Luke 9. “But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” (9:60) There is some really fun stuff happening in this chapter! Those who are following Jesus have pretty much just been along for the ride – watching amazing miracles, wondering about confusing things, and grasping at Jesus’ teaching tidbits that are reshaping how they see the world. But now these followers of Jesus are transitioning from watching to participating – they become agents of the kingdom of God.

First, Jesus gives the twelve disciples power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases (9:1) and then He sends them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal (9:2). Jesus delegates His own power and authority to the disciples; and in the same way that Jesus was preaching and healing, they are sent out to do likewise. Note again the holistic nature of the good news – it is a preaching of the kingdom and also healing from all kinds of ailments – physical, spiritual, social, and political (4:18-19). A new king has come and with redemption comes restoration.

So, the disciples go and do (9:6) and then come back to report to Jesus how things went (9:10). This is good training methodology. In the presence of Jesus, they watch and practice some more. There were 5000+ people who needed dinner one night and Jesus shifted the responsibility to the disciples – “You give them something to eat.” (9:13) There’s another exorcism, and I imagine the disciples wondering “Is Jesus expecting us to do that too? This all seems beyond us…” Of course, they are still in training, and it is beyond them at the moment – but it is not beyond the power of God that was delegated to them.

Chapter 9 offers three more sections of training for these new “kingdom agents”: There is the section about taking up your cross daily and following Jesus (9:23-27). This is a reminder that being a Kingdom Agent is not just about power and doing cool stuff in Jesus’ name – it is a mission that requires a shift in priorities and self-denial. “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” [or his soul] (9:25) We would like to have both, wouldn’t we?! But there is inevitably a setting-aside-of-self to be a Kingdom Agent.

Then there is an argument about which disciple is the greatest (9:46-48). Apparently, the previous lesson had not taken hold yet, so they get further instruction on the matter. Being a Kingdom Agent is not about pursuing greatness for yourself, but about selflessly serving others. Next there are two quick little follow-up questions about Kingdom Agents – Are other people allowed to do the stuff we’re doing (9:49-50)? The answer is yes. And are we allowed to call down fire from heaven on people who disagree with us or treat us badly (9:51-56)? The answer is a stern no. They are testing the boundaries of the authority and power they have been given.

As the training wraps up, one disciple is gung-ho and announces that he will follow Jesus wherever He goes (9:57). I think he missed the two death predictions woven into the chapter! Jesus reminds him that it will not be that easy – being a Kingdom Agent is awesome but does require a single-minded focus on following Jesus, and that subsequently causes other things to dim in importance (9:58-62).

“But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” (9:60) What is the most awesome thing the disciples did that you would love to be able to do in Jesus’ name? What is the personal cost of becoming a Kingdom Agent for you? What do you wrestle with? What stands out to you from Luke 9?