Luke 9

Jesus sends out the Twelve with His own power, feeds five thousand, and draws out Peter’s confession that He is the Christ. He then reveals that the Christ must suffer, and that following Him means taking up a cross. The chapter moves from the mountain of glory to the road toward Jerusalem, where every would-be follower is tested.

Luke 9:1-2

Jesus shares His own work with the Twelve. He gives them power and authority over demons and disease, and sends them to preach God’s kingdom and to heal. Their words and their deeds go together, and both point to the King.

BSA: authority (“the right to act”): They do not act on their own strength but on a right given to them by Jesus.

Greek: ἐξουσίαν (exousian, G1849) — “authority, delegated right.” The word means a right that someone else grants. The disciples carry the authority of Jesus, not a power of their own.

Luke 9:3-5

They travel light, so they must depend on God and on the hospitality of others. They stay in one house rather than hunting for a better one. Shaking the dust off their feet is a solemn sign that a town has rejected the message.

BSA: testimony (“witness, evidence”): The gesture stands as evidence that the message was offered and refused.

See also: Luke 10:4-11.

Luke 9:6

The Twelve do exactly as they were told. They go from village to village, announcing the good news and healing. Notice that the message and the mercy travel together, and that the work reaches everywhere they go.

BSA: gospel (“good news, message of salvation”): What they carry is glad news for people, not a burden.

Luke 9:7-9

Herod the tetrarch rules part of the land. He is troubled because he had John beheaded, and he cannot explain Jesus. People guess John risen, Elijah, or an old prophet. His curiosity wants to see Jesus, but it does not turn into faith.

BSA: perplexed (“completely baffled”): Herod is left at a total loss, unable to fit Jesus into any category he knows.

See also: Luke 23:8.

Luke 9:10

The apostles come back and report. Jesus knows they need rest, so He takes them aside to a quiet place near Bethsaida. Even in busy ministry He leads His workers to step away with Him.

Luke 9:11

The crowds interrupt the retreat, yet Jesus does not send them away. He welcomes them, teaches them about the kingdom, and heals those in need. His heart is open to people even when His plans are disturbed.

BSA: welcomed (“received, accepted”): He receives the crowds warmly instead of treating them as an interruption.

Luke 9:12-13

The disciples see a problem and want the crowd sent away. Jesus gives it back to them: ‘You give them something to eat.’ They see only five loaves and two fish. Jesus often begins with what we do not have enough of.

BSA: desolate (“deserted”): The empty, lonely setting makes plain that only God can supply this need.

See also: 2 Kings 4:42-44.

Luke 9:14-15

About five thousand men were there, besides women and children in other accounts. Jesus has them sit in orderly groups of fifty. The people obey, and everything is calm, as if a banquet were being prepared in the wilderness.

BSA: groups (“companies”): They are arranged like orderly companies, so each person can be served.

Luke 9:16-17

Jesus looks to heaven, gives thanks, breaks the bread, and hands it to the disciples to pass out. Everyone eats until satisfied, and twelve baskets are left over. He gives through His disciples, and there is more than enough.

BSA: blessing (“praising and thanking God”): He receives the small supply as a gift from the Father and gives thanks before anything multiplies. satisfied (“to feed or fill with food”): They were truly filled, not just given a taste.

See also: John 6:11-13.

Luke 9:18-19

After praying alone, Jesus asks who the crowds think He is. The disciples report the popular guesses: John, Elijah, or another prophet. People honored Him, but they placed Him in a category too small.

See also: Luke 9:7-8.

Luke 9:20

Then the question turns personal: ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answers, ‘The Christ of God.’ Christ means the Anointed One, the long-promised King sent by God. Everyone must answer this question for himself.

BSA: Christ (“the anointed One, Messiah”): Peter confesses that Jesus is the promised King sent by God.

Greek: Χριστός (Christos, G5547) — “Anointed One.” It is the Greek form of the Hebrew word Messiah. It names the one anointed by God to rescue and rule His people.

See also: Matthew 16:16.

Luke 9:21-22

Jesus tells them to keep this quiet for now, since people expected a conquering king. He then reveals the true path: suffering, rejection by Israel’s leaders, death, and rising on the third day. ‘Must’ shows that this is part of God’s plan.

BSA: rejected (“disapproved, repudiated”): The leaders will examine Him and then throw Him out as unfit.

See also: Isaiah 53:3; Mark 8:31.

Luke 9:23

The way of the Master is the way of His followers. To deny oneself means to say no to self as the center of life. To take up the cross daily means a continual surrender, not a single moment.

BSA: deny (“utterly refuse, disown”): Following Jesus means refusing to let self-interest be in charge. daily (“every day, continually”): The cross is carried each day, not just once.

See also: Galatians 2:20.

Luke 9:24-25

A life clutched for self ends in loss, but a life given away for Christ is kept. Gaining the whole world is worthless if a person loses himself in the process. The soul is worth more than anything this world offers.

BSA: life (“soul, the essence of a person”): What is at stake is the whole person, not just physical breath.

See also: Matthew 16:25-26; John 12:25.

Luke 9:26

Being ashamed of Jesus and His words is a serious matter. He will one day come in glory with the Father and the angels. Those who owned Him before others will be owned by Him then.

BSA: ashamed (“feeling regret or embarrassment”): It describes the pull to hide our loyalty to Jesus when it costs us respect.

See also: Romans 1:16.

Luke 9:27

Jesus promises that some standing there will see the kingdom of God before they die. Many Christians understand this as pointing to the glory shown on the mountain, which follows right away. Others also see the kingdom’s later display. In any case, it is an assurance that the kingdom is real.

BSA: taste (“experience, partake of”): To taste death is to actually go through it.

Luke 9:28-29

About a week later, Jesus takes Peter, John and James up a mountain to pray. While He prays, His face changes and His clothes shine brilliant white. In prayer, the disciples glimpse who He truly is.

BSA: changed (“became altered, transformed”): His outward appearance is altered to show His inner glory. radiantly (“dazzlingly, flashing forth”): His clothing shines like lightning.

Greek: ἑτέρον (heteron, G2087) — “different.” Luke says His face became ‘other’ than before. The glory was not added from outside but shown from within.

See also: Matthew 17:1-2.

Luke 9:30-31

Moses, who gave the Law, and Elijah, the great prophet, speak with Jesus. Their topic is His ‘departure,’ which He is about to fulfill at Jerusalem. The Law and the Prophets point to the cross.

BSA: departure (“death, exit”): His death is described as a going out, like a new exodus.

Greek: ἔξοδον (exodon, G1841) — “departure, exit.” It is the word behind ’exodus.’ Jesus’ death and rising are pictured as the great rescue that frees His people, as Moses once led Israel out of Egypt.

See also: Exodus 14:30; Luke 24:27.

Luke 9:32

The three disciples are heavy with sleep, but they wake to see Jesus’ glory and the two men with Him. The glory is real and not a dream. They saw it with open eyes.

BSA: glory (“honor, praise, magnificent splendor”): They see the radiant majesty that belongs to Jesus.

See also: 2 Peter 1:16-18.

Luke 9:33

Peter wants to hold on to the moment and build three shelters. He means well, but he puts Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elijah. Luke notes that he did not know what he was saying.

BSA: shelters (“tabernacles, tents”): The word recalls the tent where God met Israel in the wilderness.

Luke 9:34-35

A cloud, the sign of God’s presence, covers them, and the Father speaks: ‘This is My Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to Him!’ Moses and Elijah point to Jesus, but only Jesus is to be heard and obeyed.

BSA: Listen (“hear, obey”): The command is not merely to hear sound but to listen and obey. cloud (“divine presence”): Throughout Scripture the cloud marks God drawing near.

See also: Exodus 40:34; Deuteronomy 18:15.

Luke 9:36

When the voice stops, Jesus is left alone. The moment of glory is over, and the Son is enough by Himself. The disciples keep quiet about it for the time being.

BSA: present (“found, discovered”): When the vision lifts, Jesus alone remains.

Luke 9:37-40

At the foot of the mountain, a father begs for his only son, who is tormented by a violent spirit. The disciples have already tried and failed. Glory on the mountain meets human suffering in the valley.

BSA: only (“unique, one-of-a-kind”): The boy is the father’s one child, which makes his plea more desperate. unable (“powerless, lacking the capability”): The disciples showed they had no strength of their own.

Luke 9:41-42

Jesus laments the lack of faith around Him, then tells the father to bring the boy. As the demon throws the boy down, Jesus rebukes the spirit, heals the boy, and gives him back to his father. His power is complete, and so is His tenderness.

BSA: rebuked (“warned, admonished”): He commands the spirit with authority and it must obey.

Greek: ἐπετίμησεν (epetimēsen, G2008) — “rebuked, gave a firm command.” It is a strong word of command. Jesus does not bargain with evil; He orders it out.

Luke 9:43-45

The crowd marvels at God’s greatness, but Jesus turns to the coming cross. He says He will be handed over to men. The disciples cannot grasp it, and they are afraid to ask. Even good followers can resist hearing what they do not want to hear.

BSA: veiled (“hidden, concealed”): The meaning was kept from them for the time, until after the resurrection.

See also: Luke 18:31-34.

Luke 9:46-48

The disciples argue over who is greatest. Jesus knows their thoughts and places a child beside Him. Welcoming the small and lowly is welcoming Him, and through Him the Father. In His kingdom, greatness is found in humble service.

BSA: welcomes (“receives with open arms, gives a hearty reception to”): True welcome is warm and open, even to those with no status. least (“humble, small, insignificant”): The one who takes the lowest place is counted highest by God.

See also: Mark 9:35.

Luke 9:49-50

John is bothered that someone outside their group is casting out demons in Jesus’ name, and they tried to stop him. Jesus tells them not to. Those who are not against them are for them. The kingdom is bigger than any one group.

BSA: stop (“forbid, hinder”): Jesus does not want His followers hindering good work done in His name.

Luke 9:51

Jesus fixes His face toward Jerusalem, knowing what waits there: the cross, the resurrection, and His being taken up to heaven. From here to the end of the book, the road leads to the city. He walks it willingly.

BSA: resolutely (“fixed his face, journeyed”): The picture is of a man setting his face like flint, determined not to turn aside.

See also: Isaiah 50:7.

Luke 9:52-53

Jesus sends messengers ahead into a Samaritan village. The people refuse Him because He is heading for Jerusalem. Jews and Samaritans had a long history of hostility, and they worshiped in different places.

BSA: refused (“would not, did not want to”): They did not receive Him, and the reason was religious and ethnic rivalry.

See also: John 4:9.

Luke 9:54-56

James and John want to call down fire, as Elijah once did. Jesus turns and rebukes them. He came to save, not to destroy. He simply moves on to another village. The patience of Jesus corrects their zeal.

BSA: rebuked (“strongly, sharply”): His correction is firm because their spirit was far from His.

See also: 2 Kings 1:10; Luke 19:10.

Luke 9:57-58

One man promises to follow Jesus anywhere. Jesus tells him honestly what that means. Foxes and birds have homes, but the Son of Man has no place of His own. Following Him means giving up comfort and security.

BSA: wherever (“to whatever place, in every circumstance”): A promise to follow anywhere must face what ‘anywhere’ costs.

Luke 9:59-60

Jesus calls another man, who asks to bury his father first. Jesus answers sharply that the kingdom’s call comes before everything else. The ‘dead’ who bury the dead are those without spiritual life. The call to proclaim the kingdom cannot wait.

BSA: dead (“those without spiritual life, physically or spiritually lifeless”): Jesus uses the word in two senses to show that life in the kingdom comes first.

Luke 9:61-62

A third man wants to say goodbye to his family first. Jesus uses a picture from farming: a plowman who looks back cannot plow a straight line. Following Jesus needs a whole heart that looks forward and does not keep one eye on the old life.

BSA: fit (“suitable, worthy”): It speaks of being usable for the kingdom’s work, not of earning salvation.

See also: 1 Kings 19:19-21; Philippians 3:13-14.