Daily Bible Reading 26th July 2026 // Luke 9:1-9
1 And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, 8 by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. 9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.
This is one of the passages in the gospels in which we can get a good deal of help in interpretation if we compare it with the parallel passages in Matthew 10 and Mark 6 (Matthew's account especially is much fuller than Luke's), looking also at the contexts of these accounts in the other gospels. By so doing it is possible the better to see the message that this passage has for us today. Our concern must be to understand the meaning and significance of this sending forth of the disciples. What part did it play in the scheme of the gospel at this point? Does it constitute a problem for us today, and, if so, in what respect? Very different answers have been given to these questions. Some take these verses literally and have sought to fulfil them to the letter; others have insisted that they have no relevance for us as a pattern of ministry today, that they applied only to the disciples, and that only on this specific occasion. Calvin says that we have here not so much 'perpetual apostleship' as 'temporary preaching, which was fitted to awaken and excite the minds of men that they might be more attentive to hear Christ'. 'Christ employed them as assistants only, to secure attention to Him where His voice could not reach - to arouse expectation that the time of the promised restoration is at hand'. We continue in this thought in tomorrow's Note.