Lesson 28 The Cost of Discipleship, Luke 9:18- 35

Peter’s Confession, 9:18-20

English Standard Version (Chapter 9)

18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him(Jesus). 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.”

Peter was not just a “yes man.” This was new revelation from above. By this time Herod has asked, ‘Who is this guy(vs.9)?” The feeding of the 5,000 gives a clue to the miraculous power of Jesus Christ.

There is another revelation coming up in the chapter, but this one from Peter is truly a Messianic utterance: The Christ of God! Since Jesus is the Messiah, this means new recognition for these guys also, eventually for all but one, they paid for this new identity with their lives. After all, with the cross in view, Jesus would be the first one. The 12 would follow except John. He died of old age.

This account is also found in Matthew and Mark. The scene is found in those passages to be Cesarea Philippi, near Mount Hermon. It was heathen territory as we have seen in the previous weeks. Jesus was truly moving into new surroundings and covering new territory- with Gentiles. This was not a place to experience the press of the crowds. Here they could work one-on-one or one-on-12. Jesus is seeing what kind of reaction they are getting from the crowds.

By and large, they associate Jesus with the beheaded John the Baptist, His cousin. Others think he may be the mighty Elijah, or one of the other mighty prophets, like say Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, or maybe even Daniel. The fact is, Jesus has the Jews and Gentiles thinking about the kingdom and just who Jesus is. Peter is the first to speak it out that Jesus stands on His own. The Great Shepherd is now among His flock. I could not help but think of Ezekiel’s words in 34:30, 31:

“Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them. And that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the LORD GOD. And you are my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the LORD God.”

The Lord God is letting His men know that He is among them by this revelation to Peter. the Old Testament writings are really coming alive with Jesus in their presence. As much as their hopes are being raised by Jesus he also is moving on to another raw truth. His death.

The Suffering Savior 9:21-22

English Standard Version (Chapter 9)

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.”

There is not an immediate connection to Jesus and the Suffering Savior of Isaiah, chapter 53. But here it is, the Son of Man is going down. But He must go down in order to go back up!

here is that passage:

King James Version (Chapter 53)

Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, And as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

3 He is despised and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: And †we hid as it were our faces from him; He was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows: Yet we did esteem him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.

5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; And the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, Yet he opened not his mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, So he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living: For the transgression of my people was he stricken.

9 And he made his grave with the wicked, And with the rich in his death; Because he had done no violence, Neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

11  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; For he shall bear their iniquities.

The message/report is not a pretty one. Though He shall emerge as a young man, there is nothing about Him that anybody would desire. The other adjectives that describe Him are: Despised, rejection, sorrows, grief, hidden, no one cared, more grief, more sorrow, smitten, stricken of God , afflicted, wounded, bruised, chastised, stripes, no offspring, prison, mute, cut off, and put to death without any crimes. Yes, these things are not in this meeting, but they had already been sitting there on Old Testament pages, waiting for the time of Jesus. This is the time.

Jesus commanded to tell no one of what went on here. If Jesus would have made this moment public, the ruling Jewish religious men would have him put to death prematurely. This intimate time of teaching brings about the question to us as men of God. Do you have the correct information and knowledge of who Jesus is or are we relying on the crowd. Is Jesus your savior? Are you willing to stand with Him in your life and in His death.

Taking up Your Cross 9:23- 27

English Standard Version (Chapter 9)

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 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. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

This portion of Scripture deserves it’s own week. In fact, it takes a whole lifetime to get this deep within. It needs to start somewhere. For instance, what is the next step for these guys? How are they to deny themselves when they are carrying nothing with them? That is what they are learning at the feet of Jesus. They are getting a first hand look at taking up their cross as a daily practice or lifestyle and then following Jesus. But Jesus goes on to say that a man must lose his life for Jesus’ sake in order to go forward and save their lives. We also see that a man truly profits from life is a life lost in Jesus.

There is no shame in the kingdom of Jesus. So, we should not be ashamed to step up to the plate for our Savior. “For whosoever calleth on the name of the Lord shall not be ashamed.” The Return of Jesus Christ is on standby so we best settle it in our hearts whose side we are on. There is nothing keeping Him from returning today. Will you be glad to see Him return or will we turn away in shame? That is a matter that is only settled this side of the grave. Today is the day of salvation and the start of discipleship for you. Will you let Jesus have his way with you?