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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’s passage covers the key turning point in the life of Jesus’ disciples. Until now the Twelve had followed Jesus as their teacher and hopeful Messiah candidate. But now, after seeing and participating in many great works of God, Jesus asks them to make a decision. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter makes the right confession. From that point, Jesus begins to teach his disciples his cross and the basic attitude that is necessary for being his disciple. Let’s pray that God will enable us to take Jesus’ words to heart so we can be true modern-day disciples of Jesus.

This passage can be divided into three parts: Peter’s confession of Christ (18-20), Jesus teaches the true work of the Christ (21-22), and Jesus teaches the requirements of discipleship (23-27).

I.             Peter answered, “The Christ of God” (18-20)

As we saw in last week’s message, Luke’s purpose in this section of his gospel is to reveal Jesus’ disciple training ministry as it developed. Jesus had begun training his disciples by sending them on an evangelistic journey. After they came back, he challenged them to feed the large crowd, saying, “You give them something to eat.” Jesus was teaching them to depend on his power and to learn his compassion in serving others. This was important. Yet it was not the most important thing; it was not the key to being Jesus’ disciple. It is possible to participate in Jesus’ work without being his true disciple. So now he wanted them to make a personal decision and confession.

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 was Jesus doing? He was praying in private. Here is one of the verses that show Jesus’ personal relationship with God. Maybe the disciples still only prayed at mealtime and in the church. Jesus prayed to depend on God to do God’s work, because only the Holy Spirit could move the disciples’ hearts to confess faith in him. Jesus knew that raising disciples was working together with Sovereign God. So he sought God’s right time, God’s way, and God’s help. Many of our coworkers are also praying to find the way to help someone decide for Jesus. I know Dr. Henry Kim prayed a lot to figure out how to help somebody like me confess Jesus. Helping others confess faith in Christ is the very work of God. We can participate in this holy work only through much prayer.

After prayer, Jesus initiated a dialogue with his disciples. First he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?” This question was on-topic, but it was not personal. It was kind of a warm-up; all it required was to relay information. 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” (19). Their answer tells us what ordinary people of that time thought about Jesus. They respected Jesus as a man of God, even though the religious leaders slandered Jesus in many ways. Jesus was, and always has been, popular among ordinary people. Recently, Dan Kimball published a book describing the attitude of the emerging generation toward Jesus. Maybe you’ve heard of it; it is called, “They like Jesus but not the church.” I haven’t read the book; but the situation described by the title is not really something new. Many people respect and admire Jesus without seeking to know him personally, including Hindus and Muslims.

However, Jesus wanted something more from his disciples. It seems the real purpose of the first question was to help the disciples make a contrast between themselves and the crowd. Look at verse 20a. “‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’” Jesus had given them the privilege of sharing his personal daily life. He had allowed them to participate in great miracles. Since they had received more light, he expected them to have a deeper relationship with him through answering this question for themselves.

This was not easy to do. Maybe the hardest question to answer is, “What do you really think?” It’s even harder when it pertains to spiritual matters. There’s no doubt that confessing our honest heart’s conviction is a commitment. Once you say what you believe, you become responsible to live up to it. So to make such a confession indeed requires courage. There is one story that is a very appropriate illustration of this. There was once a stuntman who walked across Niagara Falls on a high wire, while pushing a wheelbarrow. After doing so, and receiving much applause, he asked the audience, “Do you think I can do this with a person in the wheelbarrow?” They all said, “Yes.” Then he asked one man, “Will you be that person?” He said, “No.” The spectator agreed in his mind that the stuntman could do it, but he was not willing to risk his own life over it. In the same way, Jesus is not looking for cheerleading spectators. Jesus wants his disciples to get into the wheelbarrow. Jesus wants a confession that represents our life commitment.

At Jesus’ second question, the disciples realized that Jesus was serious and that their answer was very important. Who was willing to say the words they were all thinking? Thank God that Peter was willing; he stepped forward and said boldly, “The Christ of God.” It was the right answer. It was the answer Jesus wanted to hear. It was exactly what the angels had said about Jesus at birth: “a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Lk 2:11). Of course, the disciples already thought that Jesus was the Christ; but the work of God is that now Peter and the disciples were willing to pledge themselves to this fact, and to Jesus personally.

In this part, we learn that what Jesus wants from his disciples is a personal confession that he is the Christ of God. Many people think that Jesus is the Christ. But that in itself has no power. Confession with our mouth has power. God hears it, and based on our confession God gives us a new relationship with himself. Romans 10:9 says “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Many of our coworkers now have direction to seek a deeper personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They are seeking the right thing; we must engage in such a relationship by any means. How can it happen? The relationship with Jesus can be compared to the marriage relationship. When does the personal relationship of marriage start? It starts with a confession—when the man and woman say “I do”! Until that point, no matter how much they like each other, it’s not a marriage relationship. It’s the same way with Jesus. A true personal relationship with Jesus begins with our confession that he is the Christ of God.

Let’s think more about what Peter’s confession means. So what does it mean—“The Christ of God”? Many people think that Christ is Jesus’ last name. However, “Christ” is not a name, but a designation. “Christ” is a Greek word, the equivalent of “Messiah” in Hebrew, and it means “Anointed One.” Jesus was specially anointed by God as he was baptized by John in the Jordan River. The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus. By the power of that anointing, Jesus defeated the devil’s temptations and began to preach the kingdom of God. Peter had seen the evidence that Jesus was the one anointed by God when Jesus drove out demons, healed the sick, raised the dead and calmed the storm. As Peter said, “The Christ of God,” he acknowledged God’s anointing on Jesus as the Christ.

It’s also important that Peter called Jesus the Christ “of God”. By saying “of God”, Peter indicated that Christ is not a human title. “The Christ of God” means that Jesus is not just some Messiah, but the very Messiah whom God planned to send from the beginning. He is the promised seed of the woman who crushes Satan’s head (Gen 3:15); he is Abraham’s descendant through whom the whole world would be blessed (Gen 12:2-3; Gal 3:16); he is the king who sits on David’s throne forever (2 Sam 7:12,16; Lk 1:31-33). Isaiah’s poetic description in 9:6 says most excellently: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” The Christ reigns forever with righteousness and justice. The Christ makes everything right in the world once again. He is the deliverer of Israel, the hope of nations, and the Savior of the whole world.

Do you believe that Jesus is this person sent from God himself? Peter testified that Jesus is “The Christ of God.” Who do you say Jesus is? In our testimony meeting on Friday, some of us got the chance to make our confession that Jesus is the Christ. We experienced that confessing Jesus as Christ the Lord and our personal Savior has great power. But I think that not everyone here has done it. Some people may have even grown up in church, and yet they never really committed themselves to Christ with their heart and mouth. Without it, we don’t yet have our own adult relationship with Jesus. Some people talk about Jesus but never talk to Jesus personally. If you have never confessed Jesus out loud, let me encourage you to write a testimony in your own words confessing Jesus as the Christ, and to come and share it before God’s people at our Friday meeting. Are you willing to say the words? Whether it’s the first time or not, let’s pray for each of us to make our own confession: “You are the Christ of God.”

II.            Jesus said, “The Son of Man must suffer, die and rise to life” (21-22)

Peter’s confession was right and true. But right after he made it, Jesus strictly warned the disciples not to tell anyone. Why? It’s simply because it was not God’s time. Before being revealed to the whole world as the Christ, first Jesus had to finish the work of the Christ. Now that the disciples had committed themselves to him, Jesus began to describe this work to them. Now Jesus could be “straight up” with them; by their confession, now the disciples were coworkers of Christ.

Let’s read 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.’” Jesus refers to himself as “The Son of Man.” This is a messianic title. In the book of Daniel it says that the Son of Man is given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worship him. His dominion is everlasting, and his kingdom will never be destroyed. Jesus declared himself to be this Son of Man. Yet how did Jesus attain this great glory and authority? Jesus 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.”

Jesus’ way of becoming the Christ is a great contrast to the way worldly rulers seize power. They sacrifice their followers to win victory and attain power and glory. But Jesus sacrificed himself. It was how he fought and conquered our enemies for us. It’s because our real enemies are sin and death and the devil. In order to liberate us from these enemies, Jesus had to suffer and die in our place. Nobody likes to hear about suffering; but there was no other way. That is why he used the word “must.” Jesus was the only one in God’s universe who could accomplish the salvation of mankind. He alone is fully human and fully divine. His sacrifice alone is sufficient and effective to solve man’s sin problem and restore us to a right relationship with God. If he did not go the way of the cross, God’s glory would be compromised and mankind would perish. But as we know, Jesus did go the way of the cross. Jesus suffered and died for our sins. Isaiah says, “...he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities....” Paul says, “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood” (Ro 3:25). Then, on the third day, God raised Jesus to life. Jesus’ complete victory for us in his death is proven by his resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection also shows us that death is not the tragic end. Christ promises that those who die in him will also rise with him as heirs of his kingdom, where there are no tears, sorrows or pains. The work of the Christ through his suffering, death, and resurrection is far greater than anybody could imagine.

Jesus knew his disciples could not yet grasp all this. But Jesus’ disciples finally must know the meaning of his suffering, death and resurrection. In the end, we have to accept Jesus not based on our worldly dream, but based on his way of salvation, which is the cross. Once we thought our enemies were the system, the situation, and the people who made our lives difficult. Once we thought our life was our own and we could be happy when we could do whatever we wanted to do. However, in the course of living with this attitude we did many shameful and destructive things and totally failed to live up to our God-given potential. When I understood Jesus’ death on the cross through his word, I realized that my life was forfeited because of my sins—it was already wasted. But I also saw that Christ’s death purchased me back for God, forgiving all my sins, and he rose to life for our justification. Jesus accomplished our complete salvation through his suffering, death and resurrection. Praise be to God for his indescribable gift! So from now on, we give him back the life we owe. My life does not belong to me, but to Christ who died for me and rose again. Jesus is our Savior, our King and our Good Lord. Let’s read verse 22 one more time. “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.’”

III.          “If anyone would come after me...” (23-27)

When we come into a relationship with Jesus, on the basis of his grace of forgiveness, Jesus becomes our Lord and our King. So we must learn how to please our king. What does the Lord Jesus expect from us? He calls us to follow him as his disciple. In verses 23 Jesus tells us the life of a disciple. Let’s read verse 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.’” Here Jesus is making a universal statement that applies not just to the apostles but to anyone who would come after him. As there was a “must” for Jesus, there is a “must” for Jesus’ disciples. Jesus wants us to be clear about the life of a disciple. Let’s think about each part of this verse.

First, “...he must deny himself....” Our culture tells us to “indulge yourself,” and “treat yourself.” But Jesus said to “deny yourself.” It seems like no one will buy Jesus’ product! What does it even mean, “deny yourself”? Jesus knows that our self, when it is corrupted by sin, becomes a kind of evil monster which will rule over us and make us useless to God. The goal of the sinful self is self-glory, self-gratification, self-indulgence, and other “self-” words. The self claims that the universe exists to gratify the self. This self ignores God, and uses others for its own benefit. The self is never satisfied but always wants more and more and more for itself. Once, we had no choice but to serve this terrible tyrant, the sinful self. But since Christ has come into our hearts, we now serve Christ as our king. Instead of serving the self, we serve Jesus Christ. Thank God! To do so, we must deny the old self. Whenever it whispers to us to “be selfish,” we must say “no,” and turn to Christ. Obviously, going our own way is not following Jesus. The Bible teaches that the self cannot be self-helped. Rather the self must be crucified with Christ. When we do so, the new self that Christ gives us will grow in Jesus’ image, in true holiness and righteousness.

Second, “...and take up his cross daily....” As denying oneself is the negative part, taking up one’s cross is the positive, active part of being Jesus’ disciple. The cross symbolizes the painful difficulty required to accomplish God’s purpose. Of course, accomplishing God’s purpose gives us deep joy and the meaning of life. But it is not always easy or pleasant. We each must go through painful hardships to follow Jesus. Jesus wants us not to avoid these, but to take them positively and proactively, as he did. Our cross includes the pains of rejection from unbelievers, and the sacrifices that are necessary to share the gospel and raise disciples. Our cross also includes the personal pains we live with due to specific life problems or issues. To each of his beloved children who accept their mission, God gives their own cross. It is for our own good—to help us be holy—and also to reveal the glory of Jesus through our weakness. Of course, this is not a burden we have to bear all alone. We have each other, our brothers and sisters in Christ. “Two are better than one…if one falls down, his friend can help him up.” (Ecc 4:9-10) And it’s Christ himself who comes and lives in us to give us supernatural strength to bear our cross.

The last words of the verse are, “…and follow me.” This is the purpose. The purpose of denying ourselves and taking up our cross is to follow Jesus. Following Jesus is the greatest life purpose. Confessing Jesus is not the end but the beginning. After this, we follow Jesus in order to become like him and to share in his eternal inheritance. Paul confessed his burning desire to follow Jesus. He said: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection of the dead.” (Php 3:10-11). Nobody likes to hear that they will suffer. But Jesus was not afraid that his disciples would run away when he shared this hard reality with them. He also knew that the joy they would have in his salvation would far surpass any troubles they could have on earth.

Note that Jesus’ requirement in verse 23 includes the word “daily.” Jesus is really talking about our daily lifestyle. He wants to change our lifestyle from empty self-seeking to a meaningful and deliberate lifestyle of following him. Let’s begin each day, not by thinking of how to please ourselves, but by yielding control of our lives to Christ, trusting him to take care of us, and then finding out how to serve him practically. That’s mission life.

To help us be clear that there is no other way, Jesus closes with one deep spiritual principle and one fact. What is the principle? Look at verses 24-25. “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?” To try to save our lives means to obey that sinful self we talked about. The sinful self loves the world and is always seeking more from the world—more money, more comfort, more praise from people. But by pursuing these things, our soul only becomes more and more corrupted and hell-bound. By being self-centered, we finally lose our very self! However, if we lose our life for Jesus—not by committing suicide, but by denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following him—we will save it for now and for eternity.

Look at verse 26. “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.” The fact is that Jesus will come again in glory. His power, authority, and majesty will be displayed fully. He will appear as King of kings and Lord of lords, and as the judge of the whole human race. Very soon, for each one of us, everything we have in this world will vanish in one moment. Then it will be very clear that the only thing that matters is the judgment of Christ. At that moment, when everything visible disappears, we’ll realize that to hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” is worth more than the whole world. With this priority system, let’s accept Jesus’ word, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” If we accept his word, we will be true disciples and Jesus will work in our lives mightily to help us step by step to become cross-carriers for him. I experienced it.

Today we have learned the essence of discipleship from Jesus. At the heart of discipleship is our confession of Christ. Let’s prayerfully decide to confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and follow him.