Text -- Luke 9:1-16 (NET)

The Sending of the Twelve Apostles

9:1 After Jesus called the twelve together, he gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 9:2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 9:3 He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey– no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, and do not take an extra tunic. 9:4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave the area. 9:5 Wherever they do not receive you, as you leave that town, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 9:6 Then they departed and went throughout the villages, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.

Herod’s Confusion about Jesus

9:7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about everything that was happening, and he was thoroughly perplexed, because some people were saying that John had been raised from the dead, 9:8 while others were saying that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had risen. 9:9 Herod said, “I had John beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” So Herod wanted to learn about Jesus.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

9:10 When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida. 9:11 But when the crowds found out, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and cured those who needed healing. 9:12 Now the day began to draw to a close, so the twelve came and said to Jesus, “Send the crowd away, so they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and food, because we are in an isolated place.” 9:13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish– unless we go and buy food for all these people.” 9:14 (Now about five thousand men were there.) Then he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 9:15 So they did as Jesus directed, and the people all sat down. 9:16 Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke them. He gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 9:1

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn An aorist participle preceding an aorist main verb may indicate either contemporaneous (simultaneous) action (“When he called… he gave”) or antecedent (prior) action (“After he called… he gave”). The participle συγκαλεσάμενος (sunkalesameno") has been translated here as indicating antecedent action.

⁴ tc Some mss add ἀποστόλους (apostolou", “apostles”; א C* L Θ Ψ 070 0291 ˹³ 33 579 892 1241 1424 2542 pc lat) or μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ (maqhta" autou, “his disciples”; C³ al it) here, but such clarifying notes are clearly secondary.

⁵ sn Note how Luke distinguishes between exorcisms (authority over all demons) and diseases here.

NET Notes: Luk 9:2

¹ sn “To send out” is often a term of divine commission in Luke: 1:19; 4:18, 43; 7:27; 9:48; 10:1, 16; 11:49; 13:34; 24:49.

² tn Or “to preach.”

³ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

⁴ sn As Jesus’ own ministry (Luke 4:16-44) involved both word (to proclaim) and deed (to heal) so also would that of the disciples.

NET Notes: Luk 9:3

¹ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

³ sn Mark 6:8 allows one staff. It might be that Luke’s summary (cf. Matt 10:9-10) means not taking an extra staff or that the expression is merely rhetorical for “traveling light” which has been rendered in two slightly different ways.

⁴ tn Or “no traveler’s bag”; or possibly “no beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145; BDAG 811 s.v. πήρα).

⁵ tn Grk “have two tunics.” See the note on the word “tunics” in 3:11.

NET Notes: Luk 9:4

¹ tn Grk “And whatever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² sn Jesus telling his disciples to stay there in one house contrasts with the practice of religious philosophers in the ancient world who went from house to house begging.

³ tn Grk “and depart from there.” The literal wording could be easily misunderstood; the meaning is that the disciples were not to move from house to house in the same town or locality, but remain at the same house as long as they were in that place.

NET Notes: Luk 9:5

¹ tn Grk “And wherever.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Grk “all those who do not receive you.”

³ tn Or “city.”

⁴ sn To shake the dust off represented shaking off the uncleanness from one’s feet; see Luke 10:11; Acts 13:51; 18:6. It was a sign of rejection.

NET Notes: Luk 9:6

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² tn This is a distributive use of κατά (kata); see L&N 83:12 where this verse is cited as an example of the usage.

³ tn Or “preaching the gospel.”

sn This verse is similar to Luke 9:2, except for good news at this point. The change means that to “preach the kingdom” is to “preach the good news.” The ideas are interchangeable as summaries for the disciples’ message. They are combined in Luke 8:1.

NET Notes: Luk 9:7

¹ sn Herod refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.

² sn See the note on tetrarch in 3:1.

³ tn Or “was very confused.” See L&N 32.10 where this verse is given as an example of the usage.

⁴ sn John refers to John the Baptist, whom Herod had beheaded (v. 9).

NET Notes: Luk 9:8

¹ sn The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.

² sn The phrase had risen could be understood to mean “had been resurrected,” but this is only a possible option, not a necessary one, since the phrase could merely mean that a figure had appeared on the scene who mirrored an earlier historical figure. The three options of vv. 7-8 will be repeated in v. 19.

NET Notes: Luk 9:9

¹ tn Grk “John I beheaded”; John’s name is in emphatic position in the Greek text. The verb is causative, since Herod would not have personally carried out the execution.

² tn The expression ἐζήτει ἰδεῖν αὐτόν (ezhtei idein auton, “was seeking to see him”) probably indicates that Herod, for curiosity’s sake or more likely for evil purposes, wanted to get to know Jesus, i.e., who he was and what he was doing. See I. H. Marshall, Luke (NIGTC), 357. Herod finally got his wish in Luke 23:6-12, with inconclusive results from his point of view.

NET Notes: Luk 9:10

¹ tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn The participle ὑποστρέψαντες (Jupostreyante") has been taken temporally.

³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁵ tc There is a seeming myriad of variants for this text. Many mss read εἰς τόπον ἔρημον (ei" topon erhmon, “to a deserted place”; א*^,2 [1241]) or εἰς τόπον ἔρημον πόλεως καλουμένης Βηθσαϊδά (ei" topon erhmon polew" kaloumenh" Bhqsai>da, “to a deserted place of a town called Bethsaida”; [A] C W Ξ^mg [Ë^1,13] [565] Ï) here, while others have εἰς κώμην λεγομένην Βηδσαϊδά (ei" kwmhn legomenhn Bhdsai>da, “to a village called Bedsaida”; D), εἰς κώμην καλουμένην Βηθσαϊδά εἰς τόπον ἔρημον (ei" kwmhn kaloumenhn Bhqsai>da ei" topon erhmon, “to a village called Bethsaida to a deserted place”; Θ), or εἰς τόπον καλουμένον Βηθσαϊδά (ei" topon kaloumenon Bhqsaida, “to a place called Bethsaida”; Ψ). The Greek behind the translation (εἰς πόλιν καλουμένην Βηθσαϊδά, ei" polin kaloumenhn Bhqsai>da) is supported by (Ì⁷⁵) א¹ B L Ξ* 33 2542 pc co. The variants can be grouped generally into those that speak of a “deserted place” and those that speak of a place/city/town called Bethsaida. The Byzantine reading is evidently a conflation of the earlier texts, and should be dismissed as secondary. The variants that speak of a deserted place are an assimilation to Mark 6:32, as well a harmonization with v. 12, and should also be regarded as secondary. The reading that best explains the rise of the others – both internally and externally – is the one that stands behind the translation and is found in the text of NA²⁷.

tn Or “city.”

⁶ sn Bethsaida was a town on the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee. Probably this should be understood to mean a place in the vicinity of the town. It represents an attempt to reconcile the location with the place of the miraculous feeding that follows.

NET Notes: Luk 9:11

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

³ sn Again the combination of word (spoke to them) and healing (cured, compassionate deed) is what summarizes Jesus’ ministry: See Luke 4:38-44; 6:17-19; 7:22 (as also the disciples, 9:6).

NET Notes: Luk 9:12

¹ tn Grk “the day began to decline,” looking to the approach of sunset.

² tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the disciples’ request was related to the approach of sunset.

³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn That is, find someone to show them hospitality. L&N 34.61 has “find lodging,” using this verse as an example.

⁵ tn Or “in a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation). Here ὧδε (Jwde) has not been translated.

NET Notes: Luk 9:13

¹ tn Here the pronoun ὑμεῖς (Jumeis) is used, making “you” in the translation emphatic.

² tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

³ tn Grk “said.”

⁴ tn This possibility is introduced through a conditional clause, but it is expressed with some skepticism (BDF §376).

⁵ tn The participle πορευθέντες (poreuqente") has been taken as indicating attendant circumstance.

⁶ sn Not only would going and buying food have been expensive and awkward at this late time of day, it would have taken quite a logistical effort to get the food back out to this isolated location.

NET Notes: Luk 9:14

¹ tn The Greek text reads here ἄνδρες (andres) – that is, adult males. The actual count would be larger, since the use of this Greek term suggests that women and children were not included in this number (see the parallel in Matt 14:21).

² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁴ tn Or “Make” (depending on how the force of the imperative verb is understood). Grk “cause them to recline” (the verb has causative force here).

NET Notes: Luk 9:15

¹ tn Grk “And they did thus.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the disciples’ action was a result of Jesus’ instructions. The adverb οὕτως ({outw", “thus”) has been expanded in the translation to “as Jesus directed” to clarify what was done.

² tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Luk 9:16

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² sn Gave thanks adds a note of gratitude to the setting. The scene is like two other later meals: Luke 22:19 and 24:30. Jesus gives thanks to God “with respect to” the provision of food. The disciples learn how Jesus is the mediator of blessing. John 6 speaks of him in this scene as picturing the “Bread of Life.”