Luke 9:1-6
Chapter 9
1
Jesus called his twelve disciples and granted them power and authority to cast out all evil spirits and heal diseases.
2
He sent them to spread the message of God’s kingdom and to heal the sick.
3
He gave them these instructions:
“Don’t take anything for the journey, neither staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and don’t even bring a spare tunic.
4
No matter which house you enter, stay there until you leave.
5
And wherever they don’t welcome you, leave the town and shake the dust off your feet; it will serve as a testimony against them.
6
So they set out and traveled through the villages, spreading the good news and healing people everywhere.
Commentaries
Mission of the Twelve.
The three synoptic gospels agree that Jesus sends the Twelve to preach that the kingdom of God is near (cf. Mt 10:1-15). The first thing that stands out in Luke’s account is the authority with which he invests his apostles; they must do what they have seen and proclaim what they have heard from Jesus himself: the message of the kingdom of God. Another key point is their personal detachment and how they must go out; they must even evangelize with their own lifestyle, humbly relying on the generosity of others, graciously accepting their hospitality, but also leaving a record of possible rejections by shaking the dust from their feet in places where they were not well received.