SSL 13 - Luke 9:18-27 - TAKING UP THE CROSS
BACKGROUND: Last week in Luke 7:40-50 we heard Luke relate the story of Jesus forgiving a sinful woman at the house of Simon the Pharisee. The two theological themes of the lesson were (1) that the women loved Jesus because she was forgiven, not the reverse and (2) Jesus showed that He's much more than a prophet; He is God in the flesh, come to save sinners. The three major points of application were: (1) In order to love Jesus from the heart, you must recognize the enormity of your sin debt. Simon and the women were equally dead in their sins but only the women was broken enough to see her desperate need for forgiveness. (2) In order to love Jesus from the heart, you must admit your utter inability to repay your sin debt. By her humility and complete submission to Jesus, the women admitted helplessness-she saw no other way. But Simon refused to admit that he needed a savior because he believed he could save himself (by works) by being a good Jew who kept the law. (3) In order to love Jesus from the heart, you must completely trust His grace to forgive your otherwise unforgiveable sin debt. Like the woman in the story, when a person sees his or her debt of sin before God and his or her utter inability to pay the debt, it guides him or her to trust completely in Jesus who graciously forgives the debt, and this is the key to loving Jesus from the heart.
This week we will hear Luke bring the ministry of Jesus to a turning point. First, Jesus will ask His disciples who the people say He is, then turn around and ask them the very same question. After that, Jesus foretells His death and resurrection. Finally, He explains to them what it really means to deny self, take up your cross, and follow Him."
Read Luke 9:18-19 - WHO DO THE PEOPLE SAY THAT I AM?
18 And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, "Who do the people say that I am?" 19 They answered and said, "John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again."
v. 18a: "And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him" - Jesus always prayed when He faced an impending crisis in His life. Since the preceding verses refer to the "twelve" and the "apostles," we should take the reference to "disciples" to mean only the twelve.
v. 18b: "and He questioned them, saying, 'Who do the people say that I am?'" - The crowds of people have been important to this gospel: they went to be baptized by John (3:7); they looked for Jesus (4:42), they gathered to hear Him and be healed (5:15), they pressed on Him (8:42), He taught them (5:3), questioned them (7:24), and now He asks who these crowds say He is.
v. 19: "They answered and said, 'John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.'" - The statement about John the Baptist, Elijah, and the prophets of old mirror the earlier remarks made about Jesus by Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee in vv. 7-8. The people were looking for Elijah or somebody with Elijah's force to usher-in the age of the Messiah as foretold in Malachi 4:5: "Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord", and Elijah does in fact appear a week later at the Transfiguration as reported in Luke 9:30. However, as Luke has already shown us in this gospel, Jesus has demonstrated divine authority and powers that show Him to be far more than a prophet.
Read Luke 9:20 - BUT WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM
20 And He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."
v. 20a: "And He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?'" - The phrasing of Jesus' question to the twelve clearly indicates that He's looking for a more definitive answer. Having taught them and given them many opportunities to observe Him, He wanted more than an offhand opinion.
v. 20b: "And Peter answered and said, 'The Christ of God.'" - The Greek phrase Christós tou Theoú literally translates as Anointed of God (corresponds to the Hebrew word Messiah). In the OT, priests and kings were anointed, which pronounced their elevated status among the people; however, Jesus needed no human anointing because He had been anointed by God with the Holy Spirit at his baptism (Luke 3:21-22). For centuries, the Jewish people had looked for a Messiah, a deliverer. But they expected their deliverer would by a king like David, a mighty warrior who would deliver them from oppression, in this case bondage under their Roman overlords. While Peter and the other disciples at this point do believe that Jesus is more than "a prophet of old," they, like the people, still see Him from a worldly perspective and don't understand His divine mission as the Messiah.
Read Luke 9:21-22 - THE SON OF MAN MUST UNDERGO GREAT SUFFERING
21 But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, 22 saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day."
v. 21: "But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone" - The word Jesus uses for "warned," (Gk. epitimesas) is translated to mean "rebuked." The people, as well as His disciples, had mistaken ideas about His role as the Messiah, and Jesus didn't want to be broadcast as the leader of a revolutionary movement. He had a far more important divine mission to perform-the work of the cross-that took precedence over everything else.
v. 22: "saying, 'The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.'" - This is Jesus' first explicit prediction of His death and resurrection. "Son of man" is Jesus' most common title for Himself (used 84 times in gospels). This title pictures a divine figure who is empowered by God to reveal the purposes of OT prophecy (see Daniel 7:13-14). The word Jesus used for "must" (Gk. dei) signifies a divine imperative-something that must take place. Thus, while the death of Jesus was certainly a tragic and horrific event, it was not an accident in any sense but the fulfillment of the purpose of God in the redemption of the world. (Note: Luke doesn't include it in his gospel but the parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark report that when Jesus predicted His death, Peter took Him aside and rebuked Him, after which Jesus turned to Peter and said, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's." Matthew 8:33).
Read Luke 9:23-24 - IF ANY WANT TO BECOME MY FOLLOWERS
23 And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.
v. 23: "And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.'" - Jesus is very simply saying that anyone who honestly intends to "come after"-i.e., follow-Him, must first commit themselves to do two things: (1) deny himself: This involves much more than just giving up certain things but means denying personal control of your life and replacing it with willing obedience to Jesus as the controlling authority. And it requires you to give up anything that you would want or seek for yourself that would interfere with your ability do the will of God. In short, followership means that you've allowed Jesus' authority to permeate every aspect of your life, holding nothing back. (2) take up his cross daily: Every man from Galilee knew what taking up the cross meant-giving up your life. So, "taking up your cross" refers to giving your whole life to God, as Jesus was ready to do when he made this statement. It involves bearing burdens and suffering hardships as Jesus did, but it goes deeper: it is a total dedication of one's life; and taking it up "daily" means we are called to give our lives to God every single day, day in and day out, with no vacations. In other words, followership is a fulltime, lifetime 24/7 job.
v. 24: "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it" - This verse helps us to understand Jesus' point and how it applies. If a person sees his life (in this world) as so important that he denies Jesus and only wants to use his life to serve himself and his will, he will in the end lose his life eternally. But someone who loses his life for Jesus' sake by denying himself, will save his life by gaining eternal life.
Read Luke 9:25-27 - UNASHAMED
25 For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God."
v. 25: "For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?' - This could be reworded to say: If a man denies Jesus in this life but gains the whole world, what is his profit (or advantage) when he loses this mortal life, as all must, at the end? Answer: Zero. And what is his loss: Total. On the other hand, denying this life now and giving it to Jesus will yield you eternal benefits-life-of immeasurable value.
v. 26: "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels" - Being ashamed of Jesus means avoiding any connection with Him and is the opposite of accepting Him as your Lord and Savior. When "He comes in His glory" refers to His seconding coming when He will "be ashamed," that is, judge, all of those who were ashamed of and rejected Him.
v. 27: "But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God" - Here, Jesus refers to Peter, James, and John, who will witness Jesus at the Transfiguration six days later, as reported in Luke 9:28-36.
APPLICATION-Three points on the cost of discipleship:
1. Every one of us must give an answer to the question of who Jesus is. Some might answer that He was a great teacher or provided a great example of living a moral and righteous life, but the only correct answer is that He is the Son of God, the Christ.
2. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ you must deny yourself. Jesus Himself said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself" (v. 23a). This entails much more than just giving up certain things but means denying personal control of your life and replacing it with willing obedience to Jesus as your controlling authority. Denying self requires you to give up anything that you would want or seek for yourself that would interfere with your ability do the will of God. It means that you've allowed Jesus' authority to permeate every aspect of your life, holding nothing back.
3. To be a disciple of Jesus Christ you must take up your cross daily. Taking up your cross means giving your whole life to God, as Jesus was ready to do when he predicted His death on the cross. It involves bearing burdens and suffering hardships as Jesus did, but it goes deeper: it is a total dedication of one's life; and taking it up "daily" means we are called to give our lives to God every single day, day in and day out, with no vacations.
