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True Jesus; True Christian |
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Bible Study -
Devotional
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Contributed by Phil Spadaro
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Tuesday, 27 February 2007 |
 Who is Jesus and what does it take to be his follower?
Luke 9:18-27 (New International Version)
18Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with
him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?" 19They 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." 20"But what about
you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Peter answered, "The Christ of God."
21Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22And 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."
23Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26If 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. 27I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."
Although Luke 9:18-27 is often broken into three parts, it is to be read as a connected series of topics. This slice of the book of Luke can be used as a “mini-gospel” or synopsis of the New Testament as it foreshadows the some of the stages needed for one to be a Christian.
Jesus starts by asking his disciples who others think he is. Then he questions them about who they think he is. When we approach Jesus today, it is important we make a distinction between the perceived cultural Jesus (permissive, weak, carnal, profane, etc...) and the Jesus of the bible. Which one do we believe in? Peter came to the conclusion that not only was Jesus supernatural (all the other answers were people who were reincarnated) but the Messiah. Unfortunately, we are often fed a supernatural Jesus by the religious world who resembles a reincarnation of an amalgam of spiritual ideas. There is on answer to, “who is Jesus?”; the Christ! Let us be clear with ourselves first, brothers second and the lost third; Jesus is the Christ and “[He is] the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through [him].” (John 14:6)
In verse 22, Jesus launches into the core of the Good News. “...he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” The disciples needed more than to know that he was the Christ. They needed to know what type of Messiah he was. Jesus proclaims himself as a suffering sacrificial Christ and not the expected political king. He even tells them of the resurrection. Jesus is again letting them know that he is supernatural and that this is pertinent to him being the Christ. If we misperceive Jesus in the first set of questions about who he is (v18-20), then we will not appreciate Jesus as the suffering, rejected, killed and resurrected Messiah.
It is not good enough to recognize Jesus as the Christ and perceive him correctly; there is more. This is the difference between the popular “faith only” doctrine* and true Christianity. Jesus tells them that there will be sacrifice (vs23-25) and the need for courage(v26). The idea of a resurrected Messiah and the promise of salvation (vs24-26) are attractive, but there is a cost. Many will embrace Jesus the prophet or Jesus the teacher or the salvation provided by the Christ. However, so many are unwilling to embrace the action, sacrifice and boldness required to be a follower of Jesus.
If we are to follow Jesus, let us follow him in totality. Let us see him as the bible portrays him; divine and resurrected. We want to embrace the sacrifice and courage it takes to be his follower and not rely on the false doctrine “faith alone”. Let us not waver on John 14:6 where Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
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* The phrase “faith alone” is only found in James 2:24 (NIV) which refutes the faith alone doctrine. “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.” Many other translations do not even contain the phrase “faith alone”.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 27 February 2007 )
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