Who is Jesus?

Who do the crowds say I am? (Luke 9:18-19)

Luke 9:18 NIV

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

This was a valid question given that Jesus had just fed 5,000 people with a boys lunch - Luke 9:10-17 “When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” (About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.”

The answer given was “John the Baptist or Elijah”, two of the greatest prophets.

Luke 9:19 NIV

They 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.”

They recognized that Jesus was a man of God but failed to fully understand His identity.

Today, many people have varying opinions of who Jesus is.

Who do you say that I am? (Luke 9:20)

Luke 9:20 NIV

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

Matthew’s account adds that Jesus was the Son of God - Matthew 16:16

Matthew 16:16 NIV

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Matthew also adds Jesus’ response to Peter’s conclusion - Matthew 16:17-18

Matthew 16:17–18 NIV

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

This is the most important conclusion we can reach

When Thomas came to this conclusion, Jesus acknowledged his belief. - John 20:26-29

John 20:26–29 NIV

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Most people believe Jesus is a good man

Jesus is either the Messiah or He is not the Messiah

If Jesus is not the Messiah:

Either He knew He was not the Messiah or He was seriously mistaken.

He is either a liar, or...

He is deluded.

The only other option is that Jesus is the Messiah!

What kind of Messiah is Jesus? (Luke 9:21-22)

Luke 9:21–22 NIV

Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

Most expected the Messiah to come as a conquering king but Jesus came to suffer for the sins of the world. Four things MUST happen to fulfill God’s plan:

He must suffer

He must be rejected

He must be killed

He must be raised to life on the third day

What is required of a disciple of the Messiah? (Luke 9:23-27)

Luke 9:23 NIV

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

We must deny ourselves

(say no to our desires)

We must take up our cross

(accept suffering)

We must follow Jesus

(imitate Him)

We must do all of this daily!

Jesus presents the motivation for our taking up this suffering

Luke 9:24–26 NIV

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Jesus makes a final observation about the reality of the kingdom

Luke 9:27 NIV

“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”

This was fulfilled in the following story of the transfiguration when Peter, James and John saw the glory of the Messiah

Luke 9:28-36 “About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.”