Luke 9:20-26
“Then He asked them, ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter replied, ‘You are the Messiah sent from God!’
Messiah means the Anointed King
What are things typically associated with a king?
How do the people under the rule of the king act in regards to their king?
Christ was the King sent from God …
He had been anointed by the One who had created us … who had created the world we live in. He alone is the One we owe tribute for us even being in existence.
Jesus warned them not to tell anyone this. ‘For I, the Son of Man, must suffer many terrible things,’ He said. ‘I will be rejected by the leaders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. I will be killed, but three days later I will be raised from the dead.’
Jesus, being the One sent by God, predicts His future as one who will be slain by men.
But further, He describes a life of rejection. Jesus was a religious teacher … and yet, he told of how other leaders, priests and teachers would reject Him. You would think that fellow teachers and leaders would at least support his message.
But His prediction does not end with death.
He tells the disciples that after three days of being dead, He WILL raise up from the dead.
Jesus – the Anointed King – would not remain dead.
Then he said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me.
After Jesus gets done telling everyone what His future holds, he turns to the people and almost dares them to follow Him.
Essentially Jesus is saying, I’ve laid it all out for you. You now know what the cards will hold if you follow me. There will be persecution. There will be rejection. And, you know, there may be death.
But if you love me and are willing to follow me in spite of all these things, here is what you have to do:
First, you can do nothing for yourself. Following me means you recognize that I know best, I have a perfect plan, and we will follow my perfect plan no matter what it is that you think you might want.
Second, you must shoulder your cross every day. I am about to embark on a journey that includes me shouldering a physical cross and carrying it to me ultimate sacrificial death. I am asking that you every day of your life sacrifice your life to me. Give it to me every day. Not just once – but every day. By carrying your cross every day, I will know that you are willing to be obedient. I know that you are willing to give me your life so that you no longer live – but it is I who lives through you.
Third, Follow Me. Now that you know what things may lay ahead, you’ve made up your mind to follow me anyways. You’ve made my desires your own. And you are giving me your life. The next step is to actually take a step. Let’s play a game of follow the leader. I know you don’t know where we are going. But you must trust me to lead the way. The road may get rocky. I promise I will not lead you through harm. I will be here for. Just follow me.
If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.
If we are not willing to sacrifice everything to Follow Christ, we are limiting ourselves to things of this world alone. Things of this world cannot be a part of Christ. We must give our lives over to God so that they are no longer of this world so that we may have eternal life with Him.
And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose or forfeit your own soul in the process?
If, while we are on this earth, we only busy ourselves with the things of this world – we don’t allow God to have our lives, then what makes us think we will ever be of anything other than this world?
If we only live in worldly matters, we have missed out on things that could be more. Nothing of this world can ever leave this world. And we would lose our souls – which are of God.
We must tend to our souls – our spiritual needs – so that we can leave behind this world to a greater life with Christ in Heaven.
If a person is ashamed of me and my message, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in my glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.’”
We’ve been called to be followers of Christ.
Being a follower of Christ means that it will show in everything we do. Our entire being will belong to the Will of God.
Anytime we refuse to do the will of God – we are displaying shame for Christ. And if we are unwilling to let everyone who sees us know that we Know Christ – then why should we expect Christ to claim to know us in front of His Father or the Angels in Heaven?
Critical Reflection
“If this life is most important to you, you will do everything you can to protect it.
You will not want to do anything that might endanger your safety, health, or comfort.
By contrast, if following Jesus is most important, you may find yourself in some very unsafe, unhealthy, and uncomfortable places. You will risk death, but you will not fear it because you know Jesus will raise you to eternal life.
The person who is concerned only with this life has no such assurance.
His earthly life may be longer, but it will most likely be marred by feelings of boredom and worthlessness.”
