CHAPTER 9

1 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.
3 And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.
4 And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.
5 And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
6 And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.

There is a much lengthier discussion concerning these verses in Matthew, chapter 10 (See Matthew 10), and when you have looked there, just clik the "back" button on your browser to come back to this page).

These disciples were sent. The Greek word for "sent" is apostello (ap-os-tel'-lo). And from that word comes the word used in our New Testament, apostles. These men were commissioned for the purpose of preaching the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Along with their commissioning, they were given special powers, "power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease," (Matthew 10:1)

The commissioning included powers; but it also included stipulative action. They were to carry NO MONEY (vs 8 above). They were to LIVE by the GOSPEL! Those who received Christ through their preaching would PROVIDE for them!

From experience, I can share with you that those who receive Christ, are VERY HAPPY with the joy and wonder of salvation. And they are very willing to "communicate" spiritual and physical blessings upon those from whom they heard the Gospel (See Galatians 6:6).

Though our commissioning today may not include the power to cast out demons and bring healing, we still have a COMMISSION to share the Gospel (See Matthew 28:18-20). And that commission still includes making it the PRIMARY concern of our lives.

Christians are not commissioned to sit, they are commissioned to be sent!

7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead;
8 And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.
9 And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.

Herod was ruler over Galilee. He had beheaded John the Baptist. John had preached against Herod's unlawful marriage to his brother's wife, Herodias.

When Herod heard of Jesus' preaching, he was afraid John the Baptist had risen from the dead! Though he was king, and knew the truth John preached, he refused to live accordingly. His conscience ate at him everyday! Some people told him that they thought Elijah had appeared to rebuke him.

Here, we are told that Herod "desired to see" Jesus.
We are not told why.
Later, Herod would have an opportunity to see Jesus when Pilate sent Jesus to him. (See Luke 23:7).
From the description of Herod's action in Luke 23, we realize that Herod probably only wanted to see Jesus so he could do Him harm!

There are many people today who "believeth unto righteousness," but never make a "confession with the mouth" and commit to Christ! (See Romans 10:9-10). They hear, but refuse to commit. Thus their guilty consciences eat at them, and they seek relief in various ways: alcohol, drugs, sexual immorality, self-actualization, etc. They could have genuine relief if they would just repent and surrender to Jesus!

10 And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.
11 And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.

Now, Jesus' apostles (those commissioned to be sent) returned from their journey. They began to tell Jesus all the wonderful things they had seen God do as they obeyed His commissioning.

The multitudes continually gathering around Jesus presented a hindrance to His listening to and teaching these apostles. So Jesus requested that they draw apart, and in a "desert place" find quietness where He could minister to them.

Sometimes, it is necessary for us to draw apart and be alone with the Lord. We need to get alone with Jesus and study the Scripture to discern what He would have us do.

That's basically what I'm doing now. I sit with a computer Bible open on one page, and a notepad open on another page. As I read and study, I write down what I've learned.

Sometimes though, during study, the phone rings. And the "multitude" distracts, as in the following case. It's best then to make the distraction a meaningful experience by ministering to others in the manner which Christ Himself would do.

That's what Jesus does next.

12 And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place.
13 But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat.

Now, I'm doing something that I seldom do - splitting a verse. You'll note that verse 13 above is not complete. We'll get to the last part of that verse shortly.

The disciples noted that they day was almost spent, and recommended that Jesus send the crowd away so they would have time to find something to eat.

But Jesus astonished the disciples by saying, "Give YE them to eat!"

Are there times in your life when your desire to be with Jesus keeps you from actually keeps you from eating?
Are there times in your life when you are so busy ministering to others that you fail to eat properly?
Are there times in your life when others are so hungry for the Gospel, they fail to eat properly?

Be sure, that at those times, Jesus stands strongly to His responsibility as God.
He will see to your needs!
And, sometimes, it is WE who are to help others take proper nourishment!

13 (Continued) And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people.
14 For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.
15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.
16 Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.
17 And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets.

This miracle of feeding the 5,000 is recorded in ALL FOUR Gospels (Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:11-17, John 6:1-13, and here in Matthew 14:14-20).

In John 6:4 we are told,just prior to the recording of this miracle, that "passover ... was nigh."
This means that thousands of people had come to celebrate Passover, and many of them were following Jesus.

It was too late for the crowd to go to town and purchase food. Jesus told the disciples to feed the multitude. They complained that they had only found 5 biscuits and 2 small fish.

What is ENOUGH? Do you have ENOUGH? With Jesus ANYTHING is ENOUGH! Jesus told the disciples to bring the biscuits and fish to Him. He prayed God's blessings upon the food, and then gave it back to the disciples. When the disciples began passing it out to the multitude, it was MORE THAN ENOUGH!

About 5,000 MEN ate, PLUS women and children!!

And yet, they had LEFTOVERS (see verse 20)!!

What a miracle God we have!!

Several times I have organized a mission trip solely on what I felt was God's command. It seemed I NEVER had enough funds! But I would ask for God's blessings upon His own instructions, and ENOUGH would come!

Remember, when God instructs you to do something, and you think you don't have ENOUGH; just ask Him to BLESS it!!

18 And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?
19 They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.
20 He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.
21 And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing;
22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

It is difficult to fathom, but there were reincarnationists even in that day! Perhaps their belief came from misinterpreting the Scripture in Malachi 4:5-6. But Jesus had already spoken about this. He had said that the prophecy of Malachi 4:5-6 was fulfilled when John the Baptist came in the spirit of likeness to Elijah (See Matthew 17:12-13, and Mark 9:12-13).

The Bible does NOT speak of reincarnation in any form! It DOES speak of regeneration! (See 2Corinthians 5:17).

There's quite a difference in who the world says Jesus is and who disciples say He is! The world calls Him "Teacher," "Prophet," "Priest," "King," and many other names. But disciples (believers) know that He is Creator, Sustainer, Master, Eternal Judge, Redeemer, Savior and "the Son of the Living God." One might interpret that last phrase as "the One and Only physical image of the invisible God." I believe that's what Peter meant.

Whom do YOU say Jesus is?

Is He your Creator; do you own Him as the One Who gave you physical life? Is he your Sustainer; do you realize that He is the One Who provides you the way to live, and keeps you breathing? Is He your Master; are you obedient to His definition of living life? Is He your Eternal Judge; do you realize that one day you'll stand before Him to answer for all that you are and have done? Is He your Redeemer, and Savior; do you realize that your judgment will be "ACQUITTED" because He has paid the ransom for your sin, and opened the way of eternal life to you? If you do, then you know He is "the Son of the Living God!" He is your only link to the Eternal Holy and Righteous God!

You KNOW Him, not because people have told you; but because God's Holy Spirit has REVEALED the truth to you about Jesus!

After the revelation that Peter offered, that Jesus is "THE Christ", Jesus began to share with the disciples that He would suffer and die. He also told them that He would be raised from the dead on "the third day."

23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.
27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.

There is no substitution for the fact that surrender to Christ as LORD is the basis for salvation! I've preached it for 27 years, and I'll continue to preach it as long as God gives me breath: "WITHOUT surrender there is no salvation!"

The WHOLE WORLD is not worthy of Christ's love! To gain the world and all of its riches, fame and glory, without Christ is LOSS!

But to gain CHRIST even with suffering and persecution is to gain MORE than the world!

In order for salvation to be offered, Christ died to become what man NEEDED!
In order for salvation to take place in us, WE must die to self and become what God WANTS!

Paul stated it best:
20 I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Gal 2:20-21)

Have YOU "died" to self in order to become what God wants?

At first reading, verse 27 seems to imply that Jesus would return before the apostles died.
And, of course, He DID return visibly to them after His resurrection.

But perhaps a better explanation of this verse is that soon, some of those apostles saw Jesus transfigured on the mountain.
Luke tells us about that time in the next verses.

28 And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.
29 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.
30 And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:
31 Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
32 But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.
33 And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.
34 While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.
35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
36 And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.

Jesus took Peter, James and John to a "high mountain." It was after they genuinely comprehended Him as Messiah that Jesus revealed Himself in holy form before them.

He was "transfigured." The Greek word is metamorphoo, from which we get our word "metamorphosis," and means to change from the inside out. More beautiful than any butterfly, Jesus emitted holy beauty from the cocoon of flesh. This is the manner in which we shall see Him when He returns.

And this is the manner in which we shall BE when He returns! With Christ, that holy beauty has always been. With the believer, it is a gradual change and will be complete when we "see" Him. (See 2Corinthians 3:18 and 2Corinthians 5:17).

Moses and Elijah appeared, and were talking with Jesus. How did the disciples know Moses and Elijah? When we see Jesus as He is, we will recognize all of His people!

There is a special representation here. Moses represents saints who have died and will be resurrected at Jesus' 2nd Advent. Elijah represents those who will be living at Jesus' 2nd Advent and translated at His appearing. And the disciples represent the church who is living on earth to do God's will at the present time.

Peter was overjoyed! He had experienced a "peek" at heaven! He wanted to build three small "tabernacles" (a sort of brush harbor?), and just stay there and worship.

But God's voice came through the clouds and stated the purpose for the disciples. They were to HEAR Jesus! That meant they were to be attentive to Jesus' statements and follow His direction.

37 And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him.
38 And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child.
39 And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.
40 And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.
41 And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.
42 And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
43 And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples,
44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.

When Jesus, Peter, James and John returned to the other disciples, there was a great crowd around them. They had obviously trying to cast a demon out of a young boy and were not successful. Probably the scribes were belittling them, and using the occasion to demean Jesus.

The Greek word from which "question" (verse 16) is translated is suzeteo. It not only means question, but also infers debating, arguing. Note that the scribes would not answer Jesus!

But the father of the child spoke up telling Jesus the dispute was because he had brought his son, and the disciples couldn't cast out the demon.

The Greek word from which "faithless" is translated is apistos. It means unbelieving, or slow to believe. Jesus obviously used it in reference to the scribes who did not believe He was the Messiah. Jesus also properly applied it to the disciples because they were slow to believe that Jesus had given them power to cast out such a demon.

Earlier, Jesus had commanded that the disciples go out two-by-two (See Matthew 10:5-8, and Mark 6:7-11). One of the things they were to do was "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." (Matthew 10:8). Yet, they, because of their slowness to believe, were unable to cast out the demon in this young boy.

Another reason for Jesus using the word "faithless" was because of the scribes (and perhaps others) that refused to believe. They had seen Jesus perform things that only GOD could do, but still did not believe.

Jesus healed the boy and returned him to his father.

Then, Jesus turned to His disciples (verse 43), and plainly told them He would be "delivered into the hands of men" (verse 44). The disciples didn't understand that, and wouldn't ask Jesus about it (verse 45).

Why didn't they understand what Jesus said?
They did not yet comprehend Jesus as the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53.
They were still "faithless" in that they were SLOW to believe!
AND, they were still selfish, as is shown in the next verses.

46 Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.
47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him,
48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.

The disciples were more concerned with the future placement of themselves than with the present need of servantship!

Jesus placed a little child from the crowd beside Him, and taught a valuable lesson.
The child represented innocent love which believes.
A child's innocent love is exhibited in serving.

With this lesson, Jesus taught that the greatest in heaven will be
the believing servant.

49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.
50 And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.

Jesus had used the terms "against" in correlation with "for" before (See Matthew 12:30).

This draws a "line in the sand," so to speak. If a person believes Jesus and is acting for Him, then that person is exhibiting faith.
If a person says they believe, and are not acting for Christ, then that person is faithless (See the discussion above on verses 37-45).

Salvation is equated with active exhibiting of faith!
The person who truly believes will not be inactive for Christ very long!
The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave resides in, and propels, Christians to will and to do God's pleasure in them and through them. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

51 And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
52 And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

The term "received up" most likely refers to the culmination of the entire ministry of Jesus. Jesus chose the way of the cross in order to pay our sin debt, and offer an acceptable sacrifice for us. Then, Jesus was resurrected, and spent some forty days continuing to minister to the apostles. And, THEN, Jesus was "received up" in the shekina glory cloud of God.

This incident, concerning the village of the Samaritans, would later serve to remind the disciples that true believers choose dying to self and living for Christ. We are not given the privilege of condemning those who do not make the same choice. We are to speak out against evil itself, but our fight is not with men (See Ephesians 6:12).

The "manner of spirit" we are is all about getting the good news of Jesus out to the world.
This was the "manner of spirit" for our Lord.
And, for those born by His Spirit, it is the same for us.
"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

This incident also serves to remind us that living for Christ is a constant work.

The first man (vs 57) received a notice from the Lord. Jesus let him know that following Christ was not easy.

The second man was called, but thought there were more important things in life.
Our service to Christ must take FIRST priority in our lives.

The third man also thought there were more important things to do first.
To him, Jesus imparted the truth of surrender. Once having begun, we cannot stop until He calls us HOME!

In light of the Scriptures above, I hope that you see two things about salvation:
First, it comes ONLY by surrender to Jesus as Lord;
Second, salvation means an active and vibrant lifestyle of servitude to Christ.

PLEASE CONTINUE WITH US IN BIBLE STUDY TOMORROW.