Luke 9:1-20

9:1-2 | The twelve disciples heard Jesus preach and watched Him cast out demons and heal. So He commissioned these men to duplicate what He had done. To make this possible, He equipped them with both the power (Grk., dynamis) to do the supernatural and the authority to do His will.

9:3 | Jesus wanted His men to depend on God alone as they ministered in His name. Therefore, He did not allow them to take five common items that most ancient travelers would be sure to take along: a staff (for defense and walking assistance), a bag of provisions, food (bread), money, and an extra tunic (an undergarment).

9:4 | Near Eastern homes were renowned for their hospitality. Jesus exhorted the disciples to concentrate on their mission, not on their accommodations – and thus not to move from house to house in a city.

9:5 | Opposed and rejected Himself, Jesus knew His messengers would sometimes encounter the same kind of negative reaction.

9:7-8 | Herod Antipas is called the tetrarch because after the death of his father, Herod the Great, the late king’s territory was divided into four parts. Reports of the remarkable ministry of Jesus’ disciples led to speculation that either John the Baptist had risen from the dead or Elijah (who had prophesied centuries before in the same territory that Herod now ruled) had returned. Herod became fearful and jealous as rumors reached him that someone was performing mighty miracles in the region.

9:9 | Although Herod disregarded the rumors – he knew no one else so executed had managed to come back from the dead – he did worry about reaction to the news spiraling out of control and Rome removing him from his throne. Apparently Herod sent several messages to Jesus asking for some sort of meeting, but Jesus ignored him.

9:10 | This Bethsaida shared the same name as the town near Capernaum. Located near the mouth of the Jordan River as it entered the Sea of Galilee, it was outside of Herod’s territory. The more isolated location allowed Jesus and His disciples to debrief in private.

9:12-15 | John reports that when Jesus told His men to give the crowd something to eat, He already knew what He intended to do (John 6:6). Jesus had been teaching His disciples to depend on the power and resources of God, and now He gave them a task they simply could not complete on their own.

9:16-17 | As Jesus broke the bread and the fish to distribute to the hungry crowd. Luke says He was looking up to heaven. This was possibly part of a personal custom that later helped the two men from Emmaus recognize Jesus, for not until He took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them did they recognize who had been talking to them (24:30-31).

9:18 | Jesus was alone praying. He modeled for humanity the importance of praying continually, seeking to know God’s will and ways.

9:19-20 | Asking the disciples for the opinion of the crowds served merely as an introduction to the critical question: Who did they believe Jesus to be? (Matt. 16:13).