He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey—no staffs, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money. Don’t have two coats each. Into whatever house you enter, stay there, and depart from there. As many as don’t receive you, when you depart from that city, shake off even the dust from your feet for a testimony against them.”
They departed and went throughout the villages, preaching the Good News and healing everywhere. Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him; and he was very perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. Herod said, “I beheaded John, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” He sought to see him. The apostles, when they had returned, told him what things they had done. He took them and withdrew apart to a desert region of a city called Bethsaida.
But the multitudes, perceiving it, followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them of God’s Kingdom, and he cured those who needed healing. The day began to wear away; and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and farms, and lodge, and get food, for we are here in a deserted place.”
But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we should go and buy food for all these people.”
For they were about five thousand men. He said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”
They did so, and made them all sit down. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to the sky, he blessed them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. They ate and were all filled. They gathered up twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv4, 7, 10, 13, 16 When you depart out of any city, depart from…
When you depart out of any city, depart from thence where you first took up your lodging: so that in few words, the Lord forbiddeth them to change their lodgings: for this publishing of the Gospel, was as it were a thorough passage, that none of Judea might pretend ignorance, as though he had not heard that Christ was come.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 3 And he said unto them, Take nothing for…
3 And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.
Ver. 3. Take nothing for your journey] But preach the gospel, and depend upon divine providence. Look you to your work, and God will take care for your wages. This the disciples might do, but this was no warrant to those maleferiati among us, who (if fame belie them not) pretending to an immediate call from God to go and preach the gospel in Galilee, sold their estates, set forward for that place, taking neither scrip nor scrap with them; resolving to trust God for their necessary sustentation. Is not this the efficacy of error? Are not these a diabolo dementatis, besotted by the devil?
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv7, 10, 12 This Herod was Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee,…
This Herod was Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, who had beheaded John the Baptist; he heareth of these great things done by Christ, and διηπορει, saith the evangelist; it is a word that signifieth a great disturbance, and perplexity of mind, when a man is in doubt and fear, and knoweth not what counsels to take or follow: it is used Luk 24:4; Act 2:12; 5:24; 10:17. The other evangelists say Herod himself guessed it was John the Baptist, whom he had beheaded. Oh the power of a guilty conscience! He had murdered John, now he is afraid his ghost haunted him, or that his soul was entered into another body, that it might be revenged on him. Others guessed variously. Herod knoweth not what to think, but desireth to see Christ, possibly that he might make up some judgment about him, possibly out of mere curiosity. But we read not that he did see him until Pilate sent him to him after his examination of him, Luk 23:8.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv7, 10, 12 The history of the holy Baptist’s beheading by Herod,…
The history of the holy Baptist’s beheading by Herod, is briefly here hinted at, by St. Luke, but not so largely set forth by him as we find it by St. Matthew, Mat 14:10 and St. Mark Mar 6:27. See the notes there. That which St. Luke takes particular notice of is, that great perplexity of mind which Herod’s guilty conscience did occasion; he had murdered John, and now is afraid his Ghost haunted him; Herod was perplexed.
Learn hence, that guilt is naturally troublesome and uneasy: it disturbs the peace and serenity of the mind, and fills the soul with storms and thunder. Guilt is always full of fear; every thing affrights the guilty. A bad man is a terror to himself, and needs no farther disquietment than what his own guilty conscience does occasion him.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v10 We have here, I. The account which the twelve…
We have here, I. The account which the twelve gave their Master of the success of their ministry. They were not long out; but, when they returned, they told him all that they had done, as became servants who were sent on an errand. They told him what they had done, that, if they had done any thing amiss, they might mend it next time.
II. Their retirement, for a little breathing: He took them, and went aside privately into a desert place, that they might have some relaxation from business and not be always upon the stretch. Note, He that hath appointed our man-servant and maid-servant to rest would have his servants to rest too. Those in the most public stations, and that are most publicly useful, must sometimes go aside privately, both for the repose of their bodies, to recruit them, and for the furnishing of their minds by meditation for further public work.
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III. The resort of the people to him, and the kind reception he gave them. They followed him, though it was into a desert place; for that is no desert where Christ is. And, though they hereby disturbed the repose he designed here for himself and his disciples, yet he welcomed them, Luk 9:11. Note, Pious zeal may excuse a little rudeness; it did with Christ, and should with us. Though they came unseasonably, yet Christ gave them what they came for. 1. He spoke unto them of the kingdom of God, the laws of that kingdom with which they must be bound, and the privileges of that kingdom with which they might be blessed. 2. He healed them that had need of healing, and, in a sense of their need, made their application to him. Though the disease was ever so inveterate, and incurable by the physicians, though the patients were ever so poor and mean, yet Christ healed them. There is healing in Christ for all that need it, whether for soul or body. Christ hath still a power over bodily diseases, and heals his people that need healing. Sometimes he sees that we need the sickness for the good of our souls, more than the healing for the ease of our bodies, and then we must be willing for a season, because there is need, to be in heaviness; but, when he sees that we need healing, we shall have it. Death is his servant, to heal the saints of all diseases. He heals spiritual maladies by his graces, by his comforts, and has for each what the case calls for; relief for every exigence.
IV. The plentiful provision Christ made for the multitude that attended him. With five loaves of bread, and two fishes, he fed five thousand men. This narrative we had twice before, and shall meet with it again; it is the only miracle of our Saviour's that is recorded by all the four evangelists. Let us only observe out of it, 1. Those who diligently attend upon Christ in the way of duty, and therein deny or expose themselves, or are made to forget themselves and their outward conveniences by their zeal for God's house, are taken under his particular care, and may depend upon Jehovah-jireh - The Lord will provide. He will not see those that fear him, and serve him faithfully, want any good thing. 2. Our Lord Jesus was of a free and generous spirit. His disciples said, Send them away, that they may get victuals; but Christ said, "No, give ye them to eat; let what we have go as far as it will reach, and they are welcome to it." Thus he has taught both ministers and Christians to use hospitality without grudging, Pe1 4:9. Those that have but a little, let them do what they can with that little, and that is the way to make it more. There is that scatters, and yet increases. 3. Jesus Christ has not only physic, but food, for all those that by faith apply themselves to him; he not only heals them that need healing, cures the diseases of the soul, but feeds them too that need feeding, supports the spiritual life, relieves the necessities of it, and satisfies the desires of it. Christ has provided not only to save the soul from perishing by its diseases, but to nourish the soul unto life eternal, and strengthen it for all spiritual exercises. 4. All the gifts of Christ are to be received by the church in a regular orderly manner; Make them sit down by fifties in a company, Luk 9:14. Notice is here taken of the number of each company which Christ appointed for the better distribution of the meat and the easier computation of the number of the guests. 5. When we are receiving our creature-comforts, we must look up to heaven. Christ did so, to teach us to do so. We must acknowledge that we receive them from God, and that we are unworthy to receive them, - that we owe them all, and all the comfort we have in them, to the mediation of Christ, by whom the curse is removed, and the covenant of peace settled, - that we depend upon God's blessing upon them to make them serviceable to us, and desire that blessing. 6. The blessing of Christ will make a little go a great way. The little that the righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked, a dinner of herbs better than a stalled ox. 7. Those whom Christ feeds he fills; to whom he gives, he gives enough; as there is in him enough for all, so there is enough for each. He replenishes every hungry soul, abundantly satisfies it with the goodness of his house. Here were fragments taken up, to assure us that in our Father's house there is bread enough, and to spare. We are not straitened, or stinted, in him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv3–17 And he said unto them, take nothing for your…
And he said unto them, take nothing for your journey,.... Throughout the towns and cities of Judea, where they were sent to preach the Gospel:
neither staves, The Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions, read in the singular number, "neither staff, rod, or club"; and so it was in one of Beza's ancient copies, but in all the rest in the plural, as in Matthew; which last must be the true reading, since one staff was allowed, according as in Mar 6:8 though more than one were forbidden:
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nor scrip; or bag to put provision in; See Gill on Mat 10:10.
Neither bread, neither money; gold, silver, or brass, to buy bread with; because they were to have it, wherever they came, given them, as their due, and the reward of their labour;
neither have two coats apiece; the word "apiece" is left out in one copy, nor is it expressed in the Vulgate Latin and the eastern versions, which read as in Mat 10:10 though the word does aptly and clearly express the sense of the prohibition, which was not that they should not have two coats among them, but not two apiece; or each man should not have two, or have change of raiment; See Gill on Mat 10:10
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv4, 7, 8, 10, 12 There abide and thence depart - That is, stay…
There abide and thence depart - That is, stay in that house till ye leave the city.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 12, 16 Verse 3. Take nothing] See note on Mr 6:7;…
Verse 3. Take nothing] See note on Mr 6:7; Mr 6:8.
Neither money] See Clarke on Mt 10:9.
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Neither have two coats] Show that in all things ye are ambassadors for God; and go on his charges.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv7, 10 Luk 9:7-9. Now Herod heard of all that was…
Luk 9:7-9. Now Herod heard of all that was done by him — The twelve apostles preaching in the towns of Galilee, and confirming their doctrine by many mighty miracles, raised the attention and expectation of all men more than ever. For they could not but think it a most extraordinary and marvellous thing, that Christ could not only work miracles himself, but impart the power of working them to others, even to whomsoever he pleased; a thing never heard of in the world before, and which evidently rendered him far superior to all the prophets, and certainly was an amazing and most convincing proof of his being the Messiah. This circumstance, it seems, aggrandized him more than any other thing, and spread his fame so far, that it reached the court of Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, and occasioned many speculations there. And he (Herod) was perplexed. — Greek, διηπορει, much perplexed, as the same word is rendered Luk 24:4; and by the Vulgate consternatum esse, to be in a consternation; and elsewhere, stupere, to be amazed, or dismayed. The word, says Grotius, signifies wonder and astonishment; or, according to Doddridge, “such a mixture of doubt and fear, as necessarily throws the mind into a very uneasy situation.” The sense here seems to be, that the fame of our Lord’s miracles, and the diversity of opinions concerning him, so astonished Herod that he knew not what to think or believe concerning him. Because it was said of some — And soon after by Herod himself; that John was risen from the dead — He thought he had got clear of John, and should never be more troubled with him; but he now begins to fear he was mistaken, and that either John was come to life again, or that another had arisen in his power and spirit. And of some (it was said) that Elias had appeared — They say appeared, because, as he did not die, he could not rise again: and of others, that one of the old prophets — Who had been persecuted and slain long since; was risen again — To be recompensed for his sufferings by this honour put upon him. It is probable that this conversation at the court of Galilee, concerning Jesus, and Herod’s perplexity thereupon, happened soon after the Baptist’s death. The murder of him, it seems, was recent. Hence the stings of conscience which that crime occasioned to Herod were bitter; and the rather, that he had committed it in an unguarded hour, contrary to the dictates of his own mind. Hence, in the confusion of his thoughts, he followed the multitude, though a Sadducee, in fancying that John was risen from the dead, and dreaded the punishment of his crime. It may seem strange that any person should have ascribed Christ’s miracles to John risen from the dead, who during his life-time performed no miracle, Joh 5:41. Perhaps they imagined the power of working miracles was conferred on the Baptist to prove both his resurrection and his innocence; to clothe him with greater authority than formerly; and to render his person inviolable for the future. Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this? — Is he carrying on John’s work, or is he come to avenge John’s death? John baptized, but he does not; John wrought no miracle, but he works many; and therefore appears more formidable than John. Observe, reader, those who oppose God will find themselves more and more embarrassed. And he desired to see him — Whether he resembled John or not; and if he found it was John, perhaps expecting to effect a reconciliation with him. “He might soon have got his doubts resolved, if he would have informed himself, as he easily might, of what thousands knew, that Jesus preached and wrought miracles a great while before John was beheaded, and therefore could not be John risen from the dead. He desired to see him — And why did he not go and see him, or send for him? Probably because he thought it below him to do either the one or the other. He had had enough of John, and cared not for having to do with any more such reprovers of sin. He desired to see him; but we do not find that he ever did till he saw him at his bar, and then he and his men of war set him at naught, Luk 23:11. Had he prosecuted his convictions now, and gone to see him, who knows but a happy change might have been wrought in him; but delaying it now, his heart was hardened; and when he did see him, he was as much prejudiced against him as any other.” — Henry.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv7, 10 See the notes at Mat 14:1-2. Compare Mar 6:14-16.
See the notes at Mat 14:1-2. Compare Mar 6:14-16.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv4, 8 And depart[1] not from thence. In the ordinary Greek…
And depart[1] not from thence. In the ordinary Greek copies we find, and depart from thence. The sense appears, by the other evangelists, (Matthew x. 11. and Mark vi. 10.) that Christ gave this admonition to his disciples, not to change their lodging from house to house; but while they staid in a town, to remain in the same house. And though the negative be here omitted in the Greek, interpreters bring it to the same, by telling us that the sense is, stay here, and depart from thence; i.e. stay in that house, so that leaving the town, you may depart from the same house. (Witham)
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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]
Et ind ne exeatis, but in the ordinary Greek copies, without ne, Greek: kai ekeithen exerchesthe.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On vv7, 10 b. The Alarm Of Herod (Luk_9:7-9)
b. The Alarm Of Herod (Luk_9:7-9)
7Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him [om., by him, V. O.2]: and he was perplexed, because that it was said of [by] some, that John was risen from 8the dead; And of [by] some, that Elias [Elijah] had appeared; and of [by] others, that one of the old prophets was risen again. 9And Herod said, John have I beheaded; but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.
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EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Luk_9:7. Now Herod the tetrarch.—Comp. Mat_14:1-12; Mar_6:16-29. Matthew and Mark have united the account of Herod’s trouble of conscience with that of the beheading of John. Luke, who had already, Luk_3:19-20, related the imprisonment of the Baptist, intimates here, with only a word, its end; on the other hand, his Gospel is, in its turn, particularly rich in traits of importance for the psychology of Herod, which at the same time depict to us the ever-deepening degeneracy of the tyrant in a moral respect. Comp. Luk_13:31-33; Luk_23:6-12.
All that was done.—As well by the Lord Himself as by His messengers, who in these very days were in His name casting out devils. The terror of Herod becomes more comprehensible if we consider that the beheading of the Baptist had taken place in the same period, and that therefore his conscience had had as yet no time to go to sleep. Although John, during his life, did no miracles, Joh_10:41, yet it might be very easily imagined that he, if after his death he had once again returned to life, was equipped with miraculous powers. Elijah might be thought of, as he had not died; one of the old prophets finally, since the return of some of them in the days of the Messiah was expected.
Luk_9:9. John have I beheaded.—Not so much the language of a terrified conscience (Meyer) as rather a painful uncertainty. Scarcely has he known how to relieve himself of John, than he already hears of another, to whom they now again ascribe in addition a so astonishing and miraculous energy. What must he now think of this one, or fear from him? Just because he does not know, he desires to see Him himself, as also afterwards to kill Him, Luk_13:31. In Luke it is the expression of uneasy uncertainty, in Matthew and Mark the fixed idea of an awakened conscience, that comes especially into view. One moment the one, another the other, feeling might be the predominant one.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The terror of Herod at the report of Jesus is an indirect argument for the reality and multiplicity of His miracles, and has so far an apologetical worth. A Herod is not a man to allow himself so quickly to be perplexed by an insignificant or ungrounded rumor.
2. In the person and activity of the Saviour there is this peculiarity, that those with whom the moral and religious perceptions are wholly blunted and choked, do not know what to make of Him. They are terrified by the very sound of His footsteps, but they themselves scarcely know why.
3. Conceptions whose reality the understanding cannot earnestly believe may yet be terrifying to the conscience. Herod undoubtedly scoffs at the Pharisees’ ideas of immortality, and yet he trembles at spectres.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
The fame of the Saviour makes its way everywhere.—The gospel a savor of death unto death.—The might and the impotency of the conscience. The might: 1. It faithfully reminds of the evil committed, 2. judges it righteously, 3. chastises it rigorously. Its impotency; it is not in condition: 1. To undo the past, 2. to make the present endurable, 3. to make the future hopeful.—The influence of the awakened conscience on the conceptions of the understanding.—The unworthy desire to see Jesus. (For the opposite, see Joh_12:20-22.)
Starke:—Truth makes its way more easily to ordinary hearers than to great lords.—There have been many mistaken opinions concerning Christ spread abroad, but faithful teachers must be skilled to refute the same.—The evil conscience is fearful, and takes fright at a shaken leaf, Job_15:20.—Comp. two admirable sermons of A. Monod, upon the beheading of John the Baptist, in the second collection of his Sermons.
Footnotes:
[2]Luk_9:1.—Rec.: ὑπ ̓ αὐτοῦ. Om. B., C.1, D., L., [Cod. Sin.].
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv7, 9 HEROD TROUBLED AT WHAT HE HEARS OF CHRIST DESIRES…
HEROD TROUBLED AT WHAT HE HEARS OF CHRIST DESIRES TO SEE HIM. (Luk 9:7-9)
perplexed--at a loss, embarrassed.
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said of some, that John was risen--Among many opinions, this was the one which Herod himself adopted, for the reason, no doubt, mentioned on Mar 6:14.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 10, 16 § 59.—THE TWELVE PREACH AND WORK MIRACLES, Luk_9:6. Mar_6:12-13.
§ 59.—THE TWELVE PREACH AND WORK MIRACLES, Luk_9:6. Mar_6:12-13.
See closing paragraph of note on Mat_10:42.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17 3. And he said unto them] For a much…
3. And he said unto them] For a much fuller account of the instructions given to the Twelve see Mat_10:5-15. Some of these are recorded by St Luke as given also to the Seventy, Luk_10:1-16.
neither staves] Or a staff (as N, A, B, and many uncials). The plural may have been frivolously introduced by some copyist who wished to avoid an apparent discrepancy with Mar_6:8, “save a staff only.” St Matthew also says, ‘not even a staff.’ Minute and wholly unimportant as the variation would have been, it may turn on the fact that our Lord told them not specially to procure (μὴ κτήσησθε, Matt.) these things for the journey; or on the fact that speaking in Aramaic He used the phrase כי אם (kee im), which might be explained ‘even if you have a staff it is unnecessary.’
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nor scrip] i.e. wallet, a bag carried over the shoulder to contain a few dates or other common necessaries. 1Sa_17:40.
neither dread] which they usually took with them, Luk_9:13; Mat_16:7.
neither money] Literally, “silver.” St Luke uses the word because it was the common metal for coinage among the Greeks. St Mark uses “copper,” the common Roman coinage.
neither have two coats apiece] i.e. do not carry with you a second tunic (ketoneth)—which indeed is a rare luxury among poor Orientals. (See on Luk_3:11.) If they carried a second tunic at all they could only do so conveniently by putting it on (Mar_6:9). St Mark adds that they were to wear sandals, and St Matthew that they were not to have travelling shoes (hupodimata). The general spirit of the instructions merely is, Go forth in the simplest, humblest manner, with no hindrances to your movements and in perfect faith; and this, as history shews, has always been the method of the most successful missions. At the same time we must remember that the wants of the Twelve were very small (see on Luk_8:3) and were secured by the open hospitality of the East (Thomson, Land and Book, p. 346).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17 (3) Neither staves.—The better MSS. give, “neither a staff.”…
(3) Neither staves.—The better MSS. give, “neither a staff.” The plural was probably adopted in order to bring the verse into harmony with Mat_10:10, and Mar_6:8.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17 Take nothing for your journey. Dr. Farrar well sums…
Take nothing for your journey. Dr. Farrar well sums up the various directions of the Master to these his first missionaries: "The general spirit of the instructions merely is, "Go forth in the simplest, humblest manner, with no hindrances to your movements, and in perfect faith;" and this, as history shows, has always been the method of the most successful missions. At the same time, we must remember that the wants of the twelve were very small, and were secured by the free open hospitality of the East."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 13 Take nothing for your Journey
Luk_9:3
Take nothing for your Journey
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Travelling without any burden
It is easy travelling if you have no burden.
They were on His business, sent by Him, and He assumed their care, and forbade them to trust themselves, or any other but Him. What a load of care goes off with this, what a burden of responsibility is removed; but what faith and humility is needed! Some of them had been called away from full nets (Luk_5:11), and it takes faith to follow under such circumstances. Many would start if they were permitted to carry the fish, but they are afraid. Afraid--of what, or whom? How strange to their eyes would some of us appear, as we go forth to our work, clothed in rags of self-righteousness and wrappers of pride, loaded with burdens of care and sin? Too much like the Israelites, leaving Egypt with flocks and herds, clothes and kettles, bread and kneading troughs; delivered from bondage, but knowing nothing of the manna, or the water from the rock. Others are afraid to go, fearing to swing off from their earthly base of supplies, and trust the promises of God. But it is all explained in the word, Lo, I am with you alway. And what for?
1. Surely to provide. Is He not the Creator? And what would come of all their care if He did not provide? How long would it take them to create a barley-corn, or make a fish?
2. Surely to direct. What would their ignorance have accomplished without Him? And, with such a captain, what need of vexatious study over plans and methods?
3. Surely to lead. In the march through an unknown wilderness, or through a trackless desert, or over an unknown sea, to an unknown port, what progress without a guide and a pilot?
4. Surely to carry all their burdens (Psa_55:22; 1Pe_5:7). And, if he wishes to carry them all, why need we refuse or complain? Is it not because He knows our weakness, and because of His strength? And is this all? Oh no! Surely it is because He will be our companion. What are the power and wisdom and riches without the love? If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence (Exo_33:15). (Sunday School Times.)
Apostolic simplicity
The Rev. H. Davies, sometimes called the Welsh Apostle, was walking early one Sabbath morning to a place where he was to preach. He was overtaken by a clergyman on horseback, who complained that he could not get above half a guinea for a discourse. Oh sir, said Mr. Davies, I preach for a crown; Do you? replied the stranger; then you are a disgrace to the cloth. To this rude observation he returned this meek answer, Perhaps I shall be held in still greater disgrace, in your estimation, when I inform you that I am now going nine miles to preach, and have but sevenpence in my pocket to bear my expenses out and in; but I look forward to that crown of glory which my Lord and Saviour will freely bestow upon me when He makes His appearance before an assembled world.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv7, 10 7–9. Now Herod the tetrarch. Herod Antipas. See notes…
7–9. Now Herod the tetrarch. Herod Antipas. See notes on Matt. 2:1. For Herod's perplexity about Christ, see notes on Matt. 14:1–12 and Mark 6:14–29.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv7, 10 Luk_9:7. Herod the tetrarch.—Herod Antipas (a son of Herod…
CRITICAL NOTES
Luk_9:7. Herod the tetrarch.—Herod Antipas (a son of Herod the Great), who now ruled in Galilee: of frivolous and dissolute character, with a vein of superstition and cunning running through it. He was at Jerusalem when Christ suffered, and was one of His judges. All that was done by Him.—The best MSS. omit “by Him”: omitted in R.V. It is probable that the mission of the twelve drew more widespread attention to the work and claims of Christ, and that this reference to Herod is an indication of the fact. Of some.—I.e. “by some.”
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Luk_9:8.—Notice the apposite use of phrases relative to John and to Elijah: “that John was risen from the dead?” and that Elias had appeare?”—Elijah having been translated without tasting of death. One of the old prophets.—Jeremiah was expected by some to appear again (cf. Mat_14:14). See 2Es_2:18; 2Ma_2:4-8; 2Ma_15:13-16.
Luk_9:9. John have I beheaded.—The “I” is emphatic both here and in the second clause of the verse: perhaps it is not too much to say that the form of the sentence indicates the growing concern and alarm excited in the mind of Herod by Christ’s increasing fame. Desired to see Him.—Rather, “sought to see Him” (R.V.). His desire was at last gratified when Pilate sent Jesus to him as a prisoner; but his wish that Christ would perform some miracle met with no response from the Saviour (see chap. Luk_23:7-12).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Luk_9:7-9
Herod Antipas.—The three synoptical evangelists furnish us with various details of the history of Herod Antipas, which, when combined, present a striking picture of the downward progress of one who has entered on a career of crime. He appears as an Eastern despot, capricious, sensual, and superstitious; who speaks with the pride of an Ahasuerus, and yet is the slave of a Jezebel; in whose earlier history there were hopeful elements, but who in the end seems to have outlived them all, and to have been hopelessly hardened and reprobate.
I. The hopeful period in his life.—He is affected by the widespread movement inaugurated by John the Baptist. Righteousness, though presented in its sternest form by the preacher of the wilderness, compels his respect and admiration. He cannot, either, be insensible to the power and authority which clothe God’s servant; and so he gladly listens to John, and even goes so far as to attempt to observe some of his precepts. So far he stands on the same level with the soldiers, publicans, and harlots, who were moved to outward reformation of life in view of the coming of the kingdom of God.
II. The turning-point in his life.—He is reminded by the Baptist of the unlawful connection he had formed with the wife of his own brother, and is forced to decide between the claims of righteousness and the promptings of evil passions. He silenees the voice of conscience, and imprisons the man who had had the courage to tell him of his sin. His vacillation between good and evil is shown by his treatment of the Baptist: he protects John for a time against the rage of Herodias, and though he keeps him a prisoner he allows his disciples to have access to him. But once he has failed to take up a decided stand against evil, he grows daily weaker and weaker, and at last he consents to give orders for the execution of God’s prophet. He is indeed entrapped into the murder of the Baptist, but the snare that catches him is of the weakest, flimsiest character. Infinitely better would it have been for him to break his word than to dip his hands in the blood of one whom he knew was holy, and to do this for the gratification of a hatred which was base and cruel, and with which he did not sympathise.
III. His final state.—He is shaken with superstitious fears when he is told of the mighty works of Christ and of His apostles. In place of the one preacher of righteousness whom he had slain, another and even greater has arisen, and is multiplying His work twelvefold by means of those whom He has sent forth through the length and breadth of the land. “He desired to see Him.” But it was the curiosity not of faith, but of unbelief—of a heart hardening, if not already hardened, against holy impressions. He doubtless heard of our Saviour’s heavenly discourses, of His deeds of love, and miracles of mercy; but the report of these things wrought none of those blessed effects on Herod which they produced on guileless and innocent hearts. His curiosity, when at length he saw Jesus as a prisoner, proved to be of the most frivolous kind: “he hoped to have seen some miracle done by Him” (chap. Luk_23:8). And he who had slain the Baptist became associated with Pilate in the murder of the Prince of life.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luk_9:7-9
Luk_9:7. The Cowardice of Sinners.—It is the curse of unbelief that a cowardly heart is given to sinners: “the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them: and they shall flee as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth” (Lev_26:36 : cf. Job_15:20-21).
Luk_9:8. “That Elijah had appeared.”—Elijah was expected to appear before the coming of Christ. Hence the inquiry in Joh_1:21, and in Mat_17:11; hence also the suspicion expressed in Luk_9:19; and hence the scoff of the populace as our Saviour hung upon the cross—“Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save Him.”
Luk_9:9. “He desired to see Him.”—The desire was fulfilled; but no sign of grace to Herod was implied by this fulfilment. For Christ did not come to Herod of His own free-will, but was brought into his presence by those who had seized and bound Him.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv6, 10 Mar 6:12-13. “And having gone out, they continued to…
CHAPTER 31
THE MINISTRY OF THE TWELVE
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Mar 6:12-13. “And having gone out, they continued to preach that they must repent; they continued to cast out many demons; they continued to anoint many sick people with oil, and heal them.” Luk 9:6 : “And going forth, they continued to go throughout the villages, everywhere preaching the gospel and healing” (the sick). This is all we have on record appertaining to the ministry of the Twelve, while separate from Jesus, pursuant to the above commission; and this, you observe, is given by Mark and Luke, who were not apostles at that time. We hear nothing of Mark till Paul’s first evangelistic tour, about nine years subsequently to this transaction, when he went out as a helper of Paul and Barnabas, doubtless quite young and inexperienced, as his heart failed him in Pamphylia, so that, much to the disgust of Paul and doubtless the grief of his uncle Barnabas, he left the work and returned to Jerusalem; Barnabas, loath to give up his nephew, endeavoring to restore him to the evangelistic work and take him out on their second tour; but Paul positively refusing, they separated, thus organizing two evangelistic forces, Barnabas taking Mark, and Paul taking Silas, Luke, and Timothy. If Mark was present at the time of this commission, he was quite a youth, not coming into history till about nine years later. As Luke was a citizen of Antioch, when we first hear of him as a convert under the ministry of Paul and Barnabas, about ten years subsequently, it is hardly probable that he was present; yet he might have been, as the Jews were coming from all Gentile countries, magnetized by the preaching and miracles of Jesus. Why do not Matthew and John give us an account of this ministry? In their histories they are simply writing up the life and ministry of Jesus. They were both members of the apostleship at that time, and went out under this commission to preach the gospel to the Jews. From the chronological data we can pick up, the presumption is that they were gone about three months. Six parties of them, moving with great expedition over a region of country about the size of New England, would make great progress in a dozen weeks.
Here is a vacuum in the history of our Lord’s life and ministry. Matthew and John were absent; Luke and Mark had not yet become disciples, so far as our knowledge extends; the latter yet in his home in Jerusalem, and the former, off in Antioch, studying medicine. Luke, about A.D. 42, became the evangelistic helper and amanuensis of Paul, writing for him to the end of his life. Though the Gospel of Luke was dictated by Paul, we must remember that he never came to Palestine during the ministry of Jesus; having been educated at Jerusalem, but returned to Tarsus before the ministry of John the Baptist. It is believed that Mark wrote his Gospel at Rome, about thirty years after the ascension of our Lord, as dictated by Peter, who speaks of him very kindly, calling him his son. (1Pe 5:13.) We find from the above Scriptures that the Twelve, during their absence from Jesus, were true and faithful, giving the trumpet no uncertain sound, but laying a constant, burning emphasis on repentance, which is fundamental in the gracious economy, not only laying the bottom rock of the experimental edifice, but gilding the topmost pinnacle; as metanoia, “repentance,” is from meta, “change,” and nous, “the mind.” Hence it means a change of minds; i.e., get rid of the carnal mind, and receive the whole mind of Christ, which really comprehends the entire plan of salvation. The trouble with dead Churches is the absence of evangelical repentance. We find these Twelve were constantly casting out demons — i.e., getting people converted — and healing the sick, not forgetting the anointing with olive-oil, which everywhere abounds in that country, and is a constant symbol of the Holy Ghost.
Mat 14:1-12; Mar 6:14-29; and Luk 9:7-9
MARTYRDOM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
Mat 14:1-12; Mar 6:14-29; and Luk 9:7-9. While the biography of Jesus is intimated by these inspired historians during the period of their absence, we find three of them favoring us with the record of the melancholy and apparently premature death of John the Baptist. As the Jews had poured out in multitudes, and hung spell-bound upon his eloquent lips, the six months of his brilliant and wonderful ministry, his name was everywhere a household word. Hence his cruel and untimely martyrdom fell on the nation with the shock of an earthquake. Mark:
“And King Herod said, John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works are wrought through him. Others said, That he is Elijah. And others said, That he is one of the prophets. But Herod, hearing, said, This is John, whom I beheaded; he is risen from the dead. It being a high day when Herod, on his birthday, made a feast for his magnates, chiliarchs, and the first men of Galilee, and the daughter of Herodias having come in, and danced and pleased Herod, and those sitting along with him at the table, the king said to the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever you may wish, and I will give it to you. And he swore unto her, Whatsoever you may ask me, I will give you, even unto the half of my kingdom. And she, having gone out, said to her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And having come in unto the king with haste, unhesitatingly she asked him, saying, I wish that you may give me here the head of John the Baptist in a charger. The king being much grieved, on account of his oaths and those who were sitting at the table with him, did not receive his consent to reject her. The king immediately sending forth an executioner, commanded that his head should be brought. He having departed, beheaded him in prison; and he brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother. His disciples, hearing, came and took his body and buried it in a tomb.”
a. This was Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, the last king of the Jews, who was on the throne when our Savior was born, and died at Jericho while He was in Egypt, a fugitive from the infantile slaughter at Bethlehem. He had married the daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia, whom he discarded in order to take Herodias, his niece, the wife of his half- brother Philip (not Philip the tetrarch, of Iturea and Trachonitis — Luk 3:1), having employed a bondman in the home of his brother to seduce her away from her husband, and get her thus unlawfully to become his wife. His enraged father-in-law eventually invaded his country with an army, to avenge the maltreatment of his daughter. I saw the battle-field, off the southeast coast of the Galilean Sea, where Aretas met Herod, and signally defeated him, thus beginning his fatal downfall, which culminated in his ruin, the Roman emperor not only dethroning him, taking his kingdom from him and giving it to Herod Agrippa, but actually banishing him and Herodias to Lugdunum (Lyons), in the wilds of Gaul, and afterward exiling them in Spain, where they died in dreary solitude and misery, their temporal misfortunes the ominous prelude of the awful fate awaiting them.
b. We have in John the Baptist a beautiful and brilliant example of that stern and uncompromising ministerial fidelity which alone will qualify the Lord’s heralds for the judgment fires. John knew no fear. Bold as an archangel, he looked the king and queen in the face, and publicly exposed their sins, making the queen so awfully mad, as it was wholesale murder to her pride, that she would have slain him quickly through a hired assassin, if her husband had not defeated her purposes by shutting him up in prison. The implacable woman never relented, but studied every conceivable device to take his life. Eighteen months have whiled away since this greatest of prophets has become the inmate of a gloomy, subterranean dungeon in the Tower of Machierus, east of the Dead Sea, in the Land of Moab. During all this time, Herod frequently heard him preach, being powerfully wrought upon and deeply convicted, so that he actually obeyed the preacher in many respects. “For Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man; and he continued to hold him in prison, and hearing him, he continued to do many things, and hear him delightfully.” (Mar 6:20.) Herod was a member of the Jewish Church, loved to go to meeting, and as John was the best preacher he had ever heard, was delighted with him, making great reformation under his ministry, still retaining him in prison, to keep his enraged wife from killing him. Little did he anticipate his awful, impending fate. Now conceive the situation.
c. Pursuant to the custom of Oriental monarchs, he makes a great feast, to which he invites his official subordinates, and the rich and mighty men from all parts of his kingdom, to participate his bounty and contemplate his royal magnificence. In the midst of the festivities and jollifications, while all are merry with wine, pretty, little Salome comes in, and dances a pantomime for their edification, her wonderful agility literally capturing the princely audience thronging the royal palace. Amid a thousand compliments by the magnates, the king, now drunk enough to act the fool, obligates himself, by a solemn oath, in the presence of the royalty and nobility, to grant her petition, even though she ask the queenship of half his dominions a custom from time immemorial peculiar to Oriental monarchs.
d. The little girl darts away, and counsels her mother, whose constant study the last two years has been the destruction of that impudent preacher, who had the atidacity, in his public preaching, to assault her character and ruin her reputation. O how she seizes the auspicious moment, and sends the girl back, with the bloody petition dropping in livid horror from her lips, “Give me here in this charger the head of John the Baptist!”
e. The king expected her to ask some great present, perhaps a kingdom, that she might rule over it when she arrived at womanhood. Her demand strikes him like a thunderbolt from a cloudless sky. He is flooded with grief, and would give a world to rescind the whole matter. But what can he do? If he goes back on his oath, he will so unman himself in the estimation of the royalty and the nobility that they will rebel against him on the spot, take the crown from his head, and either take his head off, or banish him from his kingdom. Satan helps him. He rallies his courage; dispatches the bloody executioner at once to the prison, with the charger sent in by blood-thirsty Herodias to receive the gory head of the greatest prophet the world has seen. f. The sad fate of King Herod should be a profitable warning to all the people who have not settled the problem of personal salvation by entire sanctification; lest, like poor Herod, in an evil hour, the enemy slip in like a weasel and suck away your life-blood, blighting your hope, and sealing your doom in the gloom of rayless night.
g. In the present age of conjugal infidelity, illegal marriages, and all sorts of domestic entanglements, withering and blighting the beautiful flowers wont to bloom amid the gardens of holy wedlock, and disseminating social pestilence, like the withering sirocco that sweeps its pestilential gales over Lybia’s burning sands, thus turning home into a pandemonium, O how we need the lightning, steel, fire, thunder, and earthquake type of preaching which characterized the fearless prophet of the wilderness, when he publicly scandalized the king and queen in their own presence, heroically preaching the truth, though it cost him imprisonment and martyrdom!
h. Should not that great preacher have been more cautious, and thus perpetuated his liberties, and prolonged his life many years to preach the gospel? I trow not. God makes no mistakes. Though John’s active ministry in the open air lasted but about six months, till overtaken by the dark eclipse of imprisonment and death, doubtless he did more good than if he had preached a compromised gospel six hundred years.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv10–12 Luk 9:10 - Luk 9:17.
Luke
BREAD FROM HEAVEN
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Luk 9:10 - Luk 9:17.
The Apostles needed rest after their trial trip as evangelists. John the Baptist’s death had just been told to Christ. The Passover was at hand, and many pilgrims were on the march. Prudence and care for His followers as well as Himself suggested a brief retirement, and our Lord sought it at the Eastern Bethsaida, a couple of miles up the Jordan from its point of entrance to the lake. Matthew and Mark tell us that He went by boat, which Luke does not seem to have known. Mark adds that the curious crowd, which followed on foot, reached the place of landing before Him, and so effectually destroyed all hope of retirement. It was a short walk round the north-western part of the head of the lake, and the boat would be in sight all the way, so that there was no escape for its passengers.
Luke records the self-oblivious cordiality of Christ’s reception of the intrusive crowd. Without a sigh or sign of impatience, He ‘welcomed them’-a difficult thing to do, and one which few of us could have achieved. The motives of most of them can have been nothing higher than what leads vulgar people of all ranks and countries to buzz about distinguished men, utterly regardless of delicacy or considerateness. They want to see the notoriety, no matter what it costs him. But Jesus received them patiently, because, as Mark touchingly tells, He was ‘moved with pity,’ and saw in their rude crowding round Him the token of their lack of guides and teachers. They seemed to Him, not merely a mob of intrusive sight-seers, but like a huddled mass of unshepherded sheep.
Christ’s heart felt more lovingly than ours because His eye saw deeper, and His eye saw deeper because His heart felt more lovingly. If we would live nearer Him, we should see, as He did, enough in every man to draw our pity and help, even though he may jostle and interfere with us.
The short journey to Bethsaida would be in the early morning, and a long day of toil followed instead of the hoped-for quiet. Note that singular expression, ‘Them that had need of healing He healed.’ Why not simply ‘them that were sick’? Probably to bring out the thought that misery made unfailing appeal to Him, and that for Him to see need was to supply it. His swift compassion, His all-sufficient power to heal, and the conditions of receiving His healing, are all wrapped up in the words. Coming to the miracle itself, we may throw the narrative into three parts-the preliminaries, the miracle, and the abundant overplus.
I. Our Lord leads up to the miracle by forcing home on the minds of the disciples the extent of the need and the utter inadequacy of their resources to meet it, and by calling on them and the crowd for an act of obedience which must have seemed to many of them ludicrous.
John shows us that He had begun to prepare them, at the moment of meeting the multitude, by His question to Philip. That had been simmering in the disciples’ minds all day, while they leisurely watched Him toiling in word and work, and now they come with their solution of the difficulty. Their suggestion was a very sensible one in the circumstances, and they are not to be blamed for not anticipating a miracle as the way out. However many miracles they saw, they never seem to have expected another. That has been thought to be unnatural, but surely it is true to nature. They moved in a confusing mixture of the miraculous and the natural which baffled calculation as to which element would rule at any given moment. Their faith was feeble, and Christ rebuked them for their slowness to learn the lesson of this very miracle and its twin feeding of the four thousand. They were our true brothers in their failure to grasp the full meaning of the past, and to trust His power.
The strange suggestion that the disciples should feed the crowd must have appeared to them absurd, but it was meant to bring out the clear recognition of the smallness of their supply. Therein lie great lessons. Commands are given and apparent duties laid on us, in order that we may find out how impotent we are to do them. It can never be our duty to do what we cannot do, but it is often our duty to attempt tasks to which we are conspicuously inadequate, in the confidence that He who gives them has laid them on us to drive us to Himself, and there to find sufficiency. The best preparation of His servants for their work in the world is the discovery that their own stores are small. Those who have learned that it is their task to feed the multitude, and who have said ‘We have no more than such and such scanty resources,’ are prepared to be the distributors of His all-sufficient supply.
What a strange scene that must have been as the hundred groups of fifty each arranged themselves on the green grass, in the setting sunlight, waiting for a meal of which there were no signs! It took a good deal of faith to seat the crowd, and some faith for the crowd to sit. How expectant they would be! How they would wonder what was to be done next! How some of them would laugh, and some sneer, and all watch the event! We, too, have to put ourselves in the attitude to receive gifts of which sense sees no sign; and if, in obedience to Christ’s word, we sit down expecting Him to find the food, we shall not be disappointed, though the table be spread in the wilderness, and neither storehouse nor kitchen be in sight.
II. The miracle itself has some singular features.
Like that of the draught of fishes, it was not called forth by the cry of suffering, nor was the need which it met one beyond the reach of ordinary means. It was certainly one of the miracles most plainly meant to strike the popular mind, and the enthusiasm excited by it, according to John’s account, was foreseen by Christ. Why did He evoke enthusiasm which He did not mean to gratify? For the very purpose of bringing the carnal expectations of the crowd to a head, that they might be the more conclusively disappointed. The miracle and its sequel sifted and sent away many ‘disciples,’ and were meant to do so.
All the accounts tell of Christ’s ‘blessing.’ Matthew and Mark do not say what He blessed, and perhaps the best supplement is ‘God,’ but Luke says that He blessed the food. What He blesses is blessed; for His words are deeds, and communicate the blessing which they speak. The point at which the miraculous multiplication of the food came in is left undetermined, but perhaps the difference in the tenses of the verbs hints at it. ‘Blessed’ and ‘brake’ are in the tense which describes a single act; ‘gave’ is in that which describes a continuous repeated action. The pieces grew under His touch, and the disciples always found His hands full when they came back with their own empty. But wherever the miraculous element appeared, creative power was exercised by Jesus; and none the less was it creative, because there was the ‘substratum’ of the loaves and fishes. Too much stress has been laid on their being used, and some commentators have spoken as if without them the miracle could not have been wrought. But surely the distinction between pure creation and multiplication of a thing already existing vanishes when a loaf is ‘multiplied’ so as to feed a thousand men.
The symbolical aspect of the miracle is set forth in the great discourse which follows it in John’s Gospel. Jesus is the ‘Bread of God which came down from heaven.’ That Bread is broken for us. Not in His Incarnation alone, but in His Death, is He the food of the world; and we have not only to ‘eat His flesh,’ but to ‘drink His blood,’ if we would live. Nor can we lose sight of the symbol of His servants’ task. They are the distributors of the heaven-sent bread. If they will but take their poor stores to Jesus, with the acknowledgment of their insufficiency, He will turn them into inexhaustible supplies, and they will find that ‘there is that scattereth, and yet increaseth.’ What Christ blesses is always enough.
III. The abundance left over is significant.
Twelve baskets, such as poor travellers carried their belongings in, were filled; that is to say, each Apostle who had helped to feed the hungry had a basketful to bring off for future wants. The ‘broken pieces’ were not crumbs that littered the grass, but the portions that came from Christ’s hands.
His provision is more than enough for a hungry world, and they who share it out among their fellows have their own possession of it increased. There is no surer way to receive the full sweetness and blessing of the Gospel than to carry it to some hungry soul. These full baskets teach us, too, that In Christ’s gift of Himself as the Bread of Life there is ever more than at any given moment we can appropriate. The Christian’s spiritual experiences have ever an element of infinity in them; and we feel that if we were able to take in more, there would be more for us to take. Other food cloys and does not satisfy, and leaves us starving. Christ satisfies and does not cloy, and we have always remaining, yet to be enjoyed, the boundless stores which neither eternity will age nor a universe feeding on them consume. The Christian’s capacity of partaking of Christ grows with what it feeds on, and he alone is safe in believing that ‘To-morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv7, 10, 11 J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [LXII. Herod Antipas].
J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [LXII. Herod Antipas].
LXII. HEROD ANTIPAS SUPPOSES JESUS TO BE JOHN. aMATT. XIV. 1-12; bMARK VI. 14-29; cLUKE IX. 7-9.
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b14 And c7 Now a1 At that season bKing Herod [Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. See Mat_10:41), but there was a prevalent idea among the ancients that departed spirits were endowed with superhuman powers, and Herod therefore supposed that the risen John had brought these powers with him from the spirit world.] cAnd he sought to see him. [Jesus purposely kept out of the reach of Herod, knowing the treacherous cunning of his nature ( Luk_13:32), and Herod's curiosity was not gratified until the day of Christ's crucifixion ( Luk_23:8-12), and then its gratification was without sanctification.] b15 But others said, It is Elijah. And others said, It is a prophet, even as one of the prophets. 16 But Herod, when he heard thereof, said, John, whom I beheaded, he is risen. [Some thought that Elijah might have returned, as the Scripture declared, or that Jesus might be a prophet just like the great prophets of old. Matthew, by introducing what follows with the word "for," gives us the reason why Herod clung to this singular opinion of Jesus. He did so because this opinion was begotten in the morbid musings of a conscience stained with the blood of John.] 17 For Herod himself had sent forth [370] and laid hold upon John, aand bound him, and put him in prison the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. bfor he had married her. [Herodias was the daughter of Aristobulus, who was the half-brother of Herod Philip I. and Herod Antipas, and these two last were in turn half-brothers to each other. Herodias, therefore, had married her uncle Herod Philip I, who was disinherited by Herod the Great, and who lived as a private citizen in Rome. When Herod Antipas went to Rome about the affairs of his tetrarchy, he became the guest of his brother Herod Philip I., and repaid the hospitality which he received by carrying off the wife of his host.] 18 For John said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. [The marriage was unlawful of three reasons: 1. The husband of Herodias was still living; 2. The lawful wife of Antipas (the daughter of Aretas, king or emir of Arabia) was still living; 3. Antipas and Herodias, being nephew and niece, were related to each other within the forbidden degrees of consanguinity.] 19 And Herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him; but she could not: 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was much perplexed, and he heard him gladly. a5 And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. [Herod feared both John and his influence. His fear of the man as a prophet caused him to shelter John against any attempts which his angry wife might make to put him to death, and led him to listen to John with enough respect to become perplexed as to whether it were better to continue in his course or repent. At other times, when the influence of Herodias moved him most strongly, and he forgot his personal fear of John, he was yet restrained by fear of John's influence over the people.] 6 But when Herod's birthday came, b21 And when a convenient day was come [A day suited to the purposes of Herodias. The phrase refers to Mar_6:19], that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, and the high captains, and [371] the chief men of Galilee; 22 and when the daughter of Herodias herself [the language seems to indicate that others had first come in and danced] came in and danced, ain the midst, bshe pleased Herod and them that sat at meat with him [This dancer was Salome, daughter of Herod Philip and niece of Herod Antipas. The dancing of the East was then, as now, voluptuous and indecent, and nothing but utter shamelessness or inveterate malice could have induced a princess to thus make a public show of herself at such a carousal]; a7 Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she should ask. band the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. [The rashness of the king's promise is characteristic of the folly of sin. Riches, honors, kingdoms, souls are given for a bauble in the devil's market.] 24 And she went out, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? [She may have known beforehand what to ask. If so, she retired and asked her mother that the brunt of the king's displeasure might fall upon her mother.] And she said, The head of John the Baptist. a8 And she, being put forward by her mother, bcame in straightway with haste unto the king [she wished to make her request known before the king had time to put limitations upon her asking], and asked, saying, { asaith bI will that thou forthwith give me ahere on a platter the head of John the Baptist. [She asked for the prophet's head that she and her mother might have the witness of their own eyes to the fact that he was dead, and that they might not be deceived about it.] 9 And the king was grieved; bwas exceeding sorry [because the deed went against his conscience and his sense of policy as above stated]; but for the sake of his oaths, and of them that { awhich sat at meat, bhe would not reject her. ahe commanded it to be given [The oath alone would not have constrained Herod to grant Salome's request, for if left alone [372] he would rightly have construed the request as not coming within the scope of the oath. The terms of his oath looked to and anticipated a pecuniary present, and not the commission of a crime. But Herod's companions, being evil men, joined with the evil women against the man of God, and shamed Herod into an act which committed him forever to a course of guilt. Thus, a bad man's impulses are constantly broken down by his evil companions]; b27 And straightway the king forth a soldier of his guard, aand beheaded John in the prison. band commanded to bring his head: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 and brought his head ahis head was brought bon a platter, and gave it aand given bto the damsel: and the damsel abrought it bgave it to her mother. [To the anxious, unrestful soul of Herodias this seemed a great gift, since it assured her that the voice of her most dangerous enemy was now silent. But as Herod was soon filled with superstitious fears that John had risen in the person of Christ, her sense of security was very short-lived. The crime stamped Herod and Herodias with greater infamy than that for which John had rebuked them.] 29 And when his disciples heard i thereof, they came and took up his athe corpse, band laid it in a tomb. aand buried him; and went and told Jesus. [Herod had feared that the death of John would bring about a popular uprising, and his fears were not mistaken. As soon as they had decently buried the body of the great preacher, John's disciples go to Jesus, expecting to find in him a leader to redress the Baptist's wrongs. They knew the friendship of John for Jesus, and, knowing that the latter intended to set up a kingdom, they believed that this would involve the overthrow of Herod's power. They were ready now to revolt and make Jesus a king. See Mat_12:13, Joh_6:1, Joh_6:2, Joh_6:15. But Jesus would not aid them to seek the bitter fruits of revenge, nor did he intend to set up such a kingdom as they imagined.]
[FFG 369-373]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv3, 11 Take nothing
Take nothing
Cf. (See Scofield "Mat 10:9"). Also, Luk 10:4; Luk 22:35; 3Jn 1:5-8; 1Co 9:7; 1Co 9:14.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv7, 10, 12 Herod’s interest in Jesus:
Herod’s interest in Jesus:
v. 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;
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v. 8. and of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.
v. 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 at this time probably living at Tiberius, a city which he had practically rebuilt to fit in with his great plans. Rumors of the activity of a certain rabbi in Galilee may have reached the tetrarch of this province before, but he was too busy with his profligate life to pay much attention to them. But here, in the very region in which many of the greatest miracles of Jesus were performed, the courtiers of Herod supplied him with information concerning the movement among the people, probably not without a hint as to its possible dangerousness, for the Herodian party was strong. The news of the great Prophet bothered Herod, it embarrassed him, it placed him in a quandary; he did not know what to make of it. Various reports came to his ears, some saying that John had risen from the dead; others, that Elijah had been revealed, for their understanding of Mal 4:5 was of the real Elijah; still others, that one of the old prophets had risen again. Herod’s conscience was pricking him, for he had been guilty of murder, a fact which is here merely referred to briefly. Herod knew that he had beheaded John in the prison, for the sake of his stepdaughter Salome, and now that this Prophet had arisen, with a message so much like that of the Baptist, he brooded on the matter and was anxious to see Jesus, in order that he might be satisfied as to His identity. Herod’s position and manner of acting is that of a great many people that do not wish to break entirely with the Church. They may, under circumstances, hear a sermon and even form a liking for some preacher. But when they are placed before the choice: Christ or the world, they choose the latter. But their conscience will give them no rest; in the midst of all apparent happiness their defection gives them no peace. God is not mocked.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 15 He said to them
He said to them
"Jesus said to the twelve." It may be helpful to state that this happened before they went out. AT: "Before they left, Jesus said to them"
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Take nothing
"Do not take anything with you" or "Do not bring anything with you"
for your journey
"for your trip" or "when you travel." They are to take nothing for their entire trip, as they move from village to village, and until they come back to Jesus.
staff
large stick that people use for balance when climbing or walking on uneven ground, as well as for defense against attackers
wallet
a bag a traveler uses for carrying what he needs on a journey
bread
This is here used as a general reference to "food."
Whatever house you enter
"Any house you enter"
stay there
"remain there" or "temporarily live in that house as a guest"
until you leave
"until you leave that town" or "until you leave that place"
translationWords
staff
bread
tunic
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 17 9:3 Take nothing for your journey: They were to…
9:3 Take nothing for your journey: They were to live in dependence on God and on the charity of those to whom they ministered.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.