Luke 9
Luke 9 is the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the sending of the twelve disciples, several great miracles performed by Jesus, the story of his transfiguration, Peter's confession and the final departure from Galilee towards Jerusalem. Scottish minister William Robertson Nicoll describes this chapter as unfolding "sundry particulars which together form the closing scenes of the Galilean ministry". The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke the Evangelist composed this Gospel as well as the Acts of the Apostles.
Text
The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 62 verses. The text as far as verse 50 parallels the contents of the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, probably with Mark being the common source for the material, but from verse 51, in the words of the Jerusalem Bible, "Luke deserts Mark" and uses other material as far as Luke 18#Parable of the [Pharisee and the Publican (18:9–14)|Luke 18:14]. Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:- Papyrus 75
- Papyrus 45
- Codex Vaticanus
- Codex Sinaiticus
- Codex Bezae
- Codex Washingtonianus
- Codex Alexandrinus
- Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus.
Time
American biblical writer Henry Hampton Halley states that between verses 17 and 18, about 8 months intervene.The mission of the twelve (verses 1–6)
Verse 1
The Syriac version reads "his own twelve". F. W. Farrar notes that Jesus commits to them both his power and his authority over demons.Verse 2
They are sent out "in pairs" in the parallel account in Mark's Gospel.Verse 3
Cross reference: Matthew 10:10; Mark 6:8–9- "Your journey" refers to the travel throughout the towns and cities, where they were sent to preach the Gospel.
- "Neither staffs" : the Latin Vulgate version and all the Oriental versions render in the singular number, "neither staff, rod, or club"; and so it was in one of Theodore Beza's ancient copies, but in all the rest in the plural, as in Matthew; which last must be the true reading, since one staff was allowed, according as in though more than one were forbidden.
- "Nor bag" : something to put provision in.
- "Nor money": not to bring gold, silver, or brass, to buy bread with, because they were to get food, wherever they came, be given as their due and the reward of their labor,
- "Two tunics apiece": the word "apiece" is omitted in one manuscript and not included in the Vulgate Latin and the eastern versions, which read as in though the word does aptly and clearly express the sense of the prohibition, that each man should not have two, or have change of raiment.
Verse 5
Cyril of Jerusalem explains that "it is very improbable that those who despise the saving Word, and the Master of the household, will shew themselves kind to His servants, and seek further blessings".Herod seeks to see Jesus (verses 7–9)
Verse 7
Herod the Tetrarch was Herod Antipas. has the briefer words "When Herod heard". In his critical commentary, Heinrich Meyer suggests that Luke "evidently had before him" and added "a definite object", namely "everything which was done", whereby is meant, "which was done by Jesus". Eric Franklin suggests that Herod's "perplexity" is recalled here as a "fitting prelude" to Jesus' discussion with his disciples about his identity in verses 18-20.Verse 8
The Old Testament prophet Elijah is mentioned five times in this chapter, here and at verses 19, 30, 33 and verse 54.Verse 9
Meyer suggests that a "glowing reception at court" might have awaited Jesus, but it did not materialise.The feeding of the 5 000 (verses 10–17)
This narrative, also known as the "miracle of the five loaves and two fish", records that five loaves and two fish were used by Jesus to feed a multitude. According to the Luke's narrative, when the twelve returned from their mission, Jesus withdrew with them by boat privately to a solitary place near Bethsaida. The crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food." Jesus said they do not need to go away therefore the disciples were to give them something to eat. They said they only had five loaves of bread and two fish then Jesus asked them to bring what they had to him. Jesus directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men.