Luke 9:6 says, “And going out, they passed through from village to village, bringing the good news and healing everywhere.” What was this good news? It was the kingdom of God. The good news ordained by the Man-Savior was the preaching of the kingdom of God.
Luke 9:6 tells us that the apostles went out “healing everywhere.” This indicates that they went out to apply the jubilee. The jubilee was declared in chapter four by the Man-Savior, but in chapter nine it was applied to those in Judea by the twelve.
Luke 9:7-9 says, “And Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was utterly perplexed, because it was said by some that John was raised from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the ancient prophets had risen. And Herod said, John I beheaded, but who is this concerning whom I hear such things? And he was seeking to see Him.” According to Mark 6:14-29, Herod had John the Baptist beheaded. That was an indication of Satan’s hatred for the faithful forerunner of the Man-Savior. This hatred was expressed in the darkness and injustice of the worldly people in power. In chapter nine of Luke we see that when Herod heard what was happening, he was utterly perplexed.
In 9:10 and 11 Luke goes on to say, “And when the apostles returned, they related to Him whatever they had done. And taking them along, He withdrew privately into a city called Bethsaida. But the crowds, knowing it, followed Him; and He welcomed them and spoke to them concerning the kingdom of God, and those who had need of healing He cured.” Here we see that, because of Herod’s opposition, the Man-Savior withdrew privately into the city of Bethsaida. In that place He spoke to the crowds who followed Him concerning the kingdom of God. He also cured the sick. Once again we have the application of the jubilee, which had been proclaimed in chapter four. The Lord’s speaking concerning the kingdom of God was the positive aspect of the jubilee—the recovery of the right to enjoy God—and His curing the sick was the negative aspect of the jubilee—the release of the captives. Even in His withdrawal due to Herod’s opposition, the Lord continued to apply the jubilee.
In 9:12-17 we have Luke’s account of the feeding of the five thousand. In the Gospel of John this case is used to prove that the Lord Jesus is the life-supplying bread, the living bread, the bread of God, that came down from heaven to give life to the world. But in the Gospel of Luke this case is used to prove something else. In other words, in recording the feeding of the five thousand, Luke has a view different from that in John 6. Once again we see that Luke’s view is related to the jubilee. Luke 9:12-17 indicates that in the jubilee no one will be in want; no one will lack, and there will not be any poverty.
According to verse 13, the multitude numbered about five thousand men. If we add in the women and the children, the number would probably be more than ten thousand. All these people were without food. There certainly was a great lack. Considering the matter from the point of view of their natural understanding, the twelve came to the Lord and said, “Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and farms to lodge and find provisions, because we are in a desolate place here” (v. 12). The disciples’ suggestion that the Lord dismiss the crowd was an expression of the natural man.
The Lord responded to the disciples by saying, “You give them something to eat” (v. 13). Here the Lord seems to be saying, “To those who are poor and have nothing to eat, you should give food without cost, without charge.” In the jubilee all are fed without cost.
The New Testament age should be a time of jubilee. However, sadly, because of the degraded situation among Christians, the jubilee has been lost. But I believe that the Lord is now recovering this jubilee. In the Lord’s recovery of the jubilee there should not be any shortage. On the contrary, there should always be something left over, just as there were twelve baskets full of broken pieces left over in 9:17. This means that there should always be an expression of the abundance of riches.
When the Lord told the disciples to give the crowd something to eat, they answered, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish among us, unless we go and buy food for all this people” (v. 13). Then the Lord told the disciples to have the people “recline in groups of about fifty each” (v. 14). “Taking the five loaves and the two fish, looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they ate and were all satisfied; and they took up that which was left over to them of broken pieces, twelve baskets” (vv. 16-17). Here we see that everyone was satisfied and that the amount left over was more than what was at hand originally. As we read this we may say, “This is a miracle.” Yes, it is a miracle. Nevertheless, we need to see the crucial point that Luke recorded this miracle in his Gospel from the point of view of the jubilee. The record of the feeding of the five thousand indicates that in the jubilee there is no lack. In the jubilee everyone is satisfied.