Luke 9:1-17
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 9
The Mission of the Twelve.[a] 1 (A)He summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal [the sick]. 3 He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey,[b] neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there.(B) 5 And as for those who do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake the dust from your feet[c] in testimony against them.”(C) 6 Then they set out and went from village to village proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.
Herod’s Opinion of Jesus.(D) 7 [d]Herod the tetrarch[e] heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying, “John has been raised from the dead”;(E) 8 others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”; still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.” 9 [f](F)But Herod said, “John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see him.
The Return of the Twelve and the Feeding of the Five Thousand.(G) 10 When the apostles returned, they explained to him what they had done. He took them and withdrew in private to a town called Bethsaida. 11 The crowds, meanwhile, learned of this and followed him. He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed to be cured. 12 As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve approached him and said, “Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.” 13 (H)He said to them, “Give them some food yourselves.” They replied, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.” 14 Now the men there numbered about five thousand. Then he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of [about] fifty.” 15 They did so and made them all sit down. 16 Then taking[g] the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.(I) 17 They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets.
Peter’s Confession About Jesus.[h]
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- 9:1–6 Armed with the power and authority that Jesus himself has been displaying in the previous episodes, the Twelve are now sent out to continue the work that Jesus has been performing throughout his Galilean ministry: (1) proclaiming the kingdom (Lk 4:43; 8:1); (2) exorcising demons (Lk 4:33–37, 41; 8:26–39) and (3) healing the sick (Lk 4:38–40; 5:12–16, 17–26; 6:6–10; 7:1–10, 17, 22; Lk 8:40–56).
- 9:3 Take nothing for the journey: the absolute detachment required of the disciple (Lk 14:33) leads to complete reliance on God (Lk 12:22–31).
- 9:5 Shake the dust from your feet: see note on Mt 10:14.
- 9:7–56 This section in which Luke gathers together incidents that focus on the identity of Jesus is introduced by a question that Herod is made to ask in this gospel: “Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”(Lk 9:9) In subsequent episodes, Luke reveals to the reader various answers to Herod’s question: Jesus is one in whom God’s power is present and who provides for the needs of God’s people (Lk 9:10–17); Peter declares Jesus to be “the Messiah of God” (Lk 9:18–21); Jesus says he is the suffering Son of Man (Lk 9:22, 43–45); Jesus is the Master to be followed, even to death (Lk 9:23–27); Jesus is God’s son, his Chosen One (Lk 9:28–36).
- 9:7 Herod the tetrarch: see note on Lk 3:1.
- 9:9 And he kept trying to see him: this indication of Herod’s interest in Jesus prepares for Lk 13:31–33 and for Lk 23:8–12 where Herod’s curiosity about Jesus’ power to perform miracles remains unsatisfied.
- 9:16 Then taking…: the actions of Jesus recall the institution of the Eucharist in Lk 22:19; see also note on Mt 14:19.
- 9:18–22 This incident is based on Mk 8:27–33, but Luke has eliminated Peter’s refusal to accept Jesus as suffering Son of Man (Mk 8:32) and the rebuke of Peter by Jesus (Mk 8:33). Elsewhere in the gospel, Luke softens the harsh portrait of Peter and the other apostles found in his Marcan source (cf. Lk 22:39–46, which similarly lacks a rebuke of Peter that occurs in the source, Mk 14:37–38).
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.