The Gospel of Luke

by Pablo T. Gadenz

  [9:32]

  The scene shifts now to the other trio, Peter and his companions. Despite being chosen witnesses of the event, they are overcome by sleep! This is actually not surprising since, in Scripture, sleep sometimes accompanies a heavenly encounter or vision (Gen 15:12; Dan 8:18). Only Luke notes this detail, perhaps to link the scene to the only other passage in Luke where Jesus takes along Peter, John, and James—namely, the raising of Jairus’s daughter, whom Jesus said was merely sleeping (Luke 8:51–52). One thus wonders whether the three apostles’ sleep is a taste of death (see 9:27), so that, becoming fully awake and seeing his glory, they have a taste of their future share in his resurrection. What they briefly witness by way of anticipation is what Stephen will later experience as he “fell asleep” at his martyrdom (Acts 7:60). This image can be applied to all Christians: “Awake, O sleeper, / and arise from the dead, / and Christ will give you light” (Eph 5:14).

  [9:33]

  As Moses and Elijah begin to leave, Peter expresses his contentment: it is good that we are here. Because he recently heard Jesus’ message about the cross, he would rather hold on to this fleeting moment of glory. Hence, he suggests making three tents, perhaps like Moses, who set up the tent of meeting where God’s glory came to dwell (Exod 40:34–35). However, Peter did not know what he was saying, perhaps thinking that the time of fulfillment had already come, prior to Jesus’ suffering. Moreover, Jesus is greater than Moses and Elijah, yet Peter seems to be treating them all on the same level.

  [9:34]

  A cloud came as if interrupting Peter’s speaking. It clearly alludes to Moses, recalling “the cloud” that “covered the tent of meeting” (Exod 40:34). The cloud cast a shadow over them (verb episkiazō), like the cloud that overshadowed the tent of meeting (episkiazō, Exod 40:35 LXX). Jesus’ glorified body is now the living tent of meeting, the new temple wherein God dwells with his presence. Jesus does not need Peter to build him a tent, because he is the tent! Moreover, the angel Gabriel earlier announced that the Holy Spirit would come upon Mary and the power of the Most High would “overshadow” (episkiazō) her (Luke 1:35). The overshadowing cloud here is similarly a sign of the Holy Spirit, like the dove at Jesus’ baptism (3:22). The apostles became frightened when they entered the cloud, a typical reaction to God’s glorious presence (2:9).

  [9:35]

  As at the baptism (3:22), the voice of God the Father is heard, completing the manifestation of the Trinity. It echoes the second psalm: This is my chosen Son. Jesus is greater than Moses, Elijah, and any of the ancient prophets (see 9:8, 19) because he is the Son of God (1:32, 35), a truth now revealed to the three apostles. However, just as the declaration of Jesus as Messiah (9:20) was accompanied by the revelation of his suffering as the Son of Man (9:22), so too with the word “chosen” here, Jesus’ presentation as God’s Son is combined with that of the †suffering servant (see 23:35): “Here is my servant whom I uphold, / my chosen one with whom I am pleased” (Isa 42:1 [emphasis added]; see comment on Luke 3:22).

  The last words spoken by the voice—listen to him—complete the comparison here between Moses and Jesus, as they echo the promise of a prophet like Moses that God will raise up: “That is the one to whom you shall listen” (Deut 18:15). For the apostles, the divine command ratifies Jesus’ difficult sayings regarding his own death and a disciple’s cross (Luke 9:22–23). Even though they struggle to understand, they will stay on the right path by listening to Jesus.

  [9:36]

  The extraordinary experience quickly comes to an end as Jesus is found alone. The stunned disciples are silent and do not tell anyone. Similarly, Jesus had just enjoined them “not to tell” that he was the Messiah “to anyone” (9:21). For the time being, they should just listen to Jesus, having been informed of his identity as God’s Son and reassured that glorification will follow suffering. The time for speaking will come after the resurrection (24:44–48).

  Reflection and Application (9:28–36)

  Participating in Jesus’ prayer. Key events in Jesus’ life take place in the context of his prayer: his baptism (3:21), the calling of the Twelve (6:12–13), Peter’s confession (9:18–20), and the transfiguration (9:28–29). Thus

  prayer was the central act of the person of Jesus and, indeed . . . [he] is constituted by the act of prayer, of unbroken communication with the one he calls “Father.” If this is the case, it is only possible really to understand this person by entering into this act of prayer, by participating in it. . . . Therefore a participation in the mind of Jesus, i.e., in his prayer . . . is not some kind of pious supplement to reading the Gospels, adding nothing to knowledge of him or even being an obstacle to the rigorous purity of critical knowing. On the contrary, it is the basic precondition if real understanding . . . is to take place. . . . The person who prays begins to see.15

  The Disciples’ Inability and Incomprehension (9:37–50)

  37On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38There was a man in the crowd who cried out, “Teacher, I beg you, look at my son; he is my only child. 39For a spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams and it convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it releases him only with difficulty, wearing him out. 40I begged your disciples to cast it out but they could not.” 41Jesus said in reply, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you and endure you? Bring your son here.” 42As he was coming forward, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion; but Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and returned him to his father. 43And all were astonished by the majesty of God.

  While they were all amazed at his every deed, he said to his disciples, 44“Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” 45But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

  46An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. 47Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side 48and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest.”

  49Then John said in reply, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow in our company.” 50Jesus said to him, “Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”

  OT: Num 11:26–30; Deut 32:5, 20

  NT: Matt 10:40; Luke 10:16; 18:16, 32, 34; 22:24; John 13:20. // Matt 17:14–23; 18:1–5; Mark 9:14–40

  Catechism: passion prediction, 557; the disciples’ misunderstanding, 554

  The disciples’ need for further growth and training is emphasized in four related incidents, which highlight their present inability to fulfill their mission and their incomprehension of Jesus’ mission.

  [9:37–40]

  First, Jesus once again finds a large crowd (7:11), as he returns from the mountain of transfiguration. Like the encounters with the widow of Nain and Jairus, the situation here involves a parent with an only child (7:12; 8:42). A father begs Jesus to look at—that is, care for (see 1:48)—his son who is tormented by an unclean spirit that causes epileptic symptoms (see Matt 17:15 RSV). Before turning to Jesus, the father begged his disciples to cast it out. Earlier, Jesus had indeed given the Twelve power (dynamis) over demons (9:1). However, here they could not (verb dynamai) drive it out.

  [9:41–42]

  Jesus’ response echoes the words of Moses to the generation of Israelites who wandered in the wilderness (Deut 32:5): O faithless and perverse generation. The point is that the disciples have to continue growing in faith (see Luke 8:25; Matt 17:20), so as to be able to use the power Jesus has given them. Their time of training is not unlimited, however, since he will not be with them for very long before his death (Luke 9:44). For the moment, Jesus rebuked the demon (4:35, 41) and returned the healed s
on to his father, as at Nain he gave the son back to his mother (7:15).

  [9:43–44]

  Unlike in Matthew and Mark, the next incident is recounted without mentioning any change in location, thus stressing the connection between events. Precisely while all are astonished and amazed at the miracle, Jesus makes his second passion prediction to his disciples. Because they still need to grow in faith, Jesus tells them to pay attention to—literally, to put into their ears (see 8:8; 14:35)—these words: The Son of Man is to be handed over to men (18:32). This prediction uses the language of an important Old Testament text for understanding Jesus’ sufferings—namely, Isaiah’s fourth †servant song (Isa 52:13–53:12); for example, “on account of their sins he was handed over” (Isa 53:12 LXX, author’s translation). Jesus will later quote another phrase from the same verse: “This scripture must be fulfilled in me, namely, ‘He was counted among the wicked’” (Luke 22:37, quoting Isa 53:12). Coming at the end of the section of Galilean ministry (Luke 4:14–9:50), the first two passion predictions (9:22, 44) recall Jesus’ experience of rejection in Nazareth at the beginning (4:24, 29) and look forward to the long section in Luke in which Jesus will journey toward his passion in Jerusalem (9:51–19:44).

  [9:45]

  However, to the disciples’ earlier lack of faith is now added their incomprehension as they fail to understand the prediction. This is due to their weakness (see v. 46), but it is also part of God’s plan, since its meaning was hidden from them (18:34). Only after the resurrection will their minds be opened by Jesus (24:45). Out of fear of further reproof (9:41), they do not ask him about this saying.

  [9:46–48]

  Instead, in the third incident, the disciples argue about who is the greatest (see 22:24). They have not yet learned the lesson of reversal expressed in the Magnificat and the Beatitudes. Jesus corrects them with an illustration, as he places a child next to him (18:16). The one who receives such lowly and weak members in society receives Jesus and the Father who sent him. Moreover, becoming the least through service of others is the true indicator of who is greatest (22:26–27).

  [9:49–50]

  The passage began with the disciples’ failure to cast out a demon (9:37–43), and it ends with an incident involving someone successfully casting out demons. Because he is not of the disciples’ company, this situation is unacceptable to John, so they try to prevent or stop him, as Joshua similarly wished to stop some men who were prophesying (Num 11:28). Like Moses correcting Joshua (Num 11:29), Jesus corrects John’s jealousy and tells them not to prevent him. The general principle is that whoever is not against you is for you. God works in ways that go beyond the limits of one’s own group. The disciples will grasp this lesson later in Acts when the Holy Spirit descends even upon Gentiles, demonstrating that no one should prevent them (Acts 10:47; 11:17) from being baptized.

  As the Galilean ministry comes to a close, it is evident from these four incidents that the disciples need more formation in order to understand the way of discipleship and so be equipped for their eventual mission. This will be one of Jesus’ principal tasks during the long journey to Jerusalem.

  Reflection and Application (9:50)

  Communion not competition. “Whoever is not against you is for you.” Jesus’ words encourage a spirit of communion among different groups in the Church, including traditional institutions like the parish, diocese, and religious orders, as well as the new organizations, movements, and communities that the Holy Spirit has raised up in recent times. Moreover, Catholics should recognize how the Holy Spirit is also at work among other Christians, and thus promote the unity of Christians through prayer and collaboration (Catechism 819, 821).

  1. A similar phrase occurs when Jesus is going “toward Jerusalem” (Luke 9:53 NRSV). See also Acts 21:3.

  2. Also relevant is Luke’s omission of the material found in Mark 6:45–8:26, a section beginning with the disciples going toward Bethsaida (Mark 6:45) and ending with them actually in Bethsaida (Mark 8:22). This suggests that Luke’s mention of their going to Bethsaida is a shorthand way of telescoping a longer journey. See Heinz-Wolfgang Kuhn, “Bethsaida in the Gospel of Mark,” in Bethsaida: A City by the North Shore of the Sea of Galilee, ed. Rami Arav and Richard A. Freund, 4 vols. (Kirksville, MO: Truman State University Press, 1995–2009), 3:117–19.

  3. “Quail came to them from the sea” (Wis 19:12 [emphasis added]). François Bovon, Luke, trans. Christine M. Thomas, Donald S. Deer, and James Crouch, 3 vols., Hermeneia (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2002–13), 1:359: “In this context they are like flying fish.”

  4. 2 Baruch 29.3, 8, in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, ed. James H. Charlesworth, 2 vols., Anchor Bible Reference Library (New York: Doubleday, 1983–85), 1:630–31.

  5. Roger David Aus, Feeding the Five Thousand: Studies in the Judaic Background of Mark 6:30–44 par. and John 6:1–15 (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2010), 157–59.

  6. The Roman Missal (Totowa, NJ: Catholic Book Publishing, 2011), Eucharistic Prayer I.

  7. Bovon, Luke, 1:359–60.

  8. John Nolland, Luke 1–9:20, WBC 35A (Dallas: Word, 1989), 443: “In this experience the disciples became aware of the identity of Jesus in much the same way that the Christian of Luke’s day knew Jesus in the eucharistic meal.”

  9. Benedict XVI, homily at World Youth Day in Madrid, August 21, 2011, in Let Us Become Friends of Jesus: Meditations on Prayer, ed. Jeanne Kun (Frederick, MD: The Word Among Us, 2013), 52–53.

  10. Among early Christians (e.g., Barnabas 15.8–9), the phrase “eighth day” was also used to refer to Jesus’ resurrection, which took place on the first day after the sabbath (Luke 23:56–24:1). The detail may thus be one of various ways in which Luke indicates that the transfiguration is an anticipation of the resurrection.

  11. By the fourth century, the mountain of the transfiguration was identified as Mount Tabor; see, e.g., Cyril of Jerusalem, Catecheses 12.16.

  12. As the Son of Man, Jesus is the son of Adam who receives the glory that Adam lost by his sin, with the dazzling clothes replacing the clothes of Adam (Gen 3:7, 21). See Bovon, Luke, 1:375.

  13. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 4.326.

  14. Simon S. Lee, Jesus’ Transfiguration and the Believers’ Transformation (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2009), 117–18, 123–24.

  15. Joseph Ratzinger, Behold the Pierced One: An Approach to a Spiritual Christology, trans. Graham Harrison (San Francisco: Ignatius, 1986), 26–27.

  The Journey to Jerusalem Begins

  Luke 9:51–10:42

  Now begins the large central section of Luke’s Gospel, the so-called travel narrative (9:51–19:44).1 In the solemn first verse, Jesus firmly begins his journey to Jerusalem (9:51), the city where he will accomplish his “exodus” (9:31). Ten chapters later, he finally arrives when he enters the temple (19:45), marking the start of the section dedicated to the Jerusalem ministry (19:45–21:38).

  Jesus’ journey is mentioned several times toward the beginning of the central section (9:51–53, 56–57; 10:38). Thereafter, there are only a few reminders about the journey (13:22; 17:11; 18:31), but these notices divide the travel narrative into smaller parts.2 As Jesus draws closer and begins the immediate ascent (“going up to Jerusalem,” 18:31) from Jericho (18:35; 19:1), there are more frequent travel notices mentioning locations along the way, such as Bethphage, Bethany, and the Mount of Olives (19:11, 28–29, 36–37, 41).

  During the journey, those accompanying Jesus are almost always described using the word “crowd” (ochlos).3 However, once he enters the temple, this word is replaced by the more specific “people”—in other words, of Israel (laos)4—which is almost completely absent from the central section (except 18:43). The term “crowd” (ochlos) anticipates the disciples’ later mission in Acts by suggesting the presence during the journey of non-Jews—that is, Samaritans (Acts 8:6) and Gentiles (Acts 11:24, 26).

  Indeed, Jesus meets Samaritans as he journeys toward Jerusalem, traversing all the regions that make
up the land of Israel, from locations in or near Galilee (Luke 10:13, 15; 17:11) through ones in Samaria (9:52; 17:11) to Judea. All the Lukan references to Samaritans occur in this central section (9:52–55; 10:33–37; 17:15–19). In contrast to the typical hostility between Jews and Samaritans, Jesus displays a positive attitude, thus anticipating the disciples’ later mission to Samaria (Acts 8:4–25). Since Samaria had been the capital of the northern kingdom and the Samaritans descended from some of the northern tribes, the references to Samaria and the Samaritans may illustrate Jesus’ plan for Israel’s restoration, by which he regathers the tribes under one king.5

  Along these lines, whereas in the Galilean section Jesus is highlighted as prophet, here in the travel narrative there is a growing emphasis on Jesus as king: “Blessed is the king who comes / in the name of the Lord” (Luke 19:38). Moreover, most of Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God occurs in this central section,6 including the announcement that the kingdom is “at hand” (10:9, 11) and several kingdom parables (13:18–21; 19:11–27).