Luke 9a: HG Bishop Youssef

Introduction

01:10

• In the first 8 chapters, the period of instruction of the disciples is now completed
• Now it is time to send them on their mission for two things:
  • To proclaim the gospel
  • To heal the illnesses in the people
• It is like after Pre-servants, you when they have completed their instruction, are sent to be Sunday School Servants

Outline

02:15

• 1-6: Sending out the Twelve
• 7-9: Herod Seeks to See the Lord Jesus Christ
• 10-17: Feeding the Five Thousand (Gospel of the 9th Hour)
• 18-20: St Peter Confesses Jesus as the Messiah]
• 21-22: The Lord Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection
• 23-27: Take Up the Cross and Follow Me
• 28-36: The Transfiguration on Mt Tabor
• 37-42: A Boy is Healed
• 43-45: Jesus again Predicts His Death
• 46-48: Jesus answers "Who is the Greatest"
• 49-50: The Disciples and Serving Others
• 51-56: A Samaritan Village Rejects the Savior
• 57-62: The Cost of Discipleship

Sending Out the Twelve

04:15

¹ Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. ² He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ³ And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.

⁴ “Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. ⁵ And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”

⁶ So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

• The Lord sent the disciples who are now able to give to the people what they have received
• This missionary journey is recorded in Matthew 9 and Mark 6
  • St Matthew gives the reason and the detail of how the Lord prayed all night before sending them
  • ³⁶ But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were ^[j]weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. ³⁷ Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ³⁸ Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
• He gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases
  • Power to work miracles (e.g. cure diseases)
  • Authority by which the whole demonic system was to be subjected to them
  • The same principle is true today: when God calls someone, He equips them with the gifts that they need for ministry
  • God does not call the equipped, but He equips the called.
  • St Luke mentions both demons and diseases because the treatment of the two was not the same
    • Demons were to be cast out
    • Diseases to be healed
• The main mission was to preach the kingdom of God
  • Sometimes in our churches when we want to do missionary work, we feed the homeless, go to orphanages, visit the sick, etc. This is not missionary work... it's charitable work.
  • But missionary work is that while we do these charitable deeds, we preach the Kingdom of God
• The purpose of the authority over illness and demons is to CONFIRM their mission that they are sent by God
  • He did not send them only to present a message, but to do good to them with supernatural power
  • To heal the spiritual illness as well as the physical illness
  • The Wholistic Approach - dealing with the person as a whole
• The Lord will address their:
  • Material Needs
  • Social Relations
• Take nothing for the journey
  • He tells them to go as they are
  • The disciples were engaged in very holy work, so they could not give the impression that they have any other motive
  • God offered them the power and the authority and granted them the power of preaching and the power of healing before asking them to give up anything
  • He is asking them to rely on God and trust Him to take care of them
    • When they travel light, they are dependent on God
    • If the preacher, himself, does not trust God, how will he tell the people to trust God?
• Stay in the same house the whole time you are in a city
  • Don't be distracted in moving from place to place
  • We see this applied in Acts 16 when Paul and Silas stayed at the house of Lydia the whole time they were in Philippi
• Shake off the Dust
  • Their duty is to persuade the people with the message of the Gospel, but if the people of that city do not accept them, they should shake off the dust from their feet
  • There was a Jewish tradition that when they walked through a city of Gentiles, they would shake off the dust from their feet - a gesture that means "we don't want to take anything from this city of unbelievers"
  • This instruction means that any city that does not accept the message of the Gospel is as a city of unbelievers

Herod Seeks to See the Lord Jesus

17:21

⁷ Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, ⁸ and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. ⁹ Herod said, “John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?” So he sought to see Him.

• After Herod the Great (who ordered the slaughtering of the children of Bethlehem) died, Israel was divided into four areas
  • Herod Antipas (mentioned here) was the son of Herod the Great, and was ruler over Galilee
  • Herod Antipas is also the one who beheaded St John the Baptist
• Herod was not interested in the Lord Jesus in any sincere spiritual way, but interested in Him as a "celebrity"
  • He observed the popular thinking about who Jesus was (some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah or one of the prophets - v19)
  • We will see later that Herod simply wants to see Him so he can see a miracle
• John the Baptist's Beheading is in Matthew 14
• Who did people think Jesus was?
  • Some thought that Jesus was St John because they both preached a message of repentance
  • Some thought that Jesus was a famous miracle worker like Elijah as promised in Malachi 4:5-6
  • Some thought that Jesus was a prophet as Moses promised in Deuteronomy 18:15-19
• Herod was perplexed
  • All of these rumors about Jesus left Herod confused
  • He had a guilty conscience over the murder of John the Baptist
  • A guilty conscience brings confusion and perplexity because God is not the author of confusion
• St Luke notes this to emphasize and warn us about the increasing danger surrounding the work of the Lord Jesus
• St Luke records more than one reference to Herod
  • Chapter 9: Herod wants to see Jesus... maybe because of his guilty conscience or maybe he wanted to kill the Lord as he killed John
  • Chapter 13: People went to the Lord and said "Herod wants to kill you" and the Lord replied “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be ^[j]perfected.’"
  • Chapter 23: The Lord Jesus faces Herod on the morning of His crucifixion. Herod was glad because he wanted Him to do a miracle. The Lord did not answer him. Herod mocked Him, and accused Him and arrayed Him in a purple robe

Feeding the Five Thousand

25:18

¹⁰ And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. ¹¹ But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. ¹² When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.”

¹³ But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.”

And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ For there were about five thousand men.

Then He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.” ¹⁵ And they did so, and made them all sit down.

¹⁶ Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. ¹⁷ So they all ate and were ^[a]filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

• This is the Gospel of the 9th Hour of the Agpeya
• Disciples vs Apostles
  • In verse 1, St Luke calls them "Disciples" but in verse 10 "Apostles"
  • Before the mission, they were disciples - pupils, students, learners
  • After the mission, they are called apostles - "those sent with authority and a message"
  • (e.g. after pre-servants they are called 'servants')
  • The spirit of discipleship is important regardless of rank or order or service (i.e. deacon, servant, priest, bishop, pope)
• They gave a report of the responsibility they were entrusted with
  • "They told Him all that they had done"
  • As we have Servants reporting to the Coordinator, reporting to the clergy, reporting to the bishop, reporting to the Synod
• The Lord took them into a private place
  • The Lord took special care of those who served Him
  • Bethsaida is the city of Andrew, Peter, John and James - close to the Lake of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee)
  • That they might retire and be alone to get some rest and refreshment after their ministry, to have some private time with the Lord, to receive words of comfort and blessing, etc.
• The Lord served the crowd that followed Him
  • He received them
    • Without anger
    • Without making them feel guilty
    • Without rebuke
  • He spoke to them about the Kingdom of God
    • Spiritual Food
  • He healed those who had need of healing
    • Did good for them
• Send the multitude away
  • The disciples were simply considering the crowd (with women and children) and concerned that the people would get tired
  • To their surprise, the Lord answered them "you give them something to eat"
  • The Lord told them that it is not His will to dismiss the multitude - it was the Lord's will that the disciples supply their food
  • The Lord is challenging their faith and their compassion
• Make them sit down in groups of fifty
  • The Lord does the work in an organized way
  • The number that we have is accurate (5000) since they sat in groups of 50
• They all ate and were filled
  • The Lord Jesus took the little that they had and gave thanks to God for it
    • Sometimes when we have little, we don't see a reason to thank God
    • If we had a banquet and only five loaves and two fish, who would thank God?
  • In order to be successful, there is a human element and a divine element
    • Human element: What you need to do - What you CAN do
      Divine element: What God will do - What you CANNOT do
    • God will never do our part, or else He's encouraging and enabling laziness
    • Human: Offer 5 loaves and 2 fish
      Divine: Feed the multitude
    • Human: Move the stone of a tomb
      Divine: Raise Lazarus
    • Human: Cast the net
      Divine: Catch many fish
    • In service, do what you can and God will complete our deficiency and God will do what we cannot
  • Display of His authority over creation
    • He insisted on doing this miracle through the hands of His disciples
  • Collecting the leftovers
    • God is not for wasting resources or food
• The Purpose
  • The miracle was a reminder of what God provided in the Old Testament
  • The miracle was practically to feed the people there
  • The miracle was a show of His Divinity and His authority over Creation
  • The miracle was an indication that He is the Bread of Life
• Eucharist/Bread of Life
  • John 6 - St John connects this miracle with the Lord's teaching on the Eucharist
  • As Moses liberated the people from slavery in Egypt, Jesus is the new Moses who came to liberate us
  • As David started the Kingdom of Israel, Jesus is the new David who came to re-establish the Spiritual Kingdom of Israel
  • The Lord promises in John 6 that He will give His Body and Blood for the salvation of man
  • This miracle foreshadows the giving of the Eucharist by the Lord to all of us

St Peter Confesses the Lord Jesus as the Messiah

42:38

¹⁸ And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

¹⁹ So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.”

²⁰ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”

²¹ And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, ²² saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

• Many things happened after the Miracle of the 5000 (in Matthew and Mark), but St Luke ignores them and switches the time and place of the story
  • Jesus walking on the water
  • Many healings
  • The healing of the Syrophoenician woman
  • Feeding of the 4000
  • Rebuke of the Pharisee sand Sadducees who were seeking a sign
• Who do men say that I am?
  • Jesus was not ignorant of what people were saying, but He asked this to introduce a more important follow-up question: "Who do YOU say that I am"
  • Those who thought He was John did not know Jesus well
  • John and Elijah were courageous and standing up to rulers (Herod, Ahab)
    • The people hoped that the Messiah would be a political Messiah
    • The people saw from the Lord that He stood up to the Pharisees
• Who do you say that I am?
  • Peter's answer showed that he knew not from human being, but from God
  • "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17)
  • Most people did not know that He is the Christ
    • "He came to His own but His own did not receive Him"
    • "He was the light that shines in darkness but the darkness did not comprehend Him"
• Tell this to no one
  • The crowd could not understand that Jesus was the Messiah and the Messiah had to suffer
  • The disciples should learn this first - that the Messiah must suffer
  • His work was not yet finished - He had to finish His work before the Crucifixion
  • Their faith was still very weak and their knowledge very partial
• Jesus predicts His Death and Resurrection
  • From now on, He will teach clearly about what they should expect: Death and Resurrection
  • He is preparing their mind for the climax which is the Crucifixion and Resurrection
  • Before this moment, He is fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah concerning the Messiah: Healing the sick, casting out demons, giving hope to the oppressed and broken-hearted
  • From now on, until the end, He is fulfilling the other side of the prophecies of Isaiah about the Suffering Servant who will die for the sake of His people
  • The Son of Man MUST suffer, MUST be killed, MUST be raised

Take Up the Cross and Follow Me

52:27

²³ Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. ²⁵ For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? ²⁶ For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. ²⁷ But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”

• Three requirements
  • Deny himself
  • Take up his cross daily
  • Follow Him
• A true disciple of Christ should be willing to deny his selfish desires daily
  • To die to himself
  • To be ready to accept unto himself the same as the Lord
• In the Roman law, if someone was condemned to crucifixion, he had to carry his own cross up to the hill
  • The cross is an instrument of torture, death and humiliation
  • Anyone who takes up their cross doesn't come back... it's a one way journey
• The Promise from Christ is that if you take up your cross and follow Him, you will live eternally
• Whoever loses his life for the sake of Christ will live eternally in His heavenly kingdom; but whoever is concerned for his life, will lose his eternity
  • You will never live until you walk to your death with Christ... and only then will you have life
  • You cannot gain resurrection and life without dying first
  • This is a strong and sure promise of life after death
• Gaining the whole world, which is temporal, may lose everything in eternity
• Who is ashamed of Christ and His words?
  • Some out of fear of the Cross
  • Some out of social pressure
  • Some out of intellectual or cultural pride
• Not taste death until they see the kingdom of God
  • The Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost which some standing there would see
  • Jesus Reigns on the Cross - those who live to see these events, live to see the kingdom of God
  • St Ambrose: "Thus, if we wish not to fear death, let us stand where Christ is so that He may say of us, too, 'there are some standing here that shall not taste death.' It is not enough to stand unless the standing is where Christ is... for only those who can stand with Christ, will not taste death. It is therein lawful through the quality of the very word to ponder that those who are seen to have deserved the fellowship with Christ will not have, even, the perception of death."
    • If you stand with Christ in His Crucifixion and Sufferings, then you will be with Him in His glory