God is all powerful.  God is all knowing.  God is merciful.  Because of His power, God can act in ways that supersede the natural order of His creation.  Because of His knowledge, He knows exactly what His people need and when they need it.  And because of His mercy, He lovingly ministers to His children when they most need reassurance and support.

The stories recounted in the first 17 verses of Luke 9 show God acting in all three ways.  They show a combination of God’s power in acting beyond the normal bounds of nature, God’s knowledge in understanding what His followers need and how best to give it to them, and God’s mercy in preparing and reassuring His followers as they train – unknowingly – for their life’s work.

1-6
Jesus calls the twelve disciples together (meaning perhaps that when they’re in Capernaum they aren’t together all the time – some have homes in the area and presumably spend time there during breaks in ministry) and gives them power and authority over demons and the ability to heal diseases.  There’s no way to know how this works; presumably Jesus speaks and the power is theirs.  It must be a remarkable scene.  Hard to know if the disciples have any idea this is coming or if it’s as out of the blue as the text makes it sound.  They’ve all witnessed the miracles Jesus performs; now they’re invested with power to do much of the same.  The disciples likely walk away energized, humbled, and amazed.

Jesus tells them to go out and proclaim the kingdom of God.  This is the same mission Jesus has said is His own (and is a recurring theme of the book – 4:43, 8:1).  They are to proclaim that the Messiah has come, and God’s kingdom is realized on earth.  They are then to heal and cast out demons to give power to the message (just as Jesus does).  The miracles aren’t parlor tricks; they give credence to the message.

Jesus also tells them to take nothing with them on the journey.  They will be gone for some time, but they are not to prepare in any way.  No money, no extra clothes, no plans for lodging.  They are to depend wholly on the hospitality of those they minister to.  Whatever house they enter first, they’re to stay there as long as they’re in the town (meaning they aren’t to shop around for the best place to stay). Ultimately, they’re to depend on the faithfulness of God to provide for them.

Jesus’ last command to them is that if any town or house doesn’t accept them, they are to leave and shake the dust of the town off their sandals as they walk away.  This signifies the removal of blessing from that community.  Per Matthew 10:14-15, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah at judgment than for the town that rejects them (because Sodom and Gomorrah didn’t have the kingdom of God preached to them).

The disciples go out and do exactly what Jesus commissions them to do.  And the power Jesus gives them is real as they preach the gospel (good news that isn’t the same as what they’ll preach after Jesus rises from the dead), heal diseases, and cast out demons.  They also presumably have their needs met, just as Jesus said they would.

This story points to God’s mercy.  At the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus will give the disciples a great commission.  He will tell them to take the good news to all the world, and to do it even though He’s returning to the Father.  With that in mind, this mission acts as a rehearsal.  The disciples do what Jesus commands and experience what He tells them they’ll experience.  God arms them with power and provides for their needs.  They realize that though they go without Jesus, they don’t go alone.  Thus when He commissions them in the future and promises His Spirit will be with them, they’ll have actual experience to fall back on.  They won’t be as overwhelmed as they otherwise might because Jesus in His mercy prepares them with the mission here.  They’ll understand that though Jesus returns to the Father, they will go into the world with God’s presence, power, and provision.

One other element of this story shouldn’t be missed.  Note that He commissions TWELVE disciples.  That means that one of the men proclaiming the kingdom of God, healing diseases, and casting out demons is Judas Iscariot.  Think about that.  Judas goes from town to town and spreads the good news and performs miracles in the name and power of Jesus.  It really points to the truth of what Jesus said at the end of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 7:22-23), “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”  Not everyone who is a believer outwardly is a believer.  That Judas is able to participate in this mission should be a sobering reminder to all believers that we must examine ourselves and make sure our hearts and conduct match our profession.

7-9
This is a somewhat odd interlude at this point in the story (although Mark puts it in the same place in his gospel – Mk 6:7-16).  It seems like it would fit better after verse 18 of this chapter when the identity of Jesus is discussed. 

Herod (Herod Antipas – one of the sons of Herod the Great, who had all the children in Bethlehem murdered at the time of Jesus’ birth) hears about all that’s going on (no way to know if that includes the disciples traveling around preaching and healing) and wonders who Jesus is.  Reflecting a society that’s significantly more religious and mystical than our own, people around him suggest that maybe Jesus is John the Baptist come back to life (which is very interesting to Herod because he had John beheaded – it’s somewhat of a mystery why some would think Jesus is John since there’s no record of John performing miracles) or the second coming of Elijah (which Malachi seemingly prophesied – Mal 4:56), or perhaps one of the prophets of old who has risen from the dead.  These explanations all make Herod want to see Jesus.  He won’t have his wish granted until Jesus is on trial in Jerusalem.

10-17
When the disciples return and give Jesus a report of their successful mission, He takes them to Bethsaida (not far from Capernaum on the north side of the Sea of Galilee, but not actually in Galilee – this means it’s not under the rule of Antipas – it could be that Jesus does this intentionally after hearing that Antipas wants to meet Him) to rest and recuperate from the intense ministry.  He wants to get away from the crowds in Galilee and give all of them some time to recharge.  His plan doesn’t work, however, as a multitude of people find out where they’re going and actually beat them to the location (per Mk 6:33, the people run from all the cities so they can be waiting when Jesus arrives – Jesus and the disciples go by boat so we can imagine what the effect on the group is as they come to land and see the multitudes waiting for them). 

Though He wants to rest, Jesus welcomes the people, teaches them about the kingdom of God (just like what He told the disciples to do), and heals their diseases (per Mk 6:34, He has compassion for them because they’re like sheep without a shepherd).  This shows the heart of our Savior.  He plans to rest and wants to get away, but personal comfort never trumps the needs of people.  Relationship always comes before convenience (and for some of us, that’s a VERY hard lesson to learn).

As the day ends (which means that Jesus doesn’t try to get rid of them, He spends the WHOLE DAY with them), it occurs to the disciples and Jesus that no one has anything to eat.  Apparently the people came unprepared to stay as long as they have (which points to the attraction of Jesus – no one wants to leave).  They are in a desolate place (so presumably they are outside of Bethsaida rather than in the city) and there’s nowhere that could handle the large crowd of roughly 5000 men (which means the total number of people is significantly higher than that when including women and children).  The disciples come to Jesus and tell Him to send the people away to fend for themselves in the surrounding areas (thus showing that their compassion may be a little less than what Jesus has shown).

Jesus’ response to them is very interesting.  He simply tells them, “You give them something to eat!”  It’s an odd response since their reason for telling Him to send the people away is because there ISN’T any food to feed such a large crowd.  That said, however, the disciples give an intriguing response of their own.  They tell Jesus they DO have five loaves and two fish (that a boy brought with him – Jn 6:8-9).  That they tell Jesus about such a laughably small amount of food shows that they apparently have some faith that Jesus can do something with it.

Jesus tells the disciples to have the people sit in groups of fifty.  He takes the food, looks up to heaven, blesses the food, and then starts breaking it into pieces and handing the pieces to the disciples to hand out to the people (interesting to consider how long it takes for one man to hand out enough food to feed well over 5000 people).  The disciples distribute the food, and everyone eats until they’re satisfied.  The disciples then gather up the leftovers and there’s enough to fill twelve baskets (no word on where the baskets come from).

That there is food left over is important; it provides proof of the miracle.  There is more food left than they started with.  It is a tangible reminder of what just happened.  In case the disciples don’t fully grasp the miracle, the baskets of food show it was real (if the people had consumed all the food and there was nothing left, there would be no hard evidence to show what happened).  Jesus did not just provide enough food for everyone to get a taste; He provided so much that they had multiple baskets left over.  [It is uncertain if there is significance to the number of baskets.  Obviously it corresponds to the number of tribes of Israel and the number of apostles, but how it connects to those groups is not clear.]

Here again we see God’s mercy.  We certainly see it in how He meets the physical needs of the crowd.  But we also see it in how Jesus interacts with the disciples.  Remember what He told them: “You give them something to eat.”  Notice that when He breaks the food and miraculously multiplies it, He gives it to the disciples to distribute.  He essentially allows them to fulfill His command.  They do in fact give the crowd something to eat.  This too prepares them for ministry.  What will He ask them to do?  Spread the gospel to the world even though He’s physically leaving them.  How will they do it?  In the power He will provide.  This miracle shows them that He will enable them to fulfill His command.  The size and scope of the commission will be similar to being told to feed over 5000 people with fives loaves and two fish.  They will be eleven men (no Judas) against the world.  This miracle shows that God can do a LOT with limited resources.  They will go out in the power of the Spirit of Jesus, and that power will enable them to miraculously succeed.

God is not limited in what He does by the size of what we bring Him.  If our resources or abilities are small, He can still do great things with them and through us.  He takes a boy’s lunch and feeds thousands, so the lesson is to offer what we have without worrying about its size or brilliance.  God can use whatever we give in faith to further His kingdom in ways far greater than we can imagine.