Luke 9:18-22

Luke 9:18–22 ESV

18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” 21 And he strictly charged 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 on the third day be raised.”

Luke 9:18–22 (ESV)

18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

The Gospel of Luke (4.6.2. Peter’s Confession and the Nature of Discipleship (9:18-27))

Prayer as the setting for divine disclosure is developed even further in this co-text, since prayer is antecedent to (1) Jesus’ questions concerning his identity and (2) Peter’s declaration of Jesus’ messiahship. The nature of Jesus’ person and work is ambiguous; the work of disambiguation requires divine disclosure.

Luke: An Introduction and Commentary 1. Peter’s Confession (9:18–20)

this incident in the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi, near the foot of Mount Hermon. This was heathen territory, the worship of the great god Pan being especially prominent. Jesus had withdrawn from Herod’s dominions and from the crowds that had been thronging him. Here he could talk quietly with the disciples and have opportunity for undistracted thinking. Luke characteristically tells us that Jesus was praying alone.

19 And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.”

New Testament (9:18–27—The Cost of Following the Real Messiah)

9:18–19. Because many Palestinian Jews believed that prophets in the Old Testament sense had ceased, ranking Jesus among the prophets would have been radical—but it was not radical enough to grasp his true identity.

Luke: An Introduction and Commentary 1. Peter’s Confession (9:18–20)

Who do the people say that I am? Their answer is much the same as the reports that reached Herod (7ff.). The Greek appears to mean that the answer generally given was John the Baptist, though some people had other ideas (so Goodspeed). Elijah or another old-time prophet was suggested.

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

The Gospel of Luke (4.6.2. Peter’s Confession and the Nature of Discipleship (9:18-27))

Jesus’ second question, introduced with the adversative “but,” indicates his own displeasure with popular hypotheses regarding his status that have been circulating. Indeed, he rejects those answers and calls upon all of his disciples (“you” is plural) to tender an alternative evaluation. As a result, for the first time within the narrative of Jesus’ public ministry, a human being recognizes Jesus as God’s Messiah.

Luke: An Introduction and Commentary 1. Peter’s Confession (9:18–20)

you is emphatic. In distinction from others, he is asking, what do you think? The knowledge of Christ is always a personal discovery, not the passing on of a report learnt from other people. As often, Peter is the spokesman. He speaks for them all when he says, The Christ of God (for Christ see the note on 2:11). Peter is saying that Jesus is the Deliverer for whom the people of God had been looking for so long. That he and his companions had come to see this was not a human discovery, but a revelation (Matt. 16:17). But what ‘Messiah’ really meant they did not know. So Jesus went on to explain that it involved suffering and death. It was a lesson they found hard to learn. Indeed, they had still not learnt it when Jesus was crucified.

21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one,

New Testament (9:18–27—The Cost of Following the Real Messiah)

9:20–21. There were many different views of the Messiah (or messiahs) in Jesus’ time, but they all revolved around a deliverance on earth and an earthly kingdom.

Luke: An Introduction and Commentary 2. A Prophecy of the Passion (9:21–22)

21. Jesus’ response to Peter’s words is a very firm injunction to silence. He charged and commanded them, or ‘gave them strict orders’ (NEB). The reason is surely the near certainty of misunderstanding if it were spread abroad. The Jews detested their state of subjection to the Romans and longed for deliverance.

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 on the third day be raised.”

New Testament (9:18–27—The Cost of Following the Real Messiah)

9:22. The New Testament writers took some Old Testament texts as referring to the Messiah’s suffering, but most Jewish people in the first century did not recognize these texts as referring to the Messiah, who was to reign as king. Most Jewish people believed in the resurrection of all the righteous dead at the end of the age and the inauguration of a kingdom under God’s appointed ruler afterward.

Jesus is the Son of Man-Authority

Jesus is the Suffering Messiah

Jesus is Victorious Over Death

Luke: An Introduction and Commentary 2. A Prophecy of the Passion (9:21–22)

Jesus said that he must suffer. That is what being Messiah meant. Suffering, for him, was no accident, but a compelling divine necessity. And of the many things he would suffer Jesus speaks only of the final rejection. The word rejected seems to be a technical term for rejection after a careful legal scrutiny to see whether a candidate for office was qualified (see LSJ). It implies here that the hierarchy would consider Jesus’ claims but decide against him. The one article in the expression the elders and chief priests and scribes points to the fact that the three formed a single group in the Sanhedrin. There was, of course, only one high priest; the plural signifies all the members of the high-priestly families. It was the nation’s leaders who would be foremost in rejecting him. Nor would this be only a matter of words. He would be killed. Jesus left them in no doubt but that being Messiah meant a cross. But the cross is not the whole story. On the third day the Son of man will be raised. The resurrection was as certain as the crucifixion.

9:22 Jesus’ first passion prediction follows immediately upon Peter’s confession. This close association underlines the fact that for Jesus and the church, God’s Anointed was a suffering Messiah (cf. also Luke 9:43b–45; 18:31–34; cf. also 24:7).

The Son of Man. See comments on 5:24. Here it is the Son of Man who suffered, whereas elsewhere it is the Christ (24:26, 46; Acts 3:18; 17:3; 26:23). Since these two titles, as well as such titles as Prophet and Lord, were used to describe Jesus, it is not surprising that his suffering could be described variously as the suffering of a prophet (Luke 13:33–34), of the Son of Man, of the Christ, and of the Lord (Acts 2:36). The titles most commonly associated with the passion, however, are the Son of Man and Christ.

Must. The death of Jesus is not to be seen as a mistake or tragedy. It was a divine necessity and took place in accordance with the divine plan. This will be confirmed in 9:31. See Introduction 8 (1).

Suffer. This is not a synonym for “to die” in Greek, but in the context of Jesus’ passion it does refer to his death. For its use with “many things and be rejected,” cf. Luke 17:25.

By the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law. The use of a single “the” indicates the unity of these three groups in their plan and purpose. “Chief priests” does not refer to the high priests but to those priests who held leading positions in the temple hierarchy.

On the third day. Both Luke and Matthew (Matt 16:21) preferred “on the third day” to Mark’s “after three days” (Mark 8:31). (Cf. Mark 9:31 and 10:34 with Matt 17:23 and 20:19/Luke 18:33.) This may be due to a concern that “after three days” could be misunderstood and not allow for a Friday crucifixion and a Sunday resurrection. “After three days,” however, can simply mean on the third day (cf. 1 Sam 30:12 “for three days and nights” with 1 Sam 30:13 “the third day today” in the LXX). It is more likely that Luke and Matthew chose “on the third day” because it was the more traditional designation.

Be raised to life. Here God’s raising of Jesus from the dead is emphasized by the use of the passive. The active tense can also be used (cf. 16:31; 24:46; Acts 10:41; 17:3).

Stein, Robert H. 1992. Luke. Vol. 24. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Luke Contemporary Significance

There is no greater tragedy or error of judgment in life than to underestimate him. To miss the one who possesses the gift of life is to miss life itself. To understand him as the Christ without understanding who the Messiah really is leaves us short in understanding Jesus.

Many contemporary portraits of Jesus fall short of understanding who Jesus is. Some attempt to accept him as a religious teacher, a member of the religious Hall of Fame, but do not see him as unique. This approach to Jesus is popular in our culture, since it is a tolerant stance that does not foist his uniqueness on anyone. Unfortunately, it is also a view that denies one of the most fundamental claims of the great teacher, namely, that he uniquely represented the fulfillment of all God’s promises and uniquely showed the way to him. Whether one takes the Synoptic portrait of Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s promise in Isaiah 61:1–2 or the Johannine portrait that he is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6), the point is that Jesus is not merely a prophet, as many in his day perceived him; he is much more. Our culture’s attempt to relativize one of Jesus’ fundamental claims is not consistent with regarding him as the great teacher. How can one respect Jesus’ religious greatness as a teacher and then reject or relativize his most fundamental claim to be the unique Son of God? One cannot have it both ways. Either Jesus was unique in fulfilling the promise of God, or else his claims were a distortion of truth—hardly a standard for a religious teacher of note.

Bock, Darrell L. 1996. Luke. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.