Audio readings: Proverbs 8:22-31 Luke 9:10-27 Numbers 33, Numbers 34
LUKE 9
In Stage One of discipleship (yesterday: Luke 8), Jesus took his apostles along with him to watch him at work in the towns and villages of the Galilee region. Today we see Stage Two, when Jesus sends these same men, under his own power and authority, to dispatch demons and heal diseases, whilst proclaiming the coming of God’s Kingdom. They were sent out in pairs.
This time there was no group of wealthy women to look after their needs; they were not even allowed to take any food or equipment but expected to entrust themselves to God’s care and the hospitality of the local people. Matthew 10 describes the arrangements in more detail: Go only to Jewish towns, search for a worthy householder who (literally) ‘loves peace’ and who presumably is in favour of their mission – at least in principle. Evangelise the whole town but stick to the same accommodation and host. The overall brief was to do as Jesus did, walk in the power of the Spirit, and trust in God for safety and provision. Afterwards, Jesus took the returning apostles away for a ‘debrief’ in a nearby town.
Only two miracles feature in all four gospels: the Resurrection and the Feeding of the Five Thousand. The latter is recounted in a very ‘matter-of-fact’ way, without the ‘hype’ that would inevitably accompany it today! If there were 5,000 men, then the total number of people might have been nearer 20,000. Of all the four gospel accounts, this is the simplest. Five loaves plus two fish plus miraculous intervention produces more than enough for all the people, and with more left over than Jesus started with! There is something about seeing God powerfully at work in your everyday needs that is very compelling and convincing.
Luke then chooses to omit the accounts of Jesus walking on water during a storm on Galilee, the healings at Gennesaret, the ‘Bread of Life’ discourse (found in John), the ministry in Tyre and Sidon, the healings in Decapolis, and the Feeding of the Four Thousand. He moves quickly on too…
“Who do YOU say that I am?” (v20) was the key question from Jesus to his disciples. Peter was the first to voice the truth that Jesus was the Messiah. This is really the key question for the whole world too. ‘Yes’, he was God’s Messiah, but not in the way that most of the local people interpreted this – they wanted a political / warrior type. The real Messiah would be rejected, tortured, executed, and would then rise from the dead on the third day. Similarly, real disciples must be prepared for the same sort of treatment: a kind of daily ‘dying’ to their own needs, wants and ambitions, in favour of God’s. To do any different is to deny the Master that we claim to follow!
A week later, Jesus, Peter, John, and James were at the top of (probably) Mount Hermon, praying. When you pray, you are changed (that is still true today!) and Jesus was no exception. Jesus was revealed in his glory, talking to Moses and Elijah about his departure (literally, his ‘Exodus’). Luke gives more detail in this section than the other gospel writers. It is possible that the symbolism referred to ‘succession’: Moses’ life’s work was completed by Joshua, Elijah’s by Elisha, and so what about Jesus’ ministry?
Perhaps the key is found in voice of the Father: “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him” (v35). Peter, James, and John are representative of Christ’s Church – all of us! Luke’s second book – Acts – begins with these words: “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen…” (Acts 1:1). Jesus began the mission for the world’s redemption, and we are now called to complete the task, alongside him. The secret of our success… “Listen to him” !
In Luke 9:57-62 we have the famous phrase that Jesus used: “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God”. It seems that the gospel puts almost unreasonable demands on disciples of Jesus – but there is no other way, no easier road. Normal human social interactions must take second place to the call of Christ. The normal human emotions – as evidenced by James and John – ‘Sons of Thunder’ – needs also to be put on hold and even repressed, for the sake of the Kingdom.
NUMBERS 33 and 34
Moses is commanded by the Lord to itemise the stages in the journey that they have taken from the Exodus to the Promised Land. There are exactly 40 stages mentioned, which probably has symbolic significance – 40 symbolises a ‘generation’ and, of course, an entire generation perished in the desert on that great journey. It is likely that not every stopping point was included, in the same way that the first chapter of Matthew’s gospel does not include every king but instead follows that greater journey from Abraham to Christ in three groups of fourteen. It is healthy and beneficial to record and recall our own spiritual journey and walk with the Lord – perhaps in the form of a blog or diary or journal. Looking back is character-building and can increase our faith in the present day.
Israel’s journey began with the Lord enacting vengeance upon the gods of Egypt, demonstrating his superior power and illustrating graphically that only He and not they were able to save. The procession of their ex-slaves, walking with their heads held high, must have rammed home the point that the God of Israel is a Redeemer and is able to rescue and set free anyone who calls on him in faith; anyone who entrusts their life to his care. Israel’s subsequent history highlights the prosperity they received when they did, and the poverty they incurred when they didn’t.
The journey ends with all two and half million people camped along the east bank of the river Jordan, fresh from their victory over Moab and Midian, and ready to cross over to their inheritance. Further commands from God made it clear that all the present inhabitants of Canaan must all be driven out entirely – or else they would undermine everything Israel stood for and Israel’s relationship with the Lord – which would result in the Lord having to call on other nations to drive out Israel (first Assyria, then Babylonia, then Rome). The idols of the false gods were similarly to be removed and destroyed entirely (that didn’t happen either!) since falsehood and truth do not mix. The land was to be divided up into families and households – rather than cities and strongholds – so the wisdom of their parents would be their main defence against attack and invasion.
In occupying the geographical, social, and intellectual ‘territory’ that God has given us today – and our presence is what brings the Kingdom of Heaven to this Earth – we must ‘take no prisoners’ in our dealings with counterfeit religions and make sure that we occupy all the territory that the Lord has given us in ministry and calling. Our fight is not against people (they are our inheritance – see Psalm 2:8) but rather against the spiritual forces of evil and against false ideas, doctrines, political systems and the temptations of the Evil One (see Ephesians 6:12). To compromise with any of these is to do spiritually, what Israel did physically, and the outcome is no different either! The Christian life is simpler than we know – once we have submitted our lives to Christ and received his forgiveness – and that is to understand the truth and then to live our lives according to that truth, with the help of God’s power.
In Chapter 34, the boundaries of the new land were drawn: from East to West between three seas and a river, from North to South between a mountain range and a desert. Notice how none of the Transjordan land is included in the Lord’s inheritance and that only nine and a half tribes (including half of Manasseh) would now occupy that inheritance. Don’t be tempted to settle short of the full inheritance that God has for you; you will regret it!
Within the boundaries stated above, the leaders of each tribe were expected to supervise the precise distribution of each territory, fairly and sensibly, and this activity was overseen by Joshua and Eleazar. It was a key task, since that land would stay in each family for ever (theoretically, at least) and could never be given to anyone else.
The Big Picture 