#1376 Luke 9 Part 1 To Dust

 

And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  Luke 9: 1-6 ESV

Luke 9: 1-9

Mark then picks up the chronology. Mark says that Jesus then returned to Nazareth, that knowing the Galilean ministry was coming to an end very soon Jesus wanted to make one more visit to His hometown. He wanted to go back to that place where He was a prophet without honor. He wanted to go back to that same place, His own hometown to the same synagogue where He had first gone to preach. And in response, you remember, the people tried to throw Him off a cliff and kill Him because they so hated His message. He wanted to go back to Nazareth. And by the way, that was the synagogue where He was raised; the synagogue attended by His family, the synagogue attended by His relatives, by His friends, by His neighbors His whole life. He went back then one more time to Nazareth. And Mark chapter 6, the opening six verses, tell us He had the exact same reception this time that He had the first time. Mark 6:6 says, "They took offense at Him." Nobody ever denied His miracles. They didn't deny His power over demons, disease, death, His power over nature. Nobody ever denied that supernatural power. But what they hated about Him, in spite of the proof that He was Messiah, was His message about their spiritual condition. They hated the diagnosis that they were spiritually bankrupt, that they were spiritual prisoners; that they were spiritually under guilt and shame, oppressed by the weight and the burden of that guilt. They hated the message that they were blind to spiritual reality. They hated His diagnosis that they were sinful and separated from God and it was for that diagnosis, in spite of His miracles, in spite of the proof that He was Messiah, that they were offended at Him. And so He went back one more time, Mark says, and they treated Him exactly the same way. - J Mac

One other important note; and I think this is fascinating. When the Lord chose them, He chose twelve of them. And I'm inquisitive and so I asked the question, why? Why not twenty-four, eighteen, six, seven, three? Why twelve?

And the answer is, in the choosing of twelve there was a link to the twelve tribes of Israel. Israel is constituted of twelve tribes, twelve tribes. And when the Lord picked twelve apostles — this is amazing — this was essentially a judgment on Israel, solidifying, hardening unbelief and rejection of their Messiah. These twelve, in a sense, constituted the new spiritual heads of the tribes of Israel. They were symbolic heads of the tribes of Israel. That's why you don't find one rabbi among the twelve. You don't find one scribe. You don't find a priest. You don't find a Pharisee. You don't find a Sadducee, you just find these hoi-polloi, these ordinary guys. It is a judgment on the apostasy of Israel that the Lord couldn't find one person in the religious establishment to pick as an apostle. The choosing of the twelve ordinary men then becomes a judgment on apostate Israel. It is an open renunciation of all the religious men and the structures in which they existed, which was utterly corrupt. The religious leaders of Judaism constituted the core of those who were apostate. They were the core of those who hated Jesus, who hated the gospel, who hated to be indicted for their sin and who sought and achieved His death. - J Mac

And He called the twelve together - John Macarthur was writing the book twelve ordinary men at the time he gave his sermons on this chapter, and it is full of wonderful insights, things we often take for granted. There was a religious structure in Israel in that day. There were priests, Pharisees, Sadducees and they had their scribes, who were supposed to be the men of renown as pertained to Theology, but Jesus picks twelve ordinary men, not royal, not academics, very ordinary. The twelve are made unordinary by Christ. They are separate even from the 70 disciples as we see at the fall of Judas, this is a position that must be replaced, and is with Matthias. Those that try to lay claim to apostleship today are just like the apostates that Jesus battled back then. You aren't apostles, quit pretending, quit leading people astray.

12Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” 13When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in response.… Acts 4: 12-14

12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers and sisters, the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”

18 (With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. 19 Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

20 “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:

“‘May his place be deserted;

let there be no one to dwell in it,’

and,

“‘May another take his place of leadership.’

21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles. Acts 1: 12-26

He gave them power and authority -  He needs to cover a lot of area in a short time, and He is pressed by the crowds, so now He takes some of the signets of His ministry, the power over sickness and demons, and he gives this to His disciples to carry on with His preaching. It is important to see that they were His disciples (learners), and they had been with Him for 18 months now at Jesus Seminary, listening to Him preach and then having Him explain. Now remember the parable of the lamp, well now it is their turn to take what they have learned, the light of the truth that Jesus has given them and to go spread this gospel. 

The Kingdom of God - One must understand that there are several phases to the Kingdom of God. The first phase is the invisible, internal Kingdom of God and which He later described as "in your midst” (Lk 17:21+), the Kingdom in which the King reigns in the heart of the person who has accepted Jesus as Messiah, Lord and Savior of their soul. (See Detailed notes on site related to the Kingdom of God) To proclaim the Kingdom of God is to preach the Gospel, to proclaim the good news of salvation, explaining how one can enter the Kingdom of God. When the King returns on "the day that the Son of Man is revealed," (Lk 17:30+) the heart of every person will also be revealed as to whether they sought the kingdom of "self" or the kingdom of the Savior! The future phase of the Kingdom of God is known as the Messianic Age or the Millennial Kingdom.(See more detailed explanation of Jesus' meaning of the Kingdom of God in notes on Luke 17:20-21). Jesus knew the Jews were looking for the future aspect of the Kingdom of God, but His preaching and that of His disciples was to explain how one could enter the invisible aspect of the Kingdom of God in the present and in that way they would be assured of experiencing the visible Kingdom of God in the future. - Precept Austin

Take nothing for your journey - They are to go completely dependent upon the Holy Spirit. Notice, it says, "nor bag", and this must have been a difficult thing for Judas, how would he take up a collection? Matthew's gospel even includes "freely give" since they had also freely received. Their ability to heal was not their own, just as our talents and positions; so don't be confused by such, it belongs to God.

…8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. 9Do not carry any gold or silver or copper in your belts. 10Take no bag for the road, or second tunic, or sandals, or staff; for the worker is worthy of his provisions.… Matthew 10: 8-10

When you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them - It was interesting in Precept Austin's notes, a comment on the Mormons from Wikipedia. I have had Jehovah's Witnesses, a cult that also doesn't recognize the deity of Christ and has extrabiblical "prophecies", do the same when they left my house. 

And as for those who do not receive (dechomai) you - Mark 6:11+ adds "or listen to you" that is, listen to the Gospel and obey the Gospel. Receive (dechomai) figuratively pictures putting out the welcome mat for you! These inhospitable Hebrews slammed the door in their face (so to speak)! There were two choices - either they receive or they reject the good news of Jesus. Rejection of the Gospel of Jesus is to be expected for in the Parable of the Soils Jesus taught that only one heart "soil" (Lk 8:15+) was good and honest and would hear the Gospel "seed" and "hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance." Jesus also taught that most people will chose the broad road to destruction commanding all men to "Enter (aorist imperative - COMMAND - ONLY WAY ANY SOUL WILL ENTER THE NARROW GATE IS BY THE HEARING THE GOSPEL AND THE SPIRIT EFFICIENTLY WORKING IN THEIR HEART) through the narrow gate; for (A FRIGHTENING TERM OF EXPLANATION) the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many (cf "many" in Mt 7:22+) who enter through it. For the gate (THE GOSPEL OF JESUS) is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Mt 7:13-14+)

Shake the dust off (apotinasso) your feet as a testimony (marturion/martyrion) against them - The act of shaking is "personified" as a witness of the person's contempt and rejection of the Gospel! (See note below) It is like saying "You have had an opportunity to hear the Gospel of salvation, but you have rejected it and you will receive a just retribution for your rejection, a retribution proportional to the light you received." (Mt 11:21,23+) Wikipedia has an interesting note about how Mormons frequently invoked this practice of shaking off dust in the past, which is truly ironic for they are the very ones who have rejected the true Gospel of Jesus Christ! - Precept Austin