The Confession and Calling of Christ

Introduction

When I was about half way through with AIT at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, I and my fellow soldiers were sitting in a class room, when someone came in—I can’t remember if it was a sergeant major or a captain—but someone with enough rank to interrupt the class. He had a list of names and as he called them out, those people were to stand up. My name was called. We did not know what was going on; everyone was confused. Then we learned why our names had been called.

Apparently, tensions in a foreign land—I can’t remember which—had arisen and President Clinton was sending troops immediately into the region to end the conflict. Being that there was a shortage of chaplain assistants, we dozen or so had been selected to graduate early and would be processed out of school to join the chaplains and soldiers already on their way. Everyone was shocked; some of us were scared, but all of us selected, grabbed our gear, marched out of class and bravely went to the processing center. It took hours to “process out.” Afterwards, we sat outside on some brick structures and talked about what we might be encountering. We were left there for about an hour before we finally were called over by the same man who came into class. It had all been a drill. No one was graduating early, no body had been processed out. They wanted to know our resolve and we all passed with flying colors.

It may sound silly today, but at that moment, our world had been rocked. Everyone who goes into the military knows there is a possibility of war, but most people never actually expect to be in one. Most go in for the GI Bill, not for the GI Battle. And when you are given your orders to go to battle, the heart sinks, the mind wanders, and you resign yourself to duty.

This morning, we find that the disciples probably faced something similar. They had gone out on mission under the power and authority of Jesus. They healed, exorcised demons, and proclaimed the kingdom of God to the people. Then Jesus used them to feed 5,000 men—plus women and children. They were on top of the world, it would seem. Until they weren’t. Their world was about to get rocked.

As we get into the text, we see three necessary insights that are required of every disciple who follows Jesus. The first insight comes in the form of a confession. The second in the form of a correction. The third insight is in the form of a calling.

A Confession

A Correction

A Calling

Luke 9:18–27 ESV

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?” And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 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.” And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

A Confession

The first insight that the disciples of Jesus needed to have and all disciples of Jesus need to have comes in the form of a confession that Peter gives. And I know that this text is familiar to us, or at least the Matthew text is. The Luke text is probably a bit less familiar but the concept of Peter’s confession is familiar. So it is easy to pass it by and give it little thought. Don’t fall into that temptation. If we miss the confession we miss everything else. The rest doesn’t matter. And if you think you know, then you will certainly want to listen closely to make sure I get this right. Because if I get it wrong, nothing else matters.

Jesus began by asking what the crowds thought he was. This is not a throw away question. Jesus isn’t just gearing up to ask the more important one. This question is nearly as important as the next question. When the disciples tell him what the crowds are saying we see that they are thinking some pretty impressive thoughts.

Luke 9:19 ESV

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

You may remember that these are the same answers that were presented to Herod the tetrarch in

Luke 9:7–8 ESV

Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen.

The reports that were getting back to Herod are the same reports that have gotten back to the disciples and now to Jesus himself. What we find here is that no one yet is claiming that Jesus is the Christ. They see him as a resurrected John the Baptist or perhaps the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy about Elijah preparing the way for the Messiah—the Christ. But no one is seriously thinking that Jesus is the Christ. Before Peter’s confession, there are only a handful of times in the four Gospel Accounts in which Jesus is thought to be the Christ. One is by Herod the Great when he asked where the Christ would be born. The second is by Simeon who blessed Jesus as a baby. The third is by the angel who announced Jesus’s birth to the shepherds. In John we see Andrew telling Simon Peter that they had found the Messiah. But that is the only time outside of Jesus’s infancy that he is called Christ/Messiah before Peter’s confession. The Gospel writers might call him the Christ in their narrative, but no one in the crowd is really talking about his being the Christ. How easy it is then to reject Jesus if no one really sees him as the Christ. Thus, Luke is showing the hearts of the crowd. They may think Jesus is great and all, but he’s no Christ.

But it is also important that the readers see that Jesus’s disciples have not be influenced by the crowds. Would they believe what they heard others saying about Jesus or would they believe Jesus himself. Would they believe rumors or what they saw and experienced themselves? And so he asked them who they said he was. To which Peter confessed rightly that he was the Christ of God.

He is God’s Anointed One. He is the King that God was setting over his kingdom. Now, we don’t have kings. We’re Americans; we threw off the chains of the monarchy almost 250 years ago now. So we don’t get the concept of kingship. Perhaps you got up and watched the coronation ceremony of King Charles a couple of weeks ago. You saw all the pomp and circumstance that went along with it. There was so much symbolism and so much glory. We don’t have anything near that in America. We might see an inaugural parade and maybe a ball or two. We get an inaugural address, but there’s not much more. But the confession of Jesus being the Christ goes beyond the pomp and circumstance.

To say Jesus is Christ is to throw off all other rulers. To say Jesus was Christ was to pledge allegiance to him. Think about David as a young man and King Saul for but a moment. As evil as Saul was, Saul was considered by David to be God’s Anointed. Though Saul sought to kill David, David refused to lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed. He had pledged himself to Saul.

Beloved, the insight that we need to have in this moment is that when we declare Jesus to be Christ, we are declaring him to be our king first and foremost. He is above all other rule and authority.

A Correction

And this leads us to the next insight that had to be given. It came in the form of correction, but it was necessary for the disciples to understand and for us as well. So we read.

Luke 9:21–22 ESV

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

Here are the disciples. It has not been that long since they were sent out by Jesus to heal, exorcise demons, and proclaim the gospel of the coming kingdom. And here they are talking with Jesus and just declared him to be Christ—the Anointed one—the King that God has anointed for the kingdom they have just been proclaiming. And Jesus says, say nothing!

So here we see correction number 1. This wasn’t to be public knowledge. Some would say that is because of the peoples furor against Roman occupation. They were just waiting for the Messiah to come and take over. That could be it. Some would say that there was a tradition that the Messiah should not be self-proclaimed, but that he should do the work of Messiah first. To which I wonder, what more would Jesus have to do, unless they mean actually kick Rome out. But I believe that the reason is in these verses. They were not prepared for the type of Messiah Jesus was.

Which leads to correction number 2. Jesus was not going to be a triumphant Messiah. He would be a suffering Messiah. A rejected Messiah. In John 2, we see that Jesus does not trust himself to anyone because he knew what was in man. People are fickle creatures. And as much as they may say they want one thing, when push comes to shove, they tend to stay with the status quo. They want a Messiah, but if those in power push back, nine times out of ten they’ll follow the leaders even if that means rejecting their Messiah and bringing anguish and suffering into his life.

And this leads us to correction number 3. 1. Peter’s confession was not to be public knowledge. 2. Jesus was not going to be the Christ people expected. 3. Jesus would be killed. This goes beyond just a rejection. A person can be rejected and still live. That happens every day. We can suffer and still walk the earth—hurt, saddened, despairing—but still alive!

Imagine for a moment that you’re one of the disciples. We get all ho-hum about this kind of thing because we know how it ends. We’ve heard it all before and have read it a hundred times. But here are the disciples giddy with anticipation. They’ve seen the miracles. They’ve performed the miracles. They have proclaimed the kingdom and here before them is the King! And Jesus stops them in their tracks and says, “It’s not what you think it’s going to be. You can’t tell anyone. Who I am is going to bring about suffering for me. The Jewish leaders will reject me and ultimately have me killed.” This wasn’t just demoralizing. This was terrifying! You’ve felt this kind of fear before; it’s like a ethereal dagger to the heart that spreads through the chest, wave after wave.

Which leads us to correction number 4. He would be raised on the third day. How much comfort this gave the disciples is hard to say. From the other gospel accounts, it doesn’t seem to have given much comfort at all. Jesus would rise but he was already rejected; how much would the resurrection change things? Again, we know it changed everything. But we live on this side of the resurrection. There doesn’t seem to be any comfort to the disciples at this point in their lives.

Beloved, we all too often have our own ideas of how Jesus is to work. We have our ideas as to what he must do or who he must be. We have our own ideas of triumph and success. And we might be right about some of it. Peter had it right about Jesus being the Christ, but everything else they had assumed proved false. Christians for hundreds of years have been trying to predict Christ’s second coming. Some have set dates and have been proven wrong. They’ve gone to hillsides on New Year’s Eve and have been left standing. They have made predictions like there is nothing left to happen for Jesus to return and yet he has not yet come.

Many have expectations of a great revival in the world or at least in our nation. It’s not just a desire; it’s an expectation. It’s not just that it would be nice if it did happen. It is that they cannot see that it won’t happen.

We’ve got premillennials, postmillennials, amillennials, preterists, semi-preterists, dispensationalists, and even more subgroups. One thing is for sure; they can’t all be right about when Jesus will be coming again. On this side of the resurrection, we know how it is that Jesus saves. He saves us through his death and resurrection.

Romans 10:9–10 ESV

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

What we don’t know is his full plan to return. And we must be humble enough to accept that and let Jesus do as Jesus is to do. And we are to do as we have been called to do.

A Calling

This leads us to the third insight in today’s text. We have been called by Christ to live for him. But what does this mean exactly? In one word: allegiance.

Peter has just confessed that Jesus is the Christ of God—the King of the kingdom that they have been proclaiming. Thus, as those who come after Jesus—those who would dare call themselves followers, he expects allegiance to him and his kingdom.

Again, we’ve never lived under a king, but we can perhaps get a taste of this even in our constitutional republic. When I enlisted in the army national guard, I had to take an oath that went like this:

I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

The oath is clear. I am bound by my allegiance to support and defend the Constitution. My orders would come from the President, but my allegiance is to the Constitution. That support and defense means that I will live for and if necessary die for the U.S. Constitution. Historically, the military has not taken the breaking of this oath lightly. I remember my first day in Basic, two girls decided that they had had enough and went AWOL. They were deserters and they were caught that evening. Because it was their first day, the captain went easy on them. They had to finish Basic Training as P1s, the lowest rank, and they forfeited their pay for the entire 8 weeks. Usually, one is thrown into the brig, tried under the UCMJ, and in the worst cases, can be executed.

Here is Jesus calling us to allegiance. We must deny ourselves. We no longer live for our desires, our dreams, our hopes. His desires, his dreams, his hopes become ours. We support what he supports. If he suffers, we must be willing to suffer. If he takes up his cross, we must follow suit. If anyone follows after him, they are to actually follow after him. He isn’t calling on us to live an easy life. He isn’t calling on us to live comfortably. He is calling on us to sacrifice. If anyone deserves, or at least is expected, to live comfortably, it is the King. But the King suffered. The King died. Suffer first. Die first. Then, receive your eternal reward of rest. If that happens to the King then to truly follow the King we must at least be willing to go through what he went through.

If we are so busy building our own little kingdoms, then we very well may lose who we are in the process. Beloved, we either find our identity in Christ’s kingdom or we lose it in our own. We may gain the whole world but we lose ourselves. We who seek to save our lives—who would rather live than die—will lose it anyway. We will all die. But in the process, while we’ve gained this world, we’ve lost ourselves in the process. He who dies with the most toys, still dies, but so has our identity. Because who we were meant to be—who we’ve been called to be—is a man, a woman, a child, who has sworn allegiance to Christ and his Kingdom forsaking self. That is the only way to find our true self.

Hiroo Onoda was a second lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Army. Though his unit had lost the battle for the Lubang Island in the Philippines and Japan had surrendered, Onoda and two of his men did not believe the news. Though they had found a leaflet in 1945 and again a few years later, they thought it to be Allied propaganda. Onoda stayed true to his allegiance to Imperial Japan fighting guerilla warfare against Filipino police until 1974. On March 9, 1974, Onoda’s superior officer, having been sent by the Japanese emperor, relieved Onoda of his duties. He was finally willing to leave the jungles and return to civilian life.

We look and call that crazy or sad, and it is if we’re talking about giving one’s life for something that can never last. But not so much, when it comes to that which is eternal. As Jim Elliot wrote in his journal, not long before he went to convert the Auca Indians of Ecuador and met his Savior instead, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Don’t think there is a conflict between verse 21 and verse 26. In verse 21, Jesus is temporarily closing the mouths of his disciples. In verse 26, he is showing that the time will come when they must open their mouths. But there is more to confession than speaking words. I think John said it best in his first epistle.

1 John 2:28 ESV

And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.

Abide in him. Live in him. Remain in him. Be in allegiance with him. So that when he appears we may have confidence. Those whose lives are engulfed in Christ have no reason to feel shame when he comes. They need not be scared that he will be ashamed of them. To confess Jesus is not simply to speak his name, though it is that, but to live his name as well. The promotion at work that is available. You want it. You’re qualified for it. But are you seeking it for your kingdom or his? Would you have to deny Jesus or his teaching—fudging here or there—in order to do your job? Are you able to withstand the pressures of friendships and job requirements, dying daily to desires for acceptance, for money, for status? Rearing children in the fear and admonition of the Lord goes against the grain of society. Will we do it? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, sometimes, it seems easier to die for Jesus than to live for him.

Conclusion

As we finish this section of Luke, we have seen a confession about Jesus, a correction toward the disciples, and a calling for all who follow Jesus. But there one verse that we have not dealt with and that is verse 27. While no one knows exactly what Jesus meant by this verse, but Matthew Henry believes it to be the kingdom we see here on this earth. It started on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, and spread to Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the world and includes us Gentiles. Jesus reigns supreme from heaven and will one day return to reign on earth.

Matthew Henry was a much smarter man than I am, but I believe he meant the transfiguration. Luke seems to connect this saying with the transfiguration which we’ll get into next week. Out of the twelve (or the larger crowd) some of them would see Jesus’s preview of the kingdom—Peter, James, and John. And Jesus perhaps in comfort or perhaps in jest tells them that they wouldn’t die before they got to see it. Those who follow me will lose their lives, but don’t worry, you won’t have to die that soon!

We may be able to take that same comfort. It is not so much that we must die for Christ to be part of Christ’s kingdom, but that we are willing to die if necessary. The only way to know that is to live for it first. We must be willing to deny our longings up to and including the longing to live life longer. But who knows, some of us may be alive when the final kingdom is consummated.

There may be some here today that have yet pledge such allegiance to Jesus. Perhaps you’ve prayed a prayer at some point, maybe have been baptized even, but actual denying of self and taking of cross, you have not done and have had no intention of doing so. But today is your day. Or maybe you haven’t ever been confronted with this reality before and haven’t really known who this Jesus person is until now. But today is your day to surrender your all to him.

Some of us may have just needed a reminder that this life is not ours anymore. It’s sometimes hard to keep focused, and this was just what you needed to refocus your life, your attitude, yourself.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Oh that we would know and believe that Jesus is the Christ, confessing him as King of Glory and King of our lives. May we be humble enough to be corrected, and humble enough to know we don’t know it all. Grant us eyes to see our cross that awaits us each morning and the strength and resilience to pick it up straight out of bed and not put it down until we go to bed again.

If there is anyone here today that has not yet confessed Christ, may they do so knowing that if they would confess Jesus with their mouths and believe in their hearts that you raised him from the dead, they would be saved for all eternity.

We pray this in Jesus’s name.

Amen.