Luke 9

http://www.esvbible.org/Luke+9/

Jesus gives the disciples power and authority over all demons and power and authority to cure all diseases. He then sends them out in all directions with instructions not to take anything, not even a change of clothes. When they reach a town, they are to stay in someone's house until they are ready to leave, but if they are not welcome in the town, they should leave, shaking the dust off the sandals as a warning. The disciples did what Jesus said and travelled around curing illnesses. We are called to go out with nothing but the clothes on our backs to teach the gospel, and if the Holy Spirit has blessed us with the ability, to cast out demons and cure illnesses where we see them. Keep in mind we are not all called to this, and we are not called to live like this always. The disciples do this for a short time. Often, when people go on mission trips, especially to poor countries, they come back with less stuff than they set out with because God breaks their hearts for those people. In this way, the people are similarly going with just the clothes on their backs.

Herod, the ruler over the region at the time, heard all sorts of rumors about Jesus from the people. Some said He was John the Baptist come back to life. Others said He was the prophet Elijah, and still others said He was one of the other old prophets come back to life. When Herod heard all of this, shortly after he beheaded John the Baptist, he wanted to know who Jesus really was. Even when people hear some of the story, God can use that to spark an interest to learn more. While Herod rejects Jesus and His message, some in his courts might have believed because what they originally heard, though inaccurate, sparked an interest and caused them to want to know more.

The next story is very well known and can be found in all four gospels. In this story, Jesus feeds five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish. When He had tried to escape the crowds to be alone with His disciples, the people still found Him, so He taught them all day. As it got late, the disciples told Jesus that He should let them go to the nearest town to buy food. Jesus said the disciples will provide food for all the men. That must have been pretty scary for them to think about because there were five thousand men (no count on women and children), and the disciples had almost no money. They told Jesus all they had was five loaves of bread and two fish, so He took the food from them, blessed it through prayer, and began passing it around. I really wish I could see this in action because they kept passing and passing until every person had their fill of food. Then, they collected the leftovers and had twelve baskets of food. Imagine the sight! God will always provide for those who believe in Him. He will take care of all your needs (wants is a different story). I still hear stories today of people who thought they were in a bind because they couldn't get something they needed, but God came through for them.

Jesus prays with His disciples privately one day and asks them who the people say He is. They answer that some say He is John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the other prophets brought back to life. When He asks them who they think He is, Peter answers that He is the Messiah. He instructs them not to tell anyone. People need to discover who Jesus is on their own. Our job is to proclaim the wonders that He has done, but only Jesus can have people accept Him as their savior. Only He has that power.

Jesus foretells His own death. He says that the Son of Man will be rejected by the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders. They will execute HIm, but He will come back to life on the third day.

Next, Jesus tells the disciples that in order to follow Him, they must reject what they want, pick up their crosses every day, and follow Him. It is an interesting choice for Jesus to use the word cross here because He will later be killed on the cross. Jesus doesn't give much instruction about how to be with Him except that the must follow Him. Once people begin to follow Jesus, they begin to see the difference that He makes in lives. When Jesus talks about taking up our crosses, He means that we must metaphorically die to ourselves everyday because in those days, the cross had only one meaning, death. We, ourselves, have desire for only the evil and sinful things. You can point out people who are not Christian who do a lot of good, but if you were to look at their desires, it would probably be for you to look at them doing the good things they do. He talks about how people who want to save their lives will lose them, but those who lose their lives will save them. What He means is that, again, you have to relinquish who you are and take up who Jesus is. Some people say they want to be who Jesus wants them to be, and that's good, but who Jesus really wants you to be is the person that is as close to Him in thoughts and acts as possible. What good is gaining the whole world if you lose your life? If people are ashamed of Jesus, Jesus says that He is ashamed of them. Jesus speaks of eternal life when He tells the disciples that some of them will not die until they see the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain where He goes to pray. The three disciples go to sleep, and Jesus prays. While He prays, His appearance changes, and His body begins to glow. Moses and Elijah appear, and the three of them discuss Jesus' coming death and the prophecies it will fulfill. The three disciples awaken while the others are talking, and Peter, not quite thinking clearly, says that he, James, and John will set up three tents: one for Jesus, one for Elijah, and one for Moses. He though this was a great opportunity to change some people's minds about Jesus, but he didn't understand that what he saw was for his benefit. A dark cloud comes over them, and a voice says, "This is my son whom I have chose. Listen to Him!" When the clouds lift, the three disciples see Jesus is standing alone.

The next story proves that their are some matters that only Jesus can take care of. As Jesus is coming down from the mountain, a man shouts to Him and begs Him to heal his son. A demon comes and makes the boy shriek, convulse, and foam at the mouth. The disciples have tried to heal him but can't. Jesus asks how long He must be with these unbelieving people. The boy comes towards Jesus, but the demon throws him to the ground. Jesus commands the demon to leave, and the boy is cured. All the people were amazed at the power of God.

Jesus tells the disciples that He will be betrayed and handed over to the people. He seems to be telling of His death in reverse order. The disciples do not know what He means because God has kept the meaning from them for the time being, and they are too afraid to ask Jesus what He means.

The disciples begin to bicker about who among them will be the greatest. Jesus know what they are talking about and takes a small child next to Him. He tells them that the one who welcomes the little child in Jesus' name will welcome in Jesus, and the one who welcomes in Jesus, welcomes God. Whoever is least among them, will become greatest. What He means is that whoever serves the case of those who are in need, in Jesus' day mainly children, the elderly, the crippled, etc., in Jesus' name welcome Jesus Himself because His heart goes out to those people. The last thing Jesus says means that the people who lower themselves in service, for example Mother Teresa, for Jesus will be greatest in Heaven because they are saving their reward for that time.

John tells Jesus that the disciples saw someone forcing demons out of people in Jesus' name, but the disciples tried to stop him because he was not one of the twelve. Jesus told them that whoever is not against them is for them. Jesus draws a very definite line. Either we are for Him or against Him. There is no middle ground.

Jesus decides He needs to go to Jerusalem before He dies, so as He and His disciples head that way, some of them go ahead to find a place for Jesus to stay, but the people reject Him because He is going to Jerusalem. The Samaritans and the Jews, who live mostly in Jerusalem, hated each other because of religious differences. When John and James heard this, they asked Jesus is He wanted them to call on fire to rain on the city. Jesus corrects them by saying that they don't know what spirit just overcame them. Jesus came to save lives, not destroy them. They then move on to another city.

This chapter ends with a story of three men who try to follow Jesus but don't have what it takes. The first asks to follow Him, and Jesus tells him foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to rest His head. Jesus asks a second man to follow Him, but he asks to go bury his father first, a common act of respect, but Jesus tells Him to let the dead take care of the dead. A third man says he will follow Jesus after he tells his family good bye. Jesus tells him that a person cannot begin the journey and look back.