Luke 9 explained: Who Jesus Is and What It Costs

The Twelve sent out (vv. 1-9)

Jesus sends his twelve closest followers to heal and announce God's rule, carrying nothing so they must rely on the hospitality of others; shaking dust off their feet was a public sign that they had done their part and the town was now responsible for its choice. Herod, the ruler of Galilee who had executed John the Baptist, hears the reports and is troubled about who Jesus could be.

Feeding five thousand (vv. 10-17)

When the disciples want to send the hungry crowd away, Jesus tells them to feed it themselves, and he turns a small meal into more than enough. The twelve baskets of leftovers show abundance, and many readers see an echo of God feeding Israel in the wilderness.

Peter names him Messiah (vv. 18-27)

Peter calls Jesus the Messiah, the king God had promised to send, but Jesus at once says he will be rejected, killed and raised. Carrying a cross, which the Romans forced condemned people to do, pictures a readiness to lose everything, and scholars debate what verse 27's promise that some will see God's kingdom refers to.

Glory on the mountain (vv. 28-36)

Jesus shines with light, and Moses and Elijah, who stand for Israel's law and prophets, talk with him about his coming death in Jerusalem. The cloud signals God's presence, as it did in Israel's earlier history, and the voice names Jesus as God's chosen Son and tells the disciples to listen to him.

Back down to failure (vv. 37-50)

The disciples cannot heal a suffering boy, do not grasp Jesus' warning about his death, and argue over which of them ranks highest. Jesus points to a child, who had little status in that world, as the measure of greatness, and he tells them not to stop an outsider doing good in his name.

Setting out for Jerusalem (vv. 51-62)

A Samaritan village, part of a group long at odds with Jews, refuses Jesus because he is heading to Jerusalem, and he rebukes James and John for wanting to call down fire on it. His blunt replies to would-be followers put following him ahead even of burying a father, a sacred duty, though scholars are unsure whether that father had already died.

Key verse: Luke 9:20

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether Jesus' hardest demands here, such as giving up home, family duties and one's own life, apply literally to every follower or describe a special calling and an inner attitude of putting him first.

Something to think about

What would you be willing to give up for something you believed in, and what would you never give up?