Luke 9.1-62 tells us about the twelve talmidim who are now sent out as “shaliachim” to preach the kingdom of God and to heal; the feeding of the five thousand; the Transfiguration; the healing of a boy possessed by a demon; and a lesson on greatness in the kingdom of God.
v 1…And he called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to heal diseases.
v 2…And he sent them out (as shaliachim or “agents”) to proclaim the kingdom of God (God’s rule and movement in our life; we see God’s kingdom when we see him in action-Luke 11.20. “Kingdom” also refers to those who are a part of his movement-Luke 10.8-9).
v 3…And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece (no change of clothes- they were to completely depend on God).
v 4…And whatever house you enter, stay there, and take your leave from there (don’t move around).
v 5…And as for those who do not receive you, when you depart from that city, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them (a sign that their labors there are over; and exonerating them from any further responsibility for what happens-Ezek 33.7-11; Acts 13.52).
v 6…And departing, they began going about among the villages, preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere.
v 7…Now Herod the Tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,
v 8…and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others, that one of the prophets of old had risen again.
v 9…And Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see him (see Yeshua face to face, have a meeting to satisfy his curiosity about whether it was John or not).
v 10…And when the shaliachim returned, they gave an account to him of all that they had done. And taking them with him, he withdrew privately to a city called Bethsaida (house of fishing).
v 11…But the multitudes were aware of this and followed him; and welcoming them he began speaking to them about the kingdom of God (it’s setting up, its doctrines and governance, its concepts, etc).
v 12…And the day began to decline and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat; for here we are in a desolate place (this will be around Passover-John 6.1-14).”
v 13…But he said to them, “You give them something to eat (he did not want to send them away but be supplied by the food they had; in a sense this was alms giving)!” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fishes, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people (they had no other plan).”
v 14…For there were about five thousand men (besides women and children). And he said to his talmidim (now they are not shaliachim because their “sending” was over), “Have them recline to eat in groups of fifty each.”
v 15…And they did so, and had them recline (they obeyed and were blessed).
v 16…And he took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them (or commanded a blessing on them to multiply, and broke them, and kept giving them to the talmidim to set before the multitude (here we have a spiritual concept; Yeshua rightly divides the word, gives the message to his teachers to feed the people they have been entrusted with).
v 17…And they all ate and were satisfied; and that which was left over to them of the broken pieces was picked up, twelve baskets full (one each for the talmidim and the whole house of Israel. Five alludes to the Torah and Yeshua’s teachings will satisfy his people).
v 18…And it came about (after feeding them) while he was praying alone, the talmidim were with him, and he questioned them, saying, “Who do the multitudes say that I am?”
v 19…And they answered and said, “John the Baptist; but others Elijah; and others that one of the prophets of old has risen again.”
v 20…And he said to them (directly), “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Messiah of God.”
v 21…But he warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone (that he was the Messiah; they will want him to set up the kingdom of David and oppose Rome),
v 22…saying, “The son of Man (Bar Enosh of Dan 7.13, an eschatological title) must suffer many things (to fulfill prophecy and to ratify the New Covenant, or renewed covenant, with his own blood), and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.”
v 23…And he was saying to them all, “If anyone desires to come after me let them deny himself, and take up his cross daily (pay the price personally), and follow me (walk as if crucified; condemned people are only concerned with what is important).
v 24…For whoever wishes to save his life (Greek “psuchen” and the root is “psuche” where we get “psychological” from. This means our mind, heart, desires, thoughts and intentions. It is not “bios” meaning life or lifespan) shall lose it. But whoever loses his life (psuchen) for my sake, he is the one who will save it (our heart, mind, thoughts and intentions will be renewed as part of the Brit Chadasha-Jer 31.33; Ezek 36.26).
v 25…For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world (its honors, riches, fame, etc) and destroys himself and suffers loss)?
v 26…For whoever is ashamed of me and my words (from the Torah-Paul, a Torah observant Jew all his life wasn’t-Rom 1.16), of him will the son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory (to judge the nations, executing a sentence on them, to reign in his kingdom, etc), and the glory of his Father (John 17.5) and of the holy angels (they had a kedusha and will come with him at his coming).
v 27…But I tell you the truth (a truth), there are some of those standing here who shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of God (his movement in power and action; a fore-glimpse of what is coming; the demonstration of God’s rule with signs and wonders-there is a good explanation for the Jewish concept of the kingdom of God in the book called, “Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus” by David Bivin and Roy Blizzard, Destiny Image Publications, p. 62-65).
v 28…And some eight days after these sayings (“eight” alludes to a new beginning, the Olam Haba, and Moses on Mount Sinai in Exo 33.17 to 34.35), it came about (happened) that he took along Peter and John and James (his usual inner circle), and went up to the mountain (a range nearby-possibly Mount Hermon which was close to Caesarea Philipi, and where Abraham and the “covenant between the halves” may have occurred-Gen 15.1-18; Matt 16.13).
v 29…And while he was praying, the appearance of his face became different, and his clothing became white and gleaming (this is a vision-Matt 16.9).
v 30…And behold, two men were talking with him; and they were Moses (symbolizing the Torah/Law) and Elijah (symbolizing the Prophets-two witnesses of Rom 3.21),
v 31…who appearing in glory (in the vision), were speaking of his departure (death, exodus, exit out of this life) which he is about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
v 32…Now Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep (as they were in Gethsemane later-Mark 33.37), but when they were fully awake (not struggling to stay awake); they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
v 33…And it came about, as these were parting from him (Moses and Elijah), Peter said to Yeshua, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles (sukkot), one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah” not realizing what he was saying (Yeshua was not equal to Moses and Elijah).
v 34…And while he was saying this, a cloud (like in the wilderness with Moses-Exo 33.22) formed and began to overshadow them (Yeshua, Moses, Elijah and the talmidim); and they were afraid as they entered the cloud (the festival of Sukkot teaches about the kingdom with concepts relating to the glory, the cloud, Moses, Elijah and sukkot).
v 35…And a voice (bat kol) came out of the cloud (the cloud symbolizes the presence of the Shekinah of Yehovah), saying, “This is my son (the heir), my Chosen One, listen to him (Deut 18.18-19-he is the prophet like unto Moses)!”
v 36…And when the voice had spoken, Yeshua was found alone. And they kept silent, and reported to one in those days any of the things which they had seen (Yeshua told them to tell the vision to no one until after he was raised from the dead-Matt 17.9).
v 37…And it came about on the next day, that when they had come down from the mountain (mountain range of Mount Hermon most likely), a great multitude met him.
v 38…And behold (take note), a man from the multitude shouted out, saying, “Teacher (an eschatological title), I beg you to look at my son, my only (Greek “monogenes meaning “only born”, not “prototokos” meaning the first of many as in Luke 2.7),
v 39…and behold, a spirit (pneuma) takes him (controls him), and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth, and as it mauls him, it scarcely leaves him (doesn’t want to leave him alone).
v 40…And I begged your talmidim to cast it out, and they could not.”
v 41…And Yeshua answered and said, “O unbelieving and perverted generation (at the time, very much like Israel in the wilderness-Deut 32.5; Psa 78.8); how long shall I be with you, and put up with you (he was disappointed at their level of faith and that none of them could help; it reflected on him)? Bring your son here.”
v 42…And while he was still approaching, the demon threw him into a violent convulsion (it knew what was coming). But Yeshua rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father (and out of the control of the demon-Mark 9.26).
v 43…And they were all amazed (shocked) at the greatness of God (and his power).
v 44…”Let these words sink into your ears (remember them); for the son of Man (Bar Enosh)is going to be delivered into the hands of men (to be betrayed and killed).”
v 45…But they did not understand this statement (the meaning of it; how could a person defeat demons and yet is powerless over people), and it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it (according to Yehovah’s purposes; it was going to be necessary that Yeshua die and be resurrected); and they were afraid to ask him about this statement (afraid he may reproach them for being dull, or rebuke them like he did with Peter; perhaps they were looking for a conquering Davidic Messiah and this statement did not fall into that).
v 46…And an argument arose among them as to which one of them might be the greatest (because they were looking for a kingdom to be set up and who would be his “Prime Minister” or “right hand man”).
v 47…But Yeshua, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood by him by his side,
v 48…and said to them, “Whoever receives (embraces) this child (a type of a true believer) in my name (represents Yeshua, he belongs to me and sent by me, delivers my message) receives (embraces-John 5.46-47) me; and whoever receives (embraces) me receives (embraces) him (Yehovah) who sent me; for he who is least (in his own opinion of himself) among you, this is the one who is great (exists as a great one).”
v 49…And John answered and said (responding to the term “in my name”), “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name (representing Yeshua, by his authority); and we tried to hinder him (obstruct him from doing the work they could not always do) because he does not follow along with us (in our group).”
v 50…But Yeshua said to him, “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you (they were doing it for the same reasons; the kingdom was being offered and they had the same purpose; Moses had the same situation in Num 11.24-30)”
v 51…And it came about, when the days were approaching for his ascension (leaving Galilee and going up to Jerusalem), that he resolutely set his face (in courage, determination, boldness) to go up to Jerusalem;
v 52…and he sent messengers on ahead of him. And they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make for him.
v 53…And they did not receive him (show hospitality) because he was journeying with his face towards Jerusalem (we know from John 4.19 that there was a controversy between Jews and Samaritans about the correct place to worship; he had told the Samaritans earlier he was the Messiah in John 4.26-30 because he was only there temporarily, he was not going to worship with them at Mount Gerizim, but to go to Jerusalem, and this may have provoked them to anger).
v 54…And when his talmidim James and John saw this (they were sent ahead as the messengers evidently in v 52), they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them (even as Elijah did, being insulted at their conduct toward Yeshua and his talmidim)?”
v 55…But he turned and rebuked them and said, “You know not what manner of spirit you are of (this is not the true spirit of zeal, but anger).
v 56…For the son of Man (Bar Enosh of Dan 7.13 and an eschatological term for the Messiah) has not come to destroy men’s lives (souls), but to save them (by ratifying the Brit Chadasha with his blood).” And they went to another village.
v 57…And as they were going along the road (from the Samaritan city to another), someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
v 58…And Yeshua said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the son of Man has nowhere to lay his head (Yeshua did not have a headquarters and where they stayed was always uncertain; this man was ready to go).”
v 59…And he said to another, “Follow me.” But he said, “Permit me first to go and bury my father (possibly meaning wait till he dies).”
v 60…But he said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead (this man was slow to go; in Hebrew, the word for “dead” is “metta” and it is close to the word “matta” or town. This may mean, “Let the town bury the dead.” There were people who did that in a city and that makes more sense), but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God (which is being offered now and means God’s rule in action and power is confronting you; don’t wait till your father dies, the people of the town will bury him).
v 61…And another said, “I will follow you, Lord. But first permit me to say good-bye to those at home (like Elisha did in 1 Kings 19.20-21-but we must turn our eyes on our old lives to follow Yeshua.”
v 62…But Yeshua said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God (you would end up with “crooked rows” and bad doctrine to please others; Abraham never looked back, but Lot’s wife did. The kingdom is God’s rule and movement in action in our lives confronting you, and families will try to appeal to us to not go where God is leading us; whose rule does this man really want ruling over him)”
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