§20 The Mission of the Twelve (Luke 9:1–9)
This section is made up of the sending of the Twelve (vv. 1–6) and Herod’s perplexity about Jesus’ identity and the meaning of his ministry (vv. 7–9). It is probably legitimate to combine these two parts (derived from Mark 6:7–29 and portions of the sayings source) since Luke may have intended Herod’s question to be viewed against Jesus’ Galilean ministry as it reaches its climax in the sending of his men to preach and to heal, the very things that Jesus has been doing since Luke 4.
Luke 9 is for the evangelist a transitional chapter. In it we see the Galilean phase of Jesus’ ministry draw to a close. We also see the inauguration of his Jerusalem ministry at his transfiguration, where the heavenly voice speaks again (9:35) as it had at his baptism (3:22). The journey to Jerusalem is finally launched in 9:51. Ellis (p. 131) has discerned in this chapter “alternating notes of exaltation (9:6, 17, 20, 32, 43) and rejection (9:9, 22, 44)” as Jesus begins the next major phase of his ministry.
Jesus has made his messiahship known in Galilee in Luke 4–8. Having been anointed by the Spirit (3:22; 4:1, 18), he has gone about in the “power of the Lord” (5:17), healing, exorcising, and forgiving sins. During this time his disciples have been in training. Now it is time for them to take a more active role in Jesus’ ministry, for the day will come when they will have to assume a much fuller responsibility.
9:1–6 / When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases. This authority should not be understood as extending to the forgiving of sins (as in 5:24). The disciples, sent out as apostles, were to heal and to exorcise as Jesus had done. Now they, too, were to preach the kingdom of God, as Jesus earlier had done (4:43). Jesus lays down the guidelines for their mission in vv. 3–4. They are to take nothing for the journey. It has been pointed out (see Fitzmyer, pp. 753–54; Ellis, p. 137) that the Essenes often traveled without any provisions in anticipation of being received by fellow believers as one of the family (see Josephus, War 2.124; and note below). So it is in the case of the Twelve; they are not to carry provisions, but are to enjoy the hospitality of those who are repentant and yearn for the kingdom of God. Where they are not welcome, however, the apostles are to leave and to shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against them. This warning would be understood as a statement of reciprocal rejection: the people who reject the apostles, the apostles will reject (see note below). Having received this commission they depart, traveling from village to village (in a sense retracing Jesus’ steps), preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.
This commission will be repeated at the beginning of the journey to Jerusalem in the form of the sending of the Seventy (10:1–12) and, of course, it anticipates the Great Commission (24:45–49; see also Acts 1:8).
9:7–9 / This episode has a different purpose for Luke than it has for Mark (6:14–16), where it describes the execution of John the Baptist (6:17–29). In Luke, John’s death is assumed but not described (v. 7). The emphasis, however, falls upon the question of who Jesus is, an aspect that is thematic throughout much of Luke 9, climaxing in the transfiguration scene (9:28–36). One point that is being made is that even Herod has heard about all that was going on. Jesus’ ministry has had such an impact in Galilee that the Galilean tetrarch has become perplexed, because no one around him apparently knew just what to make of Jesus. It was conjectured that Jesus might be a resurrected John or the awaited Elijah. Out of curiosity (or fear?) Herod wanted to see Jesus (perhaps to kill him, 13:31), which he eventually will be able to do (see 23:8).
9:3 / Although the parallel to the practice of the Essenes seems close enough, the following rule in the Mishnah, tractate Berakoth 9.5, is worth citing: “A man should not behave himself unseemly while opposite the Eastern Gate [of the temple] since it faces the Holy of Holies. He may not enter into the Temple Mount with his staff or his sandal or his wallet, or with dust on his feet …” (trans. from H. Danby, The Mishnah [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1933], p. 10).
no staff: The parallel passage in Mark 6:8 reads: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag …” (my emphasis). The staff is also forbidden in Matt. 10:10, a passage from the sayings source that Luke has used in composing his second commissioning in 10:1–12. In this passage Luke makes no reference to a staff (see 10:4). Marshall (p. 352) suggests that in Luke 9:3 the evangelist is influenced by the sayings source (where the staff is prohibited) and is not intending to correct Mark (where the staff is permitted). This is possible, but it scarcely removes the difficulty. The first suggestion of Norval Geldenhuys (The Gospel of Luke, NIC [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1951], p. 266, n. 8) that Mark’s “except” and Luke’s “no” may result from two Aramaic words that sound alike and possibly were confused (’ella and wella, respectively) is no real solution (though it might explain the difference between the traditions in Mark and the sayings source). Luke is not translating Aramaic or utilizing in this instance some unknown parallel Gospel tradition. He is making use of Mark and for some reason, perhaps for consistency, has excluded the staff along with the other items. Geldenhuys’s second suggestion that Mark and Luke should be read together (“take no staff, except one only”) is more a sign of desperation than a plausible solution. Fitzmyer (p. 754) suggests that the Lucan Jesus forbids the staff because it “suits the Lucan view of detachment from earthly possessions which is otherwise characteristic of his writings” (similarly Schweizer, p. 152). Perhaps.
9:5 / shake the dust off your feet: Ellis (p. 137) states: “Upon re-entering Palestine religious Jews would ‘shake off the dust’ of unclean Gentiles. Here it signifies an abandonment to judgment” (see Luke 10:11–12). In Acts 13:51 Paul and Barnabas shake the dust from their feet in protest against the Jews who persecuted them and drove them out of town. Tiede (p. 178) suggests that the gesture means no more than that the disciples have taken nothing from those whom they had visited.
9:7 / On Herod Antipas see note on 3:1 above. Luke correctly refers to him as tetrarch, whereas in Mark 6:14 he is called “king.” It was Herod’s ambition to be recognized as king that led to his exile in A.D. 39.
9:8 / On Elijah see note on 1:17 above.
one of the prophets of long ago: According to 2 Esdras the Lord promised: “I will send you help, my servants Isaiah and Jeremiah” (2:18, RSV). The passage goes on to describe the blessings of the end time, including the resurrection (vv. 19–32). See also 2 Macc. 2:4–7; 15:13–14; Matt. 16:14.