“But who do you say that I am?”

Luke 9:7-27 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, ⁸ and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again. ⁹ Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him.

¹⁰ When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida. ¹¹ But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing.

¹² Now the day was ending, and the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat; for here we are in a desolate place.” ¹³ But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ (For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ They did so, and had them all sit down. ¹⁶ Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people. ¹⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.

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.” ²⁰ And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” 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.”

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. 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.”

In today’s text it says:  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?”  They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.” And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”   If Jesus asked the same question  today, “Who do the people say that I am,” what might the answer be?  Some might say a good man or teacher, others might say a myth or a fable. Many today would call Him a fictional character. If Jesus asked the same question of His disciples today, “But who do you say that I am,” what might the answer be?  Many would again say a good man or teacher, but would they say, “The Christ of God.”  Many hold to the promise of John 3:16: God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  But to believe, must a person also not know who He is? To claim the blessings of Jesus, He must be known as more than a good man and teacher, more than a prophet; He must be known as more than one of the great people of the Bible and surely He must be known as more than a fictional character; a myth or a legend. Jesus must be known as the Christ of God; the Messiah, the Anointed One; the Lord, Savior and Redeemer. To know Him as the Christ, requires that we acknowledge our need of who He is. Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.   If we were not sinners, there would have been no need for Christ to die for us.

In the text it says:  He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, 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. If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 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.  For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? 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.”   Jesus instructed them not to tell anyone that He was the Christ. In Matthew’s account, in Matthew 16:16-17 it says:  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”  Even today, the revelation of who Jesus is, that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, must come from the Father. It comes through the conviction and leading of the Holy Spirit. We who are flesh and blood cannot convince anyone that Jesus is the Christ apart from the revelation of the Father and the Spirit. Rather than saying who Jesus is, we are to follow Him.  He says: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 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.  For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? 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.”

The text ends with Jesus saying:  “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.”   John 3:16 says that whoever believes will have eternal life; so for the believer, they will see the kingdom of God after they have tasted death. It is not necessary though to wait until after death to see the kingdom of God. Like the revelation of Christ, the kingdom of God is also revealed by the Father and the Spirit. In John 4:24 Jesus says: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  In Luke 17:21 Jesus says:  “Indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”  

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for the revelation of who Jesus is; that He is the Lord, Savior and Redemer; that He is the Christ. Thank You that the kingdom of God is revealed not only in eternal life, but also by the Holy Spirit it is in us. May I live to demonstrate Your love and to be a revelation of the kingdom to the world.  Amen.