NOTES for Luk 9:1-27
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. |
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. |
11 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. |
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. |
13 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. |
14 For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company. |
15 And they did so, and made them all sit down. |
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. |
17 And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets. |
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? |
19 They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. |
20 He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God. |
21 And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; |
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. |
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. |
24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. |
25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? |
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. |
27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. |
Hide
Luke briefly touches on a whole series of events about which the other evangelists, especially Matthew, speak in greater detail. He gives the central place to Peter's confession and to Jesus' account of His approaching death and resurrection. There is a logic to this presentation. First of all, the Savior lets His disciples feel the power of the Kingdom and learn from their own experience how this power acts in the world. And not only them: the miraculous feeding of thousands of people with five loaves and two fish is also possible only in the Kingdom. This is not surprising: when it comes to the Kingdom, it is easier to show than to tell. Meanwhile, even those who had previously taken no interest in Christ's testimony begin to notice it—for example, Herod, who was generally wary of every kind of messianic movement that threatened his power.
This is precisely why, immediately after Peter's confession, Jesus explains to the disciples just how different the messiahship He has brought into the world is. Of course, the apostles fully understood everything Jesus told them only on the day of Pentecost. But it was immediately after Peter's confession that He began speaking to them about His messiahship and His path. It is as though He is trying to make everything clear from the outset, so that His messianic ministry will not become associated in His disciples' minds with traditional popular messianic expectations.
From the very beginning, the Savior does everything possible to help His disciples understand as much as they can of what they will have to understand fully in due time. This is natural: Golgotha lay ahead. The disciples had to be prepared, as far as possible, for what awaited them—and what awaited them was the shock of the complete collapse of their entire worldview and sense of the world. Only the experience of the Kingdom could help them endure it—not the earthly kingdom of popular expectations, but the true Kingdom, the one the Savior brought into the world.
The apostles gained as much experience of the Kingdom as was then possible after they went out to preach on their own, without their Teacher. The new ideas about the Kingdom proved more difficult: they would not fit into the disciples' minds or find room in their consciousness. All that remained was to rely on their intuition and, above all, on the personal relationship that bound them to Jesus. Nevertheless, He tells the apostles everything that can be said in human words about His earthly path and earthly ministry. And then each one takes in as much of His words as he is able to take in.
Readings for 31 July 2026
After registering, you can subscribe to any Bible reading plan. Personalized settings and other services for registered users are planned, so we recommend registering now. Registration is free. | ||
