Luke chapter 9

vs 1

Now, the question is whether Jesus gave them this authority forever, or just for this trip, and if it was forever, is this a promise to all Christians for all time, or just to the Twelve?

We seem to take a lot of promises to the Twelve as our own (Matt 28-18-20 and Acts 1:8 seem to be prevalant) but as good conservative evangelicals we shy away from the idea that this promise might be for us too.

vs 2

The two are linked, at least in this trip. They are to do both, and one heralds the other. I am healing you of your illnesses, so as to get your attention and show you that I have something important to say.

vs 3

Basically, don't be a boy scout. This is another command that we don't take on as permanent for all time. We let missionaries take suitcases full of clothes with them. There aren't that many itinerant evangelists around these days, but I'll bet those who do still do it have stuff they take with them.

vs 4

Which, if you don't get a great reception, may not be long anyway.

vs 5

I would rather not even take the dust from your town away with me on my feet. Considering the feet were considered dirty, you can see the negartive connotation that this puts on the place they were in.

vs 6

And they did what Jesus said, apparently. They preached and healed.

vs 7

Which, if it were true, Herod has a right to call for brown trousers time, since he was the one who killed John in the first place.

vs 8

Whatever is going on, it does not spell peace and safety for Herod. All of these things could cause religious, and therefore cultural stimulation, which might get people more upset about the Roman occupation, and therefore he might well have some sort of uprising on his hands.

vs 9

Herod simply didn't believe that it was John the baptist, because he'd had him beheaded and served on a silver platter. But he knew obviously something was going on, so he wanted to find out what it was.

vs 10

You could almost miss it because of the bold headings which announce what's going to happen next, but the Herod story was really there to put some literary distance between Jesus sending out the Twelve and them coming back and reporting what happened. This verse almost deserves a little section of its own. The Twelve report back. Not much is made of it, but it gives completion to the earlier story of them being sent out, and paves the way for the next section.