Z. Jesus and the disciples (9:37–50)
Z. Jesus and the disciples (9:37–50)
Luke now brings together four short incidents which show the disciples’ lack of faith, their slowness to learn, their pride and their intolerance. It is an impressive sequence and makes a sad conclusion to his Galilean section. The disciples have much to learn.
1. The demon-possessed boy (9:37–43a)
The mountain-top experience is followed in all three Synoptists by the distressing inability of the disciples to deal with a case of demon possession. The contrast is striking. On the one hand we have those who rejoiced in the light of God on the mountain top, on the other those defeated by the powers of darkness on the plain. But the supremacy of Jesus is evident in both places. Luke concentrates on this and omits the disciples’ question, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ (Mark 9:28).
37. This incident took place the next day (did they spend the night on the mountain?). Luke omits the discussion about the coming of Elijah and goes straight on to the boy with the demon. A great crowd was with the lad and now met Jesus.
38–40. A man in the crowd called loudly to Jesus, saying that he had an only son (cf. 7:12; 8:42), who from time to time was seized by a demon. The symptoms sound much like epilepsy and many class the illness as such without further ado. As, however, it is attributed to demon possession this may be a trifle too confident. The man concludes his tale of woe by telling Jesus that he had begged the disciples to deal with the demon but unfortunately they could not. It is not clear whether these disciples included some of the apostles or not; since only three of the Twelve were with Jesus, they probably did. There is a problem for they had successfully coped with demons on their preaching tour (9:1–6). Now the power had left them. There must have been some failure in their spiritual life (Mark 9:29 speaks of the necessity of prayer).
41. It is not easy to see to whom Jesus addresses the words, O faithless and perverse generation (cf. Deut. 32:5). There seems no reason for thinking of the father, for in the first instance he was not a ‘generation’, and in the second he had brought his son for cure in faith, even if imperfect faith (Mark 9:24). But some may well have come in the spirit of ‘Let us see what these people can do’ and perhaps, even, ‘what they can’t do’! This seems to be the point of the argument between the scribes and the disciples (Mark 9:14). We should take the address then as ‘to all people who are present and had failed to show faith enough for the healing of the boy’ (THB; Wilcock thinks the disciples are meant). The words are important, for Luke has made them central by greatly abbreviating the narrative. He has omitted very interesting things like Jesus’ words, ‘All things are possible to him who believes’ and those of the father, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’ (Mark 9:23–24). The question, how long …? (cf. Num. 14:27), shows that Jesus was concerned at the lack of faith and purpose of which he speaks. People were seeing the miracles as wonders, but not as signs of God’s presence and of his demand for repentance. But immediately Jesus turns to the man in need and asks him to bring the boy along.
42–43a. As the boy came the demon made his final bid for possession of him. He tore him (better, ‘threw him down’, Knox, or ‘knocked him to the ground’, GNB) and convulsed him. Mark relates a short conversation, but Luke, like Matthew, concentrates on the cure. Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit (cf. 4:35, 39, 41; 8:24) and healed the boy. His concern for people comes out again as he gave him back to his father. The miracle brought astonishment at the majesty of God. Jesus did not attract attention to himself, but brought glory to the Father.
2. Another prophecy of the passion (9:43b–45)
Jesus turned the disciples’ attention from marvelling at everything he did to the passion. Let these words sink into your ears is a call to pay close attention. It is addressed specially to the disciples as the emphatic ‘you’ (‘For your part’, JB) indicates. The disciples are set in contrast to the general public who did no more than wonder at the miracles. After this solemn introduction Jesus tells his followers that he will be delivered into the hands of men. This is not very specific, which may be part of the reason why they did not understand this saying. But more importantly, it was concealed from them, which may mean that there was opposition from the forces of evil (though Hendriksen thinks God hid it). Luke goes out of his way to emphasize their inability to grasp the saying, for his words are much stronger than those in the other Gospels. They were afraid to ask Jesus about it. This attitude is all the more unaccountable in that Jesus had spoken of the same things not so very long back (22; suffering runs through this passage). But they had not understood him then either, and this saying is shorter and perhaps more mysterious. On the other side of the cross it must have been terribly difficult to grasp the truth that Jesus’ Messiahship meant his death.
3. The disciples’ pride (9:46–48)
Ryle reminds us that pride keeps recurring in us, though ‘Of all creatures none has so little right to be proud as man’. He adds, ‘of all men none ought to be so humble as the Christian.’
46. How far the disciples were from the spirit of Jesus comes out in their argument (the word can mean ‘thought’ or ‘reasoning’) as to which of them was the greatest. Jesus had just spoken of his sacrificial death for sinners. They were speaking of their pride of place. This may be part of the reason for their inability to understand. They were thinking of themselves, he of others.
47–48. Jesus knew the thought of their hearts (the word translated thought is rendered ‘argument’ in the previous verse). So he rebuked them by setting a little child (for Jesus’ attitude to children cf. 10:21; 17:2; 18:16) beside him and saying, Whoever receives this child in my name receives me. The child stands for the helpless and the unimportant. The test of loving service is that we receive such in the name of Christ. To receive the child is to receive the Christ and to receive the Christ is to receive the Father (notice the reference to mission in the words, him who sent me). True greatness is not earthly greatness but its opposite. The really great person is the lowly one. Jesus is not saying that the great is the one who is ready to serve a stint in a lowly place. Rather the person who is least is the one who is great. He does not say ‘greatest’. In the kingdom people do not compare themselves with one another. True greatness consists in lowly service.
4. The strange exorcist (9:49–50)
Jesus’ ministry had attracted wide interest and some who had never attached themselves to the circle of the disciples were prepared to serve God in his name. One such attracted the attention of the apostles with his casting out of demons.
49. John answered, which means that he responded to Jesus’ words. He may mean, ‘But surely there are limits. This would not apply to a case like this.’ Or perhaps he had seen that his actions came under condemnation and his conscience was troubled. For whatever reason he now told Jesus of a man they had seen casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Some commentators reject this, saying that exorcism in the name of Jesus is unlikely to have been carried out in his lifetime. They think Luke is reading back the experience of the church into the time of Jesus. But this seems superficial. When Jesus was as successful in casting out demons as the preceding chapters show, nothing is more natural than that someone should attempt the same in his name. But John and whoever else is included in his we told him to stop (the imperfect may mean ‘we tried to stop him’ or ‘we kept stopping him’) because he does not follow with us. Luke does not say that the man claimed to be a disciple, only that he cast out demons in Jesus’ name. But for these disciples it was not enough that he should be able to do in the name of Jesus what they had so recently and so conspicuously failed to do (40). He had to follow with them. This has been the error of Christians in every age and it is interesting to see it in the very first generation of Jesus’ followers.
50. But the Master would have none of it. Do not forbid him, he said, and added the important rule, he that is not against you is for you. There can be no neutrality in the war against evil. Anyone who opposes demons in Jesus’ name is to be welcomed, not opposed. He is on the right side. Plummer aptly points out that this gives the test we should apply to others, whereas the saying ‘He who is not with me is against me’ (11:23) we should apply to ourself.
5. From Galilee to Jerusalem (9:51 – 19:44)
There is no real parallel to this section in any of the other Gospels, though some parts of it are like passages in Matthew and, after 18:15, in Mark also. Luke speaks of Jesus as travelling to Jerusalem; but his ministry is far from over and there is much that he has yet to teach the disciples. This section is largely (though not exclusively) concerned with teaching, just as the preceding one has concentrated on Jesus’ deeds. There can be no doubt about the idea of a journey. Luke speaks specifically of Jesus as travelling to Jerusalem (an important place for Luke) a number of times (9:51, 53; 13:22, 33; 17:11; 18:31; 19:11, 28) and there are other, less specific indications of a journey (9:57; 10:1, 38; 14:25). But a problem arises when we try to trace its course. From 9:51ff. Jesus appears to be going by the shorter route through Samaria, but later we find him passing through Jericho (19:1) which lay on the longer route through Perea. In 10:38 he is at the village of Martha and Mary, i.e. Bethany (John 11:1), only a couple of miles from Jerusalem. But in 17:11 he is ‘between Samaria and Galilee’.
Godet thinks all this hangs together. He sees it as all part of one leisurely journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, during which Jesus gave a good deal of teaching. Others think there are two distinct journeys, seeing that begun in 9:51 as perhaps the journey for the feast of Tabernacles (John 7), while Jesus’ last journey to the capital is commenced in 17:11 (where see note). Some think that Luke was acquainted with two traditions of Jesus’ last journey to Jerusalem (9:51 – 10:42 and 17:11 – 19:28) and that he has put in between some interesting matter for which he lacked information about dates and places. Others think the ‘journey’ quite artificial and hold that Luke has inserted here a good deal of miscellaneous matter which did not obviously belong anywhere else. Probably most scholars take the journey motif to have theological significance, though there is dispute as to precisely what. Thus W. G. Kümmel cites seven different scholars with six different opinions about this theological significance. It cannot accordingly be maintained that any one view is strongly marked. In view of these varied assessments it is difficult to see how Kümmel’s conclusion is to be resisted, when he says no more than that in this section ‘the Lord, who goes to suffer according to God’s will, equips his disciples for the mission of preaching after his death’.1 The appeal to the Galileans is over. The passion lies before Jesus and he journeys steadily towards it. But until it comes he must continue his work.