Bible Commentaries
Luke 9

Verses 10-17

The Miracle of the Loaves and the Fish (Matthew 14:13-21; see Matthew 15:32-38; Mark 6:35-44; Mark 8:1-9; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14)

At the news of the death of John the Baptist, Jesus withdrew for a time to a lonely place, on the other side of the lake. This territory offered greater security, since it was under the jurisdiction of the Tetrarch Philip. The Gospel writers point us to several such retreats of Jesus. He avoided open conflict until the hour appointed by the Father had come. Soon he will announce that this hour is near.

The crowds followed Jesus "on foot"; that is, they went around the lake to rejoin him. They listened to his teaching with such eagerness that evening came before any provision had been made for food. The disciples grew uneasy. Jesus replied to them: "You give them something to eat."

The story of the multiplication of the loaves is reproduced six times in the four Gospels. It had assumed, therefore, a particular importance in the Gospel tradition. What is its significance? This is the true question. For the raw fact, the "how" of this multiplication of bread, always escapes us, and we are obliged to receive the story just as the tradition has transmitted it to us.

The story underlines first the concern of Jesus for the bodily needs of men. Jesus is disturbed by the hunger of this crowd and commands his disciples to feed them. And this remains true for all times. The compassion of Jesus (vs. 14) includes the whole man. He had refused to perform a miracle of bread for himself (Matthew 4:3), but he remains all-powerful to feed the hungry whom God has put in his way, and he desires that the faith of his disciples should achieve the same result, no matter how meager their means! This message is very important in today’s world where the contrast is more acute than ever between "the haves" and "the have nots."

In the second place, this act points to scriptural precedents. Had not Moses, at God’s order, fed Israel in the wilderness? (Exodus 16). Had not Elisha fed a hundred men with "twenty loaves of barley" and a few ears of grain? (2 Kings 4:42-44). Here is One greater than Moses and Elisha.

The essential point of the story, however, is the Messianic meaning which it conveys. In New Testament times the coming Kingdom was described under the form of a banquet (Matthew 8:11). Prior to this, in the Old Israel the Covenant was sealed by a meal (see Genesis 14:18; Exodus 24:9-11). Jesus is shown opening the meal by giving thanks (vs. 19). This brotherly love feast anticipates the Lord’s Supper, and beyond that Supper the great gathering of the children of God at the banquet of the Kingdom. It is this meaning which John gives to this event (John 6).

Will not the permanent miracle of the Church, which is the fruit of prayer and of love, be the nourishing of the crowds with "five loaves and . . . two fish"? Will not the mystery of God in every age be the astonishing disproportion between our human means and the unlimited power of his grace?

Verses 18-21

THE WAY TO THE PASSION

Matthew 16:13 to Matthew 23:39

Who Is Jesus? (16:13-17:27)

The Confession of Peter (Matthew 16:13-20; Mark 8:27-30; Luke 9:18-21)

We come here to a crucial moment in the ministry of Jesus, when he confronts his disciples with the decisive question: "Who do you say that I am?" The importance of the conversation which is about to take place is underlined by the fact that Jesus takes the disciples outside Galilean territory, far from the crowds, far also from the control of the suspicious Herod, in the direction of Caesarea Philippi.

Jesus poses two distinct questions: "Who do men say . . .?" and "Who do you say . . .?" Matthew has indicated several times that the crowds were "astonished"; they "marveled" both at the teaching of Jesus and at his miracles. Everybody is asking who this man is, this one who calls himself "the Son of man." Some think that he is John the Baptist brought to life again (Matthew 14:1-2); others that he is Elijah-- Elijah in his day had done some great miracles and his return at the end of the age was expected (see Malachi 4:5); others that he is Jeremiah, doubtless because of the vigor with which Jeremiah had denounced the religion of his time. They discussed at length. Men have not ceased to discuss who Jesus is for twenty centuries, and the greater part of mankind remains just there. It is a long way from admiration to commitment.

The disciples have become involved. They have lived with their Master day after day; they have believed his promises; they have obeyed his call. They have been confronted with the mystery of his Person. God has revealed to them the hidden meaning of his words (Matthew 11:27; Matthew 13:11). And now, the hour is come when Jesus calls them to confess their faith: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

The terms which Matthew places in the mouth of Simon Peter are more explicit than those in Mark’s and Luke’s accounts (see Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20). But they have the same meaning, and they reflect an Old Testament mode of speech. God called his Anointed his "son" (see Psalms 2:2-7); God is frequently called "the living God." The high priest, in the trial of Jesus, used the same terms (Matthew 26:63). These are the standard Messianic expressions.

The declaration of Jesus which follows (vss. 17-19) is found only in the Gospel by Matthew, and people are sometimes astonished that Jesus could declare an apostle "blessed" to whom, a few moments later, he will say, "Get behind me, Satan!" They are also astonished at the unique role here given to Peter. No objections urged against this text seem convincing.

To recognize in Jesus no longer merely a prophet but the Son of God is given only to faith; and this faith can only be a gift of God. Has Jesus not said that "no one knows the Son except the Father"? (Matthew 11:27). Paul declares: "No one can say ’Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3). The entire Apostolic Church recognized that the divinity of Jesus Christ is a mystery of faith, inaccessible to human wisdom alone, which is otherwise called, according to a classic Hebrew expression, "flesh and blood" the natural man. When Simon confesses his faith, it is God himself speaking through his mouth. Great grace is given to him, and Jesus proclaims him "blessed." Jesus calls him by his Aramaic name, "Simon Bar-Jona" (son of Jona), and gives him a new name, "Peter" (or Cephas), which means rock (see 1 Corinthians 1:12; Galatians 2:9). The play on words in verse 18 indicates the Aramaic origin of the passage. The new name contains a promise. "Simon," the fluctuating, impulsive disciple, will, by the grace of God, be the "rock" on which God will build the new community.

Jesus knows Peter’s weakness but entrusts his brothers to him (see Luke 22:31-34). The testimony of the Acts shows that Peter is the recognized leader of the Apostolic Church, at least at its beginning (Acts 1:15; Acts 2:14; Acts 3:12; Acts 4:8; see 1 Corinthians 15:5; Galatians 1:18; Galatians 2:7). He is the first confessor of the faith which will later become the faith of the whole Church.

Here, for the first time, we meet with the term "church" on the lips of Jesus. It appears only twice in the entire Gospel by Matthew (Matthew 18:17), never in the others. Some have concluded that this word was added by the evangelist. But it is an idea which arises naturally out of the entire Gospel. Jesus has intended to gather around him the faithful "remnant" and to lay the foundations of a new community. The choice of the Twelve gives proof of this. The Greek term for "church" used by Matthew signifies "assembly" and was at that time employed in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to designate the assembly of believers. Jesus spoke Aramaic and it is impossible to know exactly what term he employed to designate the nascent community. At the time when the evangelist edited his Gospel, the current term to designate this community was "the church."

Jesus made the promise to his Church that "the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (vs, 18, margin). By Hades, Jewish tradition understood the abode of the dead conceived as a place closed forever for those who entered it. Jesus here proclaims his victory over death. The scribes were thought of as retaining "the keys" of the Kingdom of God, but they had shut off access to it for men (Matthew 23:13; Luke 11:52). Jesus opens it and gives to his Church the power to open it for those who will receive his word. This word has the power of "loosing" men from the bonds of sin and of death. But it is the condemnation of those who reject it

Jesus enjoins his disciples to tell no one that he is the Christ (vs. 20; see Mark 8:30). Here we are confronted with what has been called "the Messianic secret" The hour has not come to reveal his identity: on the one hand, because his ministry is not yet completed and the public confession of his Messiahship would lead to the sentence of death (Matthew 26:62-66); on the other hand, because his nature as "Messiah" can lead to grave misunderstandings. The rest of his conversation, with his disciples gives evidence of this.

Verses 22-27

The Announcement o Suffering

(Matthew 16:21-28; Mark 8:31 to Mark 9:1; Luke 9:22-27)

Jesus chooses this moment to speak to the disciples about the sufferings which await him. He tells them openly that the leaders of his people are going to put him to death. The disciples understand only that, and not the announcement of his resurrection which follows and they are indignant Certainly the hostility to which Jesus was exposed would give them a presentiment that he would, like the prophets, meet the fate of the prophets (see Luke 13:33). But how could the Messiah, the Son of God, be at the mercy of men? God, at the last moment, will manifest his power! Such is the meaning of Peter’s protest The idea of a suffering Messiah, of a Messiah put to death, is a scandal both for Peter’s heart and for his mind. No! God will not permit that! But Jesus recognizes, in the voice of this disciple and friend, the voice of the Tempter who earlier, in the wilderness, had attempted to divert him from naked obedience to the single will of God and to lure him into easier paths. Jesus’ reply is severe: "Get behind me, Satan!" Thus, the same man may be, in the interval of a few moments, the mouthpiece of God and the mouthpiece of Satan!

The force of this reply reveals the inner struggle Jesus is going through. Just because he is truly God and truly man, he measures, as no one else can, the horror of treachery, of abandonment, and of death. But he knows also that this death, beyond all secondary and human causes, is inscribed in the eternal plan of God: "he must . . . suffer." How hidden and mysterious are the thoughts of God! Are we astonished that Peter should be perplexed? Have we also not sometimes heard the reassuring voice of a friend who tries to divert us from a difficult duty: "Surely God does not demand that!" How we could wish that he were right!

The disciples’ lack of understanding makes the way of the Passion a strange, radically solitary way for Jesus. The disciples never cease to hope for a divine intervention. Jesus goes toward the Cross, they toward glory. In order that they might understand this mystery of the Servant crucified for the salvation of men, a new revelation of God will be necessary, even the Resurrection and the descent of the Holy Spirit But Jesus informs them now that this way of the Cross is not only his; it is also theirs (vss. 24-28). Men will reject them as they have rejected him. The words of verses 24-25 should be taken literally in the first instance: Jesus is preparing his Apostles for the possibility of martyrdom. They have a secondary meaning which is spiritual: to live life for God" it is necessary to consent to the death of the self.

The natural man within us loves himself. He has a thirst for being loved, for being esteemed by man, for playing a part, for success. The life which Jesus proposes for us is a life given up, whose center and motive force are no longer our ego and its ambitions, but God and his will for the salvation of all men. It is a new mode of existence, it is true life. Everything else passes away and is only vanity. "For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?"

Under a familiar paradoxical form to save one’s life is to lose it, to lose one’s life is to save it Jesus confronts all those who desire to follow him with the final question, the question of the meaning of their existence: For whom, for what, do you live? This saying must have left a deep mark on the first disciples, for it is cited several times (see Matthew 10:38-39, and parallels).

To those who will follow him on the way of sacrifice, Jesus opens the prospect of an eternity of glory (vs. 27). The Cross is not God’s last w T ord. The Son of Man will return, and then he will be resplendent with all the glory of the Father. He will come "with his angels" as King and as Judge.

Verse 28 may be understood to refer to a coming in the near future. Did Jesus believe his return to be imminent? This saying and some other words which we have seen earlier (Matthew 10:23) seem to indicate that he did. But he is very guarded about specifying times and seasons (Matthew 24:36). It is not the time of his return that is important but the assurance of this last accomplishment. The Son of Man, the crucified, is the one to whom God has entrusted the judgment of the world, and those who have confessed him and followed him in his humiliation will know him in all the brightness of his glory.

Verses 28-36

The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36)

The Transfiguration scene is like an announcement or foreshadowing of the future glory just mentioned. Jesus takes the three disciples who were closest to him "up a high mountain apart." He appears to them resplendent with light as he will one day appear as the glorified Son of Man. What does the presence of Moses and Elijah signify? We have seen earlier that Jesus is considered in the Gospel as a new Moses; he is also the prophet of the New Age proclaiming the charter of the Kingdom of God. Moses had announced Jesus 5 coming (Deuteronomy 18:15-19; see John 5:45-46; Luke 24:27). Elijah is the forerunner who is to prepare for the coming of the Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6) . These two great figures by their presence confirm the Messianic mission of Jesus and the indissoluble bond which binds the New Covenant to the Old, the fulfilment to the promise. The Mount of the Transfiguration corresponds to Mount Sinai It is there that God descends and reveals himself.

Peter, completely perplexed by this vision, would like to prolong it But the hours spent on the mount remain here below as exceptional hours. It is necessary to redescend into the battle of life. A luminous cloud covered the appearances as it had covered Moses earlier at Sinai (Exodus 24:15). A voice rang out, as it had rung out at the hour of the Baptism (Matthew 3:17); for it is toward a new baptism, this time of blood, that Jesus advances in the obedience of faith (see Luke 12:49-50). The Father a second time acknowledges as his own this Son who has chosen the way of humiliation, the way of the Cross. It is in this unlimited self-giving that the Son reveals the Father, and the voice of the Father confirms this act of giving and hallows it.

The disciples, we are told, fall on their faces to the ground. The approach of God is always experienced in the Bible as something very majestic, very terrible. The fear which God’s presence brings to birth is none other than the dread of a sinful man before the Holy God (see, for example, Isaiah 6:1-5; Luke 5:8-10; Revelation 1:17). And the response is also the same: "Fear not"; "Have no fear." To him who knows and acknowledges himself to be unworthy God always shows his merciful face. The vision disappears, and Jesus alone is there, just as the Apostles have seen him and known him all along.

Once more Jesus enjoins silence; the revelation which has just been given to fortify their faith must not be communicated until later. The disciples immediately inquire about the coming of Elijah. Jesus reveals to them that "Elijah has already come"; but men have not recognized him and they "did to him whatever they pleased" It will be the same with the Son of Man. Men will do to him whatever they please. But without knowing it they will accomplish the purpose of One greater than they. For the purpose of God is achieved by and in spite of men.

Verses 37-42

The Healing of the Epileptic Boy

(Matthew 17:14-23; Mark 9:14-29; Luke 9:37-42)

In this incident the Apostles fall from the loftiest summits to the hard realities of daily life. Is it not often so with us? A man throws himself at Jesus’ feet and implores his help for his son. His disciples have not been able to cure him! Jesus has a singularly severe word which applies both to his disciples and to ourselves. He accuses his contemporaries of being a "faithless and perverse generation." He does not hide the fact that he has difficulty in enduring them. The impotence of the disciples shows how little is their faith! What is faith, for Jesus? It is not a simple creedal belief ; it is the assurance that everything is possible to God, the assurance that he gives what he promises and what he ordains. Faith is a power which "moves mountains" To remove mountains is to know that there is no burden so heavy that God cannot help us to carry it, no problem so insoluble that he cannot resolve it If Jesus accused his first disciples of unbelief, what does he think of us today? What patience must he have to continue to tolerate us?

The following saying (vss. 22-23) is a further reference to Jesus’ approaching sufferings and the Resurrection which will follow them. But the disciples do not seem to grasp the announcement of the Resurrection; they only lay hold of the approaching departure of their Master and they are sad.