The Christ of God

Luke 9:18-27

Key Verse 9:20

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God."

Today we would like to think about Simon Peter's great confession of faith, "You are the Christ of God." Luke's gospel can be divided into two parts: part 1 consists of Luke 1:1-9:27; and part 2 covers Luke 9:28-24:52. Luke's gospel has one theme: Jesus Christ. Part 1 is dedicated to revealing Jesus' identity as the Savior of the world, and part 2 is devoted to describing Jesus' work as the Savior of the world. The passage for today concludes part 1. In this passage Jesus asked the disciples two questions. The first question was designed to test the people's knowledge of Jesus. The second question was aimed at testing the disciples' knowledge of Jesus. It was like a mid term exam question by which a professor tests his students' knowledge of the subject he taught during the first semester. As we shall see soon Simon Peter got an A plus on this important exam question. 

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God." Romans 10:10 says, "For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." This passage indicates that making a confession of faith in Jesus as the Christ of God is the key to getting saved into God’s family. So let us think about Simon Peter's great confession.

Part I. Who do the crowds say I am? 

Look at verse 18. "Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"" What did the disciples say? Look at verse 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."" 

Jesus' question and the disciples' answer indicate that the crowds did not know Jesus at all. It appears that they knew about Jesus "a lot". But this information about Jesus did not result in their salvation, for what they knew about Jesus was all "wrong". When you think about it, the answers to Jesus' question were not gradable as either an A, B, C, D, or F. They were gradable as either "pass" or "fail", "right" or "wrong." And they all failed to pull out the right stick. Upon hearing the answers the disciples came up with, Jesus did not say anything. He made no comments. Why? The answer is obvious. 

Not knowing who Jesus really is not a small problem. Once upon a time Socrates said to his disciples, "Know yourself." What if you don't know yourself? Well, in my opinion, it is not a big deal. Why? The more you know about yourself, the more you will be frustrated. But it is not so with the knowledge of Jesus. Knowing Jesus accurately and fully is so critical to one's salvation that one cannot afford being inaccurate or altogether wrong on who Jesus really is. 

However it is very interesting to note that a lot of people in Jesus' day in Israel made a lot of efforts to follow Jesus, and even wanted to figure out who Jesus was, and still they failed to put their finger on Jesus’ true identity. Remember how in the previous passage (Luke 9:10-17) lots of people "ran" to Jesus and spent time with Jesus "all day long." They did nothing but listen to Jesus and learn from Jesus. In love, Jesus must have taught them a number of things. Plus, at the end of the day Jesus performed a "miracle". This miracle was a huge miracle. He turned the five small loaves of bread and two tiny fish into more than 50 truckloads of Big Mac's and Fillet Minions! Can you do that? Have you ever seen any one do that? 

In order to attend a Bible conference that took place in a place nearby a town called Bethsaida, some of them must have traveled a long distance, and in order to do that they must have taken days off from work. Yet their efforts to spend time with Jesus did not yield any accurate knowledge of Jesus. 

Why? Well, you may argue that Jesus is too great for anyone to figure him out in a short period of time. But think about what Paul said to King Agrippa. "Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains." Acts 26:29 Like King Agrippa the crowds had their own opportunities to hear Jesus and become Christians. But they failed to know Jesus and turn their lives to Jesus. 

Why? Here is a clue: the distinction between the "crowds" and the "disciples". Look at verse 18. "Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?" This passage describes two different classes of people: the disciples and the crowds. What is the difference? The meanings of these words tell the difference. So let us stop for a moment and think about the meanings of these words. What does the word ‘disciple’ mean? Well, one of the meanings is "discipline". So, the disciples got a lot of discipline from Jesus. They were like officer candidates who enroll themselves in at West Point Military Academy. Because these cadets are determined to graduate with honors, they brave all kinds of hardships and difficulties. Honoring their honorable desire to graduate with honors, their drill sergeants train them hard. Like these cadets Jesus also honored the disciples' commitment to learning from Jesus that Jesus put them through strict training programs such as field work training, feeding training, or storm training. Through these training programs they came to know who Jesus is. They opened their eyes to the true greatness of Jesus. 

But what about the crowds? By definition the word ‘crowd’ means all that are not so noble but mean: a throng of people, a mass of people, or simply a mob, or even a bunch of gang bangers. They were thronging around Jesus. The mass of people all gathered around Jesus, got quick benefits from Jesus, and then after messing up the area, they left Jesus as quickly as they came. And most of them (if not all of them) were interested in not knowing who Jesus really is but how to get quick benefits all "ahead" of others.

This comparison already tells us how we can avoid the problem of the crowds. For one thing, we must make our motive right in following Jesus. What is my motive? Why do I come to a church fellowship? Why do I struggle to serve a message on Sundays? Why do I attend a conference? Why do I join a common life with fellow brothers and sisters? Why do I study or teach the Bible in the first place? Or simply why do I follow Jesus? 

The Apostle Paul set a good example in avoiding the problems the crowds suffered, for in all of his activities in the Lord he endeavored to achieve one thing and one thing alone: that is, to know Jesus Christ. At this moment, I would like to bother everyone to read Philippians 3:1-16. 

Part II. Who do you say I am?

Look at verse 20. ""But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God."" How did Jesus respond? Look at verse 21. "Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone." Jesus' answer indicates that Peter identified Jesus correctly, but in regard to the mission Jesus came to fulfill as the Christ of God, Peter needed further enlightenment.

Look at verse 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." "This passage shows us the mission Jesus came to fulfill, and the mission is to resolve two chronic problems which all peoples of all generations suffer from: sin and death. 

I have said two words which should make everyone "tremble". But none of us tremble at these words. Maybe all of us have become dull on these two fundamental issues of life. After all we have heard people saying, "Well, all are sinners, and all sin. What is the big deal?" Or "Hey, all die anyway, and we cannot do a thing about it. Why bother to talk about it now?" 

But let us be realistic about these problems, for even among us there are many who have resolved these two problems. Of course all are sinners. But a number of them are "forgiven" sinners; and of all the forgiven sinners, not all people repeat the same sin again and again. A number of them already overcame the kind of sin problem they used to suffer from. Some used to be habitual liars. But they no longer lie. They no longer find any reason to tell a lie, for they've cleaned up their old ways of life, so that they have no more motivation to lie. 

Again, Jesus came to resolve two problems: the problem of sin and the problem of death. These two however are not two but one; they are all related together, but sin is the cause the death is the effect, as Paul says, "the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23a

One of the problems we have is the problem of trying to solve a problem which is not a problem at all. For example if you are a bachelor, and currently have no girlfriend, it is not a problem at all. But so many people find this as a problem. This problem, that is, the problem of thinking a problem as a problem when it is not a problem is a problem. 

Another problem we have is the problem of trying to solve all the problems which exist on a surface level, never touching the problems which exist on a fundamental level. When one studies the Bible and humanity living on the surface of the earth with a sober mind, it is not difficult to understand that a lot of problems we have in life are related together. For example, by virtue of natural descent, all human beings are related together, all the way back to the first man Adam, so that by means of natural birth the problem of the first man Adam who lived many centuries ago remains directly connected to the problem of us who live in this 21st century. In addition, the problem that exists on a non-physical level is related to the problem that exists on a physical level. For example, you may think that you have enough money in your bank account to cover the amount of the check you are going to write. Let us assume hypothetically that you bought a laptop for $1,500. In your bank account however you only have $1,499. Yet, thinking that you have enough to cover the cost, you write a check. What then will happen? The check will bounce. If your bank honors the check because your bank gives you overdraft protection, your bank will charge you a fee which in many cases exceeds $20. Your erroneous thinking which Jesus calls "folly" exists on an invisible level. This folly causes you to suffer from ill consequences that become manifested on a physical level such as bad credit or overdraft charges. In this latter case, if you remove the problem called "folly", you have effectively removed the possibility to be hit by all other problems such as bad credit. 

God is the God of economy. He sent Jesus to address the problems that must be addressed. And the problems Jesus came to address are the problems that exist on a fundamental level, so that as one resolves these problems, all other problems would naturally dissolve all by themselves. And Jesus came to solve the problem of sin, which is at the root of all other problems we have.

In the day of Jesus and like the people of our own generation people had tons of problems: the problem of a bad economy, the problem of political inequity, the problem of social injustice such as slavery etc. and so forth. But these are all symptoms not causes. The real cause of man's problems is the problem of sin. And it is this sin that causes man to die and then suffer eternal separation from God. 

How then is Jesus going to solve the problem of sin and death? How is Jesus going to give us an eternal break from the horrible consequence of eternal condemnation? Look at verse 22 again. "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." We can divide this passage into two parts. The first part is for him to suffer, be rejected, and then be killed. The second part is for him to be raised on the third day. The first part is designed to solve man's sin problem. The second part is designed to solve the problem of death. But hit the first problem first, and then take care of the second problem, for as the first problem gets resolved, the second problem melts down all in a natural order of events. 

Let us focus on the first part: "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..." Here the expression "The Son of Man must suffer many things" refers to the trials and ordeals Jesus was to face in front of the Gentiles, namely the court led by Pontius Pilate. Indeed as Jesus predicted, Jesus stood the trial before the Gentile Ruler, Pontius Pilate. Although he was proved innocent, still as it was written in the Scriptures, he got blindfolded, mocked, spit upon, and beaten down blow after blow, with blood flowing down his face, reaching the point where he was disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness. The part that reads, "[The Son of Man must] be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law" refers to Jesus' trial in front of the Sanhedrin (the religious court) where the religious leaders of the day condemned Jesus to die. Of course the expression "must be killed" refers to his sufferings and death on the cross, the shedding of the very last drop of blood in his body. And it was all prophesied in the Scriptures. (Genesis 22; Exodus 12; Psalm 22; Isaiah 53, etc.)

Why then did he have to suffer like this? Why did he die such a terrible death like this? Most of us already know the answer: he suffered like this to pay the penalty for the sins which he did not commit. It was for God to punish the sins all the descendants of Adam committed and will continue to commit. In a criminal law there is such a rule as no double jeopardy which means you cannot punish a sinner twice for the same crime. Because Jesus suffered and died on the cross for my sins, your sins, our sins, and the sins of all sinners, for all who put trust in Him, no further punishment for all of their sins is due. [Read Lev 4:35, Hebrews 9:6-15; 10:5-18.] 

We can easily understand this grace of sin-forgiveness, and God's provision for the relief from eternal condemnation for all believers, when we think about the Biblical practice that compares man's sin to a debt. For example our Lord Jesus taught us to pray saying, "Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors." Matthew 6:12 Here our "debts" mean "our sins" committed against God the Father. Our "debtors" refer to those who committed sins against us. In the story of the prodigal son Jesus also adopted the same concept when he used the expression twice: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you". Luke 15:18,21 

We are all sinners. Who isn't? So we are all debtors. But because we cannot pay the debt, someone else had to pay the debt. Jesus who was debt-free paid the debts of all. In fact all of our debts are so humongous that no one is rich enough to cover all the debts. But Jesus did, for in the eyes of God the Father to whom we all owe our debts, Jesus is the most precious, more valuable than all the debts we owe him!  

Then Jesus says that on the third day he must be raised to life. What does the resurrection of Jesus mean? John 14:19 answers the question: "Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live." There is much more to say about the good imports of Jesus' resurrection, but we will stop right here. 

How then can we avail ourselves to that which Jesus came to fulfill? Let us read verses 23-27. "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. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."" This passage tells us how we can practically avail ourselves to the work Jesus came to fulfill, that is, the conquest of sin and death, and the enjoyment of the eternal life in God's kingdom. 

When we read this Bible passage we are a bit overwhelmed, for it talks about everything that is confrontational. But we know that the stakes involved are high. So we do not take this passage lightly. Then as we try to practice what Jesus says, we are confused as to the meanings of his instructions. Jesus says, "Deny himself." What does that mean? Take up his cross daily. We can understand the word "daily", but what does the "cross" mean? Jesus says, "Follow me". We can understand what the word "follow" means. But practically then what does it mean to "follow" Jesus in our day to day life? All these questions are quite puzzling. The passage itself however presents two clues that lead us to a correct understanding of the meanings of these words. 

We find the first clue in the phrase, "if anyone would come after me..." in verse 23. The second clue is found in v. 27, "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." Here we see the expression "the kingdom of God." Let us combine the two clues together and see what we get. Jesus is now going ahead of us. We are to follow Jesus. Then, where is Jesus is going to lead us? The answer is obvious. He is leading us to the kingdom of God. Here then we have a journey - journeying from this mundane world to His kingdom. In his book entitled the Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan called this journey a "holy pilgrimage." We join this pilgrimage by accepting Jesus Christ and following him daily. And the journey will come to an end when one finishes his life in his physical body here on earth and be welcomed into the presence of God where he will be at home with Jesus Christ. John 14:23 

It is in this context of the journey that all the instructions come into play. With this in mind let us read verses 23-27 once again. We can categorize the instructions contained in these five verses into 3 categories: 

No. 1 - The instruction to follow Jesus, the ultimate travel guide (v. 23); 

No. 2 - The warning against the ill consequences of not following Jesus but following either one's own ideas or the good looking things of this world (vs. 24-26a); and

No. 3 - The promise of the glorious reward that will be bestowed upon those who follow Jesus to the end (vs. 26b-27). 

Category no. 1 talks about what we must strive to hold onto by any means. Category no. 2 identifies what we must avoid at all costs. And category no. 3 is the glorious hope we have in Jesus. 

Now, let us stop for a moment and briefly think about the instructions to follow Jesus. In verse 23, the call for self-denial, daily cross taking, and following Jesus are all needed for a purpose, that is, to come after Jesus and reach the glory Jesus wants to bestow upon his followers. In our own generation coming after Jesus means following Jesus' words through the help of the Holy Spirit. Then the meaning of self-denial, daily taking up the cross, especially the meaning of the cross, and the substance of the call to "follow" Jesus becomes clear. For example in John 21:15 Jesus says, "Feed my lamb." Here by the lamb Jesus does not mean a literal lamb but human beings. He means little children, those who are young spiritually. In some cases, lambs could be your parents. So feed my lamb means spiritual babysitting. In order to baby sit, you must deny yourself. I am now learning the meaning of denying myself newly at this age, for my granddaughter Christyn is not going to go by my terms but by her terms. Feeding sheep is also a cross. It gives you some level of joy, but essentially it is a cross. We are to feed sheep with godly love. And love is patient. And you need to be really patient in serving a sheep. What then does it mean to follow Jesus? By definition the word “follow” presupposes that Jesus is going somewhere. Where is Jesus going? Verse 27 answers the question: kingdom of God. What does the kingdom of God mean? It means the domain where God is the king. Verses 24-26 indicate that there are two hindrances that stand in the way to God's kingdom: yourself and the world. So in order to follow Jesus daily we must die to ourselves, and to the desires for this world. 

In conclusion, let us read verse 20. "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God." Thank and praise God who sent Jesus the Christ of God. May the Lord bless us to make a confession of faith daily, and follow Jesus. 

One word: The Christ of God

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