are told to salute each house, and are assured that the peace prayed for shall return to them if the house is not worthy; that is, they shall receive, in this case, the blessing pronounced on the house.] bWheresoever ye enter into a house, there abide till ye depart thence. {c4 And into whatsoever house ye enter, there abide, and thence depart.} b11 And whatsoever place shall not receive you, and they hear you not [Jesus here warns them that their experiences would not always be pleasant], a14 And whosoever cas many as ashall creceive you not, anor hear your words, bas ye go forth thence, aout of that house or that city [The word “house” indicates a partial and the word “city” a complete rejection], {cwhen you depart from that city,} bshake off the dust that is under your feet {aof your feet.} cfrom your feet bfor a testimony unto them. cagainst them. [The dust of heathen lands as compared with the land of Israel was regarded as polluted and unholy ( Amo 2:7, Eze 27:30). The Jew, therefore, considered himself defiled by such dust. For the apostles, therefore, to shake off the dust of any city of Israel from their clothes or feet was to place that city on a level with the cities of the heathen, and to renounce all further intercourse with it.] a15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city. [For comment on similar remarks, see 2Sa 12:20, Mat 6:16, Mat 6:17). When an apostle stood over a sick man to heal him by a touch or a word, he was about to send him out of his sick chamber, and just before the word was spoken, the oil was applied. It was, therefore, no more than a token or symbol that the man was restored to his liberty, and was from that moment to be confined to his chamber no longer. Comp. Jam 5:14. This practice bears about the same relation to the Romish practice of extreme unction as the Lord’s Supper does to the mass, or as a true baptism does to the sprinkling of an infant.]
[FFG 362-369]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Luke Chapter 9
In chapter 9 the Lord charges the disciples with the same mission in Israel as that which He Himself fulfilled. They preach the kingdom, heal the sick, and cast out devils. But this is added, that their work takes the character of a final mission. Not that the Lord had ceased to work, for He also sent forth the seventy; but final in this sense, that it became a definite testimony against the people if they rejected it. The twelve were to shake off the dust from their feet on leaving the cities that would reject them. This is intelligible at the point we have reached in the Gospel. It is repeated, with a yet greater force, in the case of the seventy. We shall speak of it in the chapter that relates to their being sent forth. Their mission comes after the manifestation of His glory to the three disciples. But the Lord as long as He was here continued His exercise of power in mercy, for it was what He personally was here, and sovereign goodness in Him was above all the evil He met with.
To go on with our chapter. That which follows Luk 9:7 shews that the fame of His marvellous works had reached the ears of the king. Israel was without excuse. Whatever little conscience there was felt the effect of His power. The people also followed Him. Gone apart with the disciples, who had returned from their mission, He is soon surrounded by the multitude; again, their servant in grace, however great their unbelief, He preaches to them and heals all who needed it.
But He would give them a fresh and very especial proof of the divine power and presence that was among them. It had been said that in the time of Israels blessing from the Lord, when He should make the horn of David to flourish, He would satisfy the poor with bread. Jesus now does so. But there is more than this here. We have seen throughout this Gospel that He exercises this power, in His humanity, by the unmeasured energy of the Holy Ghost. Hence a marvellous blessing for us, granted according to the sovereign counsels of God, through the perfect wisdom of Jesus in selecting His instruments. He will have the disciples do it. Nevertheless the power that performs it is all His own. The disciples see nothing beyond that which their eyes can estimate. But, if He who feeds them is Jehovah, He ever takes His place Himself in the dependence of the nature He had assumed. He retires with His disciples, and there, afar from the world, He prays. And, as in the two remarkable cases [25] of the descent of the Holy Ghost and the selection of the Twelve, so here also His prayer is the occasion of the manifestation of His glory-glory which was due to Him, but which the Father gave Him as man, and in connection with the sufferings and the humiliation, which, in His love, He voluntarily underwent.
The attention of the people was excited, but they did not go beyond the speculations of the human mind with regard to the Saviour. The disciples faith recognised without hesitation the Christ in Jesus. But He was no longer to be proclaimed as such-the Son of man was to suffer. Counsels more important, a glory more excellent than that of the Messiah, were to be realised: but it should be through suffering-suffering that, as to human trials, His disciples were to share by following Him. But in losing their life for Him, they would gain it; for in following Jesus, the eternal life of the soul was the question and not merely the kingdom. Moreover He who was now rejected would return in His own glory, namely, as Son of man (the character He takes in this Gospel), in the glory of the Father, for He was the Son of God, and in that of the angels as Jehovah the Saviour, taking place above them, although (yea as) man: He was worthy of this, for He created them. The salvation of the soul, the glory of Jesus acknowledged according to His rights, everything warned them to confess Him while He was despised and disallowed. Now, to strengthen the faith of those whom He would make pillars, and through them the faith of all, He announces that some of them, before they tasted death (they should neither wait for death, in which the value of eternal life would be felt, nor for the return of Christ), should see the kingdom of God.
In consequence of this declaration, eight days later He took the three who afterwards were pillars, and went up into a mountain to pray. There He is transfigured. He appears in glory, and the disciples see it. But Moses and Elias share it with Him. The saints of the Old Testament have part with Him in the glory of the kingdom founded upon His death. They speak with Him of His decease. They had heretofore spoken of other things. They had seen the law set up, or had sought to bring the people back to it, for the introduction of blessing; but now that this new glory is the subject, all depends on the death of Christ, and on that alone. Everything else disappears. The heavenly glory of the kingdom and death are in immediate relationship. Peter sees only the introduction of Christ into a glory equal to theirs; connecting the latter in his mind with that which they both were to a Jew, and associating Jesus with it. It is then that the two disappear entirely, and Jesus remains alone. It was He alone whom they were to hear. The connection of Moses and Elias with Jesus in the glory, depended on the rejection of their testimony by the people to whom they had addressed it.
But this is not all. The church, properly so called, is not seen here. But the sign of the excellent glory, of the presence of God, shews itself-the cloud in which Jehovah dwelt in Israel. Jesus brings the disciples to it as witnesses. Moses and Elias disappear, and, Jesus having brought the disciples close to the glory, the God of Israel manifests Himself as the Father, and owns Jesus as the Son in whom He delighted. All is changed in the relationships of God with man. The Son of man, put to death on earth, is owned in the excellent glory to be the Son of the Father. The disciples know Him thus by the testimony of the Father, are associated with Him, and, as it were, introduced into connection with the glory in which the Father Himself thus acknowledged Jesus-in which the Father and the Son are found. Jehovah makes Himself known as Father by revealing the Son. And the disciples find themselves associated on earth with the abode of glory, from whence, at all times, Jehovah Himself had protected Israel. Jesus was there with them, and He was the Son of God. What a position! What a change for them! It is, in fact, the change from all that was most excellent in Judaism to connection with the heavenly glory, which was wrought at that moment, in order to make all things new. [26]
The personal profit of this passage is great, in that it reveals to us, in a very striking manner, the heavenly and glorious state. The saints are in the same glory as Jesus, they are with Him, they converse familiarly with Him, they converse on that which is nearest to His heart-on His sufferings and death. They speak with the sentiments that flow from circumstances which affect the heart. He was to die in the beloved Jerusalem, instead of their receiving the kingdom. They speak as understanding the counsels of God; for the thing had not yet taken place. Such are the relationships of the saints with Jesus in the kingdom. For, up to this point, it is the manifestation of the glory as the world will see it, with the addition of the intercourse between the glorified and Jesus. The three were standing on the mountain. But the three disciples go beyond thus. They are taught of the Father. His own affections for His Son are made known to them. Moses and Elias have borne testimony to Christ, and shall be glorified with Him; but Jesus now remains alone for the church. This is more than the kingdom, it is fellowship with the Father, and with His Son Jesus (not understood, assuredly, at that time, but now is by the power of the Holy Ghost). It is wonderful, this entrance of the saints into the excellent glory, into the Shekinah, the abode of God; and these revelations on Gods part of His own affections for His Son. This is more than the glory. Jesus, however, is always the object that fills the scene for us. Observe also for our position down here, that the Lord speaks as intimately of His death to His disciples on the earth as to Moses and Elias. These are not more intimate with Him than are Peter, James, and John. Sweet and precious thought! And mark how thin a veil there is between us and what is heavenly. [27]
That which follows is the application of this revelation to the state of things below. The disciples are unable to profit by the power of Jesus, already manifested, to cast out the power of the enemy. And this justifies God in that which was revealed of His counsels on the mount, and leads to the setting aside of the Jewish system, in order to introduce their fulfilment. But this does not hinder the action of the grace of Christ in delivering men while He was yet with them, until man had finally rejected Him. But, without noticing the fruitless astonishment of the people, He insists with His disciples on His rejection and on His crucifixion; carrying this principle on to the renunciation of self, and the humility which would receive that which was least.
In the remainder of the chapter, from Luk 9:46, the Gospel gives us the different features of selfishness and of the flesh that are in contrast with the grace and devotedness manifested in Christ, and that tend to prevent the believer from walking in His steps. Luk 9:46-48; Luk 9:49-50;Luk 9:51-56, respectively, present examples [28] of this; and, from 57 to 62, the contrast between the illusive will of man and the efficacious call of grace; the discovery of the repugnance of the flesh, when there is a true call; and the absolute renunciation of all things, in order to obey it, are set before us by the Spirit of God. [29] The Lord (in reply to the spirit that sought the aggrandisement of their own company on earth, forgetful of the cross) expresses to the disciples that which He did not conceal from Himself, the truth of God, that all were in such wise against them that, if any one were not so, he was even thereby for them. So thoroughly did the presence of Christ test the heart. The other reason, given elsewhere, is not repeated here. The Spirit, in this connection, confines Himself to the point of view we are considering. Thus rejected, the Lord judges no one. He does not avenge Himself; He was come to save mens lives. That a Samaritan should repulse the Messiah was, to the disciples, worthy of destruction. Christ came to save the lives of men. He submits to the insult, and goes elsewhere. There were some who wished to serve Him here below. He had no home to which He could take them. Meantime, for this very reason, the preaching of the kingdom was the only thing to His unwearying love; the dead (to God) might bury the dead. He who was called, who was alive, must be occupied with one thing, with the kingdom, to bear testimony to it; and that without looking back, the urgency of the matter lifting him above all other thoughts. He who had put his hand to the plough must not look back. The kingdom, in presence of the enmity-the ruin-of man, of all that opposed it, required the soul to be wholly absorbed in its interests by the power of God. The work of God, in the presence of Christs rejection, demanded entire consecration.
Footnotes for Luke Chapter 9
25: Observe also here, that it is not only in the case of acts of power, or in that of testimony to the glory of His Person in answer to His prayer, that these prayers are offered. His conversation with the disciples respecting the change in the dispensations of God (in which He speaks of His sufferings, and forbids them to make Him known as the Christ) is introduced by His prayer when He was in a desert place with them. That His people were to be given up for a time occupied His heart as much as the glory. Moreover, He pours out His heart to God, whatever may be the subject that occupies Him according to the ways of God.
26: It is the display of the kingdom, not of the church in heavenly places. I suppose the words they entered must refer to Moses and Elias. But the cloud overshadowed the disciples. Yet it carries us beyond that display. The word overshadowed is the same as that used by the LXX for the cloud coming and filling the tabernacle. We learn from Matthew it was a bright cloud. It was the Shekinah of glory which had been with Israel in the wilderness-I may say the Fathers house. His voice came from it. Into this they entered. It is this in Luke that makes the disciples afraid. God had talked with Moses out of it; but here they enter into it. Thus, besides the kingdom, there is the proper dwelling-place of the saints. This is found in Luke only. We have the kingdom, Moses and Elias in the same glory with the Son, and others in flesh on the earth, but the heavenly sojourn of the saints also.
27: Note too that if Jesus takes up the disciples to see the glory of the kingdom, and the entrance of the saints into the excellent glory where the Father was, He came down also and met the crowd of this world and the power of Satan where we have to walk.
28: These three passages point out, each in succession, a more subtle selfishness less easily detected by man: gross personal selfishness, corporate selfishness, and the selfishness that clothes itself with the appearance of zeal for the Lord, but which is not likeness to Him.
29: Observe that, when the will of man acts, he does not feel the difficulties, but he is not qualified for the work. When there is a true call, the hindrances are felt.
Fuente: John Darby’s Synopsis of the New Testament
HE SENDS OUT THE TWELVE
Mat 9:37-38. Then He says to His disciples, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest, in order that He may send out the laborers into His harvest. Our Lord, seeing the awful state of the Jewish Church, destitute of competent spiritual guides, going miserably into eternal ruin, and consequently calls on all of His disciples to unite in a prayer to God to send out more laborers into the harvest. This prayer ascends up to Heaven, and receives a speedy answer, so that, instead of a single evangelistic force, He determines to multiply seven-fold, sending out the twelve apostles, two by two, to scour the whole country of Galilee and Judea, moving with all possible expedition, and preaching the gospel in every city and village. O how inconceivably urgent a similar policy this day! N.B. The time has not yet arrived to unfurl the gospel banner to the Gentile world. Hence, all of this evangelistic movement was confined to the Jews; i.e., in the Churches, preaching in the synagogues, as well as to the multitudes in the open air.
Mat 10:1-42; Mar 6:7-13; & Luk 9:1-6. Matthew: And calling His twelve disciples, He gave them power over unclean spirits, so as to cast them out, and heal every disease and every malady. Luke says, He sent them forth to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. The kingdom of God, or kingdom of heaven, is the Divine government, which prevails among the angels and redeemed spirits throughout all celestial worlds; hell having none of it, and earth a mixture some, citizens of Gods kingdom; others, the denizens of Satans pandemonium.
Matthew Jesus sent forth these twelve, commanding them, saying, Go not into way of the heathens nor enter ye into a city of the Samaritans; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As the Jews were the organized Church of God, and the custodians of the Divine Oracles, Gods plan was first to give them the gospel, so they might turn evangelists, and carry it to the ends of the earth. For a similar reason, we should now begin with the Churches, and get all of them saved who will receive the living Word, and then go to the world. You see our Savior repeatedly mentions the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Do you not know that this included the rank and the of the ministry and membership? There were a few honorable exceptions, like Simeon, Anna, Zacharias, Elizabeth, and the apostles. The Divine economy originally contemplated the Jewish Church en masse receiving Christ, and enjoying the immortal honor of heralding Him to the world. This they missed, both preachers and people, except the elect few. In a similar manner, it is the glorious privilege of the whole Church to receive Christ at His second coming; but amid the sad apostasy of the latter days (2 Thessalonians 2), we see that only the elect few will enjoy this transcendent glory. Going, preach, saying, That the kingdom of the heavens draweth nigh. This was significantly true, because they were the heralds of the kingdom, enjoying citizenship in the same, and commending it to all others. Heal the sick, raise the dead. We have a number of instances, in the ministries of Paul and Peter, of healing the sick; and at Joppa, Peter actually raised Dorcas from the dead. Her tomb was pointed out to me when I was there a few days ago. Cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Paul at Philippi ejected the fortune-telling demon from a damsel. The genuine, regular work of the Holy Ghost in the gospel dispensation, saving and sanctifying souls, is constantly accompanied by demoniacal ejectment and bodily healing. Possess neither gold nor silver, nor copper in your girdles; i.e., do not wait and prodigalize Gods precious time and opportunity in order to get money of any kind, as God can feed and clothe you as well out in the evangelistic field as at home. Have faith in Him to feed you like the birds and clothe you like the lilies. Nor valise, nor two coats, nor sandals, nor staff; for the laborer is worthy of his food. Hence, you see, we are to wait for nothing, but go as we are, taking what we have, and trusting God for everything.
Into whatsoever city or village you enter, inquire who in it is worthy; and abide there until you may depart. This is not an interdiction of house-to- house preaching; but their time was short, and the work too great to admit of it. Hence they are commanded to find some place with Gods elect, and thence radiate out everywhere, preaching the Word, till they traverse the field. And going into a house, salute it. And if the house may be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it may be unworthy, let your peace return unto you. Salvation is optionary, and never goes begging. God is infinitely rich, and can get along without any of us. Whosoever may not receive you, nor hear your words, going out from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Truly, I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. When we go to a people and offer them the gospel, we have done our part, and will be rewarded in eternity as if they had received it. When they reject our message, they relieve us, and assume the responsibility of their own damnation. Sodom and Gomorrah were Gentile cities, in the beautiful, rich, and productive Vale of Sidim, which were destroyed for their wickedness, the very site they occupied being now covered by the Dead Sea. These heathen cities never had the opportunities of the Jews and the Christians. Consequently the latter, who reject the gospel, will sustain a more grievous responsibility in the judgment-day, and sink to a more terrible doom in the world of woe, than the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, with all their dark vices.
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. The serpent is the symbol of Satan, who has a wonderful intelligence, shrewdness, and cunning; while the dove is the symbol of the Holy Ghost, full of innocent, sweet, regenerating, and sanctifying love, and ready to pour it out into every penitent, believing heart. Harmless is akeraioi, from akeranumi, from a, not, keranumi, to mix. Hence the word means unmixed, the strongest statement of entire sanctification. Sinners are full of unmixed evil; holy, sanctified saints are full of unmixed good; while unsanctified Christians have a mixed experience, the pure love of God in a heart which is not free from depravity, but needs the second work of grace to eliminate it all away, leaving nothing but the pure love of God to fill the sanctified heart. We see from this commandment that, while we are to be innocent, holy, and faithful, trusting God for everything necessary to soul and body, we are still to carry with us the good, common sense with which we are born, and to utilize all the intelligence God gives us, watching lest we enter into temptation. Ministerial failures are constantly being made, simply because people do not use their common sense. Beware of men; for they will deliver you up unto the Sanhedrins, and scourge you in their synagogues. You see how they arrested, beat, and imprisoned Paul and Silas. And you shall be led before governors and kings, for My names sake, for a testimony to them and the Gentiles. Whereas the former clause specifies Jewish punishments and persecutions, this gives those they will encounter among the Gentiles; e.g., Paul, at Paphos, on the Isle of Cyprus, testified, when arraigned before Sergius Paulus, and won him; but when, in a similar manner, at the tribunal of Felix, another Roman proconsul, at Caesarea, he testified; but Felix rejected.
But when they may deliver you up, do not he solicitous, how or what you may speak, for it will be given to you in that hour what you shall say; for it is not you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father who is speaking in you. Wonderful has been the testimony and preaching of the martyrs, in all ages, when brought face to face with the burning fagot or the blood-thirsty lion. This Scripture has been most wonderfully verified, the heathen historians of the first three centuries certifying that the testimony of the dying martyrs often won their own murderers, so that they embrace the Christian religion, likewise sealing their faith with their blood. Brother will deliver up brother to death, and father the child; and the children will rise up against the parents, and put them to death. It has been estimated that two hundred millions of martyrs, during the Pagan and Papal ages, have died for Jesus. You can readily see how families would all be divided during those times of peril and bloodshed, the persecutors requiring them to testify against each other, and even participate in their martyrdom, as the only way of escape from a similar fate. You shall be hated by all men for My names sake; but he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. Those apostles, to whom He gave this commission and appended these stringent liabilities, all proved true to the end, except poor Judas. Matthew suffering martyrdom in Ethiopia; Mark, in Egypt; Luke, in Greece; James the Elder, the first of all, beheaded by Herod in Jerusalem; and James the Less, at a later date, hurled from a pinnacle of the temple; Matthias, the successor of Judas, suffered martyrdom in Abyssinia; Thomas, in India; Jude, in Tartary; Andrew, in Armenia; Bartholomew, in Phrygia; Philip, at Heliopous, in Syria; Paul and Peter, at Rome; and John, miraculously delivered from martyrdom in the caldron of boiling oil at Rome, and, as we believe, finally translated into heaven without seeing death.
And when they may persecute you in this city, fly into another. Thus you see, the people of God who bear this message of love and grace are not to use carnal weapons in self-defense, but run away, trusting the Lord for another open door. For truly, I say unto you, That you may not complete the cities of Israel, till the Son of man may come. You must remember, the immediate commission of these apostles, under which they are now going out, is restricted to the Jews, that restriction being removed when our Lord ascended, and the Holy Ghost fell on them, qualifying them for the conquest of the world. They are only gone out about three months in these duets, traversing the territory of Israel, till they return to the Lord, and accompanied Him the ensuing year of His ministry. N.B. The Mount of Transfiguration was really a prelude of the Lords second and glorious coming. This they actually witnessed in a few months from that date, thus verifying this mysterious declaration, as they had not yet gone over all the cities of Israel till the Son of man did actually come in adumbration on the Mount of Transfiguration, thus preliminarily revealing to them His second and glorious coming.
The disciple is not above his teacher nor the servant above his lord. Where we have Master so frequently in E.V., the word didaskalos, the noun, from didasko, to teach, hence it literally means a teacher. Jesus is the worlds Great Teacher, without whom the black darkness of the pandemonium would envelop it. It is sufficient for the disciple that he may be as his teacher, and the servant as his lord. If they called the landlord Beelzebub, how much more the inmates of his house? Our Savior here reveals to all who would be His witnesses, and herald His truth to a dying world, that we must be ready for any fate and disappointed at nothing.
My rest is in heaven, My home is not here; Then why should I murmur at trials severe?
Come trouble, come sorrow; The worst that can come, Will shorten my journey, and hasten me home.
Our Teacher and Lord, our great Exemplar, was homeless, destitute, and the world combined against Him, not even permitting Him to live on the earth which He had created. If we can riot accept the situation, and walk in His footprints, we can not be His disciples.
Therefore be not afraid of them. For nothing has been hidden which shall not be revealed, and secret which shall not be known. This follows as a logical sequence from the preceding affirmation in reference to the grave, criminal, and even diabolical affirmations which have invariably been adduced against the people of God. The Roman historians, Seutonius, Pliny, and Sallust, have all chronicled the gravest sins and darkest crimes against the Christians during the Martyr Ages of the heathen empire, thus apologizing for the bloody persecutionary edicts issued against them by the emperors. Of course, these historians only recorded hearsay, not claiming ocular testimony in the case. They said of Jesus, constantly, He hath a demon, He is gone mad, and He is beside Himself. They finally killed Him in the most disgraceful method, even hanging Him up between two criminals, notorious for robbery and murder. Similar accusations have been arrayed against the martyrs of all ages, thus signally verifying these prophecies of our Savior. Millions of people have been put to death, under gravest accusations, who, in the judgment-day, will shine like angels, while their accusers and persecutors, who stood at the head of the Church, will be calling for rocks and mountains to fall on them, and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne. While, of course, the primary application of our Lords affirmation as to the revealment of all secrets is the ultimate and eternal vindication of His saints, it certainly follows that we should, in this life, become perfectly lucid and transparent to all illuminated eyes, so they can actually look through us, and read the hieroglyphics the Spirit has written on the tablets of our hearts, thus sweeping away the oath-bound secrecy of lodgery in all its forms and phases. What I say to you in the darkness, speak ye in the light; and what ye hear in the ear, proclaim ye upon the house-tops. This is a confirmation of the preceding, showing up the thorough transparency of Gods true saints. When filled with the Holy Ghost, secrecy evanesces.
Be not afraid of those who kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. The sainted mother, by her godly teaching, baptized with loving tears and fired with the prayer of heavenly inspiration, should put the hell-scare on her infant so thorough that the tomfoolery and superficialism of the popular religion, which brings a polar iceberg into the Church to melt in hell-fire, can never be able to obliterate; but an early conversion will only add expedition to the race-horse speed with which you are running from an open hell and an unchained devil, and sanctification give you eaglewings to expedite the velocity of your precipitate flight from the awful, deep-toned thunders of that quenchless damnation which awaits all who, by the intrigues of men and devils, shall fall below the Bible standard of holiness to the Lord. (Heb 12:14.) Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father; indeed, all the hairs of your head are numbered. The infinite minutiae of the Divine cognizance, absolutely passing by nothing, but taking in everything indiscriminately, are here mentioned as a constant and potent inspiration to us all, peremptorily to settle matters for judgment and eternity by actually getting rid of the devil and everything belonging to him, in the glorious experience of entire sanctification and the constant indwelling of the Holy Spirit, as nothing short of this can actually settle that awful problem, whose solution is the destruction of soul and body in hell. Therefore be not afraid; for you are of more value than many sparrows. Perfect love casts out fear. Consequently the poorest and weakest saint, if true to God, can shout perennial victory from the mouth of hell to the gate of glory.
Therefore, every one who shall confess Me before the people, I will confess him in the presence of My Father who is in heaven; but whosoever may deny Me in the presence of the people, I will also deny him in the presence of My Father who is in the heavens. O what a potent inspiration to Christian testimony, semper et bique, always and everywhere! The awful delinquency in this duty and depreciation of this glorious privilege, thus turning the Churches into graveyards instead of battle-fields, is the Ichabod superscribed on the walls of modern Churchism. In the face of these glorious promises on the one side, and terrific denunciations on the other, voiceless pews are an incontestable proclamation of dead Churches. Do not consider that I came to send peace on the earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword. The Bible abounds in riddles and enigmas, inexplicable to the carnal mind. Jesus is called the Prince of Peace, and at the same time described as a mounted military General, leading His embattled host into deadly conflict, deluging the world with blood, and heaping it with mountains of the slain. Both of these characteristics are literally true. The peace which He gives only follows a bloody war with sin and the devil, fought under the black flag, which means victory or death. The sword in this passage is the formidable weapon wielded by the Holy Ghost in the extermination of sin and the decapitation of Adam the First
For I came to divide a man against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and the enemies of a man shall be the inmates of his own house. All this is the normal effect accompanying a true work of salvation; Satans grip on the people being so tight that he is certain to hold enough to represent him in every family, unless literal miracles of grace flood the home with heavenly conquest and stampede the devils down to hell. Bogus, popular religion makes no disturbance in families and communities, from the simple fact that the devil is not fool enough to waste his ammunition on dead game, as there are plenty of live people to shoot at. Whenever the holiness movement gets so it does not arouse the devil in dead Churches and stir up hell in debauched communities, you may go and write Ichabod on its banner, and prepare its winding sheet as quickly as possible, to bury it speedily, before the stench of a putrifying carcass disseminates pestilential malaria far and wide. He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whosoever does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. Here we see illustrated the absolute sine qua non confronting every aspirant to discipleship and heaven; i.e., the utter subordination of consanguinity, affinity, home, friends, and earthly possessions to the great Captain of our salvation. This is the fatal maelstrom into which many a bark has foundered.
The one having found his soul, shall loose it; the one having lost his soul for My sake, shall find it. The E.V. here has life, instead of soul. The word used by our Savior is not zoe, life, but psyche, the regular word for soul. In every instance in the New Testament, where the E.V. has soul, the Greek is psyche. Hence I give it just as Jesus said it. While King Jamess translators were scholarly theologians, they were not eminent for spirituality, but much on par with the English clergy. I do not think they saw down into the profound depths of our Saviors meaning in this passage. There never was but one creation of the human race. We were all created in Adam seminally. Hence, in the fall, we all fell with Adam, forfeiting the Divine and receiving the Satanic or carnal mind. James speaks of the double-soul man. (Jas 1:4; Jas 4:8.) The sinner has but one mind, and that is bad. The wholly sanctified has but one mind, and that is good; while the unsanctified Christian is Jamess double-minded man, having the carnal mind in subjugated state, and the mind of Christ, received in regeneration, ruling in his heart and life, but must have the carnal mind sanctified away before he can go to heaven. Psyche, soul, is the word used by James. The reason why so few get saved is because they are not willing to travel the death route to heaven. Millions, intimidated by the grim monster, lifting up the battle-ax to decapitate Adam the First, turn away, and travel some other road, which does not require so much self- denial. We are born into the world with an evil soul, which must die, or hell is our doom. Hence this awful test: Unless you are brave enough to die, and take chances for life beyond the black river, your heavenly hope is Satans ignis tatuus,
whose delusive ray Glows but to betray.
He that receiveth you receiveth Me; he that receiveth Me, receiveth Him that sent Me. Christ bridges the chasm between God and man. Hence the wonderful feasibility of the redemptive scheme. He sends out His saved people to save others. The lost millions of earth have nothing to do but receive us, with our messages of truth and holiness, and in so doing they receive Christ; i.e., the loving, sympathizing Brother, Jesus. But He is not only man, but God. Therefore when the condescending, tender-hearted Nazarene takes you by the hand, behold! the hand of the Omnipotent grips you, lifting you from the lowest hell to the highest heaven. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophets reward; he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous mans reward. O what a thrilling incentive to wide-open door and generous hospitality, ever ready, with joyful enthusiasm, to receive the saints and prophets, whom Jesus sends forth into this dark world to rescue the perishing and save the lost! The reward of Gods prophets and righteous people what is it? None other than a crown of life and a home in heaven. The departure of hospitality from the Church is the death-knell now ringing from ocean to ocean, pealing out the mournful funeral of the great Protestant denominations.
Whosoever may only give one of these little ones a cup of cold water to drink in the name of the disciple, truly, I say unto you, Can not lose his reward. We must remember that God sets great store on little things, appreciating the giver rather than the gift. How these promises should inspire us all to lend a helping hand in the expedition of every gospel pilgrim on his way, publishing salvation to the ends of the earth! And it came to pass when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, He departed thence to teach and to preach in all the cities. The preceding discourse, delivered by our Savior to His twelve apostles, when He sent them out, two by two, to traverse all Israel with the uttermost expedition, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, should receive the especial and diligent study of all who read these pages. O that He may so pour on you the Holy Ghost, meanwhile, that you may hear His interior voice calling you into the evangelistic field! I assure you, this is the grand incentive inspiring the humble writer of the Commentaries, praying incessantly that all the readers may catch the heavenly flame, respond to the loving call, and enter the gospel-field unhesitatingly.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Luk 9:1. He called his twelve disciples together, privately, it would seem, and gave them power and authority to preach, and to heal diseases. Those powers must go together as was foretold in Isaiah 35. This divine commission was ground of confidence to all thus sent into the world. A minister of Christ without ministerial powers, would be like an ambassador at a foreign court without instructions. They have the keys of the church for the admission of converts, and power to deny the sacramental bread to profane persons; yea, by faith and prayer, they have power to shut and open heaven. Rev 11:1-6.
Luk 9:13. Give ye them to eat. See note on Joh 6:5-13.
Luk 9:23. If any man will come after me. See on Mar 8:34-38.
Luk 9:31. And spake of his decease: , departure. See on Mat 17:3. On what else should prophets speak, but of the accomplishment of prophecy? This vision gave the apostles rank with the first of seers.
Luk 9:38. Look upon my son. See note on Mar 9:17.
Luk 9:47. Jesus took a child, and set him by him. The narrative is more fully related in Mat 18:3.
Luk 9:55. Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. When our Saviour was going to keep the passover at Jerusalem his company became great, and it was necessary for the villagers to be apprized that they might make larger preparations to lodge the worshippers. But by keeping the passover at Jerusalem the Samaritans supposed that Jesus decided their old controversy in favour of the Jews, and that his popularity would for ever fix the decision. This stirred up the animosity of their hearts not to receive him: and one wrong spirit being apt to produce another, it stirred up a spirit of vengeance in the breasts of the two brothers, James and John. Here we have to lament the bigotry of the human heart, which in all ages has been the disgrace of religion. It were indeed to be wished that the church of Christ was one in doctrine, in discipline, and communion in all nations, and genuine piety endeavours to make it so; but where pride and partiality prevail it cannot be. The church of Rome says she has effected this unity, and condemned the whole christian world which does not bow to Rome; and yet she never could be united within her own pale. Her schisms and controversies have subjected her to far greater inconveniences than protestant nations ever sustained from their religious sects. Besides, much good results from several religious denominations sharing in the worship of the nation. They vie with one another in preaching and in living; and they afford the human mind, impelled by instinct to love variety, an opportunity of cordially embracing those tenets and that mode of worship, which seem most congenial to its view. Yes, and where the government is wise, alike to protect the whole, they rival one another in loyalty and public spirit.
As to the peculiar tenets of religious sects, the weak minds of men are very much in the power of the books they read, and the doctrines they hear. A habit of listening to certain doctrines settles a kind of conviction on the mind, that we really cannot help our religious views. It is only the giants in intellect and genius that can trace all doctrines to their source, and distinguish error from truth. Hence our mental errors claim the same compassion as blindness and lameness in the body. Hence also the justness of our Lords rebuke of James and John, when they wished to consume a small town with fire from heaven, which simply rejected but did not persecute their master. This proposed vengeance was greater than the fault; it would have destroyed them in their sins, and left no time for repentance. Many of the Samaritans afterwards embraced the gospel, and the district abounded with churches. Act 9:31. But this improper zeal would have frustrated all the glory which followed.
Mark how they sheltered this zeal under the high example of Elijah, who did indeed twice destroy fifty men. But this was under a most daring spirit of persecution, and these men were destroyed to save a nation from idolatry and error. The circumstances therefore were very dissimilar; and the two zealous brothers, by asking their master first, teach us that severity in such cases should never be indulged.
The rebuke which Jesus gave those brothers is highly instructive. Ye know not your spirit. It was a spirit of rash and unsanctified revenge; and the more dangerous, as they thought it was of God. And surely there is no truth more strongly and clearly demonstrated than that the persecutors of the church have been actuated by a wrong spirit. Posterity has therefore branded their memory as infamous. They have destroyed or banished the most peaceful subjects of the nation; they have caused their manufacturers to emigrate, and ultimately brought a recoil of vengeance from heaven on themselves, and on their less offending children. Let us therefore, instead of persecuting one another, cultivate the opposite virtues of harmony, peace and love, so shall we have joy at the appearing of our common Lord. See on Mar 9:38.
REFLECTIONS.
In addition to former reflections on the subjects contained in this chapter, we would stay a moment on the three cases which fell short of conversion. The first is that of a scribe acquainted with the law, as in Mat 8:19. Touched with the glory of the Saviours words and works, he offered to become his disciple before he had counted the cost, and all the sacrifices which ministers must make for the salvation of souls. A scholar, educated in all the softer habits of life, to fare hard, to work hard, and to sleep hard, are irksome habits to flesh and blood.
The second was willing to follow, but he had obsequies first to pay to his fathers remains; and while doing these, and discharging his executive duties, his good desires might die away.
The third asked time to bid farewel to his relatives, whom he would find hostile to his novel views, and determined to oppose his change of heart and life. In all these cases, religion was only secondary. Therefore the farms and the merchandise would divert them from following the Saviour; whereas, religion should ever be the predominant principle of the heart.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Luk 9:1-6. The Mission of the Twelve (Mar 6:7-13* [Mar 6:1-6 has already been used in Luk 4:14-30], Mat 10:1; Mat 10:5-16*).
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
THE LORD JESUS SUFFICIENT FOR HUMAN MISERY AND NEED
(vs.1-17)
The Lord had shown Himself as the perfect remedy for the world’s disturbance, its bondage to Satan, its disease occasioned by sin and its fear of death. Next we see Him capable also of graciously relieving its misery and want. In meeting this need, the Lord desired His disciples to take part with Him in this compassionate mission (vv.1-5 and v.13), though the power to show such grace belongs to Him, and it is He who communicated that power to them. The commission of these first five verses is shown in Mat 10:5-6 to be confined to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but Luke does not mention this, for he emphasizes the moral condition that required the grace of the Lord Jesus, and in this Israel is only a sample of all mankind.
The disciples were given power and authority over demons and diseases (v.1). The Lord’s own power and authority had been previously seen in these very things, so He told them to do what He had done. Yet He sent them with the first object of preaching the kingdom of God, which involves primarily God’s authority; for it is only in this that the miserable conditions of the world can possibly find a right answer.
He told them not to take supplies for their journey, not even walking sticks for support, no scrip (a shoulder bag used for carrying food), no money and not even extra clothing (v.3). The Messiah of Israel was sending His servants to His own people (Israel) who were responsible to fully and thoroughly care for His messengers. Those who accepted them as indeed the servants of Jehovah would on this account supply their needs. When received in a home, they were to stay there until leaving the city: they were not to look for more humanly desirable circumstances, but to be content with the hospitality offered them.
For any in Israel to refuse these servants was an evil so solemn as to call for the shaking of the dust from their feet (v.5), the virtual refusal of their city, a testimony against them as warning of judgment to follow.
Later, in Luk 22:35-37 the Lord rescinded this commission and told them virtually the opposite. Why? Because Israel then had rejected their Messiah. The cross of Christ has radically changed these things today. The Lord’s servants therefore cannot now expect recognition from Israel. They were to carry the gospel far beyond Israel, to the Gentiles. Gentiles are classed as “aliens” and strangers” (Eph 2:12), 50 they cannot be expected to supply the support of the servants of the Lord Jesus (3Jn 1:7).
The twelve were obedient to the Lord, going through the towns of Israel, both preaching and healing (v.6). Mar 6:7 mentions that they were sent in pairs, so this arrangement allowed them to cover a good number of towns. But Luk 10:1 tells us that the Lord appointed 70 others later to do similar work in preparation for the Lord’s coming to those places.
A brief mention is next made of the perplexity of Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, when he heard of the works of the Lord Jesus. His conscience was troubled at the suggestion by some that Christ was John the Baptist risen from the dead (v.7). There was no excuse for such ignorance, for it was well known that both John and Christ had been publicly seen together (Mat 3:13-17). Both were preaching the Word at the same time, and John bore special witness of his inferiority to this One infinitely greater than himself. But people had many ignorant speculations as to Christ, as they do today. Some considered Him to be a reincarnation of Elijah or of some other long-dead prophet. Satan tries every means of depriving Christ of His proper glory. Still, in curiosity Herod desired to see Him (v.9), for Herod had a religious bent, but no evident faith. When he eventually did see the Lord (Luk 13:7-11) and Christ did not entertain him with any miracle or even answer his questions, he treated Him with mocking contempt.
The disciples returned to give a report of the mission on which the Lord sent them (v.10). But He did not allow any excitement about their accomplishments, nor did He send them again immediately, as though their work was the foremost matter. He took them to a deserted place for quietness. Waiting on God to renew strength is a deeply vital matter for His servants.
The waiting was not long protracted, however, for the people soon followed Him. He was not resentful of this intrusion, but received them, again speaking to them of the kingdom of God and healing those who were in need of healing. Notice again that it is His Word that had first place. His speaking continued till late in the day, and the disciples became concerned that the people would have little time to find food in the surrounding towns (v.12).
In response the Lord told them to give food to the crowd, which drew their protest that their resources were too meager for so great a number (v.13). The same may seem to be the case with ourselves, spiritually speaking: we may feel the poverty of our own resources. Yet if we have Christ, He is more than sufficient to meet the need of all mankind, as He proved immediately. He gave instructions for the people to sit down in groups of fifty (v.14), which would make over 100 groups when women and children were added to the 5000 men present. Such order was necessary to facilitate the distribution of the food by the disciples. Fifty is 5x5x2. The number 5 emphasizes that God is with man in faithful care (as the four fingers and the thumb illustrate), and the number 2 is the witness of this. The same factors are required to multiply this to 5000. Does not this teach us that whether for a smaller or greater number, the same principles of order apply?
As the dependent Man the Lord looked up to heaven in blessing before breaking the five loaves and the two fishes. The loaves speak of Him as the bread of life, the One who has suffered and died to be the spiritual food of human beings. The fishes speak of Him as the One passing through the waters of judgment for the sake of man’s nourishment. Notice here also the Num 5:1-31; Num 2:1-34. The disciples are spoken of as having the privilege of distributing the food to the crowd (v.16). No mention is made of the wonder of the miracle in the amazing multiplying of the loaves and fishes: the ease and simplicity of the matter is what stands out. All were satisfied, and twelve baskets were left over. Thus grace for the present age is abundant, with plenty reserved for the 12 tribes of Israel when they turn to the Lord.
THE WORLD A PLACE WHERE CHRIST IS REJECTED
(vs.18-26)
Though the Lord Jesus had brought with Him in His own Person the answer to the many needs that trouble the world, we next see the worst feature of the world’s sad condition. It is a place where Christ is rejected.
In contrast to the Lord’s dealings with the multitude, we find Him in verse 18 deeply affected by the loneliness of exercise. Though the disciples were with Him, yet He was “alone praying.” The context makes clear that the solemn anticipation of His coming suffering and death was weighing on His soul. Not one of His disciples had the understanding to enter into the reality of that imminent ordeal. Yet He sought to stir exercise in their hearts as to this, when He asked them as to the people’s general conception of who He was. Their answer indicated that there was little serious, honest concern about this among the people, but idle speculation. As we have seen, it was inexcusable ignorance to say He was John the Baptist risen from the dead, and in fact to suppose He was Elijah or any other prophet raised again was manifest ignorance of the Word of God.
He then pressed the point upon them, “Who do you say that I am?” (v.20). Was theirs a true concern and a true discernment? Peter’s response was positive indeed: “The Christ of God.” He and the other disciples were evidently drawn by the attractive power of this blessed Person, so they had living faith in Him personally. Yet ought they not to have been concerned, not only as to who He was, but as to the vital importance of every word He spoke? He sought again to stir their exercise as to this by firmly, authoritatively charging them to tell no man that He was Christ, because “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders (the most experienced) and chief priests (the most religious) and scribes (the most learned), and be killed, and be raised again the third day” (v.22).
Surely such words from Him whom they confessed as the Christ of God ought to have stirred their deepest exercise and concern. But though they were with Him when He was praying, He was really “alone,” for they did not enter into nor understand the solitary exercise of soul through which He was passing, and even when He spoke of His death and resurrection, they did not take it to heart.
Though He had spoken to them this way many times, and though only eight days after this Moses and Elijah spoke with Him of His death in the presence of Peter, James and John (vs.30-31), the reality of such words had no apparent effect on the disciples. They could neither understand that He would actually suffer and be killed, not that after being killed He would rise again the third day. It was not consistent with their preconceived natural understanding concerning the Messiah. Let us take this to heart, that our preconceived notions must not impair our reception of the plain Word of God.
If any one therefore thinks of following the leading of the Lord Jesus, let him be fully prepared. he is called upon first to deny himself (v.23), which means not merely giving up certain advantages, but giving up himself, to deny himself any title of making decisions merely on his own. It means denying himself any rights as belonging to earth. He is to take up his cross daily and follow Christ. Mat 16:24 does not include the word “daily,” for there the initial decision is emphasized, but Luke emphasizes a daily practice.
If one would save his life, that is, escape from the dangers connected with true discipleship, he would in the end only lose his life. But if one would willingly lose his life for Christ’s sake, he would actually save it as regards its real, abiding value. One may think he is saving his life by gaining the world or amassing great riches in the world, but he can do all this and yet lose himself or be cast away as useless. Many are snared by such delusions. Such things involve being ashamed of Christ personally and of His words — ashamed of the One who did not seek gain or honor for Himself in the world, but who willingly accepted the place of rejection. The day was coming when He would come again, no longer in lowly humiliation, but as the Son of Man in His own glory over all mankind, in His Father’s glory and the glory of the holy angels, all giving Him the place of great dignity. Then He would be ashamed of those who, when He had come in grace, were ashamed of Him and His words. Solemn reversal of the whole matter!
He added that some standing there would not taste death till they had seen the kingdom of God. For if we are encouraged by the Lord in true self denial and bearing the reproach of the cross, we are further encouraged to anticipate the future glory of the Lord Jesus in His coming kingdom. Suffering must come first, but glory is sure to follow.
THE TRANSFIGURATION
(vs.27-36)
The fulfillment of the Lord’s words as to seeing the kingdom of God was seen just eight days later. Of course it is only a preview of the kingdom that Peter, James and John were privileged to see, but a very real encouragement for faith in view of the sufferings of this present time. Mat 16:1-28 speaks of six days here, and Luke “about eight days.” Matthew refers to the days intervening, while Luke counts both the day the Lord spoke and the actual day of the transfiguration. Today we would likely say seven days.
Only Luke speaks of the Lord praying at the time He was transfigured (v.29). The fashion of His countenance was altered. Matthew speaks of this as His face shining as the sun. This reminds us of His personal intrinsic glory, while His clothing, white and glistening, speaks of the glory with which He is invested, connected with the offices He occupies. These glories will be displayed to the world only in the age to come, the manifested millennial kingdom of 1000 years, but a sample of this is given here for our present encouragement.
Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke to the Lord. Moses represents those saints of God who have died but will be raised and have their part in the heavenly kingdom. Elijah stands for those who have been translated into heaven without dying. The earthly side of the kingdom is represented by the three apostles. Moses and Elijah spoke to the Lord about His death to be accomplished at Jerusalem (v.31). How much more sympathy they had with the Lord’s exercises than did the apostles!
The three disciples were very sleepy even in the presence of His glory, and it seems they completely missed the topic of the Lord’s conversation with Moses and Elijah, though they recognized them without difficulty, in spite of never having seen them. The vision was brief, and as Moses and Elijah depart, Peter felt it necessary to say something, and spoke without proper consideration. Rather than being rightly impressed with the transcendent glory of the Lord, he spoke of themselves and of its being good for them to be there (v.33).
Then Peter made a fleshly suggestion as to building three tabernacles, one for the Lord, one for Moses and one for Elijah. It is the same principle as building shrines to commemorate a certain event. The Lord did not want a tabernacle, and Moses and Elijah would not want to to be honored in this way along with the Lord. God the Father could not for a moment tolerate this, so He sent a cloud to overshadow them, causing them to fear. He spoke from the cloud, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him” (v.35). It is His word to which we must take heed: our own suggestions have no place in His presence. Nor does God say anything of Moses and Elijah.
God having spoken, the vision passed and Jesus was found alone, no more transfigured, but the solitary Man of sorrows. The disciples realized that the vision was not to be spread to others at that time, and kept silent about it. Mat 17:9 says that the Lord so instructed them. Peter writes of it later, at the proper time, Christ having then been glorified (2Pe 1:17-18).
THE LORD’S POWER WHEN THE DISCIPLES FAIL
(vs.37-45)
Verse 37 begins a section that ends with verse 62, in great contrast to the wonder of the transfiguration. In each case the failure on the part of disciples has to be reproved, but Christ is seen as their unfailing Resource. The wonderful mountain top experience is exchanged for scenes of trouble and distress. With a large crowd present a man cried out in anguish to the Lord on behalf of his only son, whom he says was oppressed by an evil spirit — a demon. The cruel, vicious character of the demon is emphasized in this case, as he attacked the boy suddenly so as to cause him to cry out in terror, inwardly convulsing him so that he foamed at the mouth, and outwardly crushing him when evidently he would leave the boy for a time (vs.38-39). It seemed to be a case in which the demon had entrance or egress at his will. At the father’s request the disciples had tried to cast the demon out, but could not, in spite of having been given authority to do so by the Lord (v.1).
Today, though people may not commonly be possessed by an evil spirit in the western world, there are those who in a fit of temper resemble the poor boy. They “foam out their own shame” (Jud 1:13), using language that only exposes their folly. They need more than disciples to help them: they need the grace of the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s words in verse 41 imply that the spiritual state of His disciples was responsible for their failure to expel the demon. He spoke of the disciples as being faithless, that is, lacking in positive faith; and perverse, which indicates an abuse or misuse of the power the Lord had given them. This connects with the Lord’s words in Mat 17:21 concerning the same incident, “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” Prayer and faith go together as the positive power, and fasting is the negative side, involving the self-discipline of not perverting the power the Lord gives. We too should take to heart the solemn admonition that the Lord may give us a gift and special grace to do fruitful works for Him, yet we may abuse these things for selfish or self-willed purposes.
The Lord’s presence on earth, even among His disciples, caused His heart deep pain and distress at their spiritual condition: “How long shall I be with you and bear with you?” As the tormented son was brought to the Lord, the evil spirit, as though in defiance, threw him down and convulsed him. The Lord Jesus simply rebuked the evil spirit, healed the child and delivered him to his father. It is the simplicity and ease of His work that is stressed in Luke, though we know from Mar 9:20-27 that there was more involved than this, for Mark shows the detailed service of the Lord in the work He does for His creatures.
Though all were amazed at the great power of God in His hands (v.43), and wondered at the power of His miracles, the Lord did not encourage any elation or excitement among His disciples, but sought to subdue any such tendencies in them by urging upon them the sobering truth of the words He had spoken before, that the Son of Man would be delivered into the hands of men. Yet preoccupation with the wonder of His miracle seemed to leave them impervious to the truth of His words. Were they fearful lest His warning was as serious as it appeared to be? It is possible that we avoid truth because we fear it, that it may restrict or change what we naturally don’t want changed or restricted. Such fear stems from a lack of confidence in the Lord Himself.
CORRECTING A SELFISH DESIRE FOR GREATNESS
(vs.46-48)
The next two cases both press the great need of disciples for honest humility, but each from a different viewpoint. In the first case the disciples quarreled over who should be greatest among them. The desire to be great in our own circle of believers is a most common spiritual disease. We all naturally like recognition for ourselves, which involves others being set lower than we! Comparisons of this kind should be totally obnoxious to us. The Lord knew both what they said and the reasoning of their hearts, for He alone knows every motive of people. How admirable was His gentle wisdom in using a child as an object lesson! He set the child by Him, as though to say that He considers a child to be entitled to as much recognition as the greatest of them. To receive a child in His name was to receive Him, which involved receiving the Father who had sent Him. How contrary are the thoughts of God to those of His creatures! A child cannot give any place of prominence to a man, but a man’s treatment of a child shows where his heart is. Showing such lowly character is true greatness, so he who can willingly take the lowest place is the one who is great — not “greatest,” for the Lord makes no comparisons in this matter.
HIS CORRECTION OF SECTARIANISM
(vs.49-50)
This second case deals with our natural pride in assuming that our own religious position is the only right one. Such an attitude stems from spiritual pride also, just as does the desire to be great, a pride that can be most subtle. The Lord had called the disciples to follow Him and they naturally considered that others were wrong who were not doing the same as they. John had been so persuaded they alone were right, that when he and others saw someone expelling demons in the name of the Lord Jesus, they ordered him to stop, “because he does not follow with us.” John seems to have not thought seriously concerning his own failure to cast out a demon though the Lord Jesus had sent him and the other disciples for this purpose (v.40). Yet, had the Lord them that they alone had authority to cast out demons in His name? Not at all! Still, He did no more than to gently correct John with the reproving words, “Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side” (v.50).
We may be puzzled as to who this man was, and how he received authority to -actually cast out demons. But this is not our affair. If the Lord wanted us to know the answer to this, He would have told us. The Lord did not give John authority over the man, and we also do not have authority over others who may be doing the Lord’s work. The Lord did not tell John to leave Him and follow the man, but neither was he to speak against the man’s work that manifestly showed the power of God. People like this, though the Lord does not give us permission to associate with them, may well teach us the important lesson that we should be more diligent to do our own work well. Sometimes people of this kind may be more definitely “for us” than we realize.
CORRECTING OUR NATURAL RESENTMENT OF BAD TREATMENT
(vs.51-56)
In this case the Lord deals with the question of our wounded pride. From this time the Lord is seen in Luke as steadfastly proceeding toward Jerusalem “to be received up” (v.51). As He had before said, this involved His suffering and death, but the blessed end in view was before His eyes. For the joy that was set before Him He endured the cross, despising the shame (Heb 12:2).
Passing through Samaria, He sent messengers to prepare the way for Him, but the inhabitants of a village refused to receive Him because His face was toward Jerusalem: it was evident He was going there. They resented Jerusalem for religious reasons, but how little did they realize His purpose in going there!
John and James, indignant at this treatment of the Son of God, desired to imitate Elijah in calling down fire from heaven to consume these Samaritans (2Ki 1:9-12). The Lord rebuked them (v.55). They did not understand the character of God’s present dealings in sending His Son into the world. He had come in grace, not in judgment. For us the lesson is plain: we must not merely imitate what was right for another time, but should have some true knowledge of our own time and what is suitable for it. Christ had not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. Therefore at the present time it is true faith to humbly submit to rejection with Christ. The Lord did not insist on forcing His presence on these Samaritans. He and His disciples went to another village.
CORRECTING NATURAL THOUGHTS AS TO GOD’S CALL
(vs.57-62)
The last subsection of chapter 9 shows that true discipleship to Christ is not a matter of mere human resolve, but the genuine call of God. Three different cases are found in this section. The first indicates the natural enthusiasm one who thinks he is able to follow the Lord wherever He goes. But this man did not understand that this would be far from an easy path. Even the foxes and birds had some place of security they could call their own, but not so the Son of Man (v.58). His enthusiasm therefore would not last for long, and the Lord’s words virtually told him that he was not prepared for what he proposed.
Secondly, the Lord called another to follow Him and the man hesitated. One is too forward, the other is too slow. He felt his natural obligation toward his father should come first, and that he should care for his father as long as he lived (v.59), just as Abraham waited in Haran until his father died, before obeying the word of God to go into Canaan (Gen 11:31-32; Gen 12:1-4) The claims of natural relationship can be a formidable hindrance to one’s single-hearted following of the Lord, but His claims are paramount. The Lord’s words, “Let the dead bury their dead” (v.60) indicate that those who have no life spiritually can occupy themselves with merely natural matters, but when the Lord calls one to preach the kingdom of God, he is to obey. The Lord allows no excuse. This does not contradict 1Ti 5:8, “If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household,he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” For one can certainly do the Lord’s work while at the same time providing for his own house, but this man wanted to delay doing the Lord’s work until he was fully free from any obligation to his father.
The third case is of a man who asked for only a short delay in his service. He wanted first to say “goodbye” to those in his home (v.61). His thoughts were influenced by what he considered a natural social courtesy which involved more than saying “farewell” more likely a “going away party.” Compare the indecision of the Levite in Jdg 19:5-10 and the sad consequences. The Levite thought it courteous to remain longer at the urging of his concubine’s father, but such lingering was merely the weakness of indecision. Social courtesy can rob us of much valuable time in the Lord’s service. The Lord spoke of an attitude of this kind as “looking back” after once putting one’s hand to the plow. One holding a hand plow must give his undivided attention to his work, keeping his eyes forward to both make a straight furrow and to keep the plow at a constant depth. If one lacks the genuine purpose of consistent, unswerving devotion to a path of discipleship, he is not fit for the kingdom of God.
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
CHAPTER 9
Ver. 8.-One of the old prophets was risen again. As Enoch and Elias will rise again before the end of all things, to resist Antichrist. In like manner as Peter, Bishop and Martyr, the son of Urijah the prophet (Jer 26:20), was recalled to life by S. James the Apostle, and ordained first Bishop of Braga, six hundred years after his decease. S. Athanasius and others, cited by Bivarius.
Ver. 14.-Make them sit down by fifties in a company, , i.e. in companies, in ranks or rows. Syriac.
Ver. 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, i.e. at the day of judgment, when he shall sit as judge in the valley of Jehoshaphat, and in the presence of all, both men and angels, reward the just, and punish the evildoers.
Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me. Whosoever, from false shame or from fear of others, shall deny his faith in Me or refuse to obey My commandments, or fear the reproach of the Cross and a crucified Saviour, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, i.e. him will Christ pass over, and make of no account when He comes in that glory which He has acquired by the humiliation of His passion. For the Cross of Christ seemed to many a shame and a reproach, for Christ crucified was “unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness,” 1Co 1:23. Many, therefore, from shame or fear, did not dare to profess their belief in the Cross, much less to preach Christ crucified. In opposition to whom S. Paul boldly declares, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek,” Rom 1:i6.
So the monk Martyrius took Christ, who appeared to Him as a wearied leper, upon his shoulders, and carried Him to the monastery, but felt not the weight of his burden, for the burden he was carrying supported him. There Christ assumed His own proper form, and ascending to heaven said, “As thou, Martyrius, wast not ashamed of Me on earth, I will not be ashamed of thee in heaven.”
S. Gregory (hom. 39), also, explaining this passage of S. Luke, writes, “Each one should ask himself, in order to test the reality of his confession of Christ, not whether he is ashamed of the name of the Redeemer, but rather whether by strength of purpose he has subdued all false feelings of earthly shame. In time of persecution believers might have had cause for shame at the treatment to which they were subjected; but now that persecutions are past, there is another aspect of the matter to which we should give heed. We shrink often from being lightly esteemed, and from being evilly spoken of by our fellow men, and in case of a dispute with our neighbour, we are ashamed to be the first to make amends. Because the carnal heart, seeking this world’s glory, refuses the grace of humility;” and further on he gives the remedy for this false shame. “Let human pride be confounded, and let every man be ashamed, if he be not the first to seek to make amends to his neighbour; since, after we have done amiss, God by His ministers beseeches us to be reconciled to Him, whom we have offended.”
Ver. 29.-Glistering, , i.e. like lightning glittering and emitting flashes of light, for the raiment of Christ shone from the glory of His altered countenance.
Ver. 31.-And spake of his decease, , departure, i.e. death.
1. They spake of His death, that He should die upon the Gross.
2. But the words may signify the victory which Christ was to win over death and sin and Satan. Allusion is made to the deliverance, the exodus of Israel from Egypt, and the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, which is a type of the deliverance effected by Christ for His people. Cyril thinks that by exodus we must understand “His passion” and the Arabic version interprets the word by “eventum,” “outcome:” “They spake of the outcome and the events connected with the sufferings and triumph which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”
3. Some take the word to mean the excess of love and all virtues. For on the Cross was exhibited the excess and perfection of love, obedience, humility, patience, and every Christian virtue, inasmuch as Christ by the offering of Himself far exceeded the utmost limits of human virtue. This “excessus” then was an ecstasy of love, wherein Christ went as it were out of Himself to show the immensity of His love for God and men.
Ver. 32.-But Peter and they that were with Him were heavy with sleep. S. Chrysostom takes sleep to mean amazement. But we may rather accept the words simply as describing the natural sleep which had fallen on the Apostles after the fatigue of their journey and watchings, from which they were awakened by the brightness of the transfiguration. See S. Mat 17:1.
Ver. 49.-And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting, out devils in Thy name; and we forbad him, because he followed not with us, i.e. because he was not Thy disciple. For he thought that only the Apostles, to whom that power was given, were permitted to do this. Cyril and S. Ambrose remark, “He thinks that he who does not render obedience, should not enjoy the benefit arising therefrom.” S. John asks the question, because from his love he was the more zealous for his Master’s honour.
Ver. 50.–And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us. They were taught that no one was to be hindered from the exercise of such powers of doing good as he possessed, but rather to be encouraged to seek to increase them. Gloss. God rewards the strong, but does not reject the weak. S. Ambrose. For, saith Theophylact, the grace of God operates even by means of the unworthy who are not disciples of Christ: like as men are made holy by priests who are not holy themselves. Hence Bede remarks, In the case of heretics, it is not their sacraments which they hold in common with us, but their divisions, so contrary to the truth and peace, which we ought to detest and strive to amend. See S. Mar 9:37.
Ver. 51.-And it came to pass when the time was come (i.e. was drawing nigh) that He should be received up. The time when, after having fulfilled His earthly ministry, He was to return again to the Father. The day foreordained of God when He was to be taken up into heaven. Euthymius. Up to this time Christ had, for two years and a half, been preaching the Gospel everywhere, but chiefly in the towns and villages of Galilee. There yet remained to Him six months of life. He therefore now set forth to preach more particularly to the inhabitants of the holy city and Juda, in order to prepare for His passion in Jerusalem and resurrection from the dead. S. Luke therefore implies that hitherto he had written of those things which Christ had done in Galilee, but was henceforward about to tell of what was done in Juda.
He stedfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. With a firm and undismayed mind. Bede. Christ turned not aside, as timid and hesitating people are wont to do, but went direct to Jerusalem, eager for the dread encounter. Titus, Theophylact, and others.
“For,” says Jerome, “He who of His own will was hastening to His passion, needed both fortitude and firmness.”
Thus it behoves us also to nerve our hearts, after the example of the martyrs, to endure hardship, like the lions described by Pliny, who tells us that, “when a lioness fights for her young, she keeps her eyes fixed on the ground, that she may not be terrified by the sight of the hunters.”
S. Mark adds, (Mat 10:32, “and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed;” because they saw Him cheerfully and with a good courage going up to suffer and to die, and “as they followed, they were afraid” lest they might be called upon to die with Him.
It seems clear, as I have said in my chronological table, that this journey of Christ from Galilee to Juda, is the same as that mentioned by S. Mat 19:1; by S. Mar 10:32; and S. Joh 7:2 and Joh 7:14.
From the latter Evangelist it is apparent that the journey was undertaken at the time of the feast of tabernacles, which falls in the September of our year, and since Christ suffered in the following March, it follows that the events here recorded happened about six months before the crucifixion. It is also evident, from what is recorded by S. Luke in the subsequent chapters, that during this period Christ often went to Jerusalem, and returned thence through Juda, preaching and working miracles, as He had before done in Galilee; but we must bear in mind that S. Luke at times interrupts his narrative to recapitulate certain things which had happened before our Lord had come to Juda. Jansenius, Francis Lucas, and others.
On the other hand, Maldonatus places this journey a year before the death of our Lord, and is of opinion that Christ returned again to Galilee, and only went up to Jerusalem to suffer and to die. But this explanation does not agree with the words of the fifty-first verse, “when the time was come that He should be received up”-words which would not have been written if the time had been a year distant.
Ver. 52.–And sent messengers before His face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for Him, to prepare food and lodging for Him and His companions, the twelve Apostles and the holy women who had followed Him out of Galilee. See chap. Luk 8:2, Luk 23:49.
Christ sent them in order that they might become accustomed to act independently of Him, and to be despised of men. Theophylact, Euthymius, and Maldonatus are of opinion that these messengers were James and John. Maldonatus also thinks that by the Greek , we are to understand city, possibly Samaria itself; but other commentators agree that the disciples were sent to some small town or village of the Samaritans which lay on the road to Jerusalem.
Ver. 53.–And they (the Samaritans) did not receive Him, because His face was as though He would go to Jerusalem. Because He appeared to be going up to Jerusalem (Syriac), for it was plain, from the bearing of Jesus and His messengers, that they were on their way to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, S. Joh 7:2. The Samaritans, contrary to the Law, had erected a temple on Mount Gerizim for the worship of God, and therefore there was on this account a constant enmity between the Jews and them. S. John iv, 20, and Josephus. Hence they rejected Jesus, as despising their form of worship and favouring that of their enemies, the Jews.
“His face was as though,” a Hebraism for , i.e. , or face, is often used for the person himself.
Ver. 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 Elias did? They show themselves to be indeed Boanerges, or sons of thunder, for with excess of zeal they would destroy these Samaritans, because of their inhospitality and refusal to receive Christ. They remembered how Elijah had destroyed those who had been sent by Ahaziah to apprehend him (2Ki 1:10), and they knew that Jesus was mightier than that prophet; and if fire was sent from heaven to protect Elijah from harm, and to consume the Jews, who had come to take him, how much more deserving of punishment were these Samaritans, who had refused to receive the Son of God.
Wilt Thou that we command? For as S. Jerorne goes on to say (Epist. 151), “The command of the Apostles can effect nothing, unless by the permission and will of God.” They therefore seek from Christ, as from a judge, justice, and the punishment of the wicked, according to their deserts.
Ver. 55.-But He turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. By spirit we must understand “disposition of mind,” whether for virtue or vice. Ye know not what spirit worketh in you. Ye think ye are led by the spirit of God, when ye are prompted by impatience and the spirit of vengeance. Ye know not to what spirit ye are called. Ye know not that ye should be meek and lowly, as I your Lord and Master am. Ye would imitate the zeal of Elijah, and demand “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” Exod. xxi. 24. But this is not my spirit, nor is it the teaching of the new and Gospel Law, for I say unto you “Love your enemies, and do good unto those that hate you.” S. Matt. v. 44. Have ye not heard and learned this from Me, or are ye so soon forgetful of my doctrine and teaching? He who had come, not for judgment but to show mercy, not in power but in humility, not in the glory of His Father but in lowly fashion as a man, rebuked them because they were forgetful both of His teaching and of the merciful precepts of His Gospel. S. Jerome.
Ver. 56.-For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. Act, therefore, saith Bede, according, to the spirit ye are of. Following the example of Christ, bear patiently as becometh saints. Titus.
And they went to another village, where they might meet with a better reception. By this He teaches His Apostles that hereafter, when they went throughout the world to preach the Gospel, if they were cast out of one city, they were patiently to go on to another. Hence He allowed Himself to be rejected by the Samaritans, that by His rebuke of James and John, He might teach the Apostles a life-long lesson. For, as saith S. Ambrose, mercy promoteth in thee patience, in the offender correction. Thus we find that these Samaritans who were spared punishment the sooner became believers. S. John iv.; Acts viii.
Perfect virtue desireth not vengeance, nor can anger exist where love aboundeth. The infirmities of our fellow men are to be borne with and remedied, not to be rejected as incapable of cure. Titus.
Ver. 61.–And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. This verse has been variously explained.
1. Suffer me to give notice to my parents and to consult with them; for he was doubtful what he should do. But Christ would not grant his request, because parents very often do not approve of the higher life, and sometimes dissuade their children from adopting it. Titus.
2. Suffer me to tell my parents of my intention, that knowing what is become of me, they may neither be anxious about me, nor come to seek me. S. Augustin (serm. vii. De verbis Domini) and, Toletus.
3. S. Basil (Constit. cap. xxi.) thinks that the man, like the one who preceded him, was a disciple, and that he only sought permission to say farewell to his friends, as about to return to them no more. The Syriac favours this interpretation, and translates, “Let me go to salute, i.e. to bid farewell to my family at home, and I will come again.”
4. The best rendering is that of the Vulgate, which for “them” substitutes “those things.” Let me go bid “those things” farewell. Give me time to dispose of my property at home, and divide it amongst my brethren and kinsmen; for this is the trite meaning of the Greek word . Hence the Arabic has, “Suffer me to make division amongst my friends at home.” So also S. Augustin, Maldonatus, and others.
Ver. 62.–And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God, or, to carry on the metaphor, is fit to work in the vineyard of God. For as the ploughman who seeks to make his furrows straight ought to look forward and never back, so he who has determined to consecrate himself to God’s service, is unworthy to be Christ’s disciple and to be an heir of the heavenly kingdom, if he still has regard for the perishable possessions of this world which he has renounced and given up; and so Euthymius says, “He who follows Christ ought forthwith to give up all things, lest by averting his eyes from his leader and guide, he might again be entangled by the sight of those things which he has left.” So also Titus, Jansenius, Toletus, and others.
Christ in this very remarkable verse points out the way of perfection, and endeavours to withdraw the man from his own anxiety for his friends and possessions, in order that he might give himself up wholly to God. Especially as there was danger lest, delayed in the disposal of his property, or impressed with the value of his possessions, he might change his purpose, and like many others, lose the hope of his calling. And again, there was no need of his presence, for his brethren and kinsfolk could divide his property without him.
Thus James and John, when they were called, left their father and their nets, and straightway followed Christ, S. Mat 4:20. But on the other hand Elisha (1Ki 19:20) was permitted to bid farewell to his father and mother, apparently because there was in his case little danger of his being forgetful of his call. Hence S. Basil saith (serm. 1 De Baptism): He looks back who delays, however briefly, that obedience which is to be rendered at once and promptly to the call of God.
Hence of the cherubim we read (Eze 1:12), “They went every one straight forward: they turned not when they went.” Whereon S. Gregory says the winged creatures, i.e. holy preachers, turn not as they go, because they are passing through earthly things to heavenly; and therefore no more return to these things which they have left behind. For to seek in heart and mind after better things is, as it were, to advance or go along a certain road. Hence S, Paul, Phi 3:13-14: “Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” And to the bride it is said, “Forget thine own people and thy father’s house,” Psa 45:10.
Hence also S. Augustine (serm. 7 De verbis Domini) says, “The east calleth thee, and thou turnest to the west.”
Figuratively, says Bede, he putteth his hand to the plough, who by the Cross of Christ, as if by an instrument of remorse, wears away the hardness of his heart, and opens it to bear the fruit of good works. But he must not look back like Lot’s wife to the things which he has left, and if the follower of the Lord, who wishes to bid farewell to them which are at home, is worthy of reproach, what will become of them, who for no sufficient reason visit the houses of those whom they have left in the world? For the frequent looking back on the things which we have forsaken, by force of habit draws us again to our past way of life. For practice, by which habits are formed, is very powerful; and habits become a second nature, which it is difficult to do away with or change. For it rapidly returns to itself.
See also the copious explanation of Suarez, De voto, lib. 1. cap. ii.
Fuente: Cornelius Lapide Commentary
9:1 Then {1} he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
(1) The twelve apostles are sent forth only at the commandment of Christ and equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit: both that none of the Israelites might pretend ignorance, and also that they might be better prepared for their general mission.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
G. Jesus’ preparation of the Twelve 9:1-50
In this last major section describing Jesus’ ministry in and around Galilee (Luk 4:14 to Luk 9:50), Luke stressed Jesus’ preparation of His disciples for the opposition that lay before them. This was the climax of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, and these events formed a bridge to Luke’s unique major section on Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem (Luk 9:51 to Luk 19:10).
Previously Luke recorded Jesus teaching and authenticating His teaching with miracles mainly among and to the people generally. Jesus did so with power and compassion. During this time the Twelve appear in the text as Jesus’ companions. Now Jesus began to minister to the Twelve more specifically. The focus of this training was initially and predominantly the identity of His person. Two other themes dominate this section: the sufferings that Jesus would endure, and the necessity of His disciples’ following the same path of service that would result in suffering for them too.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
1. The mission of the Twelve to Israel 9:1-6 (cf. Matthew 9:35-11:1; Mark 6:6b-13)
This is another "sandwich" or chiastic section in design (cf. Luk 8:40-56). This structural device usually gives unity to the whole section and focuses attention on the central part of it. First, Jesus sent the Twelve on an evangelistic mission throughout Galilee. Luke filled in the period of their mission proper with information about how Herod Antipas and the people perceived Jesus. Third, the writer recorded the return of the Twelve to their Master. The whole mission prefigured the later mission of these and other disciples to the ends of the earth that Acts records. The lessons that Jesus taught about dependence on God and rejection by men apply to the church’s mission in the present dispensation. Jesus’ instructions to His missionaries, rather than the activities of the missionaries, are the core of this pericope. However the reader must carefully distinguish the basic principles that Jesus taught from the specific directions that He meant for this particular mission and no other.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Luke alone recorded that Jesus gave the Twelve both power (Gr. dynamis, spiritual ability) and authority (Gr. exousia, the right to exercise power). The parallel Gospel accounts refer only to authority. In both his Gospel and in Acts, Luke stressed the validation of gospel preaching with signs and wonders. Other false teachers could do powerful miracles, presumably by Satan’s power (cf. Act 13:6-10; Act 19:13). Consequently it was necessary that Jesus’ disciples could validate their preaching with powerful miracles as Jesus did. The Twelve received authority over all demons. None would prove too powerful for them. The disciples’ primary duty was to preach the kingdom of God, and their way of showing the Jews that God was behind their preaching was by performing miracles. Thus they followed Jesus’ precedent (cf. Luk 8:26-56; Luk 9:11). They, as He, were to demonstrate concern for people’s souls, but also their bodies.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 17
THE MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES.
Luk 9:1-17
THE Galilean ministry was drawing to a close, for the “great Light” which had risen over the northern province must now move southward, to set behind a cross and a grave. Jesus, however, is reluctant-to leave these borders, amid whose hills the greater part of His life has been spent, and among whose composite population His greatest successes have been won, without one last effort. Calling together the Twelve, who hitherto have been Apostles in promise and in name rather than in fact, He lays His plans before them. Dividing the district into sections, so as to equalize their labors and prevent any overlapping, He sends them out in pairs; for in the Divine arithmetic two are more than twice one, more than the sum of the separate units by all the added force and strength of fellowship. They are to be the heralds of the new kingdom, to “preach the Kingdom of God,” their insignia no outward, visible badge, but the investiture of authority over all demons, and powers over all diseases. Apostles of the Unseen, servants of the Invisible King, they must dismiss all worldly cares; they must not even make provision for their journey, weighting themselves with such impedimenta as wallets stored with bread or changes of raiment. They must go forth in an absolute trust in God, thus proving themselves citizens of the heavenly kingdom, whose gates they open to all who will repent and step up into them. They may take a staff, for that will help rather than hinder on the steep mountain paths: but since the Kings business requireth haste, they must not spend their time in the interminable salutations of the age, nor in going about from house to house; such changes could only distract, diverting to themselves the thought which should be centered upon their mission. Should any city not receive them, they must retire at once, shaking off, as they depart, the very dust from their feet, as a testimony against them.
Such were the directions, as Jesus dismissed the Twelve, sending them to reap the Galilean harvest, and at the same time to prepare them for the wider fields which after the Pentecost would open to them on every side. It is only by incidental allusions that we learn anything as to the success of the mission, bur when our Evangelist says “they went throughout the villages preaching the Gospel and healing everywhere,” these frequent miracles of healing would imply that they found a sympathetic and receptive people. Nor were the impulses of the new movement confined to the lower reaches of society; for even the palace felt its vibrations, and St. Luke, who seems to have had private means of information within the Court, possibly through Chuza and Manaen, pauses to give us a kind of silhouette of the Tetrarch. Herod himself is perplexed. Like a vane, “that fox” swings round to the varying gusts of public opinion that come eddying within the palace from the excited world outside; and as some say that Jesus is Elias, and others “one of the old prophets,” while others aver that He is John himself, risen from the dead, this last rumor falls upon the ears of Herod like alarming thunders, making him quiver like an aspen. “And he sought to see Jesus.” The “conscience that makes cowards of us all” had unnerved him, and he longed by a personal acquaintance with Jesus to wave back out of his sight the apparition of the murdered prophet. Who Jesus might be did not much concern Herod. He might be Elias, or one of the old prophets, anything but John; and so when Herod did see Jesus afterwards, and saw that He was not the risen Baptist, but the Man of Galilee, his courage revived, and he gave Jesus into the hands of his cohorts, that they might mock Him with the faded purple.
What steps Herod took to secure an interview we do not know; but the verb indicates more than a wish on his part; it implies some plan or attempt to gratify the wish; and probably it was these advances of Herod, together with the Apostles need of rest after the strain and excitements of their mission, which prompted Jesus to seek a place of retirement outside the bounds of Antipas. On the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and on the eastern bank of thee Jordan, as a second Bethsaida, or “House of Fish” as the name means, built by Philip, and to which, in honor of Caesars daughter, he gave the surname of “Julias.” The city itself stood on the hills; some three or four miles back from the shore; while between the city and the lake swept a wide and silent plain, all untilled, as the New Testament “desert” means, but rich in pasturage, as the “much grass” of Joh 6:10 would show. This still shore offered, as it seemed, a safe refuge from the exacting and intrusive crowds of Capernaum, whose constant coming and going left them no leisure so much as to eat; and bidding them launch the familiar boat, Jesus and the twelve sail away to the other side. The excited crowds, however, which followed them to the waters edge, are not so easily to be shaken off; but guessing the direction of the boat, they seek to head her off by a quick detour round the shore. And some of them do; for when the boat grates on the northern shingle some of the swift-footed ones are already there; while stretching back for miles is a stream of humanity, of both sexes and of all ages, but all fired with one purpose. The desert has suddenly grown populous.
And how does Jesus bear this interruption to His plans? Does He chafe at this intrusion of the people upon His quiet hours? Does He resent their importunity, calling it impertinence, then driving them from Him with a whip of sharp words? Not so. Jesus was accustomed to interruptions; they formed almost the staple of His life. Nor did He repulse one solitary soul which sought sincerely His mercy, no matter how unseasonable the hour, as men would read the hours. So now Jesus “received” them, or “welcomed” them, as it is in the R.V It is a favorite word with St. Luke, found in his Gospel more frequently than in the other three Gospels together. Applied to persons, it means nearly always to receive as guests, to welcome to hospitality and home. And such is its meaning here. Jesus takes the place of the host. True, it is a desert place, but it is a part of the All-Fathers world, a room of the Fathers house, carpeted with grass and ablaze with flowers; and Jesus, by His welcome, transforms the desert into a guest-chamber, where in a new way He keeps the Passover with His disciples, at the same time entertaining His thousands of self-bidden guests, giving to them truth, speaking of the kingdom of God, and giving health, healing “those that had need of healing.”
It was toward evening, “when the day began to wear away,” that Jesus gave to a bright and busy day its crowning benediction. The thought had already ripened into purpose, in His mind, to spread a table for them in the wilderness; for how could He, the compassionate One, send them to their homes famishing and faint? These poor, shepherdless sheep have put themselves into His care. Their simple, unproviding confidence has made Him in a sense responsible, and can He disappoint that confidence? It is true they have been thoughtless and improvident. They have let the enthusiasm of the hour carry them away, without making any provision of the necessary food; but even this does not check the flow of the Divine compassion, for Jesus proceeds to fill up their lack of thought by His Divine thoughtfulness, and their scarcity with His Divine affluence.
According to St. John, it was Jesus who took the initiative, as He put the test-question to Philip, “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” Philip does not reply to the “whence”; that may stand aside awhile, as in mathematical language he speaks to the previous question, which is their ability to buy. “Two hundred pennyworth of bread,” he said, “is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little.” He does not say how much would be required to satisfy the hunger of the multitude; his reckoning is not for a feast, but for a taste, to every one “a little.” Nor does he calculate the full cost of even this, but says simply, “Two hundred pennyworth would not be sufficient.” Evidently, in Philips mind the two hundred pence is the known quantity of the equation, and he works out his calculation from that, as he proves the impossibility of buying bread for this vast company anywhere. We may therefore conclude that the two hundred pence represented the value of the common purse, the purchasing power of the Apostolic community; and this was a sum altogether inadequate to meet the cost of providing bread for the multitude. The only alternative, as far as the disciples see, is to dismiss them, and let them requisition for themselves; and in a peremptory manner they ask Jesus to “send the multitude away,” reminding Him of what certainly they had no need to remind Him, that they were here “in a desert place.”
The disciples had spoken in their subjunctive, non possumus, way; it is now time for Jesus to speak, which He does, not in interrogatives longer, but in His imperative, commanding tone: “Give ye them to eat,” a word which throws the disciples back upon themselves in astonishment and utter helplessness. What can they do? The whole available supply, as Andrew reports it, is but five barley loaves and two small fishes, which a lad has brought, possibly for their own refreshment. Five flat loaves of barley, which was the food of the poorest of the poor, and “two small fishes,” as St. John calls them, throwing a bit of local coloring into the narrative by his diminutive word-these are the foundation repast, which Jesus asks to be brought to Himself, that from Himself it may go, broken and enlarged, to the multitude of guests. Meantime the crowd is just as large, and perhaps more excited and impatient than before; for they would not understand these “asides” between the disciples and the Master, nor could they read as yet His compassionate and benevolent thought. It would be a pushing, jostling crowd, as these thousands were massed on the hill-side. Some are gathered in little groups, discussing the Messiahship; others are clustered round some relative or friend, who today has been wonderfully healed; while others, of the forward sort, are selfishly elbowing their way to the front. The whole scene is a kaleidoscope of changing form and color, a perfect chaos of confusion. But Jesus speaks again: “Make them sit down in companies”; and those words, thrown across the seething mass, reduce it to order, crystallizing it, as it were, into measured and numbered lines. St. Mark, half-playfully, likens it to a garden, with its parterres of flowers and such indeed it was, but it was a garden of the higher cult, with its variegated beds of humanity, a hundred men broad, and fifty deep.
When order was secured and all were in their places, Jesus takes His place as the host at the head of the extemporized table, and though it is most frugal fare, He holds the barley loaves heavenward, and lifting up His eyes, He blesses God, probably in the words of the usual formula, “Blessed art Thou, Jehovah our God, King of the world, Who causeth to come forth bread from the earth.” Then breaking the bread, He distributes it among the disciples, bidding them bear it to the people. It is not a matter of moment as to the exact point where the supernatural came in, whether it was in the breaking or the distributing. Somewhere a power which must have been Divine touched the bread, for the broken pieces strangely grew, enlarging rapidly as they were minished. It is just possible that we have a clue to the mystery in the tense of the verb, for the imperfect, which denotes continued action, would read, “He brake,” or “He kept on breaking,” from which we might almost infer that the miracle was coincident with the touch. But whether so or not, the power was equal to the occasion, and the supply over and above the largest need, completely satisfying the hunger of the five thousand men, besides the off-group of women and children, who, though left out of the enumeration, were within the circle of the miracle, the remembered and satisfied guests of the Master.
It now remains for us to gather up the meaning and the practical lessons of the miracle. And first, it reveals to us the Divine pity. When Jesus called Himself the Son of man it was a title full of deep meaning, and most appropriate. He was the true, the ideal Humanity, humanity as it would have been without the warps and discolorations that Sin has made, and within His heart were untold depths of sympathy, the “fellow-feeling that makes man wondrous kind.” To the haughty and the proud He was stern, lowering upon them with a withering scorn; to the unreal, the false, the unclean He was severity itself, with lightnings in His looks and terrible thunders in His “woes”; but for troubled and tired souls He had nothing but tenderness and gentleness, and a compassion that was infinite. Even had He not called the weary and heavy-laden to Himself, they would have sought Him; they would have read the “come” in the sunlight of His face. Jesus felt for others a vicarious pain, a vicarious sorrow, His heart responding to it at once, as the delicately poised needle responds to the subtle sparks that flash in upon it from without. So here; He receives the multitude kindly, even though they are strangers, and though they have thwarted His purpose and broken in upon His rest, and as this stream of human life flows out to Him, His compassion flows out to them. He commiserates their forlorn condition, wandering like straying sheep upon the mountains; He gives Himself up to them, healing all that were sick, assuaging the pain or restoring the lost sense; while at the same time He ministers to a higher nature, telling them of the kingdom of God which had come nigh to them, and which was theirs if they would surrender themselves to it and obey. Nor was even this enough to satisfy the promptings of His deep pity, but all-forgetful of His own weariness, He lengthens out this day of mercy, staying to minister to their lower, physical wants, as He spreads for them a table in the wilderness. Verily He was, incarnate, as He is in His glory, “touched with the feeling of our infirmities.”
Again, we see the Divine love of order and arrangement. Nothing was done until the crowding and confusion had ceased, and even the Divine beneficence waits until the turbulent mass has become quiet, settled down into serried lines, the five thousand making two perfect squares. “Order,” it is said, “is Heavens first law”; but whether the first or the second, certain it is that Heaven gives us the perfection of order. It is only in the lawless wills of man that “time is broke, and no proportion kept.” In the heavenly state nothing is out of place or out of time. All wills there play into each other with such absolute precision that life itself is a song, a “Gloria in Excelsis.” And how this is seen in all the works of God! What rhythmic motions are in the marches of the stars and the processions of the seasons! To everything a place, to everything a time; such is the unwritten law of the realm of physics, where Law is supreme, and anarchy is unknown. So in our earthly lives, on their secular and on their spiritual side alike, order is time, order is strength, and he who is deficient in this grace should practice on it the more. Avoid Slovenliness; it is a distant relation of Sin itself. Arrange your duties, and do not let them crowd one upon the other. Set the greater duties, not abreast, but one behind the other, filling up the spaces with the smaller ones. Do not let things drift, or your life, built for carrying precious argosies, and accomplishing something, will break up into pieces, the flotsam and jetsam of a barren shore. In prayer be orderly. Arrange your desires. Let some come first, while others stand back in the second or the third row, waiting their turn. If your relations with your fellows have got a little disarranged, atwist, seek to readjust the disturbed relation. Oppose what is evil and mean with all your might; but if no principle is involved, even at the cost of a little feeling, seek to have things put square. To get things into a tangle requires no great skill; but he who would be a true artist, keeping the Divine pattern before him, and ever working towards it, if not up to it, may reduce the tangled skein to harmony, and like the Gobelin tapestry-makers, weave a life that is noble and beautiful, a life on which men will love to gaze.
Again, we see the Divine concern for little things, Abundance always tempts to extravagance and waste. And so here; the broken remnants of the repast might have been thrown away as of no account; but Jesus bade them, “Gather up the fragments, that nothing be lost”; and we read “they filled with the broken bread which remained over and above to them that had eaten, twelve baskets full”-and, by the way, the word rendered “basket” here corresponds with the frugal fare, for, made of willow or of wicker, it was of the coarsest kind, used only by the poor. What became of the fragments, which outweighed the original supply, we do not read; but though they were only the crumbs of the Divine bounty, and though there was no present use for them, Jesus would not allow them to be wasted.
But the true meaning of the narrative lies deeper than this. It is a miracle of a new order, this multiplying of the loaves. In His other miracles Jesus has wrought on the line of Nature, accelerating her slower processes, and accomplishing in an instant, by His mere volition, what by natural causes must have been the work of time, but which in the specific cases would have been purely impossible, owing to the enfeeblement of nature by disease. Sight, hearing, even life itself, come to man through channels purely natural but Nature never yet has made bread. She grows the corn, but there her part ends, while Science must do the rest, first reducing the corn to flour, then kneading it into dough, and by the burning fires of the oven transmuting the dough to bread. Why does Jesus here depart from His usual order, creating what neither nature nor science can produce alone, but which requires their concurrent forces? Let us see. To Jesus these visible, tangible things were but the dead keys His hand touched, as He called forth some deeper, farther-off music, some spiritual truth that by any other method men would be slow to learn. Of what, then, is this bread of the desert the emblem? St. John tells us that when the miracle occurred “the Passover was nigh at hand,” and this time-mark helps to explain the overcrowding into the desert, for probably many of the five thousand were men who were now on their way to Jerusalem, and who had stayed at Capernaum and the neighboring cities for the night. This supposition, too, is considerably strengthened by the words of the disciples, as they suggest that they should go and “lodge” in the neighboring cities and villages, which word implies that they were not residents of that locality, but passing strangers. And as Jesus cannot now go up to Jerusalem to the feast, He gathers the shepherdless thousands about Him, and keeps a sort of Passover in the open guest-chamber of the mountainside. That such was the thought of the Master, making it an anterior sacrament, is evident from the address Jesus gave the following day at Capernaum, in which He passes, by a natural transition, from the broken bread with which He satisfied their physical hunger to Himself as the Bread come down from heaven, the “living Bread” as He called it, which was His flesh. There is thus an Eucharistic meaning in the miracle of the loaves, and this northern hill signals in its subtle correspondence on to Jerusalem, to another hill, where His body was bruised and broken “for our iniquities,” and His blood was poured out, a precious oblation for sin. And as that blood was typified by the wine of the first miracle at Cana, so now Jesus completes the prophetic sacrament by the miraculous creation of bread from the five seminal loaves, bread which He Himself has consecrated to the holier use, as the visible emblem of that Body which was given for us, men, women, and children alike, even for a redeemed humanity. Cana and the desert-place thus draw near together, while both look across to Calvary; and as the Church keeps now her Eucharistic feast, taking from the one the consecrated bread, and from the other the consecrated wine, she shows forth the Lords death “till He come.”