"Who Do You Say That I Am?" - Luke 9:18-23
"18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, 'Who do the crowds say I am?' 19 They replied, 'Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.' 20 'But what about you?' he asked. 'Who do you say I am?' Peter answered, 'The Christ of God.' 21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, 'The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.' 23 Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.' "
The most fundamental question in life has to do with the identity of Jesus. Everyone who is confronted with the Gospel has to wrestle with this question. Jesus asked His disciples a set up question about His identity. He asked, "Who do people say that I am?" Now He didn't ask that question to stroke His ego or because He was insecure, He was setting them up for the real question. I can hear the chatter going on as they were recalling what they had heard people say... "Some say John the Baptist!" "Well, I heard people say Elijah!" "Come to think of it, I heard people say that You are a prophet from long ago." Notice that the true identity of Jesus was not mentioned. People respected Him, but didn't know who He was. Without missing a beat Jesus turned to them and asked, "What about you? Who do you say that I am?" Out comes the real question. You see it matters little who others say that Jesus is, but what about you? Do you know, believe, and embrace the identity of Jesus? I can only imagine that Peter quickly stood up to proclaim, "You are the Christ of God!" What a significant statement! For Peter, he was saying that His friend, Jesus, was the one that all of history has been waiting for. He was God who had come to earth to rescue the Jewish people (though God's plan was a little bigger than that). Then Jesus warned them not to tell this to anyone... It wasn't time!
Jesus then proceeds to tell them that He was going to suffer, be rejected, killed, and then raised to life again. This probably sent them into confusion because this was not what they had been taught the Messiah would do. They saw the Messiah's coming and reign as one event, they missed the whole suffering, dying, and raising to life again part that the prophets spoke about. Then Jesus begins to reorient them to what it will mean to identify with Him.
He says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up His cross and follow me." Let me break it down like this. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ and want to follow Him, it will not be easy! Understand that you are asked to deny yourself... come to a place in your life that you recognize life is not about you! It's not about your dreams! It's not about what satisfies you! It's not about your agenda! It's not about what you get out of it! IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU! You surrender your life to the a divine King! And you take up your cross daily... The cross is a symbol of crucifixion. Now the disciples probably didn't connect all the dots at this point, but taking up your cross is the ultimate identification with Jesus... To follow the King into the clutches of death itself at the hands of men. It breathes a willingness to die for the King and His mission.
These are sobering thoughts! Are you willing to give up ALL (even life) to serve the purposes of your King? The only way anyone would do that is to have answered the fundamental question... "Who do you say that I am?" If you believe and embrace that Jesus is the Christ of God, then your motivation to follow Him comes from hope! If you cast Jesus off as a good story or a great teacher or merely a means to a better life when death grabs a hold of you, then what motivation do you have to stare death itself in the face and say, "IT IS WORTH IT!"
So I ask you... Who do you say that Jesus is?
Luke 9:18-23
The most fundamental question in life has to do with the identity of Jesus. Everyone who is confronted with the Gospel has to wrestle with this question. Jesus asked His disciples a set up question about His identity. He asked, "Who do people say that I am?" Now He didn't ask that question to stroke His ego or because He was insecure, He was setting them up for the real question. I can hear the chatter going on as they were recalling what they had heard people say... "Some say John the Baptist!" "Well, I heard people say Elijah!" "Come to think of it, I heard people say that You are a prophet from long ago." Notice that the true identity of Jesus was not mentioned. People respected Him, but didn't know who He was. Without missing a beat Jesus turned to them and asked, "What about you? Who do you say that I am?" Out comes the real question. You see it matters little who others say that Jesus is, but what about you? Do you know, believe, and embrace the identity of Jesus? I can only imagine that Peter quickly stood up to proclaim, "You are the Christ of God!" What a significant statement! For Peter, he was saying that His friend, Jesus, was the one that all of history has been waiting for. He was God who had come to earth to rescue the Jewish people (though God's plan was a little bigger than that). Then Jesus warned them not to tell this to anyone... It wasn't time!
Jesus then proceeds to tell them that He was going to suffer, be rejected, killed, and then raised to life again. This probably sent them into confusion because this was not what they had been taught the Messiah would do. They saw the Messiah's coming and reign as one event, they missed the whole suffering, dying, and raising to life again part that the prophets spoke about. Then Jesus begins to reorient them to what it will mean to identify with Him.
He says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up His cross and follow me." Let me break it down like this. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ and want to follow Him, it will not be easy! Understand that you are asked to deny yourself... come to a place in your life that you recognize life is not about you! It's not about your dreams! It's not about what satisfies you! It's not about your agenda! It's not about what you get out of it! IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU! You surrender your life to the a divine King! And you take up your cross daily... The cross is a symbol of crucifixion. Now the disciples probably didn't connect all the dots at this point, but taking up your cross is the ultimate identification with Jesus... To follow the King into the clutches of death itself at the hands of men. It breathes a willingness to die for the King and His mission.
These are sobering thoughts! Are you willing to give up ALL (even life) to serve the purposes of your King? The only way anyone would do that is to have answered the fundamental question... "Who do you say that I am?" If you believe and embrace that Jesus is the Christ of God, then your motivation to follow Him comes from hope! If you cast Jesus off as a good story or a great teacher or merely a means to a better life when death grabs a hold of you, then what motivation do you have to stare death itself in the face and say, "IT IS WORTH IT!"
So I ask you... Who do you say that Jesus is?
Comments