New York UBF – NY University Bible Fellowship (NYUBF)

Luke Lesson 28 (2009)

DIVINE DELEGATION AND RESOURCES

Luke 9:1-17
Key Verse: 9:13

“He replied, ‘You give them something to eat.’”

In Luke chapters 4-8, we heard so many beautiful stories about God’s mercy and love for the people in Galilee through our Lord Jesus. Jesus’ ministry in Galilee was relatively short, probably a year and a half, but it reveals the immeasurable and unconditional mercy of God our Father for fallen humankind. Those who had been touched by Jesus’ words or his healing hands experienced God’s incredible power in their lives. The focus of Saint Luke’s account of Jesus’ Galilean ministry is about the identity of his person. Who is this man? Where did he get such authority and power? How could his teaching and the words of his mouth be so powerful, inspiring and life-giving? How could he heal so many people from terrible diseases and release those who suffered from demon-possession? Who is this man that he even ordered the winds and waters to be quiet and they obeyed him? Who is this man that he even raised the dead? Who is this man that he claims to have authority to forgive men’s sins on earth?

In today’s passage, as his Galilean ministry was close to an end, Jesus sends out the Twelve on a short mission trip (1-9) and after that he feeds a large crowd of people through his disciples (10-17). It seems that Jesus wanted to reach out to every single person in Galilee with the message of hope and peace before heading toward Jerusalem where he would offer his life as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. In fact, the ministry of Jesus that started in Galilee has never ceased in the world. Why not? It’s because he delegated his ministry to his followers. Jesus said to his disciples, “You give them something to eat.” (13a) “You feed them.” I have heard this message so many times during the last 30 years. During the last three decades, many things have changed. I am also changed, I mean, I have many grey hairs that I didn’t have before. But Jesus still says to me and all of us, “You give them something to eat!” “You feed them.” Whenever we hear him say this, we feel a little bit overwhelmed. We ask, “How can I do this?” As I struggled with the passage, I learned that I don’t need to feel burdened because when Jesus delegated us with his divine mission, he also provided us with all the necessary resources. So let us think about divine delegation and divine resources today.

Look at verses 1 and 2. “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” What kind of power and authority did Jesus give to his servants? This is exactly the same power and authority Jesus has as the Son of God. Luke’s gospel alone mentions that Jesus gave the Twelve both power (dynamis) and authority (exousia) – the spiritual ability and the right to exercise power. Although these are not political power and authority, they are tremendously powerful resources for the ministry the Twelve were called to do; the spiritual power and authority to heal the sick, bind wounds and drive out demons, by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8)

Then in verse 3, we see that Jesus told them to take nothing for the journey, no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, and no extra tunic. Why not? I think it’s mainly because it was a short and temporary mission trip and also because Jesus wanted them to depend on God’s provision for their journey. Look at verses 4-5. “Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town.” Why not move from one house to the other? Perhaps Jesus wanted them to be content with the provision so that they might be fully focused on their mission during the journey. Look at verse 5. “If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them.” This shows that the disciples were not to linger too long in one city in their short mission journey because in a short period of time they should cover all the towns and villages in Galilee. They were to give clear messages to the people wherever they went.

Look at verse 6. “So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.” We do not know how many villages they had to cover in Galilee. But we are familiar some names of the villages mentioned in the New Testament, like Capernaum, Nazareth, Nain and Cana. There were at least 36 towns and villages in the Galilean district. (Oxford Bible Atlas -4th edition) If the disciples traveled two by two, they had about six teams, which means 36 villages for 6. According to Matthew, Jesus told them not to go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans but go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. (Matthew 10:5-6) Luke didn’t mention this. And in every village and town they preached the gospel, the message of the kingdom of God – the message of God’s peace and hope. What a beautiful message it is – the message of hope and peace and the message people today really need to hear and accept. “We’ve a story to tell to the nations, that shall turn their hearts to the right, a story of truth and mercy, a story of peace and light, a story of peace and light. For the darkness shall turn to dawning, and the dawning to noonday bright; and Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth, the kingdom of love and light.” (H. Ernest Nichol)

Look at verse 7-9. “Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. But Herod said, ‘I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?’ and he tried to see him.” Obviously, the apostles’ evangelic journey stirred up a great sensation among the people in Galilee, especially Herod the tetrarch. No doubt, Herod was confused and challenged by the news he heard about Jesus. His question was “Who is this man?” We are reminded of the story of his father, Herod the Great, who was also greatly disturbed by the news of the birth of the newborn king. (Mt 2:3) When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angels, praising God and saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” (Lk 2:14) According to Isaiah, Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:6)

But we wonder why some people are so disturbed by Jesus who is the king of peace and love and reject him? People like Herod insist on living in darkness. They refuse to come to the light. But the good news is that light still shines on those who live in darkness and shadow of death, like the rising sun because of the tender mercy of our God.(Lk 1:78-79) God’s mercy is so tender and abundant. God who came to this world is extremely patient and compassionate toward those who suffer in darkness.

Last week, I had a chance to pray with a man who was severely injured in a car accident. As I began to pray, he started crying. When I asked him why, he said that he divorced his wife last year after 40 years of marriage, and none of his family members visited him at the hospital. He was crying not because of his physical pain but because of the pain in his heart. He thanked me for visiting him. God didn’t have to visit us because of our offenses against him. But because of his tender mercy, he has come and redeemed us. When we accept Jesus and are touched by him, healing comes and our life begins to transform by his loving power and grace.

Look at verse 10. When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Actually, they should have reported what God had done through them. Anyway, Jesus was delighted to hear their joyful report. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida. Bethsaida was located on the other side of the Jordan River, around 5-6 miles away from Capernaum. Perhaps the disciples were happy to take some time off from the crowd and take care of themselves. But it didn’t work that way. Look at verse 11. When the crowds learned that Jesus withdrew with his disciples, they could immediately locate where they were. Why did they follow Jesus so closely? Is it because they had such strong spiritual desire, learning minds and listening ears? Not really. Did they really want to become Jesus’ disciples? Not really. Then why did these people look for Jesus so earnestly? It was very simple. Although there were a lot of people who followed Jesus because they were spiritually thirsty and came to hear the word of God, we cannot deny that most of them came to Jesus because they wanted to be served and entertained. They wanted Jesus to solve their nagging problems and do something for them. They never thought about how Jesus suffered much to serve them.

Some people are so polite that they never want to make a phone call to their pastors, thinking that they are bothering them. Some people are so desperate that they call in the middle of the night. One day, I was very tired. But in the middle of the night I was woken up by the phone. It was 3:30 am. I didn’t want to answer, but I did, thinking that someone might have an emergency request. But when I picked up the phone, the person asked, ‘What time is it?” I answered, “It’s 3:30 in the morning”. Then the person said, ‘Oh, I am sorry. Can I call you later?” We talked for a while and I could not go back to sleep that morning. Some people call only when they have a desperate problem. And when they have no problem, they never call you. Then you feel hurt, thinking that they are only making use of you. But Jesus never thought about those he served this way.

Verse 11b reads, “He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.” We as humans have limitations. But Jesus is different. He is so full of grace and mercy that his mercy never runs out. We can never wear out his grace. Jesus is always available for us, 24/7. In fact, he is waiting for us to come and have fellowship with him. (Rev 3:20) Loneliness is a serious problem that many people face. We can never be free from loneliness unless we have an intimate fellowship with our Lord Jesus through his words and the Holy Spirit.

Look at verse 12. While Jesus was teaching and healing the crowds, the disciples realized that they were getting very hungry and there was no way to feed the crowd. So they came to Jesus and suggested sending them away that they could go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging. Even if they wanted to feed them, they just didn’t have enough resources. The apostles were very reasonable. They probably thought to themselves, “Didn’t Jesus say to us that we should take nothing for the journey, no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic? Doesn’t he know that we are broke?” They said to Jesus, “Master, send the crowd away!”

What did Jesus say to them? “That’s a good idea”? No. Look at verse 13. Jesus replied, “You give them something to eat!” The apostles answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish – unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” (About five thousand men were there.) It means including children and women, there were more than 10,000 even 15,000 people who needed food and lodging. That’s a lot of people to feed. The number of our attendance at our 2008 UBF International Summer Bible Conference at the Purdue University was only 1,935. Everyone paid more than 300 dollars for room and board. And it was still not enough. How then could the apostles feed and provide lodging for nearly 15,000 hungry people without any money?

How could Jesus say to them, “You give them something to eat”? “You feed them.” Was it because Jesus was unrealistic and out of touch with reality? Was it because Jesus wanted his disciples to perform miracles with their apostolic power and authority? Of course not. Then why did Jesus say, “You give them something to eat”? It was divine delegation. Jesus said to them “You give them something to eat” because he himself wanted to feed the crowds through his disciples. So he said to his disciples in verses 14b-15, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” The disciples did so, and everybody sat down. Now, the people were ready to be served.

But how would they serve them and with what resources? The disciples had only five loaves of bread and 2 fish. Of course, Jesus didn’t say, “This is ridiculous! You can’t expect me to feed a multitude with this.” Look at verse 16. “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them.” This is very impressive. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus gave thanks. Jesus gave what? He gave thanks. Why? It’s because although these small things themselves were not enough for the large crowd of people, he would multiply these limited resources with his divine power and authority to feed them. So the ultimate resource is Jesus the Son of God. This miracle cannot be explained scientifically and is beyond our human reasoning. But that’s what this miracle is all about. Jesus multiplies these limited human resources to do what is humanly impossible. Jesus heals the sick, drives out demons, feeds the hungry and changes people. By the power and authority as the Son of God, Jesus releases the oppressed, restores the sight for the blind, and liberates the prisoners of sin and fear. These are all miracles of God. God does not expect us to perform miracles. But he wants us to bring our limited resources to him by faith that he would bless and multiply them to feed his flock. Divine delegation and divine resources.

Look at verse 17. “They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.” What a great miracle! Who is Jesus? Who is Jesus that he can multiply the five loaves of bread and two fish to feed such a large crowd of people? He is God the Son, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. He is God the Messiah who came from heaven. He is the ultimate resource for everything, full of grace, wisdom, power and authority. He is full of love and compassion. He is also willing to help us.

We are divinely delegated as God’s chosen instruments so that Jesus our Lord can feed his flock of sheep throughout the world. He says to us, “You give them something to eat.” But we don’t need to be burdened by Jesus’ call because he who calls us for his divine mission will also provide us with unlimited resources. But it all starts with our limited human resources, the five loaves and two fish. We can at least find something to bring to Jesus, just even one loaf of bread and one fish. And Jesus can multiply them to feed his children.

Times are difficult. We are challenged by many problems of every size. Many are perplexed and disturbed. We are often overwhelmed by God’s given responsibility. Some lost their jobs. Some can’t find a job. How can we help our friends and family members who are going through difficulties? How can we evangelize the campuses in the Greater New York Area – the global city – in this postmodern time? Aren’t we inadequate for this? Yes. But we must know that we are not alone. Jesus will never leave us alone. He will provide us with his unlimited resources. He can change impossible into the possible. The importance is our faith in Jesus as our ultimate resource. Our one-to-one ministry seems time consuming. Our time, out talent, our dedication seem too limited. But no matter how small they may be, our Lord will appreciate, bless and multiply them to feed his flock. “You give them something to eat!”