Sunday January 05
Who Is Jesus?
Luke 9:18-22
18 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?" 19 So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again." 20 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God." 21 And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, 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 the third day."
Today, before we look at Luke 9 and Jesus teaching the disciples, I again want to ask for your prayers, as this coming Saturday, I will be leaving for a Southeast Asian country with a multitude of people (over 1 billion), that are desperately thirsty to hear the Word of God! I will be spending time with a national leader there who works with over 600 plus pastors. It is my goal and prayer to connect each of these pastors to a prayer partner here in the states that will take him into their heart and regularly intercede on his behalf.
Would you be willing to join me in this great ministry of prayer so that the multitudes in this Asian country can hear the Truth of God’s Word and find out Who Jesus really is? Let me know by sending me an email at: pastormike@pmiministries.org Also, if you would like to financially support this great opportunity, please go to my website: https://www.pmiministries.org/ Under the donate button you will see a place there to do that! Thanks in advance for all your prayers and support!
So far in Luke 9 we have found the Lord and His disciples in their third year of earthly ministry mainly in the region of Galilee. In verses 1-11, Jesus is sending. He sent out His disciples by twos on their first solo tour of ministry. In verses 12-17, Jesus is feeding. He miraculously feed five thousand men with their families with only five loaves and two fish.
It is interesting to note that in Luke's Gospel, the feeding of the 5,000 marks the end of what is called the "Great Galilean Ministry" (Luke 4:14-9:17). Jesus now begins His journey to Jerusalem (see Luke 9:51; 13:22; 17:11; 18:31; and 19:11, 28). This would be a time of relative retirement with His disciples as He prepared them for what lay ahead.
Now, in verses 18-36, Jesus is teaching. He first teaches His disciples about His person (vv. 18-21). Next Jesus teaches them about His coming sacrifice (vv. 22-26). Then Jesus teaches three of His disciples about His Kingdom (vv. 27-36).
It is very important what we believe about the person of Jesus Christ. If any of us asked our friends what people were saying about us, it probably would be an evidence of pride, but not so with Jesus Christ. People had better know who He is, because what we think about Jesus determines our eternal destiny. Jesus makes this very clear in John 8:24; “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." It is impossible to be wrong about Jesus and right with God.
Jesus had prayed all night before choosing His disciples (Luke 6:12-13), and now He prayed before asking for their personal confession of faith. The crowd would have its opinions (see Luke 9:7-8), but His disciples must have convictions. Peter was the spokesman for the group and gave a clear witness to the deity of Jesus Christ. This was the second time that he confessed Christ publicly. We read in John 6:67-69: “Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Interestingly in verse 21, Jesus commanded them not to spread this truth openly. To begin with, the message of His messiahship could not be divorced from the fact of His death and resurrection, and He was now going to teach this to the Twelve. They had a difficult time grasping this new lesson and did not really understand it until after He was raised from the dead (Luke 24:44-48). The Jewish people saw Jesus primarily as a healer and a potential deliverer. Remember the crowds sought to make Jesus a king after He feed the five thousand (John 6:15). If the Apostles began preaching that He was indeed the Messiah, it might cause a popular uprising against Rome.
Today, do you truly believe, with conviction, that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God? If not, please read and study the Gospel of John! (John 20:30-31)
God bless!
Comments