Bible Commentaries
Luke 9

Verses 1-62

IX 1-50 Stages in the Formation of the Apostles — Passing over Mk’s account of the visit of Jesus to Nazareth, having dealt with that in 4: 16 ff., Lk continues to follow the general lines of Mk’s narrative while omitting numerous incidents. The omissions are dictated partly by the fact that he has in mind to include a large section, 9:51-18-30, not found in Mk and Mt, although parts of it are scattered through Mt. He therefore omits incidents which are more or less duplications of things already described, e.g. the walking on the sea, the second feeding of the multitude; he passes over the dispute with the Pharisees about purification and the incident of the Canaanite woman’s daughter, the former as of no interest to the Gentile reader, the latter because of the apparently hard words spoken by Jesus regarding nonJews. The mission of the Apostles is followed by the report of what Herod thinks about Jesus, which prepares for the question of what the Apostles themselves think. This leads to Peter’s confession, whereupon the Twelve are taken aside for further instruction of a more advanced character. They have reached the stage where they are strong enough to hear the prediction of the Passion, which is to be drilled into them henceforth. The Galilean ministry in Lk, which had opened with the declaration from heaven at the Baptism, closes with the same declaration at the Transfiguration.

1-6 Mission of the Apostles —(Matthew 10:1, Matthew 10:9-11, Matthew 10:14; Mark 6:7-13). Here Lk follows Mk pretty closely, but substitutes that the Apostles went out ’announcing the good tidings ’for Mk’s’ they preached that men should do penance’.

7-9 Herod’s Perplexity —(Matthew 14:1-2; Mark 6:14-16). The indication given in 6 is sufficient to explain the stir that would naturally be caused through Galilee and disturb Herod, whose perplexity would be better accounted for if Lk had not omitted Mk’s story of John’s execution. 9b, proper to Lk, prepares us for another special incident added by him in the Passion narrative concerning Herod’s interview with Jesus, 23:7-12.

10-17 Feeding of the Multitude —(Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44). There is little change from Mk here (except of a literary character) beyond the introduction of the miracle in 10b-11, where the mention of Bethsaida indicates a special source; Lk is often careless of topography, and even here he does not tell us how the scene changes from Bethsaida to the desert place of 12.

18-27 Confession of Peter —(Matthew 16:13-28; Mark 8:2739). Lk neglects the mention of Caesarea Philippi; the incident might have taken place near Bethsaida according to the information he gives us. But he adds to Mk and Mt by saying that Jesus was occupied with prayer. Thenceforward he follows Mk save for a change in the words of the confession and his characteristic omission of the reprimand of Peter, Matthew 16:22-23; Mark 8:32-33. Arising from prayer Jesus questions the disciples about the opinion of the crowd (in Mk and Mt ’men’) concerning him. The answers recall exactly the opinions already given in 8, where it will be noted that nobody had suggested that he was the Messias; therefore the confession of Peter, in the name of the rest, stands out all the more significantly. Lk’s record of the confession is more complete than Mk’s, less than Mt’s; but it is consistent with what has gone before; cf. 2:11, 26, also Acts 10:38. It adds nothing in reality to Mk’s simple formula; and in view of what Lk has told us regarding the origin and person of our Lord, nothing can be concluded, from his omission of Mt’s words’ the Son of the living God’, adverse to his teaching on the divinity of Christ. In any case, we have said that it seems certain Lk bases himself on Mk’s narrative rather than upon Mt’s in his account of the Galilean ministry. 21-23. Here Lk, like Mk and Mt, shows our Lord imposing silence on the disciples about what is called the Messianic Secret. The reason for this is plain: as Jesus has already said 7:22-23, he wishes people to judge of him and his mission from the character of his works and not to be led astray by their preconceptions. Moreover he has to guard himself against the misplaced enthusiasm of the crowd (cf.John 6:14-15), based as it is upon false conceptions of the true role of God’s Messias, conceptions which seem to persist in his own disciples right up to the end; cf. 24:19 ff.; Acts 1:6; Mark 10:35 ff. (not in Lk). His own disciples are the first to be taught that the Messias is to complete his destined work in a shocking manner, described by the repeated predictions of the Passion, the first of which appears in 22. Those who have been associated with him in this work must be conformed to the example of their Master in this respect. The prediction of 22 is sufficient to indicate what sort of death he must die, for if the Elders, the High-priests and the Scribes (representing the three sections of the Sanhedrin) are to reject Jesus, that means execution by the only power that has authority to put to death, i.e. the Roman governor. All doubt is removed by the words of 23, where Lk adds that the disciple must bear his cross ’daily.’ This verse must be read with the fact in mind (it was surely in the minds of the disciples) that only twenty years before 2,000 Jews had been crucified under the legate Varus for rebellion ( Jos., Ant. 17, 10, 10). The penalty of crucifixion had become very common in the provinces of the empire after the death of Julius Caesar, and was common in Judaea under every procurator.

27. Lk concludes with the mysterious promise (in Mk and Mt with remarkable differences) which is interpreted by some of the Fathers as referring to the Transfiguration; others see in it a reference to the fall of Jerusalem, the signal for the complete release of the Church from the shackles of Judaism and the consequent extension of the Kingdom of God in the Gentile world.

28-36 The Transfiguration —(Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8). As Lagrange says, it is impossible to read the Gospel without seeing the relation of this scene to the parallel scene in Gethsemani: ’they stand in opposition to one another like strophe and antistrophe, but the Transfiguration serves as a sure pledge of Christ’s future glory, while Gethsemani shows him to us in the lowest depths of human abasement’. The incident must be joined with the prediction of the Passion; these predictions always end (except in Luke 9:44b) with a promise of resurrection, and it is the glory of the risen Christ that is foreshadowed in the Transfiguration. The chief additions in Lk are characteristic: our Lord is again at prayer while the events begin to happen (cf. 3:21); his Passion is the subject of his conversation with Moses and Elias, who like Jesus (32) appear in glory; the disciples are heavy with sleep as at Gethsemani; it is only when Moses and Elias are on the point of departure that Peter breaks in with his suggestion.

28. Lk is less definite than Mk and Mt about the time, but such is his manner.

30-33. Here, contrary to his usual custom when parallel with Mk, he is much more detailed; Lk evidently attaches much importance to the incident. ’ They spoke of his decease’, ???d?? Vg excessus. The Gk word is used for death in 2 Peter 1:15; Wis 3:2, 7:6. There is little doubt about its meaning here, and the importance of the incident in Lk’s eyes may be gathered from its relation to 24:25-27, 44-47. Moses and Elias, who as Tertullian says certainly stand for the Law and the Prophets, appear ’in glory’, ?? d??? (cf. 2:9), i.e. dwelling with God. They confirm the prediction of the Passion just made by Jesus, thus declaring that such is the design of God. In transfiguratione illud principaliter agebatur ut de cordibus discipulorum scandalum crucis tolleretur (St Leo the Great). 33. Lk’s remark that Peter speaks only when he sees Moses and Elias departing justifies the translation, ’Master, it is a good thing that we are here’, which is grammatically correct: a good thing, because he and his companions can build some sort of shelter against the sun (s???? ’tent’ or ’booth’) for Jesus and his visitors from heaven. He wishes to detain them. What do they want shelters for? Surely because Peter is under the impression that, supported by such undeniable witnesses as Moses and Elias, Jesus is about to inaugurate his Messianic manifestation to the world (cf.20). The lesson of 22-27 has not yet gone home, as subsequent events will prove. Lk adds, with Mk, that Peter does not know what he is talking about.

34. The cloud comes as if in answer to Peter’s words, here as elsewhere signifying the divine presence; he had suggested making shelters and the divine cloud covers them. God now enters on the scene and speaks as he spoke with Moses on Sinai about the Law, of which Christ is the end; Galatians 3:24; cf.Exo_19.9:9 ff. 35. MS authority is divided between ’beloved’ (only) ??ap?t?? and ’elect’ e??e?e?µ???? The former looks like a borrowing from Mk and Mt or from 3:22. ’Elect’ is a traditional Jewish Messianic title; cf. 23:35 and Isaiah 42:1. The relation between the Transfiguration and the Confession of Peter is emphasized here by the similar command of silence (implied in Lk, explicitly stated in Mk and Mt) with which they both conclude.

37-50 Further Instruction of the Apostles —(Matthew 17:14-23; Matthew 18:1-5; Mark 9:14-41). The recent events inspire the questions of the disciples now recorded by Mk and Mt but omitted by Lk, who proceeds immediately with the story of the epileptic boy which Mk describes in very great detail to the disadvantage of the Apostles. Lk characteristically passes over what seems to discredit the Apostles and makes the addition that the boy is an only son; a similar addition in the case of Jairus’s daughter. But he does not fail to include the somewhat surprising outburst of our Lord in 41, ’O faithless and twisted generation, how long . . . . To whom is the reproach addressed? To all. To the disciples who have been attempting the cure during the absence of Jesus with Peter, James and John, but have failed through lack of faith and due means (Mark 9:28-29 omitted by Lk); to the father whose faith is so imperfect (Mark 9:22-23 omitted by Lk); and to the Scribes who have been attacking the disciples as Mk alone shows, 9:14. Lk’s abbreviations necessarily obscure the meaning at times. 43b is very Lucan; cf. 7:15. Similarly 44, ’all were astonished at the greatness of God’.

44b-45 Second Prediction of the Passion —(Matthew 17:21-22; Mark 9:30-31). Lk makes our Lord take occasion from the recent astonishment and admiration to renew his warning about the future, introducing it with the emphatic ’Lay up in your ears [not hearts] these words’; here, but not in Mk and Mt, the warning is the more serious from the omission of all reference to the Resurrection. Lk is very emphatic about the way the disciples are at a loss.

46-48 Dispute about Precedence —(Matthew 18:1-5; Mark 9:33-7). Though Lk, like Mk, omits to record the estowal of the primacy on Peter at his confession, it is tempting to think that this dispute had its occasion there. ’In a few words Jesus teaches them what are the conditions necessary for spiritual power. He who has the right to command must exercise that right only in the general interest; he is the servant of all’ (Lagrange). Lk adds that the really great man is he who makes himself less than others.

49-50 The Unknown Exorcist —(Mark 9:37-41). The instructions conclude as in Mk (not in Mt) with a word about the attitude to be adopted towards those who believe in Jesus but are outside the circle of his chosen disciples. The man in question seems to have been successful in his use of Jesus’ name; hence he must have been a true follower. Lk abbreviates again. So ends the Galilean ministry in

IX 51-XVIII 30 Insistent Preaching of Salvation on the Way to Jerusalem —Here begins a very distinctive part of Lk, mostly proper to the third Gospel and comprising about one-third of the total. Unjustifiably it has been called the Peraean Ministry, for only some of its incidents take place east of the Jordan; other have called it the Samaritan Ministry because of the special reference it makes to the people of that district. Perhaps its best name is the Journey Narrative, though it appears to deal with more than one journey; but we have seen that Lk has special sources, and certainly Jn knows of several journeys to Jerusalem. But it can be said that Lk is here concerned principally with the rogress of Jesus to Jerusalem for the purpose of fulfilling the divine decree of the Passion which he has begun to announce; cf. 9:51; 13:22; 17:11; 18:31. It is the final events at Jerusalem that Lk has in view all the time, and this it is which gives unity to the section. It is largely composed of discourses, containing thirteen parables proper to Lk. Scattered here and there are some of the logia or sayings contained in the Sermon of Mt chh 5-7. Characteristic of this part, and somewhat of a change from the preceding, is the severity of our Lord’s language on occasion; cf. 9:57-62; 11:42-52; 12:20, 56; 13:5, 26-35; 14:26-35. It may be an indication of his source that Lk here shows very little care for topography; the Apostles are named but once, even Peter, James and John rarely appearing. Finally this section contains some of the finest examples of Lk’s writing, e.g. 15:1-32.

IX 51-X 24 Proclamation of the Kingdom of God — The opening verse sets the tone for the whole section. ’Assumption’; the same word (in its verbal form) is used in Acts 1:2 and Mark 16:19 for the Ascension and in the LXX for the taking up to heaven of Henoch and Elias.

52 recalls Malachi 3:1 with its reference to Elias and John the Baptist (cf.Malachi 4:5 and Luke 1:17; Luke 7:27); in Samaria Jesus and his disciples are in a locality which speaks of Elias. Hence the suggestion of James and John, 54, is a remembrance of 4 Kg 1:10 ff. Note the introduction of ’the disciples James and John’ as though they had not yet appeared in Lk. There is very strong MS authority against the inclusion of 55b-56a.57-62. cf.Matthew 8:19-22. What is said of Jesus in 51 is demanded of all would-be disciples. He ’fixed his face to go towards Jerusalem’ in spite of those who tried to persuade him to the contrary; cf.Mark 8:31 ff.; 10:32-4; John 11:7-8. So too those who wish to follow him must tread down all obstacles. There is no room for the flabby-minded in the Kingdom of God. ’Let the dead bury their dead’; a hard saying, suggesting to the mind of some commentators that those not preoccupied with the Kingdom of God are spiritually dead; cf.John 5:21-29; John 11:25. But it may be no more than an enigmatic way of saying that Jesus demands disciples who are ready to renounce home and family ties for the Gospel. This was addressed to a man already called. Such is the meaning of 62: it is impossible to plough a straight furrow unless the eyes are fixed steadfastly on the mark set up by the ploughman. ’Fit’ i.e. ’well-placed’ and suitable for the work that has to be done.