Luke 9:1

(vs.1) “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases”: We have seen in Luke the developing theme of Jesus’ authority. Be it over disease, demons, death, nature, sin, or the Sabbath, Jesus is Lord over all! Jesus is the King of the kingdom of God and He has come to earth to establish God’s kingdom by delivering mankind from the power of darkness and sin.

Jesus is Emmanuel, “God with us,” and as many as would receive Him were the recipients of the blessings of God’s teaching, power, and authority working in their midst. With the sending of the twelve, Jesus now shares His power and authority with others which is just the beginning of the transition of “God with us”, to “God in us,” which results in “God being God through us.”This is how the kingdom of God comes!

· Power: Gk.- dynamis = power, might, strength, force, ability, capability. It is used of physical power, in this case spiritual power, as well as moral power such as the power of the will vs. moral weakness.

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

This promise was realized shortly after Jesus ascended to Heaven, on Pentecost Sunday when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples who were gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem. We’re told in those days there were about 120 of them. When all of Jerusalem gathers to see what was happening, Peter explains…

Acts 2:16 “But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. 18And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days;

· Authority:Whereas power is the ability to perform these things, “authority” is the right to use that power.

(vs.2) “He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick”: They were to fulfill these two things; preach the kingdom and heal the sick. Jesus’ began His ministry by preaching, “repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” This is the same message that the disciples went out to preach.

(vs.3) “And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece”:

· Travel Light?: Many people see in this an emphasis to travel light. This certainly is a minimalist approach, but is that Jesus’ point? Probably not, unless this was intended to be a short and fast journey.

· Walk by Faith: Venturing without no provisions, be it of food, money, or more than the clothes on your back, would be a step of faith. This is no doubt part of Jesus’ purpose for after the fact, they will talk of how they were provided for.

· A Cultural Context: There is a possible cultural context at work here. The Talmud speaks of a practice among the rabbis of the day that you could not enter the temple area with a staff, shoes, or a moneybag, because you wanted to avoid even the appearance of being engaged in any other business other than the service of the Lord. Jesus uses the same language. Is it for the same purpose? If so, is it for the disciple’s sake, that they would know they are embarking in a holy service and they’re not to get distracted by “the cares of the world?”

· Specific, not Universal: We know that Jesus’ instructions here are specific to this mission and not universal for all believers or even every mission, but the principles are worth learning carrying on into a variety of other applications.

Luke 22Jesus tells His disciples, “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?” So they said, “Nothing.” 36 Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.”

(vs.4) “Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart”: Meaning, when someone invites you to stay with them, don’t go looking for a better place to stay. If they’ve received you, consider it your provision until your time in that city is complete.

(vs.5) “And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them”:Jesus prepared His disciples for the rejection that was inevitable, but that they shouldn’t take personally. Shaking off the dust from your feet was a sign of separation, as if you say, “I’ve done my duty to speak the truth. May your rejection be upon your head.” This was also the practice of Jews after they had left the presence of Gentiles.

(vs.6) “So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere”: The disciples aren’t doing anything that Jesus hasn’t done or couldn’t do. But the fact that His followers are now doing what only Jesus had been doing, indicates that the Kingdom of Heaven is coming, or you might say, “spreading.” It’s a wonderful thing that God choses to come to earth and do what only He can. But when God starts doing those same things through other people, that indicates a movement.

(vs.7) “Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead”: This is Herod Antipas (son of Herod the Great).   

(vs.8) “and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. Luke doesn’t record the execution of John the Baptist by Herod (Matthew and Mark insert the execution around this point in their gospels to explain what had happened to John).  Herod didn’t know what to make of Jesus, but there was plenty that people were saying, including one idea that Jesus was actually John raised from the dead.

(vs.9) “Herod said, “John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?” So he sought to see Him”: Herod wanted to see Jesus out of curiosity. He had heard so much about Him that he wanted to see Him in person, and perhaps even see some kind of miracle.

(vs.10) “And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida”: Jesus’ intent here appears to be for the disciple’s well-being. After their return from their first solo missions trip of preaching the gospel, He takes them aside for some rest and to hear how everything went. Unfortunately for them, it didn’t last.

Mark 6:31 “And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.”

(vs.11) “But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing”: The disciples may be worn out, but Jesus makes time for the needy, and “received them.”

Jesus continues to do what the disciples just returned back from doing; He teaches about the kingdom of God and heals those in need. The disciples may have had the perspective that our ministry time is over.” But Jesus continues to receive those who come, and He has never stopped.

(vs.12) “When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here”:

13 But He said to them, “You give them something to eat”:

Jesus is giving them the opportunity to continue doing the ministry of serving others. It must have been exciting when He sent them out with power and authority. But this need doesn’t have the excitement of dynamis power at work. Or does it?

The dunamis of the HS isn’t just for the ability to do the task, but also for the will to do the task. We’ll never know the miracles we missed out on if we’re not willing to step out in obedience to see what God might do.

“And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men”:

How did they respond to the opportunity? They leaned on their own understanding, looking for a natural solution, rather than acknowledging God in all His ways.

All too often we only have eyes to see problems, when in fact, God is setting before us opportunities.

God is looking to grow us in His likeness, which doesn’t just happen magically; it happens as He places us in natural situations where we’re challenged to respond supernaturally; that is, the way He wants to respond. This is how sanctification happens.

God doesn’t need us for anything; but He does choose to include us in His plans and that’s more so for our sakes than His. He wants us to discover

Then He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.” 15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.

16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. 17 So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them”: It would seem significant that there were twelve baskets of leftovers. They didn’t even start with one. Some think the twelve might represent the twelve tribes, but it’s also possible it speaks to the twelve apostles. But what could each of them need or do with a whole basket of bread. It makes it personal. As if to say “with God, nothing is impossible.” You started out with nothing, and God has not only used you to minister to more people than any one man could, but He has also met your needs with great abundance.

Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”