Luke 9:18-27 "Believers and Disciples"

Let’s Pray!

Good Morning, Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Last week… a group of 46 of us were blessed to visit the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter in KY.

I deeply enjoyed see people of all ages getting giddy over thought provoking ideas and images about Creation and the Ark…

Just being inside the Ark and it’s sheer enormity brings the Bible to life.

And due to a grant through the Center for Congregations… a donation… free passes… and some other blessings… church was under budget by about $900 and just about everything was covered for the families who attended. What a blessing!

Well… enough on that blessing… let’s open our Bibles and be blessed by the Gospel of Luke chapter 9. Luke 9:18-27 today.

We find ourselves at the beginning for Jesus final year of ministry… His third year of ministry… where opposition begins to arise.

Last time we came to the important miraculous Feeding of the 5,000… the only miracle pre-crucifixion recorded in all four Gospel accounts.

Which was the climax to Jesus’ Galilean ministry… and stood as a bridge to Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem… and His final Passover where He became the sacrificial Lamb of God.

And knowing His departure looms on the horizon… Jesus hones in on preparing His disciples to understand Him completely… and to understand what it means to follow Him.

And for Luke’s audience… that’s what he capture next…

Luke zooms past several scenes recorded in the other Gospels… to focus on two pinnacle moments of revelation…

First, where Peter confesses Jesus as “The Christ of God”…

And second where Jesus teaches about taking up one’s cross… meaning true discipleship.

Well… let’s dive into this fantastic section of scripture… where Jesus will first ask His disciples on who they think Jesus is… and then enlighten them about true discipleship.

And while all disciples are believers… and all believers are called to be disciples… sadly NOT every believer is committed to living out discipleship.

Let’s take a look… in a message titled, “Believers and Disciples.”

And, in reverence for God’s word, if you are able, please stand as I read our passage.

Luke 9:18–27 “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.”

23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.””

Praise God for His word. Please be seated.

As mentioned… Luke jumped from the Feeding of the 5,000 to the scenes we just read.

But what Luke was not inspired by the Holy Spirit to record for his Greek audience… what he skipped… was about 20 moments in a few scenes recorded in the other Gospels.

After the Feeding of the 5,000… the people tried to make Jesus their king… which was their attempt to rush God’s plan for Messiah to reign on earth.

They longed for what we long for… the Millennial Kingdom.

So… Jesus sends His disciples away by boat… he dismisses the crowds… goes up on a mountainside to pray…

… and when evening comes the disciples find themselves in a great storm… where Jesus walks out to them on water… and when Jesus calms the storm…

… we read of that first time… beautiful confession where the disciples said, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

He’s leading them in their walk to understand Him… they’ve seen miracles… they’ve heard teachings… but it’s the storms of life and the moments of them breaking from their self-sufficiency where the greatest revelations come.

And it’s no different for you and I today. We may have heard teachings… and seen miracles… and have a general understanding of who Christ is… but there’s a deeper understanding that comes… and so often it comes in the hard moments of life.

After the storm… Jesus performs miracles in Gennesaret… teaches He is the Bread of Life in Capernaum… condemns the traditions of men…

And travels throughout the Galilee and other regions where heals the daughter of a Syro-Phoenician woman… heals a man who is deaf and mute… feeds the 4,000…

… rebukes the religious leaders who demand for a sign… and warns His disciples about their doctrine.

And it would be after all these additional teachings, healings. and opposition… that Jesus finds Himself getting ready to prepare His Apostles for the end… but first He prepares Himself…

And that’s what we read in V18 with the words, “He was alone praying.”

Only Luke captures the detail here of Jesus praying alone… which He did multiple times… about 8 times He is recorded praying in solitude… surely this was a regular habit…

He alone could probably claim that He “prayed without ceasing.” Jesus had a serious prayer life.

Tradition holds the Jesus’ brother James became the Pastor in Jerusalem… and was very devoted to prayer… and praying specifically on his knees to the point that he developed thick callouses that resembled a camel’s knees…

And you may be thinking, “I don’t remember what camel’s knees look like...”

Well… lucky for you… I just happen to have a slide to refresh your memory… You are welcome.

And now you might be thinking… “Why are we looking at Camel’s knees again?”

James! James prayed on his knees so often that he earned the nickname “Old Camel Knees.”

One 19th century Pastor wrote, “when prayer is earnest and faithful, the body naturally assumes the form suited to the soul’s condition, joining the soul in its petition.”

And the Epistle of James was addressed to Jewish Christians who were scattered… most likely from persecution… as he would open encourage them to “count it all joy when you fall into various trials.”

James’ pray life would be one of intercession for them… no doubt as Jesus prayed for His…

James 5:16 states, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

We are to be people of prayer Christians. I don’t think I need to convince you of this. I think we all know it… thus let us make a habit of doing so… if that is not our routine already.

So, Jesus was alone praying… likely to prepare His heart… likely for His disciples…

And as it appears in Luke… that the disciples come to Him while He is praying, and Jesus asks them “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

I say “it appears” because Mark records that Jesus asked this question on the road to Caesarea Philippi…

And Matthew records when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi… He would ask “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

And there’s no contradiction here… Luke just emphasizes what Jesus was doing prior to the conversation (praying)… Mark tells where the conversation occured (on the road… while walking and talking)… and Matthew records the broader region and their destination (Caesarea Philippi)…

And I just point that out… so you are prepared when people challenge you about seeming contradictions in Scripture…

Know that there IS an explanation… and tensions in Scripture only support the credibility of the Bible because it shows the writers were not simply copying one another… or colluding.

And yet… the larger harmony without tension is vast… and the tensions can be explained by various perceptions of the authors… who had different purposes in writing and to different audiences.

Now… interesting… where Jesus leads them… is to Caesarea Philippi… which you can see on our map… is 30 some miles out of the way… heading almost straight North of Bethsaida on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee… where they were near just prior…

Heading clear opposite in direction from Jerusalem… where they need to head soon for Passover.

It’s about a 9-12 hour walk going up… about an hour less on return because of elevation…

And you might ask, “Why would Jesus take His disciples about 20 hours out of the way just to ask them this question, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

Couldn’t he just saved them all the steps? I don’t get the sense they needed to get their steps in… they walked plenty.

And, we while don’t know exactly why Jesus took His disciples on this trek north… we do have archeological evidence of what was in Caesarea Philippi.

The Grotto of Pan. This was an area with historical ties to the false god Baal… and from 20 B.C. to 34 A.D.… the area was called “Caesarea Paneas”… giving a nod to the Greek god “Pan”… the 1/2 man, 1/2 goat false deity who played a flute.

It was also called “Caesarea Philippi,” recognizing Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (the Emperor of Rome) and Herod Philipp who ruled at this time.

Notice the niches carved into the rock… this is where idols were placed… such as Echo the mountain nymph said to be a consort to Pan.

The next slide shows an artist’s rendition of what it looked like with it’s cult temples to Zeus, Pan, Augustus and other false gods… who were worshiped by a variety of sinful and degraded practices.

There stands a large cave that was dedicated to Pan and was said to be one of the “gates of hades.”

In Matthew’s parallel account Jesus said, “… on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

People of the world came to Caesarea Philippi to worship all the false deities that represented to them… money, sex, power, and pleasure…

The same idols that many worship today… but they will not stand.

I walked amongst these ruins of Caesarea Philippi in 2014… and all that stood of the various temples were broken pillars… and foundation stones.

Because time reveals truth… and there was no truth there… nor did they stand the test of time.

But Jesus remains and lives today.

And there comes a day when all idolatry will end.

Beginning when Jesus returns… and in totality when He ushers in eternity… where sin cannot enter.

Today… when you come to faith in Jesus Christ… you become the temple of the living God… as the Holy Spirit dwells in you…

And trust that He will work on your heart… to tear down high places in your life… for light and darkness have no communion together.

And so this Grotto of Pan… in Caesarea Philippi.… where so many came to worship all the wrong things…

What a backdrop this would have been if this were indeed the location… where Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

The disciples beholding Son of Man… contrasted with the Grotto of Pan.

The narrow gate that leads to life… contrasted with the broad road that leads to destruction.

These crowds worshipped so many false gods… as their hearts were deceived…

And how did Jesus compare? Who was Jesus in the minds of the people?

V19 So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.”

Notice, Jesus wants to know the perception of who they think HE IS. NOT… what do they think about My teachings… or the miracles… all of those stood to testify of who He was… which is Messiah.

But the people were missing it…

Some thought John the Baptist…

… after all both Jesus and John came preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Both greatly influenced Israel… and people were changing their mind about keeping the law or works to be saved… many were trusting in Jesus.

But, Jesus was not John… John was the forerunner to the King, Jesus is the King.

John said, “Behold the Lamb of God...” pointing to Jesus.

And, John said, “He must increase, but I...decrease.”

Some said Elijah… which was wrong as well…

There were similarities in that both raised the dead, both multiplied food, both stood for truth.

And people expected Elijah to return… for Mal 4:5 prophesied, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.”

But… Elijah was NOT the LORD, but was expected to come before the LORD… who is Yahweh God.

Jesus likened John to Elijah… but not because the nation of Israel would not receive Jesus as Lord.

Thus many expect Elijah to return as one of the Two Witnesses in Rev 11… before the Second Coming of Christ the LORD.

Some just incorrectly thought Jesus was a prophet in general… He is “one of the prophets...”

Like they thought highly of Him… as a prophet, but lower then Messiah God.

And, many make that same error today… they respect Jesus… think of Him as a prophet even… but fail to see Him as Savior and God… and twist WHO He is… just like described in our scene in Luke 9.

Muslims respect and even venerate Jesus as a prophet.

Mormons state Jesus was the firstborn of the Father… but only one of many gods.

JW’s claim Jesus was a physical manifestation of Michael the archangel… a created angelic being… and inferior to Father God.

Christian Science teaches Jesus was the offspring of Mary’s self-conscious communion with God.

Which is… weird… and not very Christian or Scientific if you ask me.

And many in the world if they don’t deny Him altogether… downgrade Him to only a historical figure… a great teacher, leader, humanitarian… even a miracle worker, but not God.

And the Devil has done quite the job deceiving many into thinking of Jesus other than who He truly is…

Because this is the ground on which the eternal battle is fought…

In the hearts and minds of every soul that walks the earth…

Every person must come to that place of answering that question “Who do you think Jesus is?”

And the answer to that question… and truly believing in who Jesus is… determines if we join Him in heaven… or the devil in hell.

The Bible says this about those who would deny Jesus Christ:

1 Jn 2:22-23 “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”

Denying the equality of the Father and the Son… and that Jesus is the Christ… the Messiah…

… is to be antichristos… one who opposes Christ..

And denying the Son is denying the Father… and this results in being denied salvation and heaven.

But, to acknowledge Gk homologeō (meaning “of one mind”)… to agree with… to believe in the Son is to have the Father also.

And look… while Jesus looked at His disciples and first asked, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” (surveying the landscape)

He then asked them personally (surveying their hearts)… the more important question…

V20 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”

Peter answers correctly…

Jesus is Christ Gk. Christŏs… meaning “The Anointed One” or “Messiah”…

And He is “of God”… or as Matthew records “the Son of the Living God”…

And to be the Son of God was to be equal with God…

We see equality idea in John 5:18 “Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.”

Peter may have put his foot in his mouth many times over… even culminated at him denying Christ three times… but here he really got it right.

And we read Jesus’ response to Peter in Matthew 16:17 Jesus answered Peter and said, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”

Peter was blessed (meaning “happy”)… for he received spiritual revelation from the Father in heaven.

And in these couple versus Jesus was separating… unbelievers from believers…

Those who understood Jesus wrong… and believers, like Peter, who got it right.

Unbelievers may think all the wrong things… they may be celebrating at their love feasts in the grotto of Pan, but what about you?

What are you about? Even more… WHO are you about? And who is HE?

Jesus is asking His disciples if they believe in Him… if they have faith in Him…

And if you’re still not clear who Jesus is… my Bible says Jesus is:

Revelation 19:16 “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”

Paul declared that in this present age… Titus 2:13 that we are “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

In Hebrews 1:8 Father God Himself say, “But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.”

At His trials Mark 14:61–62 records, “… the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

Scripture is very clear… Jesus is King… He is LORD… He is Savior… He is God… and He will come again.

And many people get this wrong… out of deception… or ignorance… or because of a depraved mind that loves sin… like the many who gathered at the Grotto of Pan.

You can get many things wrong in life… but you cannot get this question wrong and go to heaven.

Who do you think Jesus is?

This is the one question in life that you better get right.

Do you trust… do you believe that Jesus is the Savior who came and died for the sin of the world… who was raised three days later satisfying God’s wrath on sin…

And He could only do that because He is fully God and fully man… thus He lived perfectly as a spotless lamb…

And we have to privilege to serve Him now as our Lord… and He will come again as King.

If you are not in agreement with this… and you’re honestly confused… and need some guidance…

Not that you want to debate… but you honestly are seeking and want to know…

I’m happy to meet with you… to look at the Scriptures… just let me know.

Before I was saved… I believed in God… I was a theist… but I did not know if Jesus was really real.

It was my Uncle… a former Mormon saved by reading the Bible… who showed me the Scriptures and I believed on May 12, 1998.

And some 2,000 years ago… as we see here in Luke 9… Jesus was doing the same with His disciples.… leading them to a place of belief in Him.

Matthew would also capture Jesus using a play on Greek words in Matt 16:18… “… you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church...”

Peter’s professed Jesus was the Christ… pointing to Jesus the rock… that OT “stone that the builders rejected… the Chief Cornerstone” (Ps 118:22; Isa 28:16) and on Jesus the church would be founded.

“… and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

Possibly with that Grotto of Pan… “gates of Hades” as the backdrop…

Jesus declares that the principalities and powers of the enemy will not prevail… against Jesus and His church.

And we stand here today as a testimony of this truth.

At this point… you can imagine what a precious moment this must have been for the disciples…

But Jesus didn’t just leave them in this space of reverential awe… where they have come to belief…

He also needed to prepare them for the hard that was ahead.

It’s one thing to be a believer… not that it’s easy… Jesus said “narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life...”

But… it’s even more difficult to be a disciple… a student of Jesus… one who follows Him and models their life after Him.

And so we see a switch here where Jesus brings them not just into a place of belief… but He also reminds them of the reality of walking with Him.

It’s not that you believe and that all is sunshine and rainbows.

It’s a hard road… and the disciples had a hard road ahead… so Jesus is honest with them…

And prophesies about what is to come… His cross… and for them to be disciples… the cross that they must take up daily.

Look at vv21-22 And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must [it was not optional… He must] suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”

In the previous scene that Luke recorded… the Feeding of the 5,000… one detail that Luke did not record is that that crowd was going to prematurely make Jesus king.

John 6:15 records, “Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.”

This ties to the Jewish expectation that once Messiah came He would ‘make His enemies His footstool’ (Ps 110)… and ‘establish His throne forever’ (2 Sam. 7:14–16; Isa. 55:3–5; Jer. 23:5).

The crowds expected a political Messiah… who would conquer their Roman oppressors.

But, they misunderstood that Jesus would come first to conquer sin, hell, and death…

Isaiah wrote four “Songs of the Suffering Servant”… Isaiah 42:1–9; Isaiah 49:1–13; Isaiah 50:4–11; and Isaiah 52:13—53:12… which testify of Messiah being chosen, His mission to all nations, His obedience, and His exaltation.

But the Jews focused more on the conquering King… and did not discern there would be two advents of their Messiah.

Be careful not to fall into the error of ‘selective reading of God’s word.’

Many still make this mistake today… and love verses about prosperity… but not suffering… and love teachers who selectively teach the word of God.

And the multitudes then were the same way… and turned on Jesus… eventually shouting “crucify Him”… for He did not meet their expectations of the Messiah who would take down Rome… and usher in a season of prosperity.

And so… Jesus knowing the hearts of the multitudes… in V21… He warns and commands His disciples to tell no one that He is the Christ of God.

Doing so would welcome MORE unnecessary pressure from the Jewish multitudes.

Jesus was not One to submit to the will of the people… He only submitted to the will of the Father…

And the time appointed for Jesus to publicly proclaim Himself as Messiah was at the Triumphal Entry… not now…

So He commands His disciples to be silent on this fact.

And then in V22… He prepares their hearts once again for what lie ahead…

Jesus refers to Himself as the “Son of Man” which was used by Jesus “expressing his heavenly origin, earthly mission and glorious future coming.”

87x in the NT Jesus would be referred to at the Son of Man… a Messianic title which finds it’s origin in Daniel 7.

And He predicts the Son of Man’s suffering, rejection by the key religious leader… who were representative for the nation of Israel… thus He is saying national Israel would reject Him… and kill Him…

But that would not be His end… on the third day He would rise again… speaking of His resurrection.

And Jesus said in V22… these things must happen…

They must happen because it was the Father’s will that through the substitutionary atonement of Jesus… mankind could be redeemed through faith.

Jesus was “… delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.” (Rom 4:25)

And it must happen because OT prophecies predicted Messiah would suffer, be rejected, die, and rise again. Here’s just 4 of the many prophecies…

The Son of Man must suffer…

Isa 53:5 “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities”

He must be rejected…

Ps 118:22 “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.”

He must be killed…

Ps 22:16 “They pierced My hands and My feet...”

And He must rise again…

Ps 16:10 “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”

But in the moment… this is too much for the disciple to bear… and Peter… rebukes Him.

Matthew 16:22 records, “Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”

Jesus finally got His disciples to a place of understanding that He WAS Messiah… but the disciples still… like the multitudes had the WRONG IDEA and EXPECTATIONS about Messiah.

They, like the crowds, expected Him to reign. Remember what they asked Jesus in Acts 1 just prior to His ascension?

“Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

So… Jesus’ prediction of suffering, rejection and death was too much to hear. And Peter rebukes Jesus… taking Jesus aside to ask Him… “What’s all this crazy talk about suffering and dying? This won’t happen to You.”

Have you ever tried to correct God about what His Sovereign will is for the entire world?

It’s pretty audacious… and Peter was way out of line… essentially suggesting what Satan tempted Jesus with in the third temptation…

Where Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory if He worshipped Satan…

Which was a temptation to bypass the cross and claim the kingdom now.

Thus, we read Jesus’ response in Matt 16:23 “But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

And that’s essentially the same rebuke to Satan… “Away with you, Satan!”

Jesus tells Peter he was an offense which is the Gk. word skandalŏn (where our English word ‘scandal’ derives).

By def. it’s “a snare, a stumblingblock, a hindrance.”

Peter was being a stumblingblock to Jesus because he was not mindful of the things of God…

Peter was thinking in human terms which were counter to the divine will of God.

Just as Satan was always counter to God’s will…thus the rebuke, “Get behind Me, Satan!”

And this was the set-up… for Jesus now to help His disciple understand the true cost of discipleship…

They had come to the place of answering correctly when He asked, “Who do you say that I am?”

The Christ of God.

But… they needed some coaching and refinement about discipleship.

So we read in V23…

23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

Jesus begins this teaching addressing them all… which certainly is His Twelve disciples, but Mark also notes “He called the people” as well.

Which is interesting because… remember… they are in Caesarea Philippi… some people there were evidently curious about Jesus.

But, Matthew notes only that Jesus was talking to His disciples… His primary audience in this scene.

And before we get into what Jesus says here… since we are looking at what it means to be a disciple…

Let’s first define what a disciple is… it’s a “pupil or learner”… and these were those who followed their teacher… or Rabbi in a Jewish context.

And this is different then being a believer or a Christian.

A believer is one who is justified by God because of faith in Jesus Christ.

And then every believer is called to be a disciple, but people vary in their fruitfulness as a disciple…

In James 2, James teaches that faith produces works… not that works justify us, but works are the result or the fruit of faith.

And while all believers are called to be fruitful disciples or students… not all are the best students.

Some believers are totally committed to following Jesus, study His word diligently, pray often… and so forth.

Other believers are immature, inconsistent, disobedient, and even carnal.

Believers vary greatly in their growth and obedience. Some are like babes and prefer milk… while other prefer the meat of the word.

And in the context of our passage… where Peter just rebuked Jesus for stating He would suffer, be rejected, die and rise again.

Jesus will take them to school… because Peter is off here… a bit immature and out of the will of God.

And if they cannot understand that following Jesus is a call which will result not just in the blessing of salvation… but that following Jesus also involves suffering… they will stumble.

So Jesus takes this opportunity to be really real with them… so they will become mature disciples.

And He begins His teaching with the word “if”… which is conditional… and highlights choice.

From one believer to another… they respond to Jesus’ call with various degrees of faithfulness… in general and over time.

And the degree to which we are faithful is recognized in heaven at the judgment seat of Christ.

V23 is the main proclamation on what it means to be a disciple…

… followed by four clauses explaining what it means to be a disciple in vv 24-26… and a concluding assurance in V27.

Jesus’ said in V23… if anyone wants to come after Him… to be His disciple… then Jesus uses several words (all of which are imperatives or commands)…

One must deny themself (meaning surrender)…

One must take up his cross daily (meaning submit)…

And follow Jesus (meaning dedication)

Surrender, Submission, and Dedication. These are marks Jesus’ true disciples.

To deny oneself… this is not self-denial like dieting by cutting out sugar… or denying your personality… or living as a monk to avoid indulgence…

To deny oneself… especially given the context of pagan Caesarea Philippi… was to turn from all idolatry and self-centered interests…

To follow and fulfill the will of God… to make disciples, to preach the Gospel, and to be empowered witnesses of Jesus Christ.

And this requires surrender…

Which is very hard unless one first dies… thus it’s necessary to take up one’s cross daily… which is an act of daily submission.

One scholar wrote, “In the Roman Empire a convicted criminal, when taken to be crucified, was forced to carry his own cross. This showed publicly that he was then under and submissive to the rule he had been opposing. Likewise Jesus’ disciples must demonstrate their submission to the One against whom they had rebelled.”

‘Taking up your cross’ means to submit to Jesus.

And the cross in those days was not a fashion statement…

Taking up ones cross… does not mean to wear a gold cross necklace daily… but to die daily… because the cross was the death penalty.

And it was the most horribly painful, prolonged and public way to die known to man.

So bad that Rome reserved the cross ONLY for Non-Roman citizens… it was that brutal. Criminals who were Roman were beheaded… not crucified.

So… Jesus is telling his disciples to die to self. To put to death daily who you were in the world… and then you can follow Him.

Because if you don’t… you’ll look back… you’ll serve your own interests… and you’ll have a divided heart and mind between the world and Jesus Christ… and this will not do.

In Luke 9:62 Jesus said to one who wanted to follow him, but also was looking back… “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Paul came to a place of understanding this… and was single-minded towards Christ…

Writing in Gal 2:20 , “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…”

Once Paul died to self… He could live to God… because Christ lived in him.

Again Paul wrote in Gal 6:14 “...the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Paul’s view on the world changed when He began following Jesus.

The world was crucified to him… it was on a cross to him… the world was dead to him…

And only after one surrenders by denying themself… and submits to Jesus by taking up their cross daily… than can they succeed in Following Him… which is dedication to Him.

Following Jesus is realized after the love of the world and following self-centered interests… and obeying our own will… is put to death.

Follow Me is a present imperative… it’s a daily routine… and way of life… it’s to keep following Him.

In essence, this is total dedication to Jesus… not just following Him from point A to B…

But, being open handed about one’s life to follow Him daily… wherever He leads.

And then Jesus adds four additional clauses… framed in some rather paradoxical statements…

V24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught… “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Either on earth… or in heaven.

A person who only wants to save… preserve… even “hang on to” their life now… meaning to hold onto their selfish ambitions… their heart will be crowded with the cares of the world...

They will have no room for God… and they will lose their best life in following Jesus… because they decided to follow their own interests and the world.

But if they lose their life… if they sacrifice to follow Jesus… they will save it… not in the sense of salvation… but in rewards.

They will store up treasures in heaven and they will gain all that one can gain in a life dedicated to Jesus.

Constable wrote, "The contrast is giving up what the world can provide in order to gain what God can provide.”

And then Jesus asks this rhetorical question… V25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?

There’s no profit. Gaining the whole world is far less valuable than a single soul in the mind of God.

Because the world and everything in it will burn (2 Pet 3:10), but a soul is eternal.

A faithful disciple… a follower of Jesus doesn’t set their mind on glory now in the world and from other people.

Even to the extreme that they gained the impossible… the whole world.

That pursuit will destroy them… namely in their relationships… especially where their connection to and intimacy with God will be lost.

A follower of Jesus sets their mind upon faithfulness to Jesus now… and glory in eternity… by being recognized by God in heaven.

People who live this way… they will sacrifice things in the world… no doubt… but they gain joy and peace that is otherworldly.

But for someone who is ashamed to follow Jesus in this way… Jesus gives this warning…

V26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words [Mark would add “in this adulterous [spiritually unfaithful] and sinful generation”], of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

Jesus soon would be a death row inmate. Would His disciples be ashamed of Him and His words knowing they too may suffer persecution for His names sake?

In the context of persecution… in Matt 10:32-33 Jesus said, “Therefore whoever confesses [again Gk homologeō] Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”

Jesus’ disciples cannot be ashamed of Him… or deny Him.

There is an expectation to confess or acknowledge Him in front of other people even when there is pressure to deny Him… even by being silent about Him.

This is not a passage on salvation, but about being a faithful disciple… and Jesus will not reward unfaithful disciples at the Bema Seat Judgment who will not speak His name to others…

They may be saved, but by being unfaithful in this lifetime… when Jesus returns… He will be ashamed of them… and will not confess them before the Father… meaning no rewards.

Which is clear in Matthew’s rendering where he adds in Matthew 16:27 “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”

There’s no free pass in heaven for being an unfaithful believer now.

One may gain admission into heaven, but they will suffer loss for their unfaithfulness… of this they will be keenly aware.

Personally… I only want to hear words that echo… Luke 19:17 “‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’”

Well… in close… Jesus made one final and enigmatic statement to His disciples saying in V27…

(And worship team please come)

27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.””

Which probably looks forward to our next account in Luke… the Transfiguration…

Where Peter, James and John will get a glimpse… a preview of the kingdom of God… being blessed to see Jesus in His glorified state.

But, within the context of belief and discipleship… I also like David Guzik’s thoughts on V27…

He said, “Walking with Jesus doesn’t just mean a life of death and crosses. It also means a life of the power and glory of the kingdom of God.”

Praise be to God!

Let’s Pray!

We are now going to take communion… remembering all the Lord did and is doing in our lives. Our communion passage is…

1 Corinthians 11:23–31 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.”

Communion is a time for us to look in three direction…

We look back remembering Jesus’ sacrifice… His broken body and shed blood for the remission of our sins.

His new covenant. Salvation by faith through grace.

We look forward in hope of His imminent return… proclaiming the Lord’s death until He come.

And we look inside… taking a moment to examine ourselves…

How are our relationships with others and with God?

Is there anything we need to confess now privately to God?

Before we partake in a worthy manner.

Truly… none of us are worthy… but praise Jesus… because through faith in Him we are made worthy.

If you’ve never placed your faith in Jesus Christ… I encourage you to do so right now… or let the cup pass.

If you have questions about trusting in Jesus… if you want to pray to receive Jesus… come to the back or sides and people will be there for you.

Once you have prayed… take the communion elements individually as we close in song… and please join us for Fellowship Lunch.

May the Lord bless you as you enter the week ahead.