Luke 9:3

‘And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money, nor have two coats.” '

They were to go out as they were, not seeking out extra provisions, whether staff or bag or bread or money. Nor were they to take a change of tunic. The emphasis is on going as they are and relying on what God will give them and not looking for material supports of any kind. Thus those who normally carried staves were allowed to take them. They were not being told to throw them away (see Mark 6:8). The point was that they were not to make special preparations for the journey.

We can imagine as Jesus gave His instructions that someone asked, ‘what shall I do with my staff then? and that Jesus replied, ‘If you already have one then take it with you', something which Peter remembered (compare how in Luke 22:38 Jesus would later command them to take swords and then said two was enough. It was not the swords that counted but the idea behind them. Here it was the idea of seeking out a staff as a special support on their journey that was forbidden, not the actual possession of a staff). What was important was that they were to prove the reliability of God's promises as contained in Luke 22:12. They were learning the lesson of total reliance on God and that they must in no way depend upon themselves. They were to discover that if they sought God and His righteousness, all these thing would be added to them. There may also have been the idea of suggesting the pressing urgency of the mission. ‘You must act speedily, there is no time for preparations' (compare Luke 4:42; Matthew 10:23).

A further point may have been that Jesus did not want them to be seen as travelling mendicants or ‘professional' preachers, with their begging bags. He wanted them to be welcomed as fellow-countrymen and guests, and as not being financially superior to anyone. (Even the poorest had one tunic).