Luke 10:9

Luke 10:9, in plain English

Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' Your actions and your words should tell the same story.

Why it's here

Healing and proclamation went hand in hand. The miracles showed the kingdom's power, and the words explained what the power meant. The best witness is when your life matches your message.

Who's speaking

Jesus describes the core of their mission in receptive towns.

Where it sits in the story

In every welcoming town: heal the sick and tell them the kingdom of God is right here. The healing proved the message, and the message explained the healing.

The scholarly reading

The dual mission in welcoming towns combines therapeuete tous en autē astheneis ('heal the sick in it') with the proclamation ēngiken eph' hymas hē basileia tou theou ('the kingdom of God has come near to you'). The perfect tense ēngiken indicates the kingdom has already arrived in Jesus' messengers.

Language and setting

The healing ministry authenticates the verbal proclamation, while the proclamation interprets the healings. The kingdom's 'nearness' is not merely temporal but personal: it has come near in the presence of Jesus' authorized representatives.

Voice

Jesus gives the core mission instructions for receptive towns.

Significance

In every welcoming town, the missionaries were to heal the sick and declare that God's kingdom had come near. The physical healings served as tangible proof that the kingdom was not just announced but actually present.

7Stay at the same house, eating and drinking whatever you are offered. For the worker is worthy of his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

8If you enter a town and they welcome you, eat whatever is set before you.

9Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’

10But if you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go into the streets and declare,

11‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off as a testimony against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’

Read all of Luke 10 — A lawyer asks how to inherit eternal life and gets an answer he doesn't expect. The hero of the story is the one everyone despises.