Novum Christianitatis Studium Bibrum

Bibliorum

 

Luke 9:1-6 : Gathering and Sending Out the Disciples

Study

1 Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

3 And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.

4 And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.

5 And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.

6 And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.

Commentarius

 

Gathering and Sending Out the Disciples

By Ray and Star Silverman

In a casual reading, the story at the beginning of Luke chapter 9 doesn't seem to have much relation to the events of the previous chapter. But, looking deeper, it does.

At the end of Luke chapter 8, when the little girl who seemed to be dead was brought back to life, Jesus commanded that her parents give her something to eat. In sacred scripture, giving someone “something to eat” is about spiritual nourishment. It refers not only to teaching, but also spiritually nourishing one another with words of encouragement that align with spiritual truth. To the extent that we do this for one another, we become God’s disciples and apostles, cooperating with Him in the work of salvation. We are “disciples” while in His presence, learning from His Word. And we are His “apostles” when we are being sent out to minister to others, through our words and actions.

It's appropriate, then, that chapter 9 begins with Jesus calling together His twelve disciples, and then sending them out to minister to others:

“Having called together His twelve disciples, He gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. And He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:1-2).

In a deep sense, the gathering together of the twelve disciples, before sending them out as apostles, represents an important step in our spiritual development. This begins when Jesus “calls His twelve disciples together” in us, which represents that time in our lives when we begin to understand matters of the spirit more deeply. Every “disciple” represents an essential spiritual principle. As we “gather” these principles together in our minds, striving to see how they cohere and relate to the larger whole, we begin to see the connections between ideas, and we develop a keener discernment between what is primary and what is secondary. As a result, we can apply the truth we have been learning more usefully in our lives. 1

After gathering the disciples together, Jesus sends them forth as His apostles, giving them specific instructions for the journey. “Take nothing for your journey,” He says to them. They are not to take a staff, or a backpack, or bread, or silver, or even an extra change of clothes. Every word has spiritual significance. They will not be needing a “staff,” because they will be relying on the Lord alone. They will not need a “pack” to store up what they have learned, because the Lord will give them what to say. They will not need “bread” or “silver,” because the Lord will provide all the goodness (“bread”) and all the truth (“silver”) they need. And they will not need an extra tunic because they will be clothed in truth from the Lord, and will not need anything additional from themselves.

In this case, less is more. When there is less of self, there is more of God. 2

Shaking off the dust:

Jesus then says to them, “And into whatever house you enter, there remain, and thence go out. And as many as shall not accept you, when you come out of that city, shake off even the dust from your feet for a testimony against them” (Luke 9:4-5). A “house,” as we have mentioned before, represents the human mind. It is the place where we think things over, consider our options, and dwell on those matters that are significant to us. Our “house,” then, is our spiritual residence, our “dwelling-place.”

Spiritually speaking, everyone has a dwelling-place — a set of beliefs about themselves, about others, and about God. Because of this, some people will accept the teachings of the apostles gladly, while others will reject them. Knowing this in advance, Jesus tells them that if their teachings are rejected, the apostles should leave the house, come out of the city, and “shake the dust from off their feet.”

In sacred scripture, the term “dust” refers to things that are low and relate to the world of the external senses. Just as dust settles to the earth, there is a tendency to remain focused on things that gratify our worldly senses without lifting our minds to higher things. In the Hebrew Scriptures, this is represented by the lowly serpent who deceived Eve. As it is written, “So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this … you shall eat dust all the days of your life” (Genesis 3:14). 3

Jesus’ instruction to “shake off the dust” is sound advice, not only for the apostles, but for each of us. Along the spiritual journey, as we are learning truth and putting it into our lives, we may, at times, find ourselves being dragged down to lower things — those things that are merely worldly and temporal. This is, spiritually, “the dust on our feet.” Whether the dust comes through the negative influence of others or the self-serving thoughts we entertain, Jesus tells us to “shake the dust from off our feet,” and continue our journey. 4

This is precisely what the apostles do. As it is written in the next verse, “And going out, they passed into the villages, announcing the gospel and curing everywhere” (Luke 9:6).

V:

1. Arcana Coelestia 679: “In the Word ‘gathering’ has reference to the things that are in a person’s memory, where they have been gathered together. In addition, the phrase “gathered together” refers to the gathering together of the goods and truths that need to be gathered together in a person before regeneration can take place. Indeed, unless goods and truths have been gathered together to serve as means through which the Lord may do His work, a person cannot possibly be regenerated.” See also Arcana Coelestia 2089[2]: “Each of the twelve disciples represents an essential and primary aspect of faith.”

2. Arcana Coelestia 9942[12]: “Those who are in goods and truths from the Lord possess nothing of good and truth from themselves. Rather, they have all truth and good from the Lord…. Therefore, having ‘two tunics’ signifies having truth from both the Lord and from self. This is why they were allowed to have only one tunic.”

3. Arcana Coelestia 249: “The term ‘dust’ signifies those who do not regard spiritual and celestial things, but only what is corporeal and earthly.” See also Arcana Coelestia 7418[4]: “"In the Word, ‘dust’ signifies what is lowly.”

4. Arcana Coelestia 249: “Because ‘dust’ signifies focusing on things that are bodily and earthly, while not considering things that are spiritual and heavenly, the Lord told His disciples that if the city or house into which they entered was not worthy, they should ‘shake the dust from off their feet.’” See also Arcana Coelestia 3748[1-2]: “There are hellish spirits who think they know everything…. They want to reason about spiritual matters even though they do not know even the first thing about these matters. Their reasoning is like scattered dust where nothing coheres.”

Bibliorum

 

Exodus 28

Study

   

1 "Bring Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, near to you from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.

2 You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.

3 You shall speak to all who are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron's garments to sanctify him, that he may minister to me in the priest's office.

4 These are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, and his sons, that he may minister to me in the priest's office.

5 They shall take the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the fine linen.

6 "They shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the skillful workman.

7 It shall have two shoulder straps joined to the two ends of it, that it may be joined together.

8 The skillfully woven band, which is on it, that is on him, shall be like its work and of the same piece; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.

9 You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel:

10 six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the six that remain on the other stone, in the order of their birth.

11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones, according to the names of the children of Israel: you shall make them to be enclosed in settings of gold.

12 You shall put the two stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before Yahweh on his two shoulders for a memorial.

13 You shall make settings of gold,

14 and two chains of pure gold; you shall make them like cords of braided work: and you shall put the braided chains on the settings.

15 "You shall make a breastplate of judgment, the work of the skillful workman; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, you shall make it.

16 It shall be square and folded double; a span shall be its length of it, and a span its breadth.

17 You shall set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of ruby, topaz, and beryl shall be the first row;

18 and the second row a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald;

19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;

20 and the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be enclosed in gold in their settings.

21 The stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, everyone according to his name, they shall be for the twelve tribes.

22 You shall make on the breastplate chains like cords, of braided work of pure gold.

23 You shall make on the breastplate two rings of gold, and shall put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

24 You shall put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.

25 The other two ends of the two braided chains you shall put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in its forepart.

26 You shall make two rings of gold, and you shall put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its edge, which is toward the side of the ephod inward.

27 You shall make two rings of gold, and shall put them on the two shoulder straps of the ephod underneath, in its forepart, close by its coupling, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod.

28 They shall bind the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate may not swing out from the ephod.

29 Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, for a memorial before Yahweh continually.

30 You shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before Yahweh: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his heart before Yahweh continually.

31 "You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue.

32 It shall have a hole for the head in its midst: it shall have a binding of woven work around its hole, as it were the hole of a coat of mail, that it not be torn.

33 On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, around its hem; and bells of gold between and around them:

34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe.

35 It shall be on Aaron to minister: and its sound shall be heard when he goes in to the holy place before Yahweh, and when he comes out, that he not die.

36 "You shall make a plate of pure gold, and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, 'HOLY TO YAHWEH.'

37 You shall put it on a lace of blue, and it shall be on the sash; on the front of the sash it shall be.

38 It shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall make holy in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always on his forehead, that they may be accepted before Yahweh.

39 You shall weave the coat in checker work of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash, the work of the embroiderer.

40 "You shall make coats for Aaron's sons, and you shall make sashes for them and you shall make headbands for them, for glory and for beauty.

41 You shall put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and shall anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to me in the priest's office.

42 You shall make them linen breeches to cover the flesh of their nakedness; from the waist even to the thighs they shall reach:

43 They shall be on Aaron, and on his sons, when they go in to the Tent of Meeting, or when they come near to the altar to minister in the holy place; that they don't bear iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute forever to him and to his descendants after him.

   

©2024 New Christian Bible Study Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed from newchristianbiblestudy.org