Luke 9:18- 20 Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ
“And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
So, they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
Luke 9:21-22 Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection
And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, 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 the third day.”
Luke 9:23-27 Take Up the Cross and Follow Him
Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”
Finally, Jesus has gotten some time to pray by himself when the disciples show up. Jesus poses a question: Who do people say Jesus is? The disciples recite a number of standard answers before Jesus asks, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answers properly, “The Christ of God.” Although Peter is speaking on behalf of all the disciples, some of the disciples might still be cherishing different answers. Why if all the disciples truly believe Jesus is the Christ, will Judas eventually betray him?
What’s interesting is Jesus’ reaction to Peter’s statement: Jesus orders all the disciples not to tell anybody. “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 the third day.” There are several reasons Jesus might say this. First, Jesus doesn’t want the disciples to be put out of the synagogues at this point. Second, Jesus doesn’t want the disciples to suffer unduly on his behalf, even though eventually most of them will die as Christian martyrs. Timing is everything, and it’s not yet time for this information to be widely spread.
But there’s more. Jesus proceeds to issue a chilling warning. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”
Crucifixion is one of the most painful deaths as well as one of the most shameful. Criminals condemned to be crucified are forced to carry their crosses to the site of crucifixion so everybody will know how they are about to die. This cruel action is taken as a deterrent to other criminals. Now Jesus is advising his followers that they must be willing to deny themselves…what? Deny food? Water? Family loyalties? Job satisfaction?
Jesus is advising his followers that becoming his disciple means putting the Gospel and the needs of the Kingdom of God ahead of everything else. One such individual who did exactly that was William Whiting Borden. William Borden was born into a very wealthy family in Chicago who were also dedicated Christians. As early as age eight, Borden stated that “I want to be an honest man when I grow up; a true and loving and kind and faithful man.” Borden proceeded to Yale University, where he distinguished himself academically, athletically, and in his faith. While still a college student, Borden funded and worked in several outreach programs, both in New Haven and in New York City. Borden received divinity training at Princeton. Eventually, William Borden moved to Egypt to prepare for ministry as a missionary. Sadly, Borden died from meningitis before he could ever begin the ministry toward which he had been working.
Wealth, fame, luxury-Borden had all these things and more. But none of that mattered because he was totally dedicated to the cause of Jesus Christ. What was Borden’s final assessment of his own life? “No reserve, no retreat, no regrets.” This was Borden’s statement even as he realized he was dying.
William Borden gave up everything for the sake of Jesus Christ, carrying his cross daily. What ae we doing? How many of us want to tell Jesus, “Lord, I’m willing to go this far but no farther? I’ll give up everything else but _____.” And notice something else: we are to yield to Jesus daily. We must continue to die to ourselves; this is not a one-time thing. We must remain faithful even when the cause of Christ appears foolish. May God help us to continue to die to ourselves and to follow hard after Jesus, no matter what happens.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to die to our own interests and follow You, no matter what. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment