Luke 9:1-17

9:1When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 He told them: "Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5 If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them." 6 So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, 8 others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. 9 But Herod said, "I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?" And he tried to see him.
10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.
12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here."
13 He replied, "You give them something to eat."
They answered, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd." 14 (About five thousand men were there.)
But he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each." 15 The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. 16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. 17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Points of Interest:

• ‘he gave them power and authority’—Jesus makes the Twelve into his deputies. He passes along to them his own mission, and the power and authority he uses to accomplish it.

• ‘Take nothing for the journey’—they have Jesus’ power, authority, and message; and that’s absolutely all they have. This reminds me of the verse Jesus quotes to the devil during the temptation: ‘people do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord’ (Deuteronomy 8: 3). In the Deuteronomy passage, Moses is describing God’s miraculous provision of food and clothing to the Israelites when they were in the desert. Jesus is asking his disciples to trust that they too will be supernaturally sustained.

• ‘shake the dust off your feet’—as they say in the TV crime scene dramas, they’re removing all trace evidence that they were ever even in the town: ‘Magdala? No, I’ve never been there; I’ve never even heard of it. Go ahead, check my shoes.’ By shaking the dust off their feet, they’re making clear that they and this town have nothing to do with one another.
The Twelve are basically filling the role of John. They’re going ahead of Jesus to announce his coming, giving people the chance to prepare to welcome him. If a town doesn’t welcome the disciples, they also won’t be ready to receive Jesus.

• ‘I beheaded John’—John has been executed since we last saw him. For some reason, Luke decides not to tell us the story of his death, as his source Mark does (Mark 6:14-29). To my knowledge, it’s pretty rare that Luke gives us fewer details than Mark. My current favorite theory is that Luke decides to leave out the details of John’s death so that our last picture of him is when he is hearing the evidence that the Lord has come; like Simeon, he can then die in peace.

• ‘he tried to see him’—is Herod intrigued, or does he just want to make sure that John is indeed dead? It’s hard to know.

• ‘they withdrew by themselves’—I think this is the first time Jesus has been alone with the Twelve since he chose them. I get the impression that they’re going away for some R&R after their preaching tours. I’m sure Jesus wants to hear how the trips went, and they could probably all use some rest.

• ‘He welcomed them’—the getaway doesn’t last long. Somehow, the crowds find out where they are and follow them. These people are very good soil. They hear the apostles’ message about Jesus’ kingdom, and they immediately set out to find this kingdom. Just as he promised in the story about the soils, Jesus gives them more words: ‘Those who have will be given more’ (Luke 8:18).

• ‘Send the crowd away’—meanwhile, the Twelve treat the crowd like unwelcome guests. They take a very conspicuous glance at their watches and say, ‘Well, it’s getting to be about dinner time. I guess this means you’ll have to be moving along.’ As we’ve already seen in the stories of Levi and of the woman who anoints Jesus’ feet, hospitality is a very important feature of the culture of Jesus’ day. In fact, hospitality remains a hallmark of Middle Eastern culture to this day. Last time I went to Lebanon, when they discovered we were in a hotel, complete strangers felt compelled to offer us their homes; and they could only be mollified by throwing us a lavish feast and plying us with gifts. By these standards, in trying to send the crowds away with empty stomachs, the Twelve are woefully inadequate hosts.

• ‘You give them something to eat’—even though there are at least 5,000 people, Jesus insists that the Twelve show proper hospitality. While the disciples are getting the crowd’s coats and showing them to the door, Jesus says, ‘Why don’t you just have dinner with us? I’m sure there will be plenty.’

• ‘he gave them to the disciples to set before the people’—Jesus asks them to do the impossible, but he also supernaturally provides them with the ability to do it.

• ‘all ate and were satisfied’—earlier, Jesus said, ‘Blessed are you who hunger now,/for you will be satisfied’ (Luke 6:21). These crowds are hungry, both spiritually and physically. Jesus sees that they are satisfied on both counts.

• ‘the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls’—they give away everything they have, but they end up with more than they started with. There’s a full basket for each one of them. This isn’t just about the crowds being cared for. It’s also the best way for the disciples themselves to find what they need:
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Luke 6:38).
If it’s true that the more you give the more you get, feeding 5000 people is an excellent way to a life full of good things.

Taking it home:

• For you and your family: The disciples are tired, and the needs of the crowd are overwhelming. They just want to send the crowd away so that they can rest, but God asks them to care for the crowd instead. Caring for others can be disruptive, inconvenient, and overwhelming; but Jesus promises that we can never out-give God. When we give to others, God gives even more to us. Pray that God would give you what you need to go beyond your limits in caring for others—whether what you need is more compassion, more faith, or just the actual things you need to care for them well. Remind God that as you step out to care for others, you’re hoping that he will care for you, and look for him to provide for you in surprising ways.

• For your friends: Ask God to fill a practical need for your friends in an unexpected way some time in the next week.

• For our city: Jesus comes where he is welcome. On behalf of our city, tell Jesus that he is welcome here, and invite him to come with more of his kingdom, more of his good news, and more of his healing.